Creative, a brand mainly known for its MP3 players and PC speakers, also
has a decent line up of headphones, including these sleek looking new models, one of them being the HQ-1400. We have received it for review, so let’s check it out.
The design of these circumaural closed back headphones is quite robust with a tinge of gloss black on the outside of the cans and on the flap below the headband. The headband itself, along with the rest of the exoskeleton of the HQ-1400 is black matte finished. The fit and ergonomics of the product is really plush due to its soft cushion pads, it’s got a nice velvet feel. The adjustable headband adds to the comfort.The drivers are stated 40 mm, made of neodymium magnet with Copper Clad Aluminum wire voice coil - a proprietary term they use is CCAW. The impedance is 32 Ohms, and sensitivity is high enough at about 105 dB/mW. The cord length is really long at 3 m, also with a gold plated mini plug at the end. The frequency response rated is 20 Hz -20Khz.
The sturdy build and super clean finish really raised our expectation for the performance, and we were more or less satiated in that regard. The frequency response output consisted of deep lows, though not bang on tight in terms of timing. It was more of a large enveloping LF response. The mids and high were present in decent amounts, not overpowering in level and also not making the sound edgy.
Loudness wise the headphones are really impressive, a really sensitive response is on the cards. Moreover the output is audibly clean sounding, there is not too much discernible THD at the highest level.
The MRP of the Creative HQ 1400 is Rs. 1690, which is a decent price for the unit. It looks great due to its suave exterior, and for the price it has a good sound output. The main thing is the low bass and healthy loudness. The bass is not that tight, plus highs are not as refined and “airy”, but they add up well in toto. It’s a good buy for a music lover or multimedia enthusiast, looking for a reasonably priced pair of solid headphones.
has a decent line up of headphones, including these sleek looking new models, one of them being the HQ-1400. We have received it for review, so let’s check it out.The design of these circumaural closed back headphones is quite robust with a tinge of gloss black on the outside of the cans and on the flap below the headband. The headband itself, along with the rest of the exoskeleton of the HQ-1400 is black matte finished. The fit and ergonomics of the product is really plush due to its soft cushion pads, it’s got a nice velvet feel. The adjustable headband adds to the comfort.The drivers are stated 40 mm, made of neodymium magnet with Copper Clad Aluminum wire voice coil - a proprietary term they use is CCAW. The impedance is 32 Ohms, and sensitivity is high enough at about 105 dB/mW. The cord length is really long at 3 m, also with a gold plated mini plug at the end. The frequency response rated is 20 Hz -20Khz.
The sturdy build and super clean finish really raised our expectation for the performance, and we were more or less satiated in that regard. The frequency response output consisted of deep lows, though not bang on tight in terms of timing. It was more of a large enveloping LF response. The mids and high were present in decent amounts, not overpowering in level and also not making the sound edgy.
Loudness wise the headphones are really impressive, a really sensitive response is on the cards. Moreover the output is audibly clean sounding, there is not too much discernible THD at the highest level.
The MRP of the Creative HQ 1400 is Rs. 1690, which is a decent price for the unit. It looks great due to its suave exterior, and for the price it has a good sound output. The main thing is the low bass and healthy loudness. The bass is not that tight, plus highs are not as refined and “airy”, but they add up well in toto. It’s a good buy for a music lover or multimedia enthusiast, looking for a reasonably priced pair of solid headphones.
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Creative(R) today announced availability of the Vado(TM) HD Pocket Video Cam, the ideal holiday gift. Thethin, lightweight Vado HD is small enough to fit easily in a pocket, purse orthe palm of your hand, and it captures video in 720p high-definition qualitywith just the touch of a button.The Vado HD is the only Pocket Video Cam to feature HDMI connectivity andan included HDMI cable that provides 1080i output to an HDTV. It alsofeatures a precision glass lens for stunning video quality, and 8GB ofbuilt-in memory to carry up to two hours of HD video. The Vado HD has anestimated street price of US $229.99 and is available today in carbon black atAmazon.com and Creative.com.
