Aural Candy

Now that I have my ZEN, I think it's time to furnish it with accessories. The first thing I need to do is replace the ear-buds that came with the player. Seriously, the white ear-bud is like a beacon to muggers that screams: "I have an mp3 player". I don't want that kind of attention while riding the train, especially if I'm going to the south-side of the city. Plus, I find ear-buds very uncomfortable. So I've been browsing around for some headphones, with prices no more than $100. But currently, I'm torn between the Shure E2c and the Sennheiser HD-280.

Shure E2c
I've read the reviews of this product and most were positive. I'm sure these babies will deliver sterling sounds. They're also small. So there's a lesser chance of me getting mugged. However, these are canalphones. I haven't tried it but a lot of people find them uncomfortable.



Sennheiser HD-280
I had a demo of this product some years ago, and it did blow my mind away. The headphones also costs almost $400 back then. Now, I can get it for $100 at Dell. Since it's an on-ear headphone, I'd be more comfortable with it. The only problem is: it's big and flashy.


So there, I haven't decided which headphone to purchase. Should I go with the stealthier and much more uncomfortable Shure E2c? Or should I choose the comfort of the Sennheiser HD-280 but risk myself of being mugged?

Symbiote, Venom, and Gwen Stacy

I caught spidey today, and it's great. The movie wasn't just about hero vs. villains, it was more like hero vs. issues. Venom, The Sandman, and The Hobgoblin were just there to complicate things -and amuse the bloodthirsty crowd. The ending was good too since there's a closure (unlike X-Men: The Last Stand). Plus, they've finally decided to include Gwen Stacy (Spider-Man's first love in the comics).

Disturbia

After 3 weeks of being #1 in the box office, I decided to go and see Disturbia. The movie is tagged as a thriller but it never felt like one since the mood of the film jumps from scene to scene. There's drama, romance, and comedy. I don't think much of the movie but it's fun and easy to watch. Plus, the main character's room and his gadgets were pretty awesome.

Everything ZEN

In my previous post, I mentioned that I got an mp3 player (Creative ZEN Vision:M) with a broken battery, and that I have to wait for Best Buy to have the item in stock so I could replace it. Well, after two agonizing weeks, I finally got my item swapped with a working one. I must say that it is one fine mp3 player.

Enlightenment through ZEN.

As to why I chose the ZEN is simple: the file support and the features. As a Windows user, I was really looking for a video/mp3 player with WMV and DivX support, and only the ZEN has that capability. In addition, it also supports audio file like WMA and WAV, and photo files like JPEG and BMP. The features aren't bad either. The screen is amazing, my photos and videos never looked so vibrant. It's easy to use with all the buttons that functions similarly to a mouse. It also has some nice features like voice recording (this will be handy when I go back to school), FM tuner, and organizer.

On the downside, however, the design is really grotesque. It's thick, probably the thickest hard drive mp3 player in the market right now. It also scratches easily, and it's even more visible on the black player. Plus, the black player also looks ridiculous with its white back. The vertical touch pad is also quite sensitive, which can be somewhat annoying at times. There's a way to adjust its sensitivity but there's only three options (high, medium, low) which don't do much at all.

ZEN in a box and Dlo leather case.

But all in all, with its design flaws, I still love my player because it delivers and has exceeded my expectations. Now, all I have to do is fill it up with music and anime fansubs. I already started ripping my albums, so I only have a couple of stuff in it (Tool, Faith No More, Fugazi, The Mars Volta and some Samurai Champloo episodes to be specific).