Audio Any good audio/mp3 players?

[KAKAN]

I remember using a Transcend MP350 and loving it. I can't find anything similar to that anymore. Do you guys have any suggestions on the cheaper end (under 5k)?
Something like the MP350 or like an iPod Nano would be lovely, but those form factors don't seem to be very common.

Currently, the closest thing I could find to iPod Nano form factor are Ruizu X02 and everything that looks similar (Audiocular M61, Swofy something etc). Are those any good?

RUIZU X02 Mp3 Player

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AUDIOCULAR M61 Portable Mp3 Music Player

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I've heard so many mixed reviews about the Ruizu, some praising its audio and many saying it sounds very muffled... For reference, I have Truthear Holas and pretty much anything can drive it at normal volumes, with better DACs giving better sounds (Apple Type-C DAC is very good ngl). I also have a Poco F1 which I currently use for audio, but I'd like to have a separate device if possible.

Though, if possible, I'd want a more rugged looking and minimalist device like the Transcend MP350. Maybe I'm wishing for too much.

they just don't make 'em like that anymore

 

[JMak]

May be buy a pre owned ipod.
Conceptkart.com has most digital players for sale at this time..

Edit ; was a typo obviously

 

[calvin1719]

May be buy a pre owned ipod.
Conceptcart.com has most digital players for sale at this time..

https://conceptkart.com

cart leads to a domain sale page.
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@OP I think there's a couple of ipods for sale in the dealer section, if you want to go down that route.

 

[KAKAN]

https://conceptkart.com

cart leads to a domain sale page.
---
@OP I think there's a couple of ipods for sale in the dealer section, if you want to go down that route.

Works fine for me. How weird. The two links I shared at the start of the post are also from conceptkart.

There's also headphonezone, but they only have expensive items. And as much as I want an iPod, I'm only really interested in the iPod Nano 7th gen. Or perhaps the normal clickwheel one if it hasn't been scratched to death already lol

There's also an interesting item on Crowdfunding right now, but again, too niche and expensive:

Tangara

The music player you wish you had in the early 2000s

www.crowdsupply.com

Though it's FOSS and seems like a really good device.

 

[calvin1719]

Works fine for me. How weird. The two links I shared at the start of the post are also from conceptkart.

There's also headphonezone, but they only have expensive items. And as much as I want an iPod, I'm only really interested in the iPod Nano 7th gen. Or perhaps the normal clickwheel one if it hasn't been scratched to death already lol

There's also an interesting item on Crowdfunding right now, but again, too niche and expensive:

Tangara

The music player you wish you had in the early 2000s

www.crowdsupply.com

Though it's FOSS and seems like a really good device.

Jmaks link was cart, mine is kart.

 

[B_the_B]

I bought one of those Chinese make mp3 players from concept kart for gifting to my niece (it was cute little nugget with bunny ears). But sadly, the sound quality was terrible. I had to return it and concept kart would not even give me a refund. I had to settle for store credit. I would assume the sound quality from these ruizu/audiocular mp3 players to not be any better. If you decide to go the ch-fi route, at least order from reputed sites like amazon where you can return it for a full refund in case you don't like it.

Also, if you know someone who can bring things over from the US, you can consider a few models from AGPTEK (A02, A02X, U3, etc.). These seem to have good reviews on Amazon.com. And, there's a cool android based iPod clone for 50 $, called Innioasis Y1. It apparently has some UI quirks, but most say the sound quality is good. I missed the mark in getting one myself as a close relative was returning from US, but I couldn't place the order in time.

Sony still sells their entry level walkman model - nw e394 (8 gigs storage, no sd card slot, micro usb for charging, plastic body panels, low res screen, but simple + no fuss UI) for 6K.

Also, check out a portable speaker called the pagaria grenade. It has a tiny display capable of displaying basic info like folder name, song name, etc. essentially making it an mp3 player. It sounds pretty good too. Only negative is that the headphone output could have been better (slightly lacking in bass). It's not as bad as the Chinese one, but still not as good as a modern smartphone.

 

[ibose]

And here I am missing my Rockboxed SanDisk Sansa Clip+ ... sigh. WD acquired SanDisk but they still list the Sansa players. Only thing is that they are not available here.

 

[Vagabond]

Check "Ipod Classic + Rockbox" .... Pretty good with FLAC playback....

 

[B_the_B]

My sister and I nagged my father enough to persuade to him to buy us both mp3 players when we were in college (2006 ish). I remember purchasing two identical transcend t.sonic 615 mp3 players from oasis IT store in Ritchie street, Chennai. It was paired with the creative ep-630 for servicing my audio canals. The tiny screens on them were good enough for browsing through your music collection and knowing what's playing currently, and I remember the sound quality being really good.

Once, I was completely spooked when a sinister theme music from a Tamil film that had been in my collection played suddenly in the random order when I was walking from the "computer lab" in my college back to the hostel well past midnight. Jitters aside, I could still appreciate the sound the little nugget was able to put out.

 

[Ssreek]

I have a small question, if you don’t mind. How do you download/stream songs with these mp3 players?

With high quality streaming available like tidal, apple music etc., and also you have an IEM, so wouldn’t it be more convenient to use a phone rather than hassling with an MP3 player?

 

[ibose]

How do you download/stream songs with these mp3 players?

Connect to a computer and copy across the files or pop in a sd card with your files.

With high quality streaming available like tidal, apple music etc., and also you have an IEM, so wouldn’t it be more convenient to use a phone rather than hassling with an MP3 player?

We are talking something much much smaller and, hence, more convenience for some use cases unlike the big giants that hang in your pockets. Also you need not worry about availability of internet.