"We designed the Vado HD so you can easily shoot all of life's spontaneousand fun moments, and then come home and watch your videos on an HDTV - allwith true high-definition quality," said Steve Erickson, VP and GM for audioand video at Creative. "You can upload the videos to your PC, or what'sreally cool is to watch them on your HDTV in full HD quality. Some camerassuch as the Flip Mino HD record HD video but don't let yououtput it in highdefinition to your HDTV. Even the New York Times laments, 'the Mino HD is ahi-def camcorder that can't play your movies in high def on a high-def TV.'The Vado HD delivers 1080i high-definition video to an HDTV, plus it offersthe convenience of an HDMI connection."
The simplicity of the Vado HD makes it ideal for capturing video on amoment's notice. While your camcorder is stored away somewhere in a camerabag, the Vado HD is ready in seconds to capture clips that you can cherish andsave for a lifetime in HD quality. With 8GB of built-in memory, the Vado HDcan carry up to two hours of HD video, and it doesn't require you to carrytapes or DVDs with you. The removable, rechargeable battery provides up totwo hours of recording and playback, and extra batteries are available asaccessories so you can easily swap them to capture more video.
The Vado HD enables fast and easy sharing of video on YouTube(TM) andBox.net(TM). The Vado HD has a built-in USB connector so you can plug rightit into your PC, just like you would with a thumb drive. The Vado HD includesthe Vado Central(TM) software program built right into it that showsthumbnails of your video clips, which you can view on or copy to your PC.With one easy step, just click on the YouTube or Box.net buttons in VadoCentral to easily post your videos. When you want to share your videos withselected friends and family, they can use Box.net to either view or download acopy of the video. Vado Central also enables capture of single snapshots orsuccessive snapshots in burst mode. When you want to make and edit your videoproductions, just use the Muvee software that's included in Vado Central.
Vado HD Features -- Slim, lightweight, pocket-sized design -- 720p HD video capture -- Included HDMI cable; HDMI connectivity provides 1080i video output to HDTV -- Built-in two-inch color LCD screen -- Removable rechargeable battery -- Precision glass lens -- Built-in USB cable for PC -- Built-in Vado Central software program for posting videos to YouTube and Box.net, plus Muvee(TM) software for video editing and customization, and capturing snapshots Vado HD Accessories
To personalize your Vado HD experience, the following accessories are available at http://www.creative.com:
-- A pouch for protection and storage, priced at US $14.99 -- Spare batteries providing up to two hours of recording or playback, priced at US $14.99 -- A power adapter with charging station so your Vado HD is ready to go when you are, priced at US $29.99 -- Underwater diving pouch for keeping the Vado HD dry during underwater shooting, priced at US $29.99 The Vado HD introductory bundle comes with an HDMI cable, silicon skin and USB extension. For more information about the Creative Vado HD visithttp://www.creative.com. Become a fan of Vado on Facebook athttp://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Creative-Vado-Pocket-Video-Cam/26099524863
About Creative:
Creative is a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products. Famousfor its Sound Blaster(R) sound cards and for launching the multimedia revolution, Creative is now driving digital entertainment on the PC platform with products like its highly acclaimed ZEN MP3 and portable media players.Creative's innovative hardware, proprietary technology, applications and services leverage the Internet, enabling consumers to experience high-quality digital entertainment-anytime, anywhere.
This announcement relates to products launched in the United States.Availability is subject to change without notice and may differ elsewhere inthe world according to local factors and requirements. Creative Vado, SoundBlaster, ZEN and Vado Central are trademarks or registered trademarks ofCreative Technology Ltd in the United States and/or other countries. Allother trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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Creative this week unveiled its Sound Blaster X-Fi Notebook, which as the name implies is an add-in soundcard for (cue the drum roll) notebooks. But wait, doesn't Creative already offer an X-Fi geared towards road warriors? The answer is yes, and the X-Fi Xtreme Audio Notebook has been available for some time now, but this re-release sports a slimmer profile, a new color scheme, and the ability to transmit wirelessly.That's right - when paired with the optional Creative Wireless Receiver, the X-Fi will have the ability to beam music to your speakers rather than remain tethered. The new soundcard supports up to 4 wireless receivers, and each one can be placed up to 100 feet away from the notebook.The slimmed down peripheral fits into both ExpressCard 34 and 54 slots (previous version is 54 only), and brings the usual assortment of goodies to the table, including CMSS-3D, EAX Advanced HD, and Creative's Crystalizer technology. You get a pair of headphones bundled in, along with a free download of PowerDVD with full DTS and Dolby Digital decoding support.
