Zen NX Review (iPod "doesn't sound nearly as good")

[Boris Godunov]

Actually, this is a far better point than the usual back-and-forth regarding the OS. A lot of that is subjective opinion. This is rather concrete fact that is hard to dispute.

However, I'm sure Agathon will find a way, since philosophy types can make an argument out of anything.

[Urban Ranger]

Ah, I see the review is so decidedly unscientific and subjective. The author spoke of sound quality, but how did he measure it? Under what conditions? Are there any graphs or anything?

Like its predecessor, it boasts a 98dB SNR.

That's nice, but can somebody else verify it?

The whole review is just meaningless chatter with no objective data. So, once again, this comes down to one's priorities and choices.

[Asher]

IGN isn't a site about scientific reviews, UR.

The reviewer says it sounds a lot better (not slightly better, mind you -- he made it quite clear there is a noticable difference). Apple doesn't release the SNR for the iPods, and you can bet your ass they would if it was above 98dB, and ever since the 98dB DSP that the Audigy, Audigy 2, and Nomad Jukeboxes have been out for years, nobody has ever raised a stink about them being inaccurate.

If you were looking for a review that involves nice graphs and dB ratings in 100s of environments, IGN's not the site for you. And more power to you, instead of whining about how IGN caters to people rather than ubernerds, why don't you go find an ubernerd site and debunk IGN's subjective findings that agree with both logic and released data.

Otherwise, can it.