I’m a new Fuze user and in the short period that I’m using it, I have found some improvements that I thing it’s a must for the developers:
I would like to see cosmetic improvements (color and theme control), but in my opinion, the more importants are:
I think there is a problem with EQ (anyone noted?), if you set the Custom EQ to flat and then chance just one step
in any fader, there is a audible loss in gain. Probrably related to implamentation of an auto gain algorithm.
I’d like to see in TRACK INFO not only the codec and bit rate, but the encoder used also (from tags)
Gapless playback is not a plus, is a must!
I’d like to turn off the blue ring around the control disc, to save battery.
Implementation of Musepack Codec (mpc) ( I have a huge and diverse collection)
My battery last just 7 hours in the fisrt charge (started using my Fuze with a 2Gb class6 uSD, no EQ and no video, listening
to 80% mp3 files).
I was expectating to have the battery life shortened by the use of a uSD, but not too much like this. I’m using it
now without uSD card to see how long it’s going to last, but the preliminary results are not satisfactory…
FW Version: V02.02.26P - 8Gb Fuze
And of course, I would like to have a chance to use the RockBox fw in my player.
The original phones are ■■■■ (just how every player on the market). I’m using Sennheiser CX500 and I’m pleased.
Anyway it’s a nice player, with good size and sound quality, but can turn in a much better player… yet…
Using the screen uses up plenty of power. If you set the backlight brightness to minimum, and the backlight time to a small number it will help greatly in extending battery life. Playing albums through or playing playlists will help save power. If you hunt for individual songs often, this will consume plenty of power. Once people start following these battery conservation tips, and don’t use the equilizer, they should expect around 20 hours of battery time on the Fuze.
Yes, thanks for you quick reply. I’m already using less brightness (in day light we have no option but increase - 70% min), so I should have some improvement.
"(in day light we have no option but increase - 70% min), "
Not really, as if you hold your hand above the display so it is in the shadow from your hand, then ithe display should be readable even at a low backlight setting.
As a Sansa Guru, do you have something to say about the EQ phenomenon that I mentioned?
It’s simply not well executed. It has always been this way, on the Fuze and the Clip. I just leave mine on normal, and only use certain headphones with it, that don’t need EQ to sound right. I would love it if it was improved.
I don’t use the equilizer, as I am an audio purist.
Pushing up the equilizer sliders probably won’t make the player’s sound output any greater. I guess it works by subtraction, even when you raise the slider up, so that if you raise a slider up, overall volume is reduced so that the frequencies you want raised can be increased relative to the the sound at the other frequencies.
I don’t use the equilizer, as I am an audio purist.
Me either. Sandisk is no worse than any other personal media device. I haven’t found one yet (and I’ve owned dozens of players) that is worth a darn. If you need to tweak the EQ just to get acceptable sound, you would probably better served by getting a great set of headphones/earbuds rather than depending on the EQ.
From your list of suggestions, I have a comment slightly related to the blue ring.
I think it’s silly that the ring/screen gets turned on when you touch a button or turn the ring when the device is on ‘hold’. It’s a waste of energy and all round pointless in my opinion.
I would not hold my breath for firmware updates though. There have been minor hints from sansafix about a possible new firmware but it feels to me the Fuze is pretty much at the end of development.
From your list of suggestions, I have a comment slightly related to the blue ring.
I think it’s silly that the ring/screen gets turned on when you touch a button or turn the ring when the device is on ‘hold’. It’s a waste of energy and all round pointless in my opinion.
I would not hold my breath for firmware updates though. There have been minor hints from sansafix about a possible new firmware but it feels to me the Fuze is pretty much at the end of development.
They have added lots of features over the past year. The only biggie left is gapless, really.
You know, it’s sure nice that not all in the world think alike! Just think how boring that would be.
On you points -
1) I have yet seen a need to use the EQ, so can’t really comment there.
2) Why use up valuable internal RAM when you can use your computer to find out those kinds of info?
3) To me, gapless playback would be a minus. I just don’t listen to the type of music that would need that.
4) The blue ring on my Fuze with the latest firmware is hardly ever on. Mainly just when I turn the unit on.
5) I don’t know what approach they should take here. There are so many codec’s that trying to accomodate all would certainly overtax the capabilities of their firmware. I think this is an industry problem and not a Sansa problem.
The battery life on my Fuze slowly increased to the point that now it’s lasting a good 20 hrs or more. mp3’s at 256kbps is mainly what I listen to. Have a few at 320 and a lot at 128. Have a few pics and a couple of video’s on mine that I rarely look at.
On your point about their stock earbuds - That’s mostly all I use. I have a pair of Sennheiser CX400 in-ear buds that has good sound quality but the size of my ear canals are so small that wearing them is very uncomfortable. Of the 3 outer-ear buds I’ve tried, I like the Sansa stock earbuds the best.
