Any recommended MP3 Players/DAPs?

[tech3475]

I currently have a Sansa+ with Rockbox as an MP3 player for around the house but it's starting to feel it's age/limitations, mainly battery life and navigation, so I'm looking to replace it and maybe to upgrade at the same time.

I'm ideally after a dedicated DAP which has physical buttons for controls (i.e. play/pause/next/previous/vol), headphone jack and is relatively easy to navigate, the former being why I don't want to just use an old smartphone and/or some remote.

Whilst not a high priority, being able to use it as a USB DAC would also be nice.

My budget is around £300 and I prefer Amazon UK due to their returns policy (i.e. I can try it) and I have gift card credit on there.

Looking around, I know the Sony Walkman NW-A306 is around my budget at £320, which has mixed user reviews. Although this does have the advantage of supporting my Android music sync software and services such as Apple Music (which I subscribe to).

Any other recommended devices?

Thank you.

 

[cearp]

I have a walkman nw-a45 - I think this (or maybe the next model?) were the last ones which DON'T use android.
Which means better battery life. Annoyingly it uses the WM port, not usb c.
You can have it work as a USB DAC.
'mr walkman' makes a good hack for it and similar models which add some nice little improvements.
But as it's a bit old now, you might not be able to buy it new from Amazon, but I do recommend it!

 

[Scarlet]

I can recommend FiiO as a general brand for sure. I daily drive the M11 Plus, and it's absolutely stellar. It does do everything you're wanting, but its RRP is double what you're looking to pay.

Might be worth looking up reviews for some of the lighter stuff in their range though, I've really only heard good things.

 

[tech3475]

I have a walkman nw-a45 - I think this (or maybe the next model?) were the last ones which DON'T use android.
Which means better battery life. Annoyingly it uses the WM port, not usb c.
You can have it work as a USB DAC.
'mr walkman' makes a good hack for it and similar models which add some nice little improvements.
But as it's a bit old now, you might not be able to buy it new from Amazon, but I do recommend it!

Unfortunately they don’t seem to make it anymore.

I can recommend FiiO as a general brand for sure. I daily drive the M11 Plus, and it's absolutely stellar. It does do everything you're wanting, but its RRP is double what you're looking to pay.

Might be worth looking up reviews for some of the lighter stuff in their range though, I've really only heard good things.

Fiio was the first brand I looked at after remembering some in budget old models from years ago, but the cheapest model I saw on Amazon was about £200 over my budget, the m11 plus being double.

It seems like allot of them are now going for the Android approach, likely because of streaming.

 

[Xzi]

Learned about the Surfans F20 HiFi player from Dankpods on Youtube, been amazing since I bought it. Solid construction/design, a physical click wheel instead of a touchscreen, and a very reasonable price point.

 

[Project68K]

clip jam
sandisk

 

[tech3475]

Has anyone used Apple music with the Android DAPs? I have a subscription and realised I can stream lossless and high quality music through it.

 

[Ryccardo]

If you're fine with "syncing" (not that bad when you can use foo_dop, sharepod 3.9.7, and gtkpod) an older iPod is hard to beat, the pre-indexed database does have its merits (and you can always switch to Rockbox with the right models, but for all its different merits I don't like the control scheme much and who knows if/when the MPEG4 accelerator will be implemented - no regrets on the black and white models)

Got for cheap at CeX (like every other thing mentioned in this post) the waterproof 4GB MP3/WMA/AAC $ony in-ear player (Walkman N270, is it?) - works very nice and beats its "direct rival" iPod Shuffle in multiple ways, but is bad if used for more than a few minutes since it's in-ear

Speaking of said brand, how about a PSP? Best overall portable media center IMO (yes I do have a genuine 32 GB memory stick), great navigation, does the job, supports a good wired remote, a bit large though...

And yes, a Fiio X1 II - "it's OK", nice iPod wannabe with good format compatibility (easily beat by Rockbox of course...) but it runs hot, indexing is slow (comparable with Rockbox on an iPod - see, I did say having a Real Computer do the hard work has its merits), the controls are not very responsive and the UI is funny in a dispregiative way (downgrade to the penultimate version for some improvements here)

 

[tech3475]

If you're fine with "syncing" (not that bad when you can use foo_dop, sharepod 3.9.7, and gtkpod) an older iPod is hard to beat, the pre-indexed database does have its merits (and you can always switch to Rockbox with the right models, but for all its different merits I don't like the control scheme much and who knows if/when the MPEG4 accelerator will be implemented - no regrets on the black and white models)

Got for cheap at CeX (like every other thing mentioned in this post) the waterproof 4GB MP3/WMA/AAC $ony in-ear player (Walkman N270, is it?) - works very nice and beats its "direct rival" iPod Shuffle in multiple ways, but is bad if used for more than a few minutes since it's in-ear

Speaking of said brand, how about a PSP? Best overall portable media center IMO (yes I do have a genuine 32 GB memory stick), great navigation, does the job, supports a good wired remote, a bit large though...

And yes, a Fiio X1 II - "it's OK", nice iPod wannabe with good format compatibility (easily beat by Rockbox of course...) but it runs hot, indexing is slow (comparable with Rockbox on an iPod - see, I did say having a Real Computer do the hard work has its merits), the controls are not very responsive and the UI is funny in a dispregiative way (downgrade to the penultimate version for some improvements here)

All of those have issues one way or another.

I have used iPods w/ Rockbox in the past but a stock model wont suffice and the last time I tried to service one it didn't go well. RB also had weird stability issues which could cause crashing and can't use the iPod's DB.

PSP- way to big, although I give it props for having a removeable battery.

 

[Marc_LFD]

I just use my phone/tablet and connect it via the headphone jack, job done.

PowerAmp is a great music player on Android, but I remember there being a new and better app now, dunno what it's called. I've been using PA for many years and am very happy with it.

 

[tech3475]

I just use my phone/tablet and connect it via the headphone jack, job done.

PowerAmp is a great music player on Android, but I remember there being a new and better app now, dunno what it's called. I've been using PA for many years and am very happy with it.

Only alternative Android music player I’ve casually come across recommended is Neutron, IDK though whether it’s any good since I’ve used PA on my Android devices as well and don’t really feel the need to switch.

I’ve tried using just my mobile in the past, but found myself returning to using MP3 players in the end. I do find myself also using my ipad (mainly because it has a headphone jack) for Youtube, Spotify, etc. which is why I’m considering an Android based DAP.

 

[avdr]

My XDP-300R is on its fifth year now, ans is one of the best puchases I've made in these five years.

It's Android, but after rooting and Amplify gives ~10 hours of playback time and weeks on standby.