My new Fuze V2. First impressions, and few questions more.

Hi guys!

Well, my first impression is: WOW! After a long time without hearing to music with headphones, and then using a generic MP3 for few months, I had forgotten how music should sound like…

SQ seems to me very good on FUZE. Even if I have no experience with other MP3 other than horrible generic ones.

On my opinion, the EQ Normal setting is a bit too warm, it lacks some bright/treble. I feel there is some cheat, some reverb/wow to make the sound more attractive. I mean, it is not flat, it is not as going in “personalized” and set it flat.

Anyway, it sounds well, very well, for most songs. But there are songs which I cannot enjoy if not in Jazzz EQ settings, which is more bright and open. Normal setting makes the sund feel closer.

This, of course, with my not bad but not luxury IEM SHS8000 Phillips. And also with earphones Panasonic RP-HS71. First one are more bassy (and they are in ear), second one are more treble, and with both of them I sometimes feel need of Jazz EQ setting.

Basses are just great.

Random mode is ok, I selected “play all” and then random on, no problem.

Wheel is so good!

I have few suggestion for Sandisk:

  1. there should be a quick access button for let´s say two EQ preset (chosen by user). Push once, first setting. Twice, second setting… I guess a simple firmware update could set the off button to funcion for this purpose if pushed quickly while playing music. I was thinking about the home button, but is already asigned to other funcions during reproduction…

  2. I don´t know if there is a specific extension cable for earphones for Fuze, but a good idea would be an extension cable with controls for play, pause, next track, previous track, volume, and EQ quick setting. SO that people can use this instead of having to search for the player in the pocket…

  3. the scrolling should be continuous. Instead of that, now it stops when you reach the last item. In EQ, for example, first item is Normal, last is Personalized. If I want to switch quickly between the two, to see which one I prefer, I cannot.

Now, few questions:

  1. to have warranty, is it enough to register product online? Because seller gave me no proof of purchase.

  2. how may I know if my Fuze it is original Sandisk?

  3. which little travel speakers can you suggest me for Fuze? I am thinking about something very small and light, with docking for AC if possible.

  4. where can I buy online a good skin with clip or at least with support for belt?

Enough for the moment…

:slight_smile:

As you are discovering, the Fuze sounds very nice.  I would love to have the preset EQ parameters shown visually, and I agree, more than one user preset would be wonderful.  I like the Jazz setting the best as well, it is the most open sounding.  A wee drop in the midrange sounds great.

The fuze works with any accessory speaker kit that accepts a 3.5mm stereo jack.  Altec Lansing is the only company that made a dedicated docking portable speaker for the Sansa.  Macally used to have the ICETUNE “hockey pucks”, I wish I had a set of them.

The Altec “Orbit MP3” is a single speaker device that’s very portable, but monophonic.  Well, I could fashion a stereo “wye” and use two of them…that’s tempting, come to think of it.

Bob  :smileyvery-happy:

Look on eBay for Fuze skins. That’s where I get mine–and they must have some in Italy too. If not, cell-phone accessory stores also seem to sell them in the US, and maybe also in Europe.  Mine had a slot in the back for your belt to go through, and it cost all of $5.

You don’t have to worry about counterfeit Fuzes. The SanDisk products that are often faked are the memory cards. 

Register online. I don’t understand why the seller won’t give you a proof of purchase, but you could always make one on your computer and printer…did you pay in cash or by credit card? Did you have correspondence with the seller? 

Treat your Fuze with common sense and you’ll probably never need the warranty anyway. If it’s working out of the box, it should keep working unless you make a serious effort to mess it up. 

Legalistically, your Fuze is supposed to come from an authorized Sansa reseller–that means a retail store–and you are supposed to be the first owner.  If you got it new in the box, you could keep the package to prove you got it new. 

Meanwhile, SanDisk will know when it introduced the v2, and obviously the unit cannot be older than that. 

The Fuze is already so small that a remote control seems unlikely. 

Glad you’re enjoying it. See, we gave you good advice!

