Part of conclusion:

It sounds like I am bashing this product at times but in fact that is not my objective. The thing is I have been into high end audio for a long time and I consider myself pretty experienced in what good sound is like. So my review is slightly biased towards sound quality. If I let anyone else who is not into high end audio listen to this player they usually say it sounds just great and there's nothing is wrong with it.

Frankly, in the sound department this player sounds quite good with the KSC-35's and an AMP or even without one (at least to the untrained ear) but do not expect much with high end stuff. Most people would enjoy this combo and would live happily ever after.

The estimated price of the CD-MP3 player is 395/- UAE Dirhams which roughly translates to about 107US Dollars. At that price this player does not turn out to be a bargain. A quick search on the internet yielded many stores selling the RioVolt SP-100 for 98$ or slightly more. The Rio has 8 different EQ settings, WMA & ASF files support, upgradeable firmware, AC adaptor, carrying case etc.. All of which the Creative player is lacking. Some companies like iRiver are even throwing in CD burning software to get everyone started with their player. Even Philips, for an almost similar price has been bundling car kits and other accessories with their players.

Seriously, I had expected a lot from a company like Creative especially something on the lines of a good bundle of accessories, upgradeable firmware like their Nomad Jukebox and so on. This time Creative failed to amaze me and I for one expect a sharp drop in prices.