MP3 Players

[dcx4610]

Anyone have any recommendations for a decent portable MP3 player? It looks like most of what I'm finding are just generic off-brand devices or extremely expensive.

Yes, I know most people just use their phones for playing music portably these days but I have a massive music library that simply won't fit on my phone (thanks Apple for no expandable storage).

I did buy a Sandisk Clip and it's honestly pretty horrible. The sound quality is OK but it's just too basic and the folders are out of order.

I don't need something expensive since it's mostly just going to be for walking and work but I don't want total garbage either. Any recommendations? My only must-have is a SD Card/Micro SD Card slot.

[Hitman Horton]

Originally Posted by dcx4610

Anyone have any recommendations for a decent portable MP3 player? It looks like most of what I'm finding are just generic off-brand devices or extremely expensive.

Yes, I know most people just use their phones for playing music portably these days but I have a massive music library that simply won't fit on my phone (thanks Apple for no expandable storage).

I did buy a Sandisk Clip and it's honestly pretty horrible. The sound quality is OK but it's just too basic and the folders are out of order.

I don't need something expensive since it's mostly just going to be for walking and work but I don't want total garbage either. Any recommendations? My only must-have is a SD Card/Micro SD Card slot.

I have a Sansa Clip and I think it's great. That was going to be my recommendation.

[dcx4610]

Originally Posted by Hitman Horton

I have a Sansa Clip and I think it's great. That was going to be my recommendation.

I think my SanDisk is just a rebranded Sansa. It gets the job done but my folders are randomly out of order and doesn't make any sense. That might be the SanDisk OS vs. Sansa though.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by dcx4610

I think my SanDisk is just a rebranded Sansa. It gets the job done but my folders are randomly out of order and doesn't make any sense. That might be the SanDisk OS vs. Sansa though.

Couldn't tell if you knew by your post, but the Sansa clip is from Sandisk.

Very few companies still make new MP3 players, so your best bet might be to look for older options on ebay. Creative has made some quality players back in the day, though their OS may feel dated by today's standards (which is sadly true for most MP3 players). One of my favorite MP3 player brands was Sony. Their audio quality and interface were pretty nice.

They have higher end models, but this one was one of my favorites from back in the day

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-Walkman-.../dp/B000VAIMF4

[Al_The_Strange]

I have a higher-end player right now (an iBasso DX120). Been happy with the sound quality. Wouldn't recommend it though since it doesn't connect to the Internet at all (which isn't a problem for me) and its touch-screen is rather small (something I just put up with). It's also rather pricey.

I've been disappointed in the lack of good MP3 players in recent years, so I'm interested in seeing what other folks recommend too. For recommending an older player though, I really liked the Creative Zen Micro I used to have. Seemed like it had the best menu and button layout.

[dcx4610]

Totally forgot about the Creative players. It looks like the XiFi line looks pretty solid. I think I'll look into those.

[BiggusDickus]

I last had a chinese XDUOO X3 which i was drawn to mainly because it had dual MicroSD slots. It was a pretty good player, apart from the interface being a bit naff, and it did fry two of my microSD cards in its lifetime. Not sure i'd buy again

I upgraded a few years ago to a Cowon Plenue D unit, which I have to say is excellent, 32GB internal memory plus a microSD slot. Looking online though just now for newer models, dont seem to be any about so dont know if Cowon are still going...

[Alister_M]

Just get a cheap Android phone, it'll still work for music playback without a SIM and you can always connect to WiFi for software updates and such.

[red_5ive]

I have nothing objectively to contribute, but somehow this thread made me think of the Hideapod.

[avexhype]

i still love portable mp3 players. I suppose with the advent of cell phones it really diminished the wave of them. I like the Cowon u7 USB it has excellent sound quality. However it was in my trousers and got drenched in the washing machine.

[Steelmaker]

https://www.audiophileon.com/news/hd...player-top-10/