Message Edited by Black-Rectangle on 01-28-2010 09:51 PM

Message Edited by TomJensen on 05-03-2010 06:36 PM

Message Edited by TomJensen on 05-03-2010 06:36 PM

Ah, well, Tom, two wonderful alternatives… I might think about which one to choose…

Some clarifications: I am italian, but I am living in Argentina, and even if I am in Buenos Aires (the only city where you can find some technology, well, Cordoba has got some too), there are only TWO places which sell Sansa. One is very expensive, but it sells it in closed blister. It also has got the charger, I will buy it soon.

The other is more ebay style. It sells the Fuze WITHOUT package, no original blister. I just received the fuze in a sort of plastic skin which was just to protect against dust. ANd the cable more the earphones. Nothing more, no cd, no manual.

He gave me no bill, but he told me that I had to register my product online and that warranty would have been from that moment, no bill or blister needed.

ANyway, in two months I am gonna be a backpacker, no way that I will bring with me around the world all the blisters of everything!

About what I said for EQ: Bob, I was saying that I´d like to see a dedicated button to switch between tow EQ preset (which can be, for example, Normal and Jazz, just an example. I supponse that this button should be programable by cust, so that one can choose which presets to asign to this button). My idea is that you push this button, without having to enter in the menu, and you change EQ setting on the fly. THis is useful because there are songs which sound better with normal setting, othewr songs sound better with jazz setting.

Or a cheaper alternative could be if they make a preset ljust like the Normal one (which has got something more than all the others, O think it has got some reverb, no idea, but it is particularly warm and vibrant and I like it, but it is a bit “closed”), but more open, more bright. Jazz setting sometimes is too cold. A brighter open version of Normal setting would be great. I wonder if Rockbox presets offer it…

 About the remote control, I was thinking of something which just usesthe same minijack of the earphone. An extension cord/cable which you plug in the jack output of Fuze, and where you connect your earphones. THs cable should have a little control on it as many cable does (like sony ones), for most used functions, so one can put the player in the pocket and forward song or change volume from the earphone cable…

Please refer to the Forum Rules and Guidelines. No posting item for sale.

 

Thanks

 

Forum Admin

slotmonsta 

Message Edited by slotmonsta on 02-01-2010 10:41 AM

SanDisk still sells a docking station that let’s your Fuze or View play through your stereo.  It sells for around $80USD or so.

Rob22315 wrote:

SanDisk still sells a docking station that let’s your Fuze or View play through your stereo.  It sells for around $80USD or so.

Kinda silly when you can do the same thing for far less money, by buying an adapter cable, to connect it to the stereo, and a wall charger. I got both of those for around $10-$20 altogether, if I recall rightly.:wink:

The Sony gadgets that  I have had with remote controls don’t do it through the headphone jack–which I think would be difficult, since you want to have that jack accept any regular stereo plug, so how would it carry the extra signals to control the unit?  You can easily put a volume control on the headphone cord, which can lower the volume coming out of the unit but doesn’t control the unit. Buttons to stop, start, skip would need a different connection. 

There’s usually either a separate connector for the remote or a two-in-one plug where you plug the remote into the unit (next to the headphone jack, so the remote plugs into both) and then plug the headphones into the remote.

Any remote would raise the price. I wouldn’t expect to see one. 

I’m not sure if the current Fuze comes with CD or manual. You can always find the manual online, and get Sansa Media Converter or video4Fuze online. 

Message Edited by Black-Rectangle on 01-30-2010 12:50 PM

@marvin_martian wrote:


@rob22315 wrote:

SanDisk still sells a docking station that let’s your Fuze or View play through your stereo.  It sells for around $80USD or so.


Kinda silly when you can do the same thing for far less money, by buying an adapter cable, to connect it to the stereo, and a wall charger. I got both of those for around $10-$20 altogether, if I recall rightly.:wink:

Not really.  You didn’t get a remote.  :wink:

Plus having the complete package is nice.  It also lets you connect to the computer.  This means you can do it all from one station if you wish - stereo, computer, charging and remote control.  It’s also much cheaper than the going prices for the Altec unit and you’ll get superior sound from your home stereo unless you went bargain basement.

I had a Sony Walkman, very expensive one, which had a jack with three divisions, not just two; In this way; in the same cable of the earbuds there were the two stereo channels and a 3data3 channel or 3control3 channel to play; pause; forward; backward; volume…

It was quite cool…

It shouldn’t be so difficult to get on a digital device…

And I would shurely pay more for such capabilities.

