review sansa 8gb fuze+ vs sansa fuze 4gb

[platform]

Bought 8gb white Fuze+ (plus)

I have 4gb Sansa Fuze with wheel control and I simply find the new Fuze + lacking in features and UI experience. Sound quality is not any better.

Updated the fuze+ to firmware version 01.27.02

a) compared to the Fuze, start up time still the same (about 10 seconds)

b) SanDisk removed the ability to browse and play files form directories. Everything is by play list /artist/genre only

c) There is no way to find out the bit rate of the song being played (on the old you could do it rather simply)

d) b) because of b) my navigation is extraordinary bad experience

e) the 'Custom' menu on Fuze+ allows to remove the books/videos/podcasat from the scroll menu, however not the Sansa SR card (which I do not use either).


f) the flash card slot is exposed without any protection (so if you plan to take it to the beach -- prepare to have sand inside)


g) The Controls on the touch interface do not have any back light, so unlike the previous version -- this one is hard to navigate without light

h) unlike the Fuze, the fuze+ does not let you play top rated songs. So I do not understand why have rating in the song menu

Sound quality is still good, so if you do not mind the UI -- then you should get it. I did not use the stock ear buds -- so do not know if they got any better/worse.

The SanDisk Fuze software updater works the same
so that's nice.

[CrowdAds]

[lestatar]

platform: Thanks for the side-by-side comparison. Interesting indeed, especially your comment on the removal of folder browsing in the Fuze+ - I guess this makes music tagging absolutely essential ...

How are playlists on the Fuze+? Similar to the Fuze, with only 1 on-device GoList? Or can you now make playlists on the Fuze+? Everyone here knows I am kind of a playlist freak

And speaking of the above, have you ever used video4Fuze for your Fuze? I used it initially to effectively make mixed-media [main memory and uSDHC card] playlists successfully on my Fuze. I am just wondering it the Fuze+ will work with the video4Fuze app...

thanks again and cheers,
-lestatar

[McDougal]

The Sansa Fuze+ is an improvement (besides the touch controls), but I really wish they added more stuff to it, because now its not really a better buy than a Rockboxed Fuze. Its got the same bat. life, same SQ, and the only positive changes I see are a better EQ, larger capacity, and new firmware UI. Its not really worth it, I think.

[glove4]

Originally Posted by McDougal

The Sansa Fuze+ is an improvement (besides the touch controls), but I really wish they added more stuff to it, because now its not really a better buy than a Rockboxed Fuze. Its got the same bat. life, same SQ, and the only positive changes I see are a better EQ, larger capacity, and new firmware UI. Its not really worth it, I think.

This is exactly what I was trying to get across with my initial impressions of it--that it is an improvement for those who use the Fuze with its original firmware, but that the touch controls will be a deal breaker for some. Like I said before, this is an improvement for those who use the Fuze with stock firmware, not for those who use it only for Rockbox. Neither the Fuze or Fuze+ will beat a Rockboxed Fuze, but Rockbox is for advanced rather than casual users.

[McDougal]

^The Fuze+ is no improvement at all for Rockboxed Fuze owners (like me). Rockbox makes everything better

[eboyer93]

Originally Posted by McDougal

^The Fuze+ is no improvement at all for Rockboxed Fuze owners (like me). Rockbox makes everything better

That is exactly what glove4 just said.

[McDougal]

He said that Rockbox makes the Sansas better. I said Rockbox makes everything better. It makes the old iPods better, the Cowon D2 better, any player.

[lestatar]

Originally Posted by McDougal

He said that Rockbox makes the Sansas better. I said Rockbox makes everything better. It makes the old iPods better, the Cowon D2 better, any player.

Don't forget Toshiba Gigabeats as well...

But Rockbox makes "everything" better? How does it work for beer, vodka, steaks, hot sauce and women?

[McDougal]

Originally Posted by lestatar

Don't forget Toshiba Gigabeats as well...

But Rockbox makes "everything" better? How does it work for beer, vodka, steaks, hot sauce and women?

Hahaha lolz I didn't mean everything! I just meant it makes all of the MP3 players its compatible with better lol

[ZeroCorpse]

Originally Posted by McDougal

Hahaha lolz I didn't mean everything! I just meant it makes all of the MP3 players its compatible with better lol

The problem is that it's getting hard to find a V1 Fuze. I have a V2 (2GB), and I'm worried about trying RB on it... I'm thinking of doing it today, but it's not stable, you know? That worries me.

I'm still trying to decide between the Fuze+ or the View or the e280. Storage capacity is my biggest need. I want something that has around 30GB, and to do that with the e280 I'd have to get a refurb unit (because new ones are way too expensive for my current budget) and then add a 16GB or 32GB SD card.

The Fuze+ appeals to me because it's newer and I know Sansa's going to be supporting it for a while.

The 32GB View is actually what I want, except that the firmware is crap (according to forums everywhere) and Sandisk has abandoned it and stopped making firmware for years now. If only the View supported Rockbox!

So I'm still debating, but I'll probably end up getting the Fuze+.

[lestatar]

ZeroCorpse: Define "not stable"?

My own v2Fuze/RB has seen heavy, daily use for 2.5 months. It has crashed 4 times [at least twice because I am a moron].

v2Fuze has been marked "unstable" by the RB folks mostly because proper USB support has not yet been finalized. However, progress on this has been great of late...

hth,
-lestatar

[The DarkSide]

My V2 Fuze is Rockboxed w/no issues at all,..................It's stable.

[ZeroCorpse]

You're right. Rockbox works fine. I just tried it.

However, I honestly don't get the appeal of it, now that I've messed with it.

