Sansa Nation

With the price drop on the iPod Shuffle it’s getting even harder for the Sansa to compete with the hugely popular iPod. Anythingbugipod did a great comparison of the Sansa Clip and the screenless iPod Shuffle. While many people still swear by their iPods, the review below clearly shows the Sansa to the better choice.

-Ray

Price

It’s tough to argue this one. This clip retails for $10 to $15 cheaper in similar capacities. 1GB versions sell for $35 and 2GB versions sell for $55. There will also be a 4GB Clip come may for $80. Apple doesn’t have a 4GB and frankly a 4GB screenless MP3 player doesn’t sound too appealing.

Design

The iPod shuffle has this one in the bag. It’s half the size and made of sexy anodized aluminum.

Winner: iPod Shuffle

Supported Formats

Shuffle: MP3, AAC, WAV, AA, AIFF. Clip: MP3, WMA, WAV, AA. Debating this from a qualitative standpoint it’s hard to just hand over the crown to the shuffle since it supports one rarely used format over the Clip. I would say this is a tie, but for sake of having to listen to fanboy cries. We will give the Shuffle this one on sheer numbers.

Winner: iPod Shuffle

Usability

The Clip has a screen, ability to make on the go playlists, non proprietary USB connection; the Shuffle has none of these. There are others but I won’t pour salt into the wounds.

Winner: Sansa Clip

OS compatibility

The Shuffle works for Windows and Mac and uses a proprietary transfer protocol. Therefore you must use iTunes to transfer and manage your music. The Clip works with any OS that accepts a standard MSC disk drive including Windows, Linux, and Mac. You do not need to install any drivers or software for any OS. In addition to the MSC protocol, you can switch it to MTP which allows for more advanced playlist features and compatibility with music services.

Winner: Sansa Clip

Music Service Compatibility

The huffle allows for DRM content download purchases through iTunes and obviously DRM free content providers. The Clip allows this through a hand full of providers plus it allows for the user of monthly all you can download subscription services such as Rhapsody and Napster. The Clip is also a nice companion to Zune owners in that they can simultaneously use their Zune marketplace subscription on the Clip in addition to two other Zunes.

Winner: Sansa Clip

Sound Quality

The Shuffle doesn’t sound bad, it just sounds very lacking in dynamics when paired up with an expensive set of headphones. When the initial press release was out on the Clip it stated that it had the best sound quality on the market. I sneered at that statement and I could not wait to get my hands on one and bust their marketing hype, you know how much I love marketing hype. =P But I could not bust that marketing hype, it sounds fantastic paired up with my Future Sonics Atrio IEM and it even plays very well with my Sennheiser HD650s on a Cardas cable. There are plenty of people to back me up on this too. Martin, abi’s in-house headphone expert and reviewer has paired his up with a custom cable, Headsix Amp, and Sennheiser HD650’s. He states that it’s the best sound stage he has come across in an MP3 player.

Winner: Sansa Clip

Features

This one is a landslide. The Clip has a screen, EQ, FM radio, voice recording, multiple OS support, MTP/MSC user select and I’m sure there are other subjective features.

Winner: Sansa Clip

Buy what you like

The fanboys may say “…but I don’t want a Clip”. If you like the Shuffle better based on looks and support for iTunes, that’s fine. But please stop the uninformed rhetoric and senseless bashing of products you know nothing about. I hope I have enlightened you at least a little.

[Source: anythingbutipod ]

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