Need Help deciding what SanDisk player to get?

Hello,

Here’s a easy question, I think? I was thinking of the View *8GB* and my wife just picked up  Fuze *4GB* for her self. I was very impressed with the sound and features on the player. I must say it has a ton of stuff for the money…  Not that i know about MP3 players but I do know good sound when I hear it!  Ok I though I would check out the boards here and I see that there seems to be many more issuer with the SanDisk View player’s…  Seems like every post is about issues of some type… I checked out the boards on the Fuze and ya there are are issues but most seem to be hookup and user type more then glitches in the player…  Please help me decide. Should i get the Fuze in 8*GB instead of the View I was thinking about? I was not sure if functionality was basically the same with both players… Size and looks really don’t matter if the Fuze is a better produce with less issues… Please help me decide what I should get for myself… Thanks! George

The View is optimized for video use, with its bigger screen.  If you’re primarily interested in music, it’s very hard to beat the Fuze!  The size and performance are hard to beat.

Bob  :smileyvery-happy:

Bob,

Thanks for the quick reply!  Are functions and menus the same in both units in how they work? Also Let me ask this? I just checked my wife’s new Fuze and it has firmware ver. 1.01.11A in it… I see there are down loads for the same version number ending with different letters I think the last was ending with a P. Can you tell me what the difference is between the A and P versions of the firmware ? Also the player seems to be working great so should I mess with updating it’s firmware?  Also I’m running XP is it safe to install SP3 with this unit? Thanks! George

Message Edited by George-W on 08-27-2008 11:31 PM

The letter at the end of the firmware build is the region specification only.  For Europe, some versions do not have the FM active.  The primary identifier, the numerical part, is up do date on your device.

The Fuze firmware update is pending some QA ironing, a few kinks were found.

Updating your XP installation should be fine.  The only troublesome issue we run into is with Windows Media Player and its integrated MTP protocol.  As long as your devices are talking and synchronizing files, all is well.

Bob  :smileyvery-happy:

I own a View.

If you’re set on buying Sansa, GET THE FUZE!

Eddie,

Thanks!  I just ordered the 8 GB Fuze for  myself. You convinced me!  Anyone have any more tips pin pointers on the units and there use please feel free to point me in the right direction!!  Thanks!  George

I got the 4g Fuze and then ordered an 8 gig card for quite a bit less than the 8g player. Now I have a 12g Fuze! (that may or may not play the wav files I was hoping for)

@george_w wrote:

Eddie,

 

Thanks!  I just ordered the 8 GB Fuze for  myself. You convinced me!  Anyone have any more tips pin pointers on the units and there use please feel free to point me in the right direction!!  Thanks!  George

My main advice would be to determine if you’re going to use MSC or MTP mode up-front. Changing modes after you’ve added a bunch of songs is a pain. Personally I use MSC mode, since I don’t have any DRMed songs.

bdb,

I’m not sure what you mean by MSC and MTP mode or what the difference is. I’m to new to this digital music stuff… I have been ripping all my music from CD’d and plan to just use them to add music… We have a good collection of about 700 CD’s or so…  Knowing that, maybe you can give me some pointers for the best way to go about things… I use XP and MP 11…  What is the best way to set them up in MP 11? I Rip hole CD’s 99.9% of the time…  Thanks!  George

I would go into WMP11’s Settings and make sure you are ripping to mp3 at a bitrate of 192 or above. Its default is to rip to .wma, and possibly to add copy protection. .wma is OK–though it’s not as widely compatible as mp3–but copy protection is never a good idea for your own music–sooner or later, some device is not going to play those files.  mp3s have no copy protection.

I did change my settings in WMP 11 to MP3 and compression to 256 at first, but found I was quite happy with it set to 128. I have been spending time re recording some stuff back to 128 compression. I’m a audiophile with one good ear too!!  So I have been told…  This player sounds fantastic. I am using a small Sony head set and have not tried the ear buds that came with it yet so maybe that’s why I’m hearing the sound I am… George

From what I understand the Fuze is using the same audio chip as the Clip.  And all I’ve heard about the Clip is how excellent the sound quality is.

The sound quality on the View is ok, but not as good as the Clip and Fuze.   I don’t understand why, if the View is supposed to be their top end device, they wouldn’t use same chip.  But they don’t.

I wish I’d waited for the Fuze. 

Good choice George.