Creative Zen Sleek 20 GB MP3 Player Review

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(More customer reviews)After much research I finally decided to purchase the Zen Sleek 20gb Mp3 Player and I'm quite happy with this unit. I also considered the Dell DJ, Zen Touch, and Zen Micro. I also thought about the iPod for a few seconds - but it doesn't take long to realize that beyond a pretty case, the Zen and DJ line just offer so much more, for less $$$!
As is the case with many folks shopping for a good mp3 player; I needed an Mp3 player that was compact, had above average battery life, at least 20gb of storage, and a few extra features to keep it interesting. But most important of all, it MUST have good audio quality (97db SNR)! Well, this Zen Sleek met all of my goals and more!
Here is what I found while doing some research this weekend both on-line and in the local stores. The Dell DJ, while cheap, simply didn't offer any of the features or battery life the Zen Sleek offered. The iPod had "average" battery life, no nifty features, too expensive, and isn't fully compatible with other music formats. The Zen Touch does have the best battery life ever - but it's way too bulky and the LCD isn't very bright. And with a max storage of 6gb, the Zen Micro just didn't have enough space for my needs. Otherwise, it would have been my 1st choice.
And just to sum everything up, here is a list of Pro's and Cons.
Pro's:
- Considering the storage, it's quite small and light
- 20gb of storage (I'm hoping for more in the future)
- 18 hrs of battery life (As expected, I got slightly less with 192kbps WMA's)
- 97db SNR for the best possible audio quality. I tested the audio quality with everything from a high-end car stereo to a top of the line home theater system. All sounded excellent. It even sounded rather good with a tape adapter!
- FM Radio (not needed, but very handy)
- Awesome and very easy to use touchpad feature as well as Creative's well known interface.
- And it looks great with the silver and white color scheme!
Con's:
- Slighty on the expensive side ($249.99 US)
- Not enough accessories at time of release
- Not a big fan of the velvet-like carrying pouch. Sorry, I just refuse to use that thing. :)
So, basically I can't find anything wrong with the unit itself. :) For this reason, I'll give it 5 out of 5 stars and consider this unit highly recommended.

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Weighing just 5.8 ounces, the 20 GB Creative Zen Sleek digital audio player provides everything you need to take your large music library with you wherever you roam. In addition to MP3s, it also plays WAV and WMA digital file format s--including WMA with Digital Rights Management (DRM) 9 and 10. The built-in FM tuner (with 32 presets) offers an FM rec ording function, which lets you record your programming and tunes from your favorite radio stations. The Zen Sleek also has a built-in microphone and a voice recorder for recording lectures or reminders.
This 20 GB digital audio player will store up to 10,000 WMA (encoded at 64 Kbps) or 5,000 MP3 (128 KBps) CD-quality song s. Its rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides up to 18 hours of playback time. It connects to PCs via USB 2.0, which features download speeds of up to one second per song. The equalization feature offers nine acoustic environments, such as "rock" and "jazz," enabling you to customize your listening environment. Other features include a 2-inch LCD with blu e LED backlighting, easy-to-use touch pad control buttons, and upgradeable firmware.
What's in the Box Zen Sleek digital audio player, earphones, power adapter, USB cable, pouch, CD-ROM with software, printed Quick Start gu ide.

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