It seems to make the UI even more clunky and harder to read. It might provide some new features, but I just didn't see what makes it so desirable. It just felt too much like WinAmp running on an old version of Windows, and I just wasn't into sorting through the file folders on my device to find what I want to play.

I'm sure it's deeper and has some nice bonuses, and if I wanted to invest the time into it I'd find some value in it, but I really don't want to have to play around with the UI on my Fuze. I just want to pick Music, pick an artist, album or genre, and have the album art show up without me needing to drop a jpeg in every folder. I like having my album art visible when I'm browsing, too, and I didn't see any way to do that in RockBox.

I am impressed by the achievement that it is, but the RockBox UI itself just isn't my cup of tea.

To each their own, I guess. I think I'll try the Fuze+ and see if it makes me happy... Although I really wish it had buttons or a wheel instead of that capacitive touchpad.

[eboyer93]

Well one reason I like it a lot is the fact that is has gapless playback.

[glove4]

Originally Posted by ZeroCorpse

You're right. Rockbox works fine. I just tried it.

However, I honestly don't get the appeal of it, now that I've messed with it.

It seems to make the UI even more clunky and harder to read. It might provide some new features, but I just didn't see what makes it so desirable. It just felt too much like WinAmp running on an old version of Windows, and I just wasn't into sorting through the file folders on my device to find what I want to play.

I'm sure it's deeper and has some nice bonuses, and if I wanted to invest the time into it I'd find some value in it, but I really don't want to have to play around with the UI on my Fuze. I just want to pick Music, pick an artist, album or genre, and have the album art show up without me needing to drop a jpeg in every folder. I like having my album art visible when I'm browsing, too, and I didn't see any way to do that in RockBox.

I am impressed by the achievement that it is, but the RockBox UI itself just isn't my cup of tea.

To each their own, I guess. I think I'll try the Fuze+ and see if it makes me happy... Although I really wish it had buttons or a wheel instead of that capacitive touchpad.

Think of Rockbox as Linux for your mp3 player. I also did not like the UI on Rockbox. But the appeal of Rockbox is more in the endless amount of audio customization possible, some of which was bewildering to me. I prefer to simply adjust the EQ slightly with a good pair of headphones, and I don't require much more than that, so Rockbox was never really my thing. There is all sorts of custom themes you can load, games, etc., as well. The EQ is better on the Fuze+ than on the Fuze and Clip+, and it has solid gapless playback(I am waiting for the ABI review to see if it is true gapless, but it sounds pretty close to my ears). I am not a high maintenance user, so that suits me well.

[HipHopScribe]

Originally Posted by McDougal

The Sansa Fuze+ is an improvement (besides the touch controls), but I really wish they added more stuff to it, because now its not really a better buy than a Rockboxed Fuze. Its got the same bat. life, same SQ, and the only positive changes I see are a better EQ, larger capacity, and new firmware UI. Its not really worth it, I think.

Larger, higher res screen also

[ZeroCorpse]

Gapless is important. No doubt. You can't properly listen to some albums without it.

But the Fuze+ seems to be close enough. As close as you can get, anyway, with MP3 which was never designed with gapless playback in mind (DAMN YOU Fraunhofer-Gesellshaft!!! [shakes fist])

Storage-wise, and size-wise, the Fuze+ seems OK, too.

I was considering a Ibiza Rhapsody, but it's bulkier, and there's ZERO support now.

My poor little 2GB Fuze has a long, vertical line on the screen that showed up on the first day, right before I put the screen protector on it. I'm not sure if it came that way and I didn't notice at first. It doesn't seem to be a scratch on the outside, though.

I don't suppose the Fuze+ has a glass screen, does it?

Of course not.

So if I get one, I have to deal with the fact that there are no full-body cases for it yet (obviously) and no Invisible Skin/Best Skins Ever cut to the Fuze+ size, either. That means I'm using a screen protector for a PSP or Nintendo DS, and cutting it to fit, because I don't want a repeat of my Fuze's scratch-woes.

I like the Fuze, by the way. The scratch is bugging me a lot, though, and 2GB on board isn't very much, and that screen is just kind of small. If I could get the scratch out, I'd consider just buying a 32GB SD card and using the Fuze some more... But right now, my gadget-hound sense is tingling, and I feel the need to try something new.

I'd consider the Creative players if they ever got their act together and integrated the memory card with the main storage... But they don't. They're idiots like that.

[ZeroCorpse]

Originally Posted by McDougal

The Sansa Fuze+ is an improvement (besides the touch controls), but I really wish they added more stuff to it, because now its not really a better buy than a Rockboxed Fuze. Its got the same bat. life, same SQ, and the only positive changes I see are a better EQ, larger capacity, and new firmware UI. Its not really worth it, I think.

That slick UI means a lot to some people (like me). I just can't get into that Rockbox UI. If I were up for using a UI like that, I'd just stick with using my Dingoo as a PMP.

So, yeah... The Fuze+ does have a market. Maybe that makes me a sucker, but I like what I like, and at this point in my life, what I like is simplicity. I'm too tired to muck with a clunky UI.

[rickysio]

No folder browsing = no money from me.

Not until it gets rockboxed, and either way given the price and size it's still not going to make it on my list.

[ZeroCorpse]

Originally Posted by EggyCuppy

I cant stress this enough, you MUST skin rockbox and tweak the fonts to make it not suck visually, the default theme is just a VERY basic skin(There tech support reasons to always include the least complicated/technical skin you can, trust me on this one)

I did try out a bunch of the skins/themes. They were all unappealing to me.

If you like it, that's cool. It's just not my thing.