Ipod classic has a cheaper sound chip. And if you look back to previouis generations, where Zune and iPod had the same one, Zune sounded better. Because, iPod has cheaper internal engineering...
Ipod Or Zune - Pros and Cons
The Apple Ipod and the Microsoft Zune are the two best mp3 players in the world today. We are going to compare the Apple Ipod 80gb and the Microsoft Zune 80gb to see which would be the better buy for you. Lets compare these two players in some categories:
80gb Zune , 80gb Ipod 
1. Price -$249 , $249
2. Storage - 80gb , 80 gb
3. Wi-Fi - Yes , No
4. Wireless File Sharing - Yes , No
5. Wireless Sync - Yes , No
6. Landscape Mode - Yes , No
7. Portrait Mode - Yes , Yes
8. FM Tuner - Yes , No
9. Preloaded Audio - Yes , No
10. Preloaded Video - Yes , No
11. Max Battery Life - 30hrs , 30hrs
12. Custom Background - Yes , No
13. Screen Size - 3.2" , 2.5"
14. LCD Resolution - 320x240 , 320x240
15. Video Out - 720x576 , 640x480
16. USB - Yes , Yes
17. Social Networking - Yes , No
18. Weight - 4.5ounces , 4.9ounces
19. Width - 2.4" , 2.4"
20. Height - 4.25" , 4.1"
21. Thickness - 0.5" , 0.43"
22. Compatibility - PC , Mac, PC
The Zune's screen may be bigger but it has the same resolution as the iPod screen so you're better off with the iPod? I am overly satisfied with iTunes. The purchasing interface is easier to use than the Zune marketplace. Just one dollar a song, 2 dollars an episode and so forth and carries music videos. Zune Marketplace is not as easy. iTunes carries more music too. A shared song only last three days with Zune so to me it seems completely worthless and good luck finding someone with a Zune to trade with.
It absolutely perplexes me, when people come up with this bogus "why would I want a radio with a 250 dollar mp3 player". Well, some people like listening to the radio. For instance, I always listen to radio shows on stations such as hip/hop and rap. They are nice to listen to on the way home, and at work, some reasonable human beings might really want to listen to their favorite radio show at work. All these USELESS features that iPod lovers glorify, all they do is clutter the device. Keep it simple, a higher quality, MUSIC player is better than a device which tries to cram useless "stuff" to try to please everyone.
One issue though was that some people didn't like the Zune software. They always had problems with it, they found it to be not as easy to use as iTunes or even windows media player. What Microsoft was actually trying to do, I don't know,but I didn't like it at all. Just the software alone kept people from using my Zune, and it's a shame. Microsoft really has a great product on their hand, I would love for them to update their marketplace so it is more fluent though.
Ipod classic has a cheaper sound chip. And if you look back to previouis generations, where Zune and iPod had the same one, Zune sounded better. Because, iPod has cheaper internal engineering. Cheaper internal engineering, and a cheaper soundchip, and you have a music player who does not focus on music, but darnit if it doesn't have all those amazing features. Zune has a stronger, more durable build, which sounds better.
To see which is the overall better visit my blog at: http://iPod-or-Zune.blogspot.com/.
By Jeffrey Mayo
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/