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Topic: Sansa Clip Zip (Read 21634 times) previous topic - next topic
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Sansa Clip Zip

I've just upgraded from the Clip+ to the Clip Zip.

A year late but someone might be interested...

The new screen is pretty. It seems to hold less information horizontally, but is easier to use otherwise.
When scrolling through massive lists, it shows the initial letter in a large font - very helpful for alphabetised lists.
Massive flaw: no track numbers. Seriously. You have to dig down to the track properties menu if you really want to know!
Also dislike: no total tracks / elapsed time / total time.
The radio is much better. It has RDS for station names and info. It blends from stereo to mono with weak signals, rather than going hopelessly hissy and requiring a manual switch to mono like the clip+ did.
The voice recorder is no better.
The sound quality seems fine as always.
The Equaliser might be working slightly better than before (in terms of frequencies in changes - but I could be imagining it - don't have the Clip+ to ABX). It is still possible to distort the audio with the EQ if you try really hard.
The protect-your-ears volume limiter (optional) seems to be set at a stupidly low level (especially as using the custom EQ automatically adds a 6dB attenuator on top of the volume limit). This won't bother most people who will just switch it off, but if I want to give this to a child with it set to on, they're going to struggle to hear it.

The 8GB black and silver model almost looks stylish (in a 1970s kind of way), though it's bigger than the Clip and Clip+, and like the Clip+ you can't remove the, er, clip.

This was a refurbished model, purchased for the bargain price of £25. Highly recommended.

Cheers,
David.

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #1 –
As with other Sansas, you can compensate for most firmware/software deficiencies by putting Rockbox on it. The Clip Zip port is stable for a while now. I have had a slight urge to get one myself since that time, but my Clip+ simply won't break.
It's only audiophile if it's inconvenient.

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #2 –
Quote
Also dislike: no total tracks / elapsed time / total time.


  i couldn't use a player without that. trying to navigate to remembered parts of 3 hour+ files would be hard work. thankfully there is always rockbox.

Quote
The sound quality seems fine as always.


i think it has the same internals as the clip v2/clip+ that preceded it. saratoga would confirm that if he sees this.

i was almost tempted to get a zip myself but as my clip+ is still fully functional, it would be a complete waste of money. i might get a zip if my clip+ bites the dust but i'd be just as happy getting another clip+ assuming they're still available.

it amazes me still that some people would prefer paying the same money to buy a 2GB ipod shuffle which has no screen and no microSDHC slot. 

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #3 –
Quote from: marc2003 on
i might get a zip if my clip+ bites the dust but i'd be just as happy getting another clip+ assuming they're still available.
I too would have been equally happy (though now I have it, I find that the radio is a worthwhile upgrade), but the Clip+ is now more expensive than the Clip Zip on UK amazon, so the choice was easily made for me.

(TBH, I was still happy with the Clip - though I've since found the memory card slot useful, but been very slightly annoyed by the +/zip's attempt at making mp3s gapless, which sometimes chops the end off some of my mp3s).

I don't see the attraction of the "cheaper" iPods either.

Cheers,
David.

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #4 –
Quote from: 2Bdecided on
but been very slightly annoyed by the +/zip's attempt at making mp3s gapless, which sometimes chops the end off some of my mp3s).


rockbox that sucker. that does perfect gapless. it's my number reason one reason for using it. i've been using it over 3 years now and i could never go back to a player without proper gapless.

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #5 –
Rockbox was the reason I got the sansa e100 way back when.  Still runs fine (new battery); only problem is it's not fast enough to play opus.. So considering a new one.

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #6 –
Quote from: marc2003 on
rockbox that sucker. that does perfect gapless. it's my number reason one reason for using it. i've been using it over 3 years now and i could never go back to a player without proper gapless.


Having a working rockbox port was the reason I bought a Clip+ to replace an Ipod nano 1G in the first place  I'm not sure the Zip was working when I got mine.

