Fuze or Clip+ for my wife?

The display on the Fuze is much easier to read than the Clip+'s display. The Fuze also has longer battery life than the Clip+. The only advantages to the Clip+ over the Fuze are the much smaller size and built in clip.

The Fuze is also much easier to search for songs on than the Clip+. I guess you don’t have a local store where you could see both of them.

If she would tend to let albums play through then the Clip+ would be okay, but if she wants to search for individual songs, then you should get her the fuze. I find that searching for individual songs on a Clip or Clip+ isn’t worth the effort, while it is easy on the Fuze.

Message Edited by JK98 on 10-01-2009 11:14 AM

My vote is for the fuze.

The fuze’s display is almost double that of the clip+ with a 24 hour max battery life compared to 15 hours for the clip+.

IMO navigating the various menus is straightforward.  You can check this thread, it’ll have a link to the User Manual, to get an idea of what the various menus are like and how they work.  It’ll also have pictures of what will be on the display as you go through the different menus.

The text size is pretty much the same as in a paperback book.  As for photo thumbnails, they’re very tiny so she’ll have to either use her glasses or a magnifying glass, as I want to do at times.  The thumbnails will be displayed 4 across by 3 down on a 1.9 inch screen.  She can access photos through a list of photo names too.

The clip+ isn’t made to display photos nor video.

If you choose the fuze for her, I recommend also getting a screen protector and a case for it.  The screen and body can be easily scratched.

The only button that may be a little difficult to use, especially with a case on the player, is the power/hold button on the side.  It slides up and down.  It doesn’t stick out very far and I usually have to use my thumbnail to move it.

Black-Rectangle, JK98 and mags1230,

Thanks a lot for your helpful replies.  It sounds like a Fuze will be easier for my wife to use so I’ll get that for her.  I have a few more questions:

  1. What’s the advantage of buying a “4 GB Fuze” verses a “2 GB Fuze with a 4 GB microSD card always plugged in”?  I mean operation wise and ignoring the additional 2 GB.  I’m concerned about extra steps needed with a microSD card since the operation needs to be as simple as possible for my wife’s use.  Reading the User Guide “Playing music from a preloaded microSD Card” it seems that the microSD card does require extra steps but I just want to confirm this.

  2. It seems that when using a micro sd card, the Fuze has to “refresh” it initially which I’ve read can take about 2 minutes.  If the card is always left in the slot, does the refresh still have to take place on every power on?

  3. What’s the slowest micro sd card to buy to retain full functionality of the Fuze?  I see micro sd cards with class 2, 4 and 6 ratings.  I haven’t been able to find this information in the User Guide.

  4. Are there any known problems with certain brands of microSD cards when used in a Fuze?  I could not find a “recommended microSD cards” list in the User Guide.  Most likely I would buy Kingston, Patriot or Transcend microSD cards since I’ve had good success with those brands in my digital cameras and they are usually cheaper.

Thanks,
Sky

The only advantage of the larger-capacity Fuze is…larger capacity. It’s up to you where you want to store the music and how much you are going to stuff onto it.

I don’t know what the user manual says about extra steps, but in my experience there are none. You can drag-and-drop onto the card or onto the unit exactly the same way. 

Since you are going to be loading the content for your wife, you might prefer to keep everything on the removable MicroSD, load it on your computer and just hand it over. But it’s up to you.

The refresh takes place only  if you have changed the content on the card or the unit. 

A slow card should be fine. You need a faster one for your camera because you are writing lots of information quickly, but reading, which is what the Fuze does, isn’t so critical. 

People have reported problems playing back video, just video,  on Kingston cards. There was a recent post a while back from an unhappy Transcend user followed by a happy one, so it seems to be luck of the draw, or user error. Video playback is the trickiest thing the Fuze does, and it doesn’t always do it well. Music is a lot more reliable. 

Put your MicroSD brand into the search box and see what you get. 


Meanwhile…have you ever had an mp3 player? (Or a music-equipped cell phone, etc.) There’s always a learning curve, but the Sansa one is mercifully short.  Y

You should be aware that the Fuze has two USB modes for how music is loaded: MSC and MTP. The idea was to provide maximum flexibility for users. The reality is that it can sometimes provide more confusion. 

MSC works like any other drive on your computer–drag-and-drop. Two drives show up in My Computer: the unit and the card. (There are third-party programs that can make playlists, etc., for MSC mode.) 

