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MP3/FLAC players besides a smartphone..

zrmaxwell
By zrmaxwell
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What MP3/FLAC player should i be looking at for the price of 250 USD or below? 

 

NOTE: DO NOT SAY "USE YOUR SMARTPHONE" or some stupid sh*t like that. I know i can use my smartphone for music, but what about the battery juice listening to music takes up? I might need that extra juice for important stuff that's not music, also, i don't have a headphone jack on my phone anymore. 

 

What are your recommendations?

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I've heard pretty good things recently about Sony's Walkman A series, specifically the Sony NW-A55. It's got 16gb of internal storage (plus a microSD card slot), decent sized display, and Sony claims it has 45 hours of battery life. It does have a proprietary charging cable, but the overall build quality seems to be very good. 

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I mean, if you really really don't want to use your phone....          .....there's always.......

Spoiler

image.png.b0fc65e052bf695931e345f3ea7e10ca.png

 

Sloth's the name, audio gear is the game
I'll do my best to lend a hand to anyone with audio questions, studio gear and value for money are my primary focus.
Click here for my Microphone and Interface guide, tips and recommendations
 

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14 hours ago, zrmaxwell said:

What MP3/FLAC player should i be looking at for the price of 250 USD or below? 

 

NOTE: DO NOT SAY "USE YOUR SMARTPHONE" or some stupid sh*t like that. I know i can use my smartphone for music, but what about the battery juice listening to music takes up? I might need that extra juice for important stuff that's not music, also, i don't have a headphone jack on my phone anymore. 

 

What are your recommendations?

If you could find a Cowon PD2 for cheap, that would be quite good.

 

Other options include Sony's Walkman series.

 

The Shanling M2X would be ideal if you're into Tidal streaming, but if you have local FLAC files, then other options would IMO be better.

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The nerdy route is to install Rockbox on something that's compatible. https://www.rockbox.org/

 

I did this on a sandisk device before switching to spotify for everything. Still have it sitting around somewhere.

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I would go the route of going with a lg v20 v30,v40 as they have good dacs and pretty good amps , good storage expendability and all the perks that come with phones. aside form that look for hiby r3 pro is supposed to be pretty good

 

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13 hours ago, The Flying Sloth said:

I mean, if you really really don't want to use your phone....          .....there's always.......

  Hide contents

image.png.b0fc65e052bf695931e345f3ea7e10ca.png

 

Haha. You're funny..

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2 hours ago, rice guru said:

I would go the route of going with a lg v20 v30,v40 as they have good dacs and pretty good amps , good storage expendability and all the perks that come with phones. aside form that look for hiby r3 pro is supposed to be pretty good

 

Found the HIBY R3 Pro on MusicTeck. Thanks for the recommendation! 

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3 hours ago, ShearMe said:

The nerdy route is to install Rockbox on something that's compatible. https://www.rockbox.org/

 

I did this on a sandisk device before switching to spotify for everything. Still have it sitting around somewhere.

I had rockbox on an old iPod a long time ago, but the battery was shot, so i gave up on it. I also want an mp3 player that has the ability to lock the screen..

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18 hours ago, bellabichon said:

I've heard pretty good things recently about Sony's Walkman A series, specifically the Sony NW-A55. It's got 16gb of internal storage (plus a microSD card slot), decent sized display, and Sony claims it has 45 hours of battery life. It does have a proprietary charging cable, but the overall build quality seems to be very good. 

The sony walkman A-Series DAPs are said to be awesome, but that bloody WM PORT connection looks stupid.. Any idea on where to get a spare WM PORT cable from a reputable seller? 

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8 minutes ago, zrmaxwell said:

The sony walkman A-Series DAPs are said to be awesome, but that bloody WM PORT connection looks stupid.. Any idea on where to get a spare WM PORT cable from a reputable seller? 

You're the one who bought the phone without a headphone jack, if I were you I wouldn't be arguing about that bloody connection looking stupid.....

