cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/23671247
I’m currently eyeing either an iPod classic 5th gen or a Surfans F20, but definitely want input and suggestions on getting a decent portable music player.
Basically, I’m trying to find something that has good audio quality, is not touch screen, reasonably durable, repairable, upgradable, etc. Big storage capacity is a plus. I don’t wanna stream from it or have Bluetooth, mainly just wanna play audio files I load onto there and listen with my ear monitors. Totally fine altering hardware and software in order to get it to the point that meets what I’m looking for.
Any recommendations for this? Many thanks.
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Hey there! My partner recently went through this whole process. They wanted something really sturdy and low-tech - for reference, they use a flip phone in regular life, so you get the idea. Specifically, the requirements were no touch screen, no Bluetooth, just load music files on there and be able to hit play and pause. They also had a fairly low budget.
We ended up choosing the Snowsky Mini. It’s light, pocket-sized, physical buttons, you can pop a micro SD in there to get up to 256GB of storage space. It sounds fantastic with a decent pair of earbuds.
I cannot speak to how repairable it is at the moment, and I will say that my partner is very careful with devices so I also can’t speak to how durable it is against someone clumsy like me. I’m also not a tech nerd so I can’t speak on altering hardware or software. But I can say that my partner loves it and has no complaints.
I also got one of these recently. The build quality wasn’t as good as I had hoped, but it’s a fun little device and seems like it’ll last a long time. The software is a tad low quality, and I’m worried that it’ll never be updated again since the device is apparently discontinued. On the flip side, it’s not bad for a cheap low power device, and it’s easy to navigate.
I love the physical buttons. That was a huge selling point for me.
This device does support Bluetooth, and I was able to pair it with the Beats Flex. It’s weird though because the player and headphones use different volume adjustments, which is one of my low-quality software complaints.
Personally, I would’ve rather had an iPod nano 3rd gen.
See if you can find an older Sony Walkman with an SD card slot.
iPod 5th with SSD is a good choice. Aim for 64MB RAM. iRiver H3xx series was the peak portable device, but that’s long ago. Also check the rockbox device list: https://www.rockbox.org/manual.shtml
I really like my Shanling Q1, but I definitely bought it before knowing to check reparability/bootloader access/etc. Might not be that advisable. But, it’s got physical buttons! Takes SD card so the memory is as big as you want it to be. Reads all the hifi formats ok, and you can use it as like a DAC interface for other devices too.
As a note, Tangara is for tech people who happen to like music, not for people who like music generally. It might get there eventually, but it sure as hell didn’t launch like that.
Source: got one for my spouse. It sits in a drawer.
I’m curious, what about it makes it for tech people who like music?
It’s not user friendly. If you’re looking for something anywhere near intuitive as an iPod was, it’s a long way away.
That said, it’s mostly a firmware issue, so it can get there, but it needs a lot of work. I’m hopeful that it will be better in a few years.
Edit: To answer your question, it’s a cool bit of tech, and it can play music, but it’s of interest as a bit of tech and not as a music player.
That looks really cool, but is too high for my price range unfortunately. I usually get nice things used (and reduced price) but this is too new to do that.
I found my Creative Nomad MuVo MP3-Player in a drawer recently. I haven’t used it in many years. I popped a rechargeable AAA battery in and it still worked like new. It’s basically a USB drive, but if you insert it into its battery compartment, it can play back music files stored on it.
Since I use smartphones, I use them now and don’t need an extra gadged for that. Still cool it lived way past its era and even retained its data, even though people told me mass storage wouldn’t be good for backups because it’s supposed to lose data after a some years. Didn’t happen here 👍
