So what's a good MP3 player?

[corruptedpotato]

Before anyone asks, yes, I do have a smartphone, but it's a Chinese one that, while performs okay, doesn't have the best sound. I'm currently using my old phone, an old blackberry, but it doesn't have much storage. It does have an SD card slot, but this was a temporary solution in the first place, so I figured I may as well begin looking for a proper MP3 player.

 

Info about what I'm using it for and preferences:

• Decent sound, I'm not particularly picky, but I don't want something that sounds like crap. I want something that will get me the most out of my $200 IEMs
• I'll only be using this for music, other functionality would be nice, but I don't need it
• Something under $150, willing to go higher if it's worth it
• Battery life should be decent, not necessary, but I'd prefer it if I didn't have to charge it everyday
• Again, another preference, but something that will let me change songs/volume without having to take it out of my pocket

 

[madscientist56]

Use your phone

If not buy an old unlocked Droid or something, I did this with my drain incredible for a while

[dizmo]

SanDisk SansaClip?

They make a few different types. Expandable via microSD.

[EmotionalSloth]

iPod nano or touch

[EmotionalSloth]

Use your phone

If not buy an old unlocked Droid or something, I did this with my drain incredible for a while

off topic but ur profile pic just fucked my mind lmao

[theKumba]

iPod all the way. It's the only MP3 player I would recommend.

[Rekx]

Why not buy a dac/amp?

[Johannes_Lazor]

I also have a Chinese phone, Android ice cream sandwich, Works pretty well, Exept for the sound. My way of going past the bad sound is using Bluetooth headphones, I get clearer an sound and better base.
I think it is called "Android StarTurbo Note" it looks like a galaxy note but it is not as wide.

[Flyguygamer]

http://www.amazon.com/Music-Player-Voice-Recorder-Radio/dp/B00AF40U5G/ref=pd_bxgy_e_text_y

 

[Uber Hamburgler]

Since you're asking, I'm guessing you're not looking for an iPod.  The Sony Walkman is damn good:  http://store.sony.com/16gb-walkman-mp3-player-zid27-NWZE385BLK/cat-27-catid-All-MP3-Players
 

I own the (now discontinued) Bluetooth version and am very happy with it.  Most of the negative reviews seem to be from people that are looking for premium features in a midrange product.  For a mid-ranged product, it has one of the best DACs available for a mobile device and it produces some of the best sound I've heard through my DT 770s.

 

The Sansas are great as well; I'm a fan of the Fuze+, although I prefer the Sony.

 

Also look at Cowon.  The iAudio 9 is rather similar to the Walkman and iPod; but it is a premium product so expect to pay a premium price for it.

[corruptedpotato]

Why not buy a dac/amp?

I've looked into portable external DACs before, but they're quite pricy and won't work if the device only has a headphone jack (Not as a DAC at least, only as an amp)

[BenD]

apple did get that right... the ipod is my fav mp3 player by far.  i was sad when they took away the ipod classic, that thing was the perfect mp3 player!

[dizmo]

This is a pretty decent deal.

http://www.amazon.com/Fiio-X3-Mastering-Quality-Wolfson/dp/B00E9O6C96/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1411581246&sr=8-2&keywords=fiio+x1

 

All depends on how much capacity you want.

[Cupitor]

From K. Rockwell (he knows his audio)

"....Confirming what I hear with critical listening, the iPhone 5 is a wonderful high-fidelity audio source. While publications funded mostly by advertisements from makers of expensive cables, power conditioners and outboard DACs don't want you to know this, the iPhone 5 is a better audio source than most DACs will be when connected to a computer or CD transport. The only difference is that the iPhone has a level 6 dB lower than a proper CD player, but the iPhone still has more output at 1 V full-scale than some outboard audiophile DACs! (Stereophile wrote that "The iPod's measured behavior is better than many CD players" back when the iPod first came out and was only considered as a toy and not as a better player than most of the exotic fluff gear out today.)

The iPhone lacks a fan or hard drive, so it runs silently as it plays from its buffered solid-state memory.

The iPhone 5 has the additional benefits of being self-powered, so you have no ground loops as you will when using AC-powered gear or anything connected to a computer via a electrically conductive cable.

Ignore those who confuse the iPhone with crappy MP3 players; the iPhone has wonderful audio quality for serious music listening either directly with good or great headphones or plugged into the rest of your high fidelity system..."

He used serious (50k) gear to test the iPhone 5 specs.

Of interest, his high end headphone tests. The iPhone 5 DAC can drive 32ohm phones /w less artifacts/thd/odd harmonics etc. well...very well, beating (specs) out some very pricey dedicated HP DACS. Only (expected) issue is the consumer -6dB...not a problem. Was doing well @ 112 dB.

also worth noting is the jitter, or lack

Unlike external DACs which all pick up jitter as noise enters interconnects and confuses the clock recovery circuitry, CD players and iPods all use their own internal original clock signals to drive their DACs. In other words, one-box players never need to recover a clock because they still have it, while TOSLINK and SPDIF and USB all have to try to recreate the lost clock signal because those interfaces lack a dedicated, parallel clock signal connection.

In any case, the overall skirt is quite low, as good as a real CD player and better than many external DACs, but the individual spikes are a little higher.

I wouldn't worry about any of this; all these spikes are completely inaudible in the presence of the 10 kHz sine wave of which they are part (as the 10 kHz sine wave jitters it changes frequency), with the 10 kHz sine wave still 100 dB louder than any of the nearly identical (in frequency) spikes.

So...an unexpected burn for many ppl. The "old" iPhone beats out many discreet $$$ external DACs.