Look for availability by the end of month, with the X-Fi Notebook priced at $80 and optional receiver commanding $70.
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Creative today announced the Creative ZEN X-Fi digital media player for music, video and photos, that features the Xtreme Fidelity X-Fi audio technology.The Creative ZEN X-Fi is equipped with the X-Fi Crystalizer, a Creative audio technology that is aimed at improving music quality during playback. It does this by restoring the highs and lows that were lost during ripping to MP3, WMA or AAC formats.According to Creative, users will be able to experience music with the sound quality of the original recordings. The player comes with a set of EP-830 in-ear earphones, and also has built-in speaker.
The ZEN X-Fi also supports many video file formats including WMV, AVI, MJPEG, MPEG4-SP, DivX 4 and 5 and XviD.
“We’re very excited to achieve this breakthrough of adding our X-Fi audio technology to a ZEN player, setting the highest standard in audio quality for portable music players,” said Leonard Yap, Associate Marketing Manager for India, Creative Labs Asia. “Some of the top recording artists in the music industry are very outspoken about the poor quality of digital music. We addressed the issue of the poor quality of digital music by inventing X-Fi technology, which restores the quality of music that is lost during the digital ripping process, and now for the first time ever we’ve been able to implement this technology in a ZEN.”
It comes with a 2.5-inch TFT display with 16.7 million color and built-in FM radio with 32 presets and built-in microphone for voice recording. The Creative ZEN X-Fi (8GB) is priced at Rs.13,599.
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Creative has launched a couple of new players in the market that include a DAP and a PMP.The PMP is called the Creative Zen Mosaic. It has a rather chic design for a small PMP, with features that include MP3/WMA playback as well as Windows Media DRM 10 support. It also allows users to view their images in JPEG format and AVI video file formats. It has a voice recording feature and an integrated FM radio. Another interesting feature that Creative has included is the Microsoft Outlook 4 ToDo list and appointment calendar, address book and syncing, so users can have all their schedules stored.The Mosaic weighs in at just 43g and has dimensions of 79.5×40.0×12.8mm. It’s available in 3 capacities – 8GB, 4GB and 2GB. According to Creative the PMP can provide users with up to 32 hours of music playback. It has 8 EQ presets and a custom 5 band manually adjustable graphic EQ as well as Smart Bass Boost. It also has in-built speakers to share music. The Mosaic comes equipped with a 1.8-inch TFT color LCD sporting a resolution of 128 × 160 pixels.
The second player that Creative has revealed is what looks like the next version of the popular Creative Zen Stone Plus and is being called the Creative Zen Krystal because of its 0.7 inch OLED display that looks like it’s behind a clear crystal surface.
Like the Zen Stone the Krystal is a small DAP with a five way nav-pad with features like an FM radio, Voice recorder and stop watch. What the Krystal has that the Stone doesn’t, are a few preloaded games and a Pedometer function for the health conscious. It can track the distance run, the speed as well as the amount of calories burnt during the workout.
The Zen Krystal is only available in a 4GB capacity and priced at approximately Rs. 4,600.
The Zen Mosaic is available in 3 colors; the 8GB model in Black priced at Rs. 5,392 (13,800 yen), the 4GB model available in Black, Pink and Silver is priced at Rs. 4,220 (10,800 yen) and the 2GB model available in Pink and Black is priced at Rs. 3,490 (8,800 yen).
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How many times have you laid awake late at night trying to figure out why no one has come up with an MP3 player sporting a mosaic keypad? Probably none, but to ensure you never do, Creative just announced its new Zen Mozaic music player, which the company describes as "a striking sight to behold." And striking it is, but you can form your own interpretation on that one.The Zen Mozaic replaces Creative's Zen V line, and along with a new look, the "trendy and distinctive" music player increases the screen size from 1.5 to 1.8-inches. Other features include:
* 2GB or 4GB capacities (8GB and 16GB to be available at a later date)
* Built-in FM radio with up to 32 preset stations
* Built-in microphone
* Up to 32 hours of continuous audio playbackOh, and it comes with a built-in speaker, so not only can you surprise passerbys with its 'unique' looks, but you can make sure no one dares comes within listening distance by blaring out crummy music if you so desire.