I guess that evrything depend on how often people need to take Fuze on their hands to enter the menu and do things.

There are several methods available to integrate control functions and display into a headphone cable, all dependent on how ingenious the engineers want to be, and whether everyone else in the company food chain is equally impressed about the option.

Just a moment of thought about it…

One could use a different headphone jack, a four-conductor headphone jack is the simplest, as these are available.  First we’ll have to consider the pool of users out there, 99.9% (calculated using Mr. Spock’s methods, for those of you who fondly remember the 1960s version) have 3-conductor ring 3.5mm headphones.  The Sansa must be compatible with these popular devices, naturally.

One can use a DC offset to separate the data: control / power / communication from a dedicated headset with controls and/or display.  I don’t like multiplexing anything on the output, as this can cause all kinds of issues with chargers, FM modulators, et cetera, and having a DC component on the output can play havoc with headphones as the plug is inserted.  I prefer a basic “extra ring” on the jack.

Having this extra contact, the device can simply float the status of the fourth contact, recognizing that if shorted to the ground contact, as in the case of a generic headphone, remote functions are disabled.  Once the dedicated plug is recognized, communication / power can be fed to the special headset.  Hey, let’s go one step further: the remote unit can allow the user to use any headset downstream of the remote dongle, if a jack is provided on the remote unit.

Now here is the burning question, we’d need a convenient arrangement to carry this two-device pair, and that involves actually using the combination to see what would be popular.  There are many variables here, based upon what clothing the user is currently wearing, see?  The Sansa Fuze is simple, and conveniently small as it is.  Adding  a remote, and its requisite microcontroller, and the cost, would only make sense on a much larger player- one that’s more inconvenient to access.

Bob  :stuck_out_tongue:

Message Edited by neutron_bob on 01-31-2010 10:57 AM

Ok.

I was not able to follow you completely, I must be sincere. But you speack so well and you seem so sure of what you say that I have decided to trust you.

I believe you…

:slight_smile:

@neutron_bob wrote:

There are several methods available to integrate control functions and display into a headphone cable, all dependent on how ingenious the engineers want to be, and whether everyone else in the company food chain is equally impressed about the option.

 

Just a moment of thought about it…

 

One could use a different headphone jack, a four-conductor headphone jack is the simplest, as these are available.  First we’ll have to consider the pool of users out there, 99.9% (calculated using Mr. Spock’s methods, for those of you who fondly remember the 1960s version) have 3-conductor ring 3.5mm headphones.  The Sansa must be compatible with these popular devices, naturally.

 

One can use a DC offset to separate the data: control / power / communication from a dedicated headset with controls and/or display.  I don’t like multiplexing anything on the output, as this can cause all kinds of issues with chargers, FM modulators, et cetera, and having a DC component on the output can play havoc with headphones as the plug is inserted.  I prefer a basic “extra ring” on the jack.

 

Having this extra contact, the device can simply float the status of the fourth contact, recognizing that if shorted to the ground contact, as in the case of a generic headphone, remote functions are disabled.  Once the dedicated plug is recognized, communication / power can be fed to the special headset.  Hey, let’s go one step further: the remote unit can allow the user to use any headset downstream of the remote dongle, if a jack is provided on the remote unit.

 

Now here is the burning question, we’d need a convenient arrangement to carry this two-device pair, and that involves actually using the combination to see what would be popular.  There are many variables here, based upon what clothing the user is currently wearing, see?  The Sansa Fuze is simple, and conveniently small as it is.  Adding  a remote, and its requisite microcontroller, and the cost, would only make sense on a much larger player- one that’s more inconvenient to access.

 

Bob  :stuck_out_tongue:

Message Edited by neutron_bob on 01-31-2010 10:57 AM

I have to agree.  I originally bought a clip on the basis that the whole thing was the same size as the remote control for my old device.  It’s 100 times better than the old way.

My apologies Moderator,

I’m a newbie, but still should know the rule (about not offering to sell things) as common sense.  I’m going to keep my im413 anyway in case the other one breaks.  For anyone who is thinking of getting one, I can say that it’s a good unit.  Sounds just slightly better than a clock radio.  Good use in a bedroom or kitchen, but not anything hi-fi though.  The great convenience is the charging dock and the remote (there’s no clock though).  I go to sleep to it almost every night.

ggin1