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #7 –
We have 2 Clp Zips in our house.  Both of them are rockboxed.  Boot up is much faster using Rockbox.  Data base refreshes are much faster and more reliable using Rockbox.  I've also found battery life to be better using Rockbox, especially when playing Vorbis, FLAC, and AAC files.  IMO, the Clip Zips are great little players, but the OF leaves much to be desired. 

Quote
Massive flaw: no track numbers. Seriously. You have to dig down to the track properties menu if you really want to know!


In my experience, the OF seems to "drop out" some of the metadata of mp3 files when you dig into the properties menu.  These same files are read perfectly with any other media player interface including Rockbox.  Interestingly, with the exception of artwork, the OF seems to read the tags of Vorbis files perfectly.

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #8 –
Quote from: probedb on
Having a working rockbox port was the reason I bought a Clip+ to replace an Ipod nano 1G in the first place  I'm not sure the Zip was working when I got mine.


heh, i'd take a lot less than a fully working rockbox. when i got my first sansa clip, i tested rockbox during the very early days of its development and even with all it's flaws, i still loved it. there was no write access to disk meaning no database browsing, no persistent settings and there used to be stability issues as well. even so, it was still infinitely better than the original firmware and i was happy to put up with it. but kudos to the rockbox devs, they figured it all out and it's very solid now. 

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #9 –
Quote from: marc2003 on
rockbox that sucker.
I finally have done. The original firmware was hopelessly slow, and recently seemed to want to refresh my library every other day (taking EIGHT minutes to scan 30GB of files!) even though the device hadn't been connected to a PC, never mind had any files added.

So far, Rockbox is a joy to use. Lightening fast compared to the original firmware. The default text is small, but TBH it's nice to fit more info onto the small screen.

btw, this is my second Sansa Clip Zip. The "back" button on the first one died within a few months. I got my money back and bought another.

When I see reports of people who have made their iPods last 7 years, I think that might have been a more economical choice overall than the 5 or 6 clips I've had. Then again, the two that were lost/stolen can't be blamed on Sansa, and the ones replaced under warranty didn't cost me anything, so I guess an iPod (or three iPods, assuming two would still have been lost/stolen) would have cost far more overall.

Cheers,
David.

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #11 –
Quote from: 2Bdecided on
So far, Rockbox is a joy to use. Lightening fast compared to the original firmware. The default text is small, but TBH it's nice to fit more info onto the small screen.


And I bet it will be so for years to come (keeping theft and loss out of the equation, that is).

I personally got to a point where RB is the turning point that dictates whether I'd consider buying a DAP or not, so used (spoiled?) I got to its umpteen advanced features and SQ.

Also, thank you ever so much to the developers for such a wonderful piece of software engineering. I know it's me just pipe-dreaming but I wish we had similarly-intelligent firmwares on gadgets as varied as SLR cameras, flatbed scanners, printers and so on.
Listen to the music, not the media it's on.
União e reconstrução

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #13 –
Amazon lists a 16GB version, so who knows.

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #14 –
Quote from: saratoga on
Just in time to upgrade: http://forums.sandisk.com/t5/SanDisk-Clip-...ayer/m-p/316979

Larger screen (1.44" vs 1.1", 128x128 vs 96x96), apparently not really any bigger, just a smaller bezel, and longer battery life (25 hours claimed vs 15 hours claimed).

Also: corners are considerably more rounded.

I'll be interested to learn what the hardware is. Others know a lot more about this but I'd be surprised if they achieved such a substantial battery life improvement in the same form factor with no change to the SoC- and AFAIK no successor was ever made to the SoC the Clip+ and Zip use since AMS kinda exited that business.

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #15 –
I'm hoping its basically a Fuze+ inside, but with buttons.

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #16 –
The Fuze Plus is fine to listen to but miserable to control. I found a few references to the Clip plus control buttons as being easy to operate without looking at the screen. For me that is a big plus.

