Well, when you say it with such absolute conviction, of course you must be right. Who cares about RMAA measurements or lab geeks who say that sound quality these days is determined more by earphones and file format. Or about toptenreviews.com whose 2011 review puts Zen at number 5, behind ipod touch and nano. ;-)

I've got two questions for you.....first, does sound quality matter most to you? If not, don't bother reading the rest. But if yes, have you actually put the two products side by side and listened to them yourself? If not, then you can probably finish the sentence. <s>

I've read those reviews. The iPod comes out on top in many reviews because of the overall features. I'll grant, the iPod has more features than what the Zen has had. (Though the most recent Zen, which I don't own, beats the iPod on features and screen display).

But independent reviews (even those that like the iPod in general) on sound quality have acknowledged that Creative's SNR ratio is better. To a casual music listener who doesn't care as much about bit rate and decoders and SNR, the two sound the same. But anyone who wants to hear "Birth of the Cool" sound as cool as can be, the Zen edges or beats the iPod.

I've researched MP3 and PMP players for years, because music is a very serious hobby of mine. And the statement about sound quality being determined by other factors doesn't address the fact that many have compared the 2 side by side with the same earphones and found the Zen to have a fuller and richer sound, and that many view Creative's decoder as better than Apple's. If I can listen to the same track on both devices with the same earbuds and notice a difference in quality, then there are other factors.

Here's a link for you:

"Creative Zen Tops Scientific List of Audiophile MP3 Players"
http://www.wired.com/listening_post/2008/06/creative-zen-to/

And other one...
http://www.daniusoft.com/tutorial/ipod-zen1.html