Oh, Clipman, don´t let the complains stop you of enjoying the new FW, I have two clips, updated both and they’re working nicely, no fast discharge, no low volume, no bad EQ, etc. Have you noticed those problems dissapearing later? Is there an antiplacebo effect? Or just the fear of failure? OK, I have the invisible ogg tags problem, but is not that big deal (they’re working on that already and you have options) and the oggs still sound incredible to me. The benefits are far more concrete than the problems: the more intelligent shuffle, the podcast/audiobook features, the exact power value, the ogg playing and some more. And you can go back if you want, but I doubt it.
Same here. I upgraded to the newest FW as soon as it came out and it’s been rock solid. No volume or EQ issues. The improved handling of large playlists was the biggest feature for me. Playlists that used to take minutes to load now take seconds.
@cristiano007 wrote:
Not the non-destructive kind of ReplayGain, which mean that the player read the volume adjustment from the tags and make the necessary changes to the output without even touching the audio part of the file. I think that what some people are doing here is to amplify the audio signal from the file with another software and then record the modified file in the player.
MP3Gain would be the software to which you are referring. It does the same analysis as ReplayGain, but actually applies the gain directly to the audio instead of just setting some tags. Note however that it is also non-destructive because it stores undo information in special tags so you can always revert the files back to their original state.
My whole library is FLAC, where I use the normal tag-only ReplayGain that does not modify the audio. But for portable use, I transcode to MP3 and then use MP3Gain on the transcoded files. That way the portable files will play back on any device at the correct level, no special support required.
A little update… after another 30 minutes of play, it’s still at 85%. Here are my measurements thus far at 30 minute increments:
30 min- 100%
30 min- 100%
30 min- 100%
30 min- 92%
30 min- 85%
30 min- 85%
Ok, another update…
30 min- 78%
30 min- 78%
30 min- 71%
30 min- 71%
30 min- 64%
30 min- 64%
30 min- 64%
30 min- 64%
30 min- 64%
30 min- 57%
30 min- 57%
30 min- 57%
30 min- 57%
30 min- 50%
30 min- 42%
This adds up to 10 1/2 hrs so far, & if my calculations are correct, the battery will be dead with another 3 hrs of use. This is NOT good, IMO. Where’s the additional 3+ hrs I had originally? On top of that, it’s generally recommended not to fully drain the battery every time, so that means even less hrs. Should I fully drain it this time, to recalibrate the meter? I want my 3 hrs back!
42% is where I first started with the current firmware, so it’s not just a guess. 13 1/2 hrs. is NOT respectible when I had nearly 17 hrs with the .11 firmware.
Don’t worry about the battery draining completely. These batteries have circuits that prevent that. When the meter says “0%” and the player shuts off…it doesn’t men the battery has completely discharged- it just means that the battery has reached the point at which the built-in circuitry won’t let it go any lower…to prevent total discharge.
I think we just have to accept the fact that these players are quite quirky and buggy. You just can’t count on anything about them to work 100%. It gets annoying…but considering the good points…and the fact that they’re still miles ahead of iPods…I guess it’s not so bad. Just don’t expect perfection from them…and you’ll be much happier. And really- for a $50 DAP this small that sounds so good…it’s hard to complain (but it sure is frustrating!)
After changing firmware to 01.01.29 some songs after finishing not change to next, and buttons |< and >| don’t work. I have an EU FM version. And menu navigation works very slow when song playing.
The manual states that the Clip handles MP3s down to 64Kbps. Has that changed with this firmware update? I often download Podcasts that are about a quarter of this (17Kbps). Looks like it could be a problem.
As for songs, has anyone played around with lower resolution Ogg-Vorbis files. Most of mine are 112Kbps but I do still have some down to 45Kbps that sound good. I was wondering if these would play. What is the resolution cutoff, if any, for Ogg-Vorbis files? The Ogg-Vorbis capability is the primary reason I’m considering this device so it is a deal maker/breaker.
WoW! Why was this not publicized?! Being able to use some 32Kbs spoken-word files instead of my 64Kbs(which were converted down from higher bitrates) will free up alot of space for me…as well as increase sound quality (The original 32K files sound better than the 64’s which were converted from higher…)
Cllipman wrote: WoW! Why was this not publicized?! Being able to use some 32Kbs spoken-word files instead (…)
Might just have to update to the new FW now!
I don’t think the ability to play lower kbps than the specs actually promises (64) is new? I can faintly remeber it being mentioned previously in this forum… …(hold on)… Yep here it is…
Yay I can add my mp3 format audio book into the audio book folder now! Thanks! This lil’ device has been an upgrade so far from my now defunct ipod shuffle. I’ve had my sansa clip for 3 days now.
As I mentioned before, I had nearly 17 hrs(total) with the .11 firmware, & this is not the case with the newest firmware. I’m currently at 35% after 11 1/2 hrs of use. As it stands right now, that equates to 2 1/2 hrs less than the original firmware! That’s a pretty significant difference, IMO… I’ve been using the Clip 30 minutes at a time, so I’ll see if it’s still at 35% after another 30 minutes. But I’m guessing it won’t be, & since it’s generally recommended not to discharge it too deeply, I’ll be fully charging it at 28% which means I only get 12 hrs between charges, instead of 14 1/2. The problem is that the meter drops faster when it reaches the point where I’m at right now. Why is it designed this way? That only means less playtime between charges, which makes no sense to me, especially when I end up with below average playtime!
@sansafix wrote:
Sasafrass you are at 10 hours playback time at 50 % remaining and you are complaining??
The battery level scaling is different, so on the previous firmware the 25% reading was wrong, it was more like 5% remaining.
Now when you see 25% remaining its really 25% remaining. Let is go all the way down to 7% or empty shell. Its not going to affect the players battery of life.
The power consumption is unchanged, and the shutdown voltage is unchanged. The battery time remaining has been linearized and thats it!
I understand, however, that doesn’t explain the shorter amount of playtime. I’ll let it go to empty & see what the total playtime is, but I’m not hopeful…
@sansafix wrote:
The battery level scaling is different, so on the previous firmware the 25% reading was wrong, it was more like 5% remaining.
Now when you see 25% remaining its really 25% remaining. Let is go all the way down to 7% or empty shell. Its not going to affect the players battery of life.
The power consumption is unchanged, and the shutdown voltage is unchanged. The battery time remaining has been linearized and thats it!
Message Edited by Sasafrass452 on 06-09-2008 04:04 PM
It all still boils down to one main point: short of hiding a chip of plutonium in there, these wee beasties get an amazing service life out of a battery the size of a postage stamp.
I am not bothered by worrying over squeezing every last possible minute out of the device, since there are only so many hours in an average day’s listening. It’s preferable, in my book, that the indicator isn’t overly optimistic, lest those minutes run out sooner than I expect.
I’m glad that SanDisk has chosen accuracy over fluff!
On that note, is it possible that the wee green battery indicator of the e200 and Fuze will get finer pixels, rather than quarters? The new indicator is excellent!
Maybe it’s just me, but before I posted a slew of messages expressing my outrage over the battery life being reduced, I think I’d at least take the basic step of actually testing the battery life.
You do realize the percentage remaining is just an *estimate* based on the battery voltage, right? And that the way the estimate is computed has been changed in the new firmware version (per the message you quoted), which could explain exactly what you’re seeing?