 

[Ssreek]

Connect to a computer and copy across the files or pop in a sd card with your files.

We are talking something much much smaller and, hence, more convenience for some use cases unlike the big giants that hang in your pockets. Also you need not worry about availability of internet.

So basically sail the seas and download mp3/aac/flac and then copy them to the device. I've been doing something almost similar.
Only hassle is, you realize you wanna hear a song all of a sudden and then have to grab the phone.
For me it works okay during jogging, a small device instead of phone.

 

[B_the_B]

Music streaming can be a double edged sword. When we were confined to offline music, I remember, my taste in music (good or bad) was pretty well defined. I could at least tell my top 5 bands at any given time. With music streaming, and the sea of music it gives us access to, I find that I've lost that ability, as it has reduced my "attention span" so to speak. It's easier to be thinking "what next" than "ok, let me savour this".

 

[KAKAN]

With high quality streaming available like tidal, apple music etc., and also you have an IEM, so wouldn’t it be more convenient to use a phone rather than hassling with an MP3 player?

My phone battery is almost always dead when I return from office, at around 40%ish. That's good for maybe an hour of listening. Having a separate device would mean I could just keep on playing music at both office and home without worrying of losing charge on my phone, or on the MP3 player, since most just last really long.

Check "Ipod Classic + Rockbox" .... Pretty good with FLAC playback....

Yeah, I was thinking of that way, but 2nd hand iPods in India are pretty expensive for their value, and I don't like their form factor much lol
And if I was about to go bonkers on music quality, I'd be looking at Tangara or something.
Except for iPod Nano 7th gen, which I love. Gosh, I wish we made more clones of that...

Also, if you know someone who can bring things over from the US, you can consider a few models from AGPTEK (A02, A02X, U3, etc.). These seem to have good reviews on Amazon.com. And, there's a cool android based iPod clone for 50 $, called Innioasis Y1. It apparently has some UI quirks, but most say the sound quality is good. I missed the mark in getting one myself as a close relative was returning from US, but I couldn't place the order in time.

AGPTEK is the OEM, while Ruizu and Audiocular just sell AGPTEK's products under a different brand from what I've gathered so far. Also, reviews seem to say Ruizu actually sounds decent to good? Maybe the kid-modelled one just sounds bad xD
But yeah, will definitely consider Amazon.

Innioasis Y1

Looks interesting ngl!
Also, so niche, it kinda reminds me of Famue haha

Sony still sells their entry level walkman model - nw e394 (8 gigs storage, no sd card slot, micro usb for charging, plastic body panels, low res screen, but simple + no fuss UI) for 6K.

Are they good? I don't like micro-USB, but Sony is pretty much the only trusted/known brand with a still-available MP3 player under 10k.

Also, check out a portable speaker called the pagaria grenade. It has a tiny display capable of displaying basic info like folder name, song name, etc. essentially making it an mp3 player. It sounds pretty good too. Only negative is that the headphone output could have been better (slightly lacking in bass). It's not as bad as the Chinese one, but still not as good as a modern smartphone.

Damn, this is so cute hahaha.

Thank you so much, @B_the_B! Your post has been very helpful

And here I am missing my Rockboxed SanDisk Sansa Clip+ ... sigh. WD acquired SanDisk but they still list the Sansa players. Only thing is that they are not available here.

Me too... My friend had one Sansa model, I used it to try Rockbox haha
It was so good, and it lasted basically forever (as long as you're playing MP3s that it supported originally iirc)

So basically sail the seas and download mp3/aac/flac and then copy them to the device. I've been doing something almost similar.
Only hassle is, you realize you wanna hear a song all of a sudden and then have to grab the phone.

True. In my case, I basically have a playlist or two, and I keep on listening to them on repeat for most of the time. I don't think I'd miss having a phone, since I basically do the same thing there.
One thing I would miss is tracking my listening habits using Pano Scrobbler haha

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I tried editing my first post, but realised I can no longer edit it. So, I'm putting it here instead:
Here's the list of devices that are on my radar for now

1. Pagaria Grenade
2. AGPTEK
3. Innioasis Y1
4. Sony NW-E394

 

[B_the_B]

And here I am missing my Rockboxed SanDisk Sansa Clip+ ... sigh. WD acquired SanDisk but they still list the Sansa players. Only thing is that they are not available here.

You're right. 2 - 3 weeks back, I saw Walmart was having a few pieces of the "Clip jam" in stock. But sandisk should have never replaced the clip plus with the clip jam.

AGPTEK is the OEM, while Ruizu and Audiocular just sell AGPTEK's products under a different brand from what I've gathered so far. Also, reviews seem to say Ruizu actually sounds decent to good? Maybe the kid-modelled one just sounds bad xD
But yeah, will definitely consider Amazon.

They all look the same, so I am confused too. Unless someone did an A-B comparison, we may never know.

Are they good? I don't like micro-USB, but Sony is pretty much the only trusted/known brand with a still-available MP3 player under 10k.

I've tried my friend's cheaper stick type walkman mp3 player and I remember it sounded pretty good. So, I'm guessing this one should be equally good if not better.

Damn, this is so cute hahaha.

Ikr. we mostly use it when doing chores, playing music through the speaker.

I tried editing my first post, but realised I can no longer edit it. So, I'm putting it here instead:
Here's the list of devices that are on my radar for now

1. Pagaria Grenade
2. AGPTEK
3. Innioasis Y1
4. Sony NW-E394

Hey, if you have means for getting the innioais, please let me know. I'd like one too.