Pricing and Availability
The Zen Mozaic coms in black or pink for the 2GB model at $99, or black, pink, or silver for the 4GB model at $129. Towards the end of August, you'll also be able to pick up an 8GB or 16MB model in black for $249. Plan on getting one?
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Previously, we had reported about the leaked Creative Zen X-Fi media player. Now finally, an official announcement of Zen X-Fi and Zen X-Fi with Wireless LAN has been made by Creative.Scheduled to launch in Singapore, both the Creative Zen portable media players feature Xtreme Fidelity X-Fi audio technology and are compatible with MP3, WMA and unprotected iTunes music with the X-Fi Crystalizer as well as the EP-830 premium quality in-ear earphones.With the WLAN, the Zen X-Fi ensures streaming and downloading of music wirelessly in an X-Fi audio quality from home PC. The player can access music on home PC from any room. The basic features of the players include a 2.5-inch TFT display with 16.7 million color, an integrated FM, speakers, headphones, microphone for voice recording, and Creative Zen X-Fi video converter.
Moreover, both the models are incorporated with the new Creative Centrale application for organising, CD and playlist creation, and transfer of a wide variety of video formats such as WMV, AVI, MJPEG, MPEG4-SP, DivX 4 and 5 and XviD. The players also sync with Microsoft Outlook - contact, calendar, “To Do” list and more.
Talking on the latest release, Craig McHugh, President and COO of Creative, mentioned, “We’re very excited to achieve this breakthrough of adding our X-Fi audio technology to a ZEN player, setting the highest standard in audio quality for portable music players. Some of the top recording artists in the music industry are very outspoken about the poor quality of digital music. We addressed the issue of the poor quality of digital music by inventing X-Fi technology, which restores the quality of music that is lost during the digital ripping process, and now for the first time ever we’ve been able to implement this technology in a ZEN.”
Users can also have the opportunity to use free instant messaging over popular IM services such as Yahoo! Messenger and Windows Live Windows Live! Messenger. The unique feature is to personalized emotive avatars with different facial expressions and hair styles and also make use of it while chatting.
Currently, the Creative ZEN X-Fi with Wireless LAN has reached the Singapore market and is also available online for S$399.00 (32GB model) and S$329.00 (16 GB model), whereas the Creative ZEN X-Fi 8 GB is slated to hit the market by end of this month for S$229.00.
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Remember the Parle-G sized Creative Zen Stone and the Creative Zen Stone Plus music players that we reviewed last year? The company has announced that both players -- Zen Stone in 2GB and Zen Stone Plus in 2- and 4GB capacities -- will now come with a built-in speaker.
The difference between the two players is that Zen Stone, a basic player, comes with no frills; it's just a compact music player. Whereas Zen Stone Plus, a slightly bigger music player, features a vibrant little circular screen, FM radio, voice recording facility, clock with stopwatch, and customizable equalizer settings.Creative claims the 2GB models of the Zen Stone and the Zen Stone Plus featuring in-built speaker, can hold up to 500MP3 or WMA songs. They also support audible files that can be used for listening to audio books. Meanwhile, the Creative Zen Stone Plus with built-in speaker also supports AAC files, including unprotected iTunes.
You can drag-and-drop music files to these players. Creative claims that upon selecting "Play" or "Random", users can listen up to music for about 20 hours from a single charge of the built-in battery. There is no driver installation necessary to add music.
Both players are available in matte metallic black, dark blue, pink, or champagne colors. A translucent silicon skin with a clip is included in the box, and an armband and ultra-portable key-chain with a tiny case that carries the player are available separately.
The Creative Zen Stone 2GB is priced at Rs 2,799, and the Creative Zen Stone Plus is priced at Rs 3,699 and Rs 5,499 for the 2GB and 4GB versions respectively.
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Creative has announced the TravelSound for iPod nano video, a one-piece speaker system that is portable enough to fit in a pocket or purse and features four independent micro drivers and a digital amplifier.