Question about the Sennheiser in-ear buds. They sould good as long as I have a tight seal but sound like ■■■■ if the seal is lost. Having to keep them tightly in my ear is VERY uncomfortable.
In summary, I think the top priority for Sansa should be to use their hardware and firmware to provide the best quality sound possible. All other things should be ‘wants’ that are provided as long as the top priority is best satisfied.
You know, it’s sure nice that not all in the world think alike! Just think how boring that would be.
On you points -
1) I have yet seen a need to use the EQ, so can’t really comment there.
2) Why use up valuable internal RAM when you can use your computer to find out those kinds of info?
3) To me, gapless playback would be a minus. I just don’t listen to the type of music that would need that.
4) The blue ring on my Fuze with the latest firmware is hardly ever on. Mainly just when I turn the unit on.
5) I don’t know what approach they should take here. There are so many codec’s that trying to accomodate all would certainly overtax the capabilities of their firmware. I think this is an industry problem and not a Sansa problem.
The battery life on my Fuze slowly increased to the point that now it’s lasting a good 20 hrs or more. mp3’s at 256kbps is mainly what I listen to. Have a few at 320 and a lot at 128. Have a few pics and a couple of video’s on mine that I rarely look at.
On your point about their stock earbuds - That’s mostly all I use. I have a pair of Sennheiser CX400 in-ear buds that has good sound quality but the size of my ear canals are so small that wearing them is very uncomfortable. Of the 3 outer-ear buds I’ve tried, I like the Sansa stock earbuds the best.
Question about the Sennheiser in-ear buds. They sould good as long as I have a tight seal but sound like ■■■■ if the seal is lost. Having to keep them tightly in my ear is VERY uncomfortable.
In summary, I think the top priority for Sansa should be to use their hardware and firmware to provide the best quality sound possible. All other things should be ‘wants’ that are provided as long as the top priority is best satisfied.
Mike
Some people don’t have access to computers all the time. And I concur with being able to see additional information such as release year, composer, and fixing the “x/x” display problem.
@mikeinkaty wrote:
3) To me, gapless playback would be a minus. I just don’t listen to the type of music that would need that.
How could it be a minus? You just don’t use it if you don’t want to.
On the other hand, I think its a rather weak argument for a Fuze owner to say that gapless is a “must”. If it was a “must”, one wouldn’t buy a player that doesn’t have it. Its like saying you “must” have meat in every meal after having just eaten in a vegetarian restaurant.
"Since I’m not a video person, I’ve moved on to the Clip+ plus as being my primary player. "
That might present a problem with battery life for some though, since it only gets around 12 hours with typical use. I guess someone could have 2 or more Clip+ players though. Instead of a swappable battery, have a swappable player. Heres an idea. Sandisk could market a package with two 2 GB Clip+ players plus a 16 GB micro SDHC card. It would be cool if I could buy that on sale for $99. Then when the power runs out in one player, the 16 GB card could be moved to the other player. Oh, the database refresh time? Well, nothing is perfect.
"Since I’m not a video person, I’ve moved on to the Clip+ plus as being my primary player. "
That might present a problem with battery life for some though, since it only gets around 12 hours with typical use. I guess someone could have 2 or more Clip+ players though. Instead of a swappable battery, have a swappable player. Heres an idea. Sandisk could market a package with two 2 GB Clip+ players plus a 16 GB micro SDHC card. It would be cool if I could buy that on sale for $99. Then when the power runs out in one player, the 16 GB card could be moved to the other player. Oh, the database refresh time? Well, nothing is perfect.
I really don’t notice too much difference in hours of use between the Fuze and the Clip+…Maybe it’s because I don’t use MP3, and the consumption rates are more consistent with the other codecs. But, yes, I have numerous players, so when one needs charging the others are ready to go. I have this duracell thingy that gives me power for quite a long time if the battery within my players becomes low…for those times I’m not near a charging power source.
Many other charateristics helped me to decide dor a Fuze. We know that nothing is perfect. So, I bought a Fuze even with no gapless, in the hope that it will be implemented, since Sandisk seems to be worried with consumer satisfaction, instead of other media players manufacturers. Someone can say that is not garanteed that a new fw will be released, but than we will se how satisfied I will be.
Saxmaster
All the info that scrolls in the music to scroll at the same time . . . Please!
----Not As Important-------------------------------------------------------------------
The backlight and wheel to not respond at all when locked. It should show the locked icon, then turn off the screen, and stay that way.
Scrolling all at the same time is a good point. And much easier to implement. I think it could be faster also.
You are right, it should keep the screen off when in locked mode, even when a key is pressed.
One more: The artwork should show maximized in the screen when pressing the center button
