4. Let The Music Begin

Fortunately, Creative's Zen Touch ships with a music-file manager that's complete and simple to use: Media Source. It lets you easily encode your audio CDs in MP3 format. The default setting is 128 kbps, but you can increase that to 192 kbps. Media Source can also automatically synchronize the PC's music library with that of the Zen Touch. And there's no restriction in transferring files. If your songs are in MP3, WMA, or WAV format, the Zen Touch also transfers any access rights. Finally, a bit of advice: Create your playlists with Media Source, then transfer them to your Zen Touch as New Albums. It's the simplest way to get personalized lists. Theoretically, as with the Apple unit, Creative lets you create playlists "on the go" directly in the Zen Touch. But the system is so hard to find on the player's interface and requires so many manipulations that it's quicker either to use Media Source or else just choose the titles you want to hear as you go.

Sound With Bite

Sound quality is definitely the strong point of this player. Even if it doesn't compare to what a good stereo system can produce, the Zen Touch's sound comes closer than many of its competitors, such as the iRiver H320. The sound is both clean and warm and every bit as good as that of its model, the iPod. Its only "defect" is a certain tendency to exaggerate the bass when the equalizer is set to "Rock" position. But that's a matter of taste. But even if none of the eight presets does it for you, you can always personalize the EQ very easily.

The headphones are also of high quality, even if they stop short of being excellent. The sound is ample and pleasant, but a bit lacking in presence, and highs are poorly defined. But who's to complain, since this is after all a "factory" headset and a very good one at that.