MTP works with Windows Media Player and is necessary for DRM (digital rights misery) information.

To me, Windows Media Player is an unnecessary middleman, but the idea was that it provides a more automated interface, equivalent to iTunes for iPod, and some people do like it.  I don’t use MTP, and it may have some strictures with the MicroSD card–thanks to copyright owners who want to prevent you from copying files as simply as passing around a MicroSD card. 

When you get the Fuze, it will be on Auto Detect, which will go to MTP mode if your computer has Windows Media Player 10 or 11 installed, MSC if not.  I would immediately (1) download the latest firmware, from the sticky notes at the top of the forum and then (2) switch Settings/System Settings/USB Mode to MSC. 

(Every time you update firmware, possibly once or twice a year, it goes back to Auto Detect, so that’s why I suggest upgrading before changing the setting.  The current firmware is very reliable, and you could probably use it for a lifetime, though new features may come along in the updates. Don’t install Sansa Updater, which keeps calling home each time you connect. The updates just aren’t that frequent.) 

It’s best to stick to one mode because your computer can only see one at a time–either the content you sent via MSC or the content sent by MTP. (The Fuze itself sees all the content.) So leave it in MSC, which is transparent and logical. In MSC, load content by drag-and-drop and you’ll always see exactly what’s going on. 

The next step, as it will be with any mp3 player, is tagging–how the Fuze indexes your files.  If you’ve been using another mp3 player that’s not an iPod, you should already be fine on that front. And if not, the forum is here. 

Message Edited by Black-Rectangle on 10-01-2009 02:00 PM

Hi Black-Rectangle,

Thanks a lot for keying in all of that information! It clears up the questions I had.

Regarding loading a microSD card on the computer and handing it to my wife, I have a SanDisk Image Mate 12-in-1 unit but it doesn’t support microSD cards so I’ll have to buy a microSD to SD adapter.  Thanks for triggering the adapter purchase idea.

While lurking more on this forum, I did see a post that advised against using Kingston 8 GB class-4 cards so I’ll not buy any Kingston cards for the Fuze.  I will search the forum for microSD cards I want to buy before I purchase them per your suggestion.

Yes, I am using an iRiver mp3 player now for listening to talk radio while walking.  I download the broadcasts in mp3 format on my computer and then drag them into the appropriate folders in the iRiver using the iRiver Manager software.  

Thanks a lot for explaining the MSC and MTP modes used on the Fuze.  I saw them mentioned in some posts but never really understood them until your post.

I was planning to use Windows Media Player to drag music from CDs “directly” into the Fuze.  I’m under the impression that WMP will automatically convert the CD files to mp3 files to be compatible with the Fuze.  But I hadn’t thought of Windows Media Player and DRM preventing that.  I’ll search the forum for another program that can convert CD audio files to mp3 and use MSC mode like you to accomplish my goal.

Thanks a lot!
Sky

" was planning to use Windows Media Player to drag music from CDs “directly” into the Fuze. I’m under the impression that WMP will automatically convert the CD files to mp3 files to be compatible with the Fuze. But I hadn’t thought of Windows Media Player and DRM preventing that. I’ll search the forum for another program that can convert CD audio files to mp3 and use MSC mode like you to accomplish my goal."

The default for Windows Media Player is to rip to protected wma files. When you start Windows Media Player, click on the rip tab and choose mp3. MP3 files are never protected. Click on the rip tab again, and choose a bitrate. I suggest choosing 192 kbps or 256 kbps. Use 256 kbps for the best sound quality, or 192 kbps to fit more music on the player.

>>> The default for Windows Media Player is to rip to protected wma files. When you start Windows Media Player, click on the rip tab and choose mp3. MP3 files are never protected. Click on the rip tab again, and choose a bitrate. I suggest choosing 192 kbps or 256 kbps. Use 256 kbps for the best sound quality, or 192 kbps to fit more music on the player. <<<

Hi JK98,

I’ll give WMA a try for ripping CDs to MP3.  And the bit rate info you gave is golden since I wasn’t sure what bit rate to use.

Thanks!

Sky

I received the 2GB Fuze that I bought via amazon for my wife.  It has version 1.01.11A firmware in it.

I converted a song from .wav to .mp3 and loaded it on the Fuze.  It would play a bit and then stop playback.  Once that happened it stopped playback from all songs that already came in the Fuze from the factory.  The only way to allow song playback again is to turn the Fuze off and on.  I tried the conversion at 192 bitrate and 44.1 and 4800 but both conversions have the same stop playback symptoms.  I was using Adobe Audition for the conversion.

