syncing problems with clip plus

I just picked up a new Sansa+ (plus) 4gb.  I can get it to show up as a usb drive under linux when set to “auto” or “mtp” mode and can manually transfer songs.  Haven’t gotten it syncing w/ Amarok, Banshee or Rhythymbox however.  I’m also not having much luck getting it to connect correctly with WinXP, connecting it ends up with a generic “problem with connected device” (or something similar).  I can’t find any info on SanDisk’s site about the Clip+, I’m guessing it’s brand new.  I’ve tried running the Sansa updater, it hangs on the screen where it tells you to connect the player.  The current firmware is listed as V01.01.05A, I’m pretty sure it is a different firmware from the basic Clip.  Any ideas?  Thanks!

I doubt anyone here has heard of a Clip Plus yet! What is different about it and a regular Clip? Where did you get it? It seems quite odd that Sansa would release a new player without some kind of press release that somebody here would have seen.

The main functional difference seems to be the addition of a microSD slot to the player which is supposed to work w/ the slot music cards Sansa has out.  The round controller is square now.  Here’s a few pics if anyone is interested;

front

card slot

info screen

box

The power switch is now on the top and is just a button, the volume control is where the power switch used to be.  The display seems the same as the older model.  Pretty much the same size, the back and side plastic is matt rather than shiny.  The clip seems a little more robust too. 

I got it from Best Buy yesterday (8/28).  On the shelf it was listed at $60 but rang up at $50.  The website only listed the basic Clip, that was what I had originally went in to buy.  Maybe this Best Buy accidently put it on the shelf early?

Message Edited by begbie on 08-29-2009 04:12 PM

Message Edited by begbie on 08-29-2009 08:00 PM

Wow! Thanks for the info! Looks like you are the first person here to get one of these. You are probably correct on the firmware being different for the Clip+. At this point you can only try the remedies that are for the older players to see if you can fix your problem. Maybe give Sansa Support a call or EMail to see what they say. If they want you to try a firmware reload, they may be able to send you the file with your correct version.

Cool! A 4GB Clip+ for $50. Sansa is on the right track to fulfilling my Christmas wish list (I started that thread just before I read begbie’s post). This just might be my toy for the year. Can’t find it anywhere online yet and I don’t live close to a Best Buy. I will check it out the next time I’m near one.

Curious that no announcement by Sansa about the Clip+ has been seen by any of the regulars here.

From all appearances of the pics, this is real.  If it sounds as good as the present Clip, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t, this will be great.  I would imagine the addition of the card slot was primarily to specifically accomodate SlotRadio cards, but it would be nice for personal “mix” cards as well.

This would explain the price drops on the 8GB Clips at WalMart…liquidating stock for a new model.

And it wouldn’t be the first time Best Buy borked up.  I was at my local BB today, they definitely didn’t have these…or I would have one.

Message Edited by jkj1962 on 08-29-2009 07:30 PM

My wife was visiting her son this afternoon, and was passing a Best Buy on the way home. I asked her to stop in and see if they had a Clip Plus. She just confirmed that they do! $49.99 for a 4GB model. Very exciting. I agree with jkj1962 – if the sound quality is as good as the basic Clip, this will be a hit. I know it’s on my list for this holiday season.

The sound quality seems on a par w/ the first gen clip (i.e. good), the FM tuner seems fine too.  I’m still having the syncing issues, but that’ll probably just be a firmware update, I can put songs and audiobooks (mp3) on it as a usb drive without a problem for now.  Battery life is unknown right now, spent ~3 hrs mowing the lawn and the gauge is still at full.  The “feel” of it (both physically and menu wise) is the same as the 1st gen.  The clip is still plastic, but is a bit more solid and seems to be molded into the case.  So far I’m happy with it, 4gb for $50 really can’t be beat for a name brand mp3 player (Coby doesn’t count as name brand as far as I’m concerned).  Honestly, one of the biggest pluses for me is the clip itself.  The only other decent player that has it AFAIK is the Ipod Shuffle which is ok, but the lack of display kills it for me.  Here’s the receipt in case anyone is interested for SKU# or price matching, etc.

receipt

Does the player have folder browsing?

Well, a search of “SDMX18R” brings some hits, some of which are:

http://www.beachaudio.com/Sandisk/Sdmx18r-002gk-A57-p-293996.html

http://www.buy.com/prod/clip-plus-4gb-mp3-player-black/q/loc/111/211933819.html

http://www.sureneeds.com/manufacturer-sandisk.html

And one from the Google cache:

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:6fVLo4fHyekJ:www.neutronexpress.com/lcat.cfm/1508+SDMX18R&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Apparently they come in at least black, red and blue, and 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacities.

But nobody will admit to having them in stock.:smiley:

@jk98 wrote:
Does the player have folder browsing?

Yes!  The main menu has the following options: Music, slotRadio, FMRadio, Voice and Settings.  If you go into Music, there is the option “Folders” which (on my unit at least) gives the options: Play All, MTP, AUDIOBOOKS and MUSIC.  MTP seems to be the tracks I put directly (not in a folder) into the Music directory on the Clip, AUDIOBOOKS have individual directories I put in the Audiobooks directory, same with the MUSIC folder.

Wow–amazing news!  Thanks for keeping us advised!

And I saw in the links posted, an 8gb Clip+ for around $63–a great deal!

As to folder view, I guess the question is, can you navigate and plays songs in a folder-view type approach, just like on your computer?  Or does the Clip+ still fall back to using the ID3 tags for selection?

Is the headphone jack on the top or bottom and what state did you pick this up in?

I’ve answered the questions I could in the other thread “Clip Plus” that BigJohnL started.

wow… this better come out in the UK.  Sandisk you are not helping my compulsive mp3 player buying issues…

Hello everybody,

I am wondering if they have fixed the “pitch problem”, on the Clip Plus.

On the original ver.1&2 Clips, an Mp3 encoded at a 44.1 kHz sample rate (default setting for most software) will play back at a slower speed/lower pitch when compared to the original recording.

This is a real problem for anyone who likes to play along with the music on the clip, as it will be out of tune with your instrument.

The problem affects Mp3 encoded at 44.1 kHz sample rate (the default sample rate for all CDs and most Mp3).

If you are willing to encode your Mp3 at 48 Khz sample rate, when you rip your CDs, the pitch/time problem is not noticeable.

The fact that they have not fixed the original clip with a firmware update yet, is unacceptable.

In light of this, I would like to see the results of “pitch” tests for all playback formats with all sample rates, on the Clip Plus to see if there are any remaining (or new) pitch problems or other sound quality issues, that folks would want to know abut before they buy a new Clip.

Best of luck to Sansa and there customers with the new Clip Plus Player.

Shame on Sansa for not fixing the pitch problem in the original Clip yet…

 I will not purchase or recommend a new Sansa product until they address this defect on the old one.

Happy Trails…

Wavy