Sloth's the name, audio gear is the game
I'll do my best to lend a hand to anyone with audio questions, studio gear and value for money are my primary focus.
Click here for my Microphone and Interface guide, tips and recommendations
 

For advice I rely on The Brains Trust :
@rice guru- Headphones, Earphones and personal audio for any budget 
@Derkoli- High end specialist and allround knowledgeable bloke

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1 minute ago, The Flying Sloth said:

You're the one who bought the phone without a headphone jack, if I were you I wouldn't be arguing about that bloody connection looking stupid.....

i explained my reasons for wanting to use a separate music player. Believe it or not, people like that do exist. My phone doesn't have a headphone jack, but all of the decent to good phones on the market are headphone jack-less anyway. 

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1 hour ago, zrmaxwell said:

i explained my reasons for wanting to use a separate music player. Believe it or not, people like that do exist. My phone doesn't have a headphone jack, but all of the decent to good phones on the market are headphone jack-less anyway. 

I use a btr5 to solve that issue. also I asked around and I was suggested the fiio m7 as well

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5 minutes ago, rice guru said:

I use a btr5 to solve that issue. also I asked around and I was suggested the fiio m7 as well

Oh cool. I will look into the fiio M7. As far as the btr5 goes, how long would you say the battery lasts for?

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1 minute ago, zrmaxwell said:

Oh cool. I will look into the fiio M7. As far as the btr5 goes, how long would you the battery lasts for?

8 and a half to 9 hours. a full work day for me. if you want more batterry life the shanling up4 exists its a warmer sound and has more powerful unbalanced output but its performance wired is worse than the btr5 

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1 minute ago, rice guru said:

8 and a half to 9 hours. a full work day for me. if you want more batterry life the shanling up4 exists its a warmer sound and has more powerful unbalanced output but its performance wired is worse than the btr5 

I'll have a look. Thanks for the recommendation..

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At these prices you might as well just buy a second phone for listening to music, one with a headphone jack.

Sloth's the name, audio gear is the game
I'll do my best to lend a hand to anyone with audio questions, studio gear and value for money are my primary focus.
Click here for my Microphone and Interface guide, tips and recommendations
 

For advice I rely on The Brains Trust :
@rice guru- Headphones, Earphones and personal audio for any budget 
@Derkoli- High end specialist and allround knowledgeable bloke

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15 hours ago, The Flying Sloth said:

At these prices you might as well just buy a second phone for listening to music, one with a headphone jack.

Apple still sells the iPod touch 

Dirty Windows Peasants :P ?

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Sony's a55 or a40

I personally own a Sony NW e394

Its 16gb and plays flacs as aac

but I love it

mine https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1234299-REG/sony_nwe394_r_8gb_nw_e394_series_walkman.html?sts=pi-ps&pim=Y

a55 https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1538967-REG/sony_nwa55_b_a55_walkman_digital_music.html

a review of the a55

the nw 45 https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1362077-REG/sony_nwa45_b_a45_digital_music_player.html

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7 hours ago, sub68 said:

Sony's a55 or a40

I personally own a Sony NW e394

Its 16gb and plays flacs as aac

but I love it

mine https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1234299-REG/sony_nwe394_r_8gb_nw_e394_series_walkman.html?sts=pi-ps&pim=Y

a55 https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1538967-REG/sony_nwa55_b_a55_walkman_digital_music.html

a review of the a55

the nw 45 https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1362077-REG/sony_nwa45_b_a45_digital_music_player.html

The Sony NW A45 is still available? Wow.. I thought they would have killed it off to make room for the NW-A55. Anyway, thanks for the recommendations.

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23 hours ago, The Flying Sloth said:

At these prices you might as well just buy a second phone for listening to music, one with a headphone jack.

Sorry, but I'd rather have a dedicated music player.. (My preference, really)

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1 hour ago, zrmaxwell said:

Sorry, but I'd rather have a dedicated music player.. (My preference, really)

Pretty much an iPod or a Walkman then 

Dirty Windows Peasants :P ?

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5 hours ago, Lord Vile said:

Pretty much an iPod or a Walkman then 

Ok

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