The Clip Zip screen seems better, and the device is a few $ cheaper, but the only reference to the buttons I found suggested they do not operate as well as those on the Clip Plus. Of course, one report could be based on random chance. It sounds like a few people here have used both. Does the Clip Plus have more responsive, more certain, controls than the Clip Zip?

The Clip Sport looks like potentially a better deal but, at least at present, it seems to be for sale only in the UK and Europe.

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #17 –
Quote from: AndyH-ha on
Does the Clip Plus have more responsive, more certain, controls than the Clip Zip?
I didn't notice the difference. Maybe the older Clip+ buttons had slightly more of a "click" to them, but IME different units of the same model feel slightly different anyway (I've had 2 clip+ units and 2 clip zips). I wouldn't worry about it.

It's about 10x more responsive with rockbox. I'm not exaggerating, though some differences would be less with a smaller library.

Cheers,
David.

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #18 –
Quote from: marc2003 on
Quote from: saratoga on
Just in time to upgrade:

http://forums.sandisk.com/t5/SanDisk-Clip-...ayer/m-p/316979


nice to see a longer batter life but it's a shame there is no more than 8GB of memory on board. it would cost sansa peanuts to make 16/32GB options.

obviously i won't be interested unless a rockbox port is made. i hope the team get their hands on one soon.



The counterpoint is that it will cost you peanuts to get some 8 Gb and up uSD cards.  Just shop a little - most brick and mortar stores mark these up mercilessly.

I did that it really makes a difference.  Just make sure you know the limits of your Sansa player - it could be as little as 16 GB.

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #19 –
i'm well aware that sansa players like the clip+/zip/fuze will even take a 64GB microSDXC card*. that doesn't stop me wanting to see new models with more memory built-in. 



*they really need to run rockbox to bypass the max file limit the original firmware has.

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #20 –
Hi guys, I just got a Zip Clip myself and I'm very happy with it (Rockboxed of course).
The only thing that I would complain is the battery life, since I was used to my iPod Classic which had amazing battery life but got stolen.

I thought that MP3 would be the most CPU efficient but after seeing this page, it looks like FLAC is the way to go.

Would converting my songs to lossyFLAC save a significant amount of battery?
Any of you guys using lossyFLAC with the Zip Clip?
Allegari nihil et allegatum non probare, paria sunt.

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #21 –
I got a Clip Zip less than a week ago. It is a relief that it just works; unlike the Fuze+ and its terrible touchpad, I don't have to keep fighting with it. Mostly I just turn it on when I want to listen and turn it off when I'm done.

After loading and playing a few test pieces to see if it works ok, I tried to update the Sansa firmware. Turns out it was already up to date but I had to download it anyway (not trivial on my slow connection) to use in installing Rockbox. Then, the Rockbox installer choked. It never heard of the latest Sansa firmware and didn't know what to do with it.

I was already a couple of hours into fiddling with on-line look-ups and downloads, so I left it at that for now. First, I don't know if Sansa makes earlier versions of the firmware available. Next, and possibly more important, I don't know what would happen if I installed, or tried to install, Rockbox using a version of the Sansa firmware earlier than the one running the player right now. Any experience out there?

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #22 –
Any firmware will work, it doesn't matter at all. Fwiw the manual has detailed install directions.

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #23 –
Quote from: ssjkakaroto on
I thought that MP3 would be the most CPU efficient but after seeing this page, it looks like FLAC is the way to go.

Would converting my songs to lossyFLAC save a significant amount of battery?


The larger battery load, from what I understand, comes from accessing files on media and moving the data into memory, so smaller files tend to give better battery life.

Sansa Clip Zip

Reply #24 –
Quote from: saratoga on
Just in time to upgrade:

http://forums.sandisk.com/t5/SanDisk-Clip-...ayer/m-p/316979
From what I gathered on IRC it will be unlikely or even impossible to get Rockbox on the Clip Sport. So if you bought the Sansas for rockbox (like me), you might want to stick to the Clip+ or Zip for now.
It's only audiophile if it's inconvenient.