MP3 player?

[Smudger]

Anyone got any recommendations for a decent MP3 player? I'd need at least 16Gb, and I'm not interested in an iPod (I've seen my wife trying to update her playlist every year before holidays...)

I used to have a Sony NWZ-S639, which I loved, but it had an argument with a puddle so the screen doesn't work any more. I have been using my phone, but I find the sound quality's not as good as a dedicated player, and battery drain is a concern...

[Flibb]

Try the SanDisk range, most take SD cards. Look for reviews on anything but Ipod. If your realty bored you can even mod them.

[g8ina]

Ive just upgraded my trusty old iRiver H120 from its old 20GB HDD to a spankingly good 128GB SSD If you can even FIND an iRiver H series 2nd hand, bag it. Not only does it run Rockbox so you can play FLAC as well as WAV and MP3, but it also records in WAV, which I believe may be a unique feature.

[Dooms]

The SanDisk Clip range have always been a firm favorite for me, they are cheap, good quality sound and take MicroSD cards.

I always thought they were pretty indestructible as well but I managed to kill my last one by doing a 40m deep wreck dive with it in my pocket

[Smudger]

How's the sound quality on the Sandisks and iRivers?

What I really liked about the Sony I had was the sound quality, and the fact you should copy playlists from WMP, but the new versions seem to come with sound limiting, thanks to some EU directive...

[Dooms]

How's the sound quality on the Sandisks and iRivers?

What I really liked about the Sony I had was the sound quality, and the fact you should copy playlists from WMP, but the new versions seem to come with sound limiting, thanks to some EU directive...

I always found it great and the sound limiting was 'on by default' but could be disabled in the menu system.

http://www.engadget.com/products/san...ansa/clipplus/

[DanceswithUnix]

Get a phone with a better DAC/headphone amp stage?

[Smudger]

Get a phone with a better DAC/headphone amp stage?

Doesn't solve the battery issue. My Walkman used to last for a couple of weeks with using it twice a day for 1/2 an hour each. That same usage on a phone seems to use battery like a fat kid eats ice cream.

[DanceswithUnix]

Doesn't solve the battery issue. My Walkman used to last for a couple of weeks with using it twice a day for 1/2 an hour each. That same usage on a phone seems to use battery like a fat kid eats ice cream.

Seems odd, my Moto G streams over bluetooth to the car stereo and I use it as an mp3 player. Probably 20 mins in the car this morning on the school run and commute, another half hour at my desk through a pair of Sennheisers, Google says the music player accounts for 3% of the battery which currently says it is on 82% after unplugging at 7:30 this morning.

And now you made me want ice cream

[Unique]

i got a sansa clip plus just the other week. I'd read about them for a while and saw some good deals on them, and snapped up an 8gb model for £25 brand new. no mucking about, I stuck rockbox on and used a 64gb sdxc card, which last night I upgraded to a 128gb sdxc card formatted in fat32 and on both cards I filled solely with flac stuff, and it plays great, and it's tiny too. that's perhaps the only downside, the screen is tiny so you need to hold close to your face to see some of the text properly

I also have an ipod classic which I rockboxed to play flac after it lying around unused for a while. it was that which turned me on to the rockbox idea. I prefer the sansaclip as it let's me swap memory cards, and it now holds slightly more than my 120gb ipod

it does seem to be a popular choice with folk. mine also has a FM radio and it can record too. I think it uses the mic in the headphones. I haven't read up on it. you can usually get sansa clips from about £20 or a little less on ebay, depending on model. if you want to rockbox just google to check that model supports rockbox before you by. I think I got mine from mymemory

[outwar6010]

I would recommend a micro sd card if you have an android phone along with poweramp and doubletwist(to sync the music between your pc and phone) and an anker powerbank which can all be had quite cheap. I use to be in the mindset that its nicer to have dedicated devices but its not really needed anymore imho.

[g8ina]

I regularly play my iRiver into my Sennheiser 580s and am always amazed at how crisp it all sounds. I did have a Zero DAC for a while, and that was mind blowing using optical out from the iRiver. But it was stuck in the bedroom and didnt get enough use to warrant keeping the DAC.

Quite happy to demo if anyone is in the area.

[Smudger]

Now my searches have led me to Fiio units. Supposed to have amazing SQ, but the interface is rubbish. Hmm.

[Smudger]

Well, in a move that will almost definitely anger my wife, I went for the Sony NWZ-a15 Hi-Res player. I moved a few tracks onto it, happy with the sound. It also came with £25 of Qobuz voucher, for Hi-Res downloads. Decided on Fleetwood Mac's Rumours in 24/192 FLAC, and I have to say, I'm a convert. Now to re-rip all my CDs as FLAC...

[kalniel]

I'm a convert. Now to re-rip all my CDs as FLAC...

CDs are low quality you'll be looking for hi def downloads now

[Smudger]

Yees, Looking at the prices, it may take a while to build up the collection.

Mind you, Rumours was uncompressed on CD and sounded pretty good anyway, the hi-res version just has an extra level of sounds that make you go: 'Oh, I didn't realise that instrument was there'.