The speakers also have a rechargeable battery so users can charge it through their USB connection for up to 15 hours of playback. Connecting via USB to a Mac or PC also syncs the iPod to iTunes. The TravelSound for iPod nano comes with a speaker stand that enables the speaker to tilt at an optimal angle to view videos and photos and a USB wall charger to charge the speaker and docked iPod."This Creative TravelSound is the first iPod nano speaker that's actually as portable as the iPod itself. You can take it anywhere you would take your iPod, so you can share your music and videos without having to share your earphones," said Marc Lee, marketing manager at Creative. "Plus, the sleek design of the TravelSound complements the look of the iPod nano, so the speaker looks as good as it sounds."
The TravelSound for iPod nano is now available for US$79.99 at Amazon.com, Apple stores, Buy.com, B&H Photo, Creative.com, Fry's Electronics, J&R, Newegg.com, and Walmart.com.
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Creative has launched the Vado Pocket Video Cam, which is small enough to fit in your palm.
The Vado doesn't incorporate discs or other media, rather it records up to two hours of high-quality video on its built-in 2GB of memory. It has a removable rechargeable battery, allowing you to shoot two hours of video on a single charge.It has a built-in USB connector like a thumb drive and comes with a software program built right into it that will prompt you to copy the video, or you can just drag the videos directly to your PC. The software can also take you to YouTube or Photobucket to post videos. It comes with a 2-inch color LCD screen with a resolution of 640 x 480 VGA.
It's available in silver and pink, and is priced at $99.99.
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Creative recently introduced in India the Creative MuVo T200, equipped with a full color LCD display screen and a built-in USB connector. Users can now personalize this player by selecting from six color themes to be displayed on the vibrant full color LCD screen to reflect their personalities, listening moods and music preferences."The tiny Creative MuVo T200 functions as both a MP3 player and a USB storage device. Its ultra compact design, with dimensions of only 25 x 77.7 x 11 mm and a feather light weight of only 20.6 grams, make it very convenient for users to bring along wherever they go", said Toh Sork Lee, Regional Sales Manager, India, Creative Technology Ltd.Available in black, white and pink, the Creative MuVo T200 supports MP3, WMA and Audible music formats and is available in 2GB and 4GB storage capacities. Users can store up to 500 of their favorite music tracks and enjoy up to 9 hours of seamless music playback with a single charge of the rechargeable battery.
The player is equipped with a 65,000 full color LCD screen (24 x 6 mm viewing area), and comes with a built-in FM radio and voice recorder. The Creative MuVo T200 is priced at Rs. 3399 and Rs. 4999 for 2GB and 4GB respectively.
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Creative has all but dominated the PC sound card market, in no small part thanks to its prowess with hardware-accelerated 3D audio. The EAX positional audio framework born from the SoundBlaster line became the de facto standard for 3D audio in games, giving Creative a distinct advantage over its rivals. Creative licensed EAX, of course, but it kept competitors at version 2.0, limiting them to 32 concurrent 3D voices and standard-definition sampling rates and resolutions. Meanwhile, Creative extended EAX to version 5.0 with support for 128 simultaneous voices and high-definition resolutions and sampling rates.Despite its positional audio dominance, Creative has faced increased competition of late, largely from sound cards based on C-Media's Oxygen HD audio chip. Microsoft's decision to drop hardware acceleration for DirectSound 3D audio in Vista has also posed a challenge to the SoundBlaster monopoly by blunting some of EAX's appeal. All the while, motherboard makers have diligently worked to improve the quality of onboard audio solutions, creating a perfect storm that has spawned more PC audio choices than we've ever seen before. Interestingly, two of the most recent additions to the sound card ecosystem use existing audio chips. Asus' new Xonar D2X, for example, is based on a tweaked version of C-Media's Oxygen HD. More interestingly, it comes with a PCI Express interface, finally providing fodder for the scores of empty PCIe x1 slots that dot the enthusiast landscape. On the other side of the fence we have Auzentech's X-Fi Prelude, which is the first third-party card to employ Creative's X-Fi silicon. The Prelude uses a custom board design and upgraded components in an attempt to wring better sound quality from the already impressive X-Fi audio chip.
The Xonar and Prelude both target the high end of the desktop sound card spectrum, so it's only fitting that we face them off against each other in Windows Vista. Read on to see how they fare in a range of gaming, signal quality, and subjective listening tests.
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