So I downloaded a free program called Pazera Audio Extractor that had good reviews on download.cnet.com.  Did the conversion from wav to mp3 using it and that conversion also stopped playing the same way as the Audition conversions.

When the stopage occurs, it stops at the exact same place in each conversion, though it stops at different places in the different conversions.  IOW, the 44.1 conversion could stop playback 5 seconds in while the 4800 conversion could stop 30 seconds in.  But each always stops at the exact same place.

I have not updated the firmware yet since I’m thinking that doing so will prevent me from returning the unit if the problem persists. The song was loaded into the Fuze’s internal memory.  I have not opened the external memory card package yet.

If I update the firmware to the latest version 1.02.26 and the problem persists, is there a way to restore the firmware back to the original 1.01.11A version so I can return the Fuze?

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Sky

I forgot to mention that all three versions of the .wav to .mp3 conversions playback fine on my PC.  All three stop playback when playing in the Fuze.

Sky

Yes, you can rollback the firmware version.  You’ll have to manually reinstall it.  I keep a copy of each version in case I need to rollback. 

Here are the links to previous ones, just scroll up to the first post.

firmware version 01.01.11

firmware version 01.01.15

There’ll be instructions on how to do the manual install.

Mags1230 said:

Yes, you can rollback the firmware version.  You’ll have to manually reinstall it.  I keep a copy of each version in case I need to rollback. 

 

Here are the links to previous ones, just scroll up to the first post.

 

firmware version 01.01.11

 

 

firmware version 01.01.15

 

There’ll be instructions on how to do the manual install.

 

 

I just downloaded both upgrades and will try the upgrade to the latest version tonight.

 

Thanks a lot for the links,

Sky

 

 

 

Just a fast warning but I see I am too late.

As you I had thought of the microSD route and worried that my wife would be able to handle the chips.

Bad mistake.  She lost the chip when she tried to exchange it with a slot radio.  I have found that the chips are entirely too small to exchange on the road

I then bought a 8 GB version and showed wife how to connect Fuze to cord for charging and downloading.

I pruned and simplified media monkey so all she had to do was click what she wanted and the system would sync the fuze up and keep her happy.  Media monkey will delete the old files off of the fuze and place the new ones in the folders “I” select.  I let her have all forms of her music and some audio books she likes to listen to.

I had to work at it but got my wife to follow a page of directions.  Like I said.  It hurts when you lose a $50.00 bill in the grass.  The chips are too **bleep** small to handle and too easy to lose when you are on the move.

Now if anyone was listening to these posts would take it and run.  A great player would be one that uses a thumb drive as an expansion port.  Now they have 32 GB versions and that could hold a mountain of music or books.  Reason is.  I use them for that purpose with my laptop.  I load my music on the thumb drive to play on my laptop  I can then tag the drive letting me select which one I want.  they are big enough as not to get lost and cheap enough as not to kill me in the wallet if they do.

Adobe Audition–are you a musician?

It may be something to do with your converter–or it may be a bum unit. Plain old mp3 just shouldn’t do that. 

But try the conversion again with Media Coder, which is free and widely used.

Also, look in the tags and make sure there’s nothing odd–foreign characters, huge comments, etc. mp3tag  is a good tag editor

You shouldn’t have to downgrade the software to return it if it’s not working right. Sansa wants you to upgrade. 

Message Edited by c1u31355 on 10-10-2009 01:10 PM

 

marquis6461 said:

Just a fast warning but I see I am too late.
As you I had thought of the microSD route and worried that my wife would be able to handle the chips.
Bad mistake.  She lost the chip when she tried to exchange it with a slot radio.  I have found that the chips are entirely too small to exchange on the road

 

I think the small size of the microSD cards being prone to getting lost will be covered by using a case.  I like the design of the SanDisk case as one can see at a glance if any card is missing and the space for a  label for each card looks perfect.  I’ll buy one if the mp3 playback problem in the Fuze I bought for my wife gets resolved.

