Which MP3 Player/DAP/Music Player should I get?

[ceejaytwoyoshi]

I've been thinking of getting a Digital Audio Player or DAP for listening to music, since I mostly just use my phone for listening to music that I have saved on my phone nowadays. For some reason, and in audiophile circles, they don't call it an 'MP3 Player' anymore, they just call it a DAP. I don't think I'm ever getting used to that.

Anyways, I was considering getting the Snowsky Echo Mini, but the thing is, it doesn't have native support for playlists within its firmware. As someone who listens to playlists more than albums (which is probably a habit i should try to break), this is kinda a turn off for me. I've seen some ways to work around this limitation, but it's usually more ideal to have playlist functionality from the get go. I know moving away from modern day conveniences is basically the point of using tech with old sensibilities, but I feel like excluding a feature like playlists is a step too far, but that's probably just me.

I could try and get an iPod. There's someone on Shopee (it's some e-commerce store in for South East Asian countries basically) reselling old iPods at around the same price of the average modern DAP. Some of them are even modded to have new batteries and internal storage, which is definitely something I didn't expect to see.

I could get one of the more modern mainstream DAPs, but a lot of them are (I assume) just Android phones with better DAC hardware and no 4G/5G network capabilities. I kinda just want one with physical controls. This isn't for any "old tech good new tech bad" reason, although that might be a part of it in a subconscious sort of sense, I just wanna use the playback buttons or iPod clickwheel like a fidget toy. You can't use a flat touchscreen brick like a fidget toy, I'm just saying.

What do you guys think? Is it worth it? Which one should I get in the big 26?


EDIT:
AS IT TURNS OUT there is a pretty neat piece of software that could be a workaround for Snowsky Echo Mini users who wish to use playlists.
It's called echolist.
If I decide to pull the trigger and get the Echo Mini, I could use this

[Melooon]

For the iPod v DAP question - It really comes down to how you are willing to collect and manage your music. iPods work best if you are a purist and you are willing to commit to iTunes and the apple way of doing things. iPods require your music to be in MP3, AIFF or M4A formats, they don't do FLAC - they also can't reliably handle anything above CD quality audio (16 bit 41 khz - they can sometimes pull 48k off, but it causes issues) - and at this point they are old and need maintenance and battery replacements every 5 years or so (I don't recommend using a clickwheel as a fidget toy, these are 20 year old devices and they need extra care and minimal manhandling)

If you can accept all of that, and you are going to keep your music in iTunes, and you are going to make your playlists in iTunes - then any iPod is a fantastic music player that is still a better overall experience than anything else made today. It will sit on a single charge for weeks, and the simplicity will force you to actually stop messing with the controls and just listen to what it plays.

You can use the half-way house of Rockbox on an iPod, that gives you flac support, and it frees you from iTunes, but it also basically removes all the benefits of simplicity that make the iPod so fantastic.

Touchscreen DAP's are for a totally different kind of person - they suit someone who is always skipping songs and jumping around and making playlists on their device. They can also stream from apps and home servers and they let you tinker with apps and themes etc. They are much better suited to someone who has lots of little music collections spread out, and wants to listen to them with different apps and be tinkering while they listen.

My personal recommendation to consider is to get an iPhone 4 or 4S (if you can find one for the equivalent of 20 euro). They are cheaper, they have good buttons and a headphone jack, a good DAC compared to most phones and batteries just need a screwdriver to replace. They can do the whole iTunes thing and be like an iPod, but you can also install alternative apps on them, theme them and use them like a PDA for notes and photos. The downside is they have much less storage, so you need to pick the music you put on them, but as a cheap entry, they are ideal!

[ceejaytwoyoshi]

holy shit it's melon!!! i didn't expect to see melon reply to my post but i don't mind

anyways, regarding your post...

For the iPod v DAP question - It really comes down to how you are willing to collect and manage your music. iPods work best if you are a purist and you are willing to commit to iTunes and the apple way of doing things. iPods require your music to be in MP3, AIFF or M4A formats, they don't do FLAC - they also can't reliably handle anything above CD quality audio (16 bit 41 khz - they can sometimes pull 48k off, but it causes issues) - and at this point they are old and need maintenance and battery replacements every 5 years or so (I don't recommend using a clickwheel as a fidget toy, these are 20 year old devices and they need extra care and minimal manhandling)

If you can accept all of that, and you are going to keep your music in iTunes, and you are going to make your playlists in iTunes - then any iPod is a fantastic music player that is still a better overall experience than anything else made today. It will sit on a single charge for weeks, and the simplicity will force you to actually stop messing with the controls and just listen to what it plays.

You can use the half-way house of Rockbox on an iPod, that gives you flac support, and it frees you from iTunes, but it also basically removes all the benefits of simplicity that make the iPod so fantastic.

I usually download my music through Soulseek, and manage my collection through MusicBee, which is does (I assume) most of the stuff that iTunes does without the whole Apple ecosystem thing. with that in mind, I'd probably use Rockbox instead of the native iPod firmware since I wouldn't benefit from using the native OS as someone who hasn't used iTunes or the rest of the Apple ecosystem.

Touchscreen DAP's are for a totally different kind of person - they suit someone who is always skipping songs and jumping around and making playlists on their device. They can also stream from apps and home servers and they let you tinker with apps and themes etc. They are much better suited to someone who has lots of little music collections spread out, and wants to listen to them with different apps and be tinkering while they listen.

I think that sorta fits me. I don't stream from apps anymore, and I usually just sync parts of my main music collection from my PC to my phone, but I do like the customizability that you'd get if you were to use Android devices, let alone an Android DAP. That's another reason why I wouldn't mind using Rockbox. They let you customize the UI with several community-made themes. It's pretty neat

I also tend to skip songs often and at some point I did try to make playlists just on my phone, only to realize that some apps are better suited to it than others, and I figured that I'd be better off syncing playlists from my PC to my phone, like I do with my music collection (or parts of it rather). Maybe I could look into getting an old iPod Touch?


I feel like I'm making this decision a lot harder for myself

[TheFrugalGamer]

So far, I've found that using an Android phone with a micro SD card slot and headphone jack has been enough for me. Those particular features are getting less popular these days with the manufacturers (certainly not with users!), so sometimes you have to pick up an older model for this (mine's a Samsung A14), and then you have your pick of any Android app that plays local files. Symfonium and Poweramp are two good ones I've used.

There's also the Innoasis Y1 and Y2 if you'd like something that looks and feels like the original iPod. They've cloned the clickwheel and navigation style and the player is about the same size.

The HiBy R1 is another newer player that is Android based and has relatively good reviews, but it is touchscreen mainly. I agree with Melooon that touch controls are just better, but there seem to be compromises with all devices these days.

I saw your edit in the first post, hope you enjoy the Echo Mini! I've been thinking about picking that one up myself.