New SansaClip+ 2GB is not good

Hello, I had a Clip+ 4GB for more than a year, then it bricked, and I bought a new 2GB Sansa Clip+ on Amazon. I was extremely disappointed with the new device. First, the plastic is cheaper, it gives me an unpleasant feeling when I hold it compared to the great ‘cozy’ feeling of the previous player. Second, the display brightness range is limited, it’s too bright even at the minimum level. The worst of all is the sound. It is not as clear and defined as it was in my previous player. The only reason why I bought this player was to have this incredible sound, which worked very well with the PA2V2 amplifier. I paid $65 for the amplifier and about $90 for the two players (one of which is out of order now), including shipping costs. In the end I get the poor sound of an average chinese MP3 player. This is ridiculous. The only thing I want now is to repair the former player using parts from the newer one. If you consider buying a new Sansa Clip+ player, think twice, because it may not be as good as you expect it to be.

I was getting ready to buy a new Clip + because I like it better than the Clip Zip.

Anyone else having this problem, (or other problems) with the Clip+?

Or is this simply one isolated thing?

After installing Rockbox 3.10 (which is relatively stable, unlike the last version), I found out the following. If I lower the volume to about -40dB and boost it using the headphone amp, I get nearly the same sound quality as in my previous 4GB player. Not exactly the same, especially in the high range, but close to it. The problem starts when I raise the player volume to it’s natural levels around -20dB. The sound gets all muffled and distorted (overload effect). Probably this means that the output sound tract (not the DAC) in the new player is of mediocre quality, not able to deliver proper sound volume without distortion. So if you decide to buy a new Clip+, make sure you have a good headphone amp to compensate this nuisance.

Okay, today I charged the battery for the second time and the sound has improved. I hope the ‘overload’ effect will go away completely with time. From my experience with portable audio devices, battery condition is very important. Maybe it has to be ‘trained’ a few times. I will post again if I get any changes in SQ after a few charge cycles.

Anyone else recently purchase a Clip+ and find that it doesn’t perform as well as in the past?

THX