One of the famous Creative players, the Zen Touch, set out to rival the iPod at the time. Whether you’re a Creative fan or you’re looking for an alternative to the iPod, the Creative Zen Touch is a good option. Read on to find out if this player is worth its weight, or if it’s just another poser.

Body

The body of the Creative Zen Touch will turn off many, but it shouldn’t. The player is thick and full, but not brick-sized. This is due in part because of the battery. See ‘Batter Life’ below for more info. The buttons are laid out along the outer edges of the player, and the familiar iRiver scroll pad is seen here, with a vertical swipe for the thumb. The LCD screen takes up about 30% percent of the body and is large enough to see the menus and music list comfortably.

Features

The Zen Touch has only the bare-bones features – no video, no pictures, just music. The player lacks a line-in port and supports WMA and MP3 music audio codecs.

Battery Life

The width of this player is due to a larger battery. The battery life of the Zen Touch is rated at more than 25 hours, which is quality, possibly the longest you will find for such a high-capacity hard drive device.

Audio Quality

The audio quality on this device is impressive, thanks to Creative’s attention to the needs of audiophiles. The player can be pumped out just under 100db, which is a fantastic number to be sure. This player can drive powerful headphones with the impedance is sub-40, and with the longer than usual battery-life, you won’t take a hit in listening time. Unfortunately, the player doesn’t support any sort of lossless music codecs, however, or lossy WMA, which kind of defeats the purpose of having high-quality audio lines. Issues The issues aren’t harmful, but you may not find them ideal for your needs. The biggest one, for myself, at least, was the need for a driver for the computer to recognize it. This is a hassle because it means you won’t be able to plug the player into just any device and start swapping music. Another issue is the bulk – it is not huge, but the size of the player makes it very noticeable in the pocket, which can bug some people. You certainly don’t want to go jogging with this player.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a powerhouse music player, something that doesn’t waste hard drive space with pictures or movies and that simply plays music the way it was meant to sound, then the Creative Zen Touch is most definitely the player for you. With an 80GB hard drive, there is certainly enough storage space for all your albums, and thanks to Creative’s attention to audio quality, the player is sure to please any audiophile with high demands.

Have you ever wondered how television sets are measured? The most common misconception is that it is measured from left to right or right to left of its length. Before you think it requires some complicated math formula, let me tell you that it doesn’t. In fact, measuring a TV screen is a fairly simple activity that will only take up a few minutes of your time. If you are interested in learning how a TV size is measured, here’s how to go about it.

Measuring Screen Size

1) Begin by getting a measuring tape and pick one corner of the screen as a starting point. 2) Make sure your tape is positioned exactly where your screen begins and not on the plastic frame or bezel. 3) Next, hold it in place as you take the tape measure and stretch it out diagonally to the corner opposite it. 4) Read the measurement and take note of this. Therefore when a manufacturer advertises a 48-inch screen it can be expected that it was measured from the top left corner to the bottom right or from the top right to the bottom left. It is standard practice for a lot of manufacturers to provide measurements based on screen size and rare to find one that will detail the full product dimensions. You may not initially realize it but there are some benefits to knowing how a TV size is measured, they are as follows:

• optimal viewing experience
• overall aesthetic appeal
• the correct aspect ratio of shows and films played on the TV

Measuring the Bezel and Stand

Obviously, measuring the TV screen diagonally only determines the size of the viewing area, it, however, does not provide you with information whether the set will fit in a given space. You need to take into account the height and width of the entire TV frame, stand, and bezel. Frames can easily add 1/2 to 3 inches in height or width of the set’s frame while the stand will add several more. 1) Place the measuring tape on the lower left-hand corner of the TV edge. Include the plastic frame in the measurement. 2) Stretch your tape towards the right-hand corner of the TV. Your tape should lie flat on the base of the television. 3) Note down the length from one corner to the other. 4) Now measure the height by starting at the bottom corner and extending the tape vertically to the other corner. You should now have the dimensions for the length and the height of your set. The main reason why measuring the overall dimensions of your television set is important because you want to ensure that the model and size you purchase will fit the space it is intended for. Not only should it physically fit its designated space, but it should also as well look in proportion with the entire room and its other contents. Knowing the size of the television set will give you ample information with regard to the amount of space it needs for placement. Sets that go on walls or open spaces will require enough room for the stand. While a TV that is meant to in an entertainment module will require at least 2-3 inches of space on either side. This means making room on the left, right, top, and bottom area of the TV unit. You want ample room to be able to safely move it in and out of the space if needed. On a final note, I find that it is important to hook up the TV to its designated wirings or to speaker systems. This will also give you a clear idea of how much additional room may be needed to accommodate these other accessories.

Have you ever cranked up your speaker volume to get the highest bass only to be met with subpar results? We’ve always appreciated nice, clear loud bass, especially when listening to music. Unfortunately, not all speakers are designed to produce high bass. Bass quality is not just about getting really loud output from your speakers and subwoofer setup. It is about feeling the beat of the music or experiencing the tremors as if you were in the movie you are watching. At first glance, speakers may appear to have limitations when it comes to producing the best audio, however, it does pay to know how to get more bass out of your subwoofer. Amazing bass output can be achieved but it can heavily depend on other factors such as the room’s size, shape, and content. Worry no more coz we’ve got you covered with these simple to do tricks that can help you make the most out of your subwoofers.

Volume Setup

How many times have we encountered that one person who always has their audio all the way up to the highest setting? Rather than getting the quality output, we are however met with blaring, loud garbling sounds. This is a prime example where less is more. How so? Turning the volume to optimal level results in defining sounds that are not audible. By tweaking some settings in your subs, you can get distinct bass audio without sacrificing its quality. Here are two things you can look into. 1) Subwoofers have a frequency by which it plays bass notes, this is called the crossover. With your speaker manual, find out the lowest frequency it can go, most speakers start to roll off at around 80Hz, this is where you then set your crossover. If for any reason you find it difficult to locate your speaker specs another easy way to set your crossover is to slowly turn it up until the noise of the subwoofer and speaker are the same. 2) Adjusting the volume or gain is the next important part. It is actually quite easy to set it up yet so many people do it incorrectly. To get the volume right, start by playing a song, turn down the subwoofer until you cannot hear it at all. Now turn up the gain until it begins to fill in where you took out the bass. And just like that, you’ve set up your volume correctly!

Location

As a rule of thumb, subwoofers placed close to the wall or in corners will result to higher bass but not necessarily one with the finest caliber. Take, for example, subwoofers that come with home theater kits. Often diminutive in size, if these are the speakers you have, it would be highly beneficial to position them at wall corners. Referred to by audiophiles as “boundary reinforcement” this specific placement produces decent bass thanks to the sound bouncing off of those wall junctions. Compared to the smaller subwoofers, the models with large drivers come to compete with equally powerful amps. It is for this reason that unlike the smaller ones, these types do not need walls for support. As a matter of fact, an eight to twelve-inch distance from walls makes a world of difference. Placing your subwoofer in the center of your loudspeaker system helps decrease phase cancellation and timing delays. Many enthusiasts who have spent hours setting up their entertainment room prefer to follow the rule of thirds. To do this, simply measure a third of the way from a wall where your system is situated. Mathematically, this method increases the odds of your sitting area as the most desirable bass spot. Try out these easy tricks and experience for yourself how quick and simple it is to get the best audio output from your speakers. No additional equipment needed and not special training. All it takes is a bit of patience.