See this link for some microSD card case solutions:

 http://forums.sandisk.com/sansa/board/message?board.id=sansafuse&thread.id=33740

Thanks,

Sky

c1u31355 said:

Adobe Audition–are you a musician?
It may be something to do with your converter–or it may be a bum unit. Plain old mp3 just shouldn’t do that.
But try the conversion again with Media Coder, which is free and widely used.
Also, look in the tags and make sure there’s nothing odd–foreign characters, huge comments, etc. mp3tag  is a good tag editor
You shouldn’t have to downgrade the software to return it if it’s not working right. Sansa wants you to upgrade. 

Re:  Adobe Audition:  Not a musician but used to do wedding and slide show videos professionally.

Thanks a lot for the links to Media Coder and mp3tag.  I didn’t have time to do the upgrade last night so I’ll try both using the current firmware to see if they can resolve the playback problem.  Then I’ll upgrade the firmware and test again.

Will post my results which might be a couple of days from now due to my schedule.

Thanks,

Sky

 

Thanks a lot for the links to Media Coder and mp3tag.  I didn’t have time to do the upgrade last night so I’ll try both using the current firmware to see if they can resolve the playback problem.  Then I’ll upgrade the firmware and test again.
Will post my results which might be a couple of days from now due to my schedule.

As a recap, the Fuze that I bought from amazon has version 1.01.11A firmware in it.

When I run the update for version 1.02.26 in my PC (SansaUpdaterInstall.exe), it connects to the internet and says:
Checking internet connection  (check)
Checking Windows type  (check)
Downloading latest Sansa Updater  (x)

During the Downloading latest Sansa updater, my antivirus software says that a virus has been detected, neturalized and file deleted.  The internet connection fails and says “The installation failed.  Please try again later.”  This process repeats every time I try it.

I did a search for “update virus” in the Fuze section and did not find an answer.
Any ideas?

@skyglider wrote:

 


Thanks a lot for the links to Media Coder and mp3tag.  I didn’t have time to do the upgrade last night so I’ll try both using the current firmware to see if they can resolve the playback problem.  Then I’ll upgrade the firmware and test again.
Will post my results which might be a couple of days from now due to my schedule.


 

As a recap, the Fuze that I bought from amazon has version 1.01.11A firmware in it.

When I run the update for version 1.02.26 in my PC (SansaUpdaterInstall.exe), it connects to the internet and says:
Checking internet connection  (check)
Checking Windows type  (check)
Downloading latest Sansa Updater  (x)

During the Downloading latest Sansa updater, my antivirus software says that a virus has been detected, neturalized and file deleted.  The internet connection fails and says “The installation failed.  Please try again later.”  This process repeats every time I try it.

I did a search for “update virus” in the Fuze section and did not find an answer.
Any ideas?

Don’t use the Sansa Updater at all. Remove it from your computer, it is completely a waste of space and resources. Just do the manual firmware install, instructions are in the first post of the firmware thread. :wink:

Don’t use the Sansa Updater at all. Remove it from your computer, it is completely a waste of space and resources. Just do the manual firmware install, instructions are in the first post of the firmware thread. :wink:

Here’s what’s listed in the firmware update thread:


 Sansa Fuze Firmware 01.02.28 download and installation instructions

For Sansa Firmware Updater - Click here to download  <=== I used this one
All Regions - Click here to download


Should I use the “All Regions” download instead?  What’s the difference between the two downloads?

Thanks,

Sky

Skyrider ,

You make an interesting point there.  The firmware update region is chosen on the device itself following installation.  Previous firmware releases differed, necessitating a choice of version.

Just click on the “all regions” link, and following transfer to your Fuze, the region selection option will automatically pop up, when the Fuze is restarted for the first time.

Bob  :smileyvery-happy:


You make an interesting point there.  The firmware update region is chosen on the device itself following installation.  Previous firmware releases differed, necessitating a choice of version.

Just click on the “all regions” link, and following transfer to your Fuze, the region selection option will automatically pop up, when the Fuze is restarted for the first time.


I downloaded the “all regions” firmware and unzipped it to the .bin file.  That file installed properly on the Fuze so it is now at Firmware version 01.01.28.

I tried playing the same song which was stopping and still remained on the fuze.  It still stopped.  So I deleted that song and used Adobe Audition to convert the 4800 wav file (same one I used before) to .mp3 at 192 bitrate and 4800 sample rate again.  Loaded the latest conversion into the Fuze and it plays properly all the way to the end.

Maybe the song had to be “loaded after” the upgrade to take advantage of the upgrade.  I donno.  Will see what happens from here.

Thanks,

Sky (with fingers crossed)