Best non-apple MP3 player?

Pistov · 15 Jul 2015 at 17:15

Do people even use MP3 players any more or do they just use their phones?

I've never had a need for portable music until now because I'll be living without a computer or car for three months. I will have my phone but the battery dies quickly and the storage is low. I'm looking for an mp3 player with good quality sound, as high a storage capacity as possible, and good battery life. I'm not interested in using it for anything other than playing from a large library of music. Does anybody have any recommendations? I know the Creative Zen players used to be popular but these show up on the creative site as archived products; does that mean they're old and have been discontinued?

rids57 · 15 Jul 2015 at 17:34

At the cheap end is the Sandisk Sansa Clip which comes in 4GB or 8GB flavours and has a slot for a memory card which allows for a massively expanded storage size. Available for £36 for the 8GB model.

From there the sky is the limit, I use a FiiO X1 with a 32GB micro-SD card, which plays most file formats including MP3 and FLAC and quality up to 24 bit 192kHz lossless. These sell for just under £100. There is also a FiiO X3 (v2) for £160 and the FiiO X5 (v2) for £290.

There are a ton of players available all the way up to the Astell & Kern 240 which sells for over £2000.

Generally you'll find that anything with a powerful DAC and headphone amp will have a battery life of 10 to 12 hours. My old Cowon D2, which only played MP3 or OGG files had a ridiculous battery life of over 50 hours but it's sound quality, while good, wasn't up to the standard set by the X1.

smilertoo · 15 Jul 2015 at 20:24

A new ipod touch came out today if youre willing to forego your apple hatred.

NirK · 15 Jul 2015 at 21:59

Sansa clip+ is a really good MP3 player. Stick a large microSD card in and you have a 40Gb+ MP3 player for less than £50 total.

With IEM you don't need a powerful amp and the sound quality is good... I am happy with the clip+ and Shure SE215 for portable.

C64 · 15 Jul 2015 at 22:21

Depends which headphones you plan on using if you have high quality headphones then you'll be wanting a headphone amp + mp3 player or all in one unit like the x3.
No point having a hq dac and headphone amp with £20 headphones.You are better off putting most of the budget in to the headphones/earphones and getting a sansa clip + cheap headphone amp than x3 and £20 earphones.

Digipact · 19 Jul 2015 at 19:35

I use the Sansa clip+ with a 32gb microSD card. I have also installed rockbox firmware on the device. Sandisk's firmware is restrictive to a certain degree, with RB you can get so much extra out of that little player. http://www.rockbox.org/

Honestly for the cost of the 4GB model (£35-40) it's probably the only player worth getting outside of high end stuff. Don't be put off by the price of this thing, it has better sound quality than an ipod, not that thats a difficult feat mind you.

Lakeland · 19 Jul 2015 at 19:52

smilertoo said:
A new ipod touch came out today if youre willing to forego youre apple hatred.

Apple hatred, seriously? Comments like this are what fuel stupid apple arguments.

OP, depending on your budget I think it's best to replace your phone with something else like the Sony Z3, or perhaps a phone with a replaceable battery, it's always a pain carrying a phone and an mp3 player

Hxc · 19 Jul 2015 at 20:11

Fiio X1/X3/X5 depending on budget.

Ryanr1987 · 19 Jul 2015 at 20:36

Under £100 I really like the Fiio X1. It's warm and full sounding but a little lacking in low bass. Great for the money.

Under £200 the Fiio X3ii is the most natural sounding DAP I've heard. Good output and solid bass with a nicely extended top.

rids57 · 19 Jul 2015 at 21:41

The bass depends on what you are plugging into it, with my Fidue A73s there is no shortage of bass but they are only 20 ohms and very sensitive. The X3 has a more powerful amp than the X1 so will sound better with full sized headphones than the X1.

aardvark · 20 Jul 2015 at 12:55

i've got a fiio x3(ii) and its really good sound quality.
X1 is also good.
if you want something smaller and super cheap get a clip+

Nasher · 20 Jul 2015 at 14:15

I had a Creative Zen vision-M 64gb back in the day and was better than the iPods at the time (better sound, cheaper, WAY more storage and more features). It died after accidently getting slammed in a car door D:

I'm not sure if they still make them though and for some reason used ones still sell for loads.

Supa Koopa · 21 Jul 2015 at 12:29

iBasso DX90 if you've got the funds. Replaceable Samsung S5 battery so they're cheap and readily available, 8gig internal and sd card slot so you just add what size card you want. I love mine.

Derp · 21 Jul 2015 at 13:34

Digipact said:
I use the Sansa clip+ with a 32gb microSD card. I have also installed rockbox firmware on the device. Sandisk's firmware is restrictive to a certain degree, with RB you can get so much extra out of that little player. http://www.rockbox.org/

Honestly for the cost of the 4GB model (£35-40) it's probably the only player worth getting outside of high end stuff. Don't be put off by the price of this thing, it has better sound quality than an ipod, not that thats a difficult feat mind you.

I have the exact same setup. Rockbox is easy to install and packed with features, but I find the GUI is a bit lacking.

elrasho · 22 Jul 2015 at 16:59

I got a Kubik Evo today. Although it feels cheap it's perfect coupled with some decent earphones. It's got a Microsoft PlayFX processor which does a good job, I compared the sound to my LG G2 playing the same MP3 and sounds identical

NirK · 22 Jul 2015 at 20:55

C64 said:
Depends which headphones you plan on using if you have high quality headphones then you'll be wanting a headphone amp + mp3 player or all in one unit like the x3.
No point having a hq dac and headphone amp with £20 headphones.You are better off putting most of the budget in to the headphones/earphones and getting a sansa clip + cheap headphone amp than x3 and £20 earphones.

Most people use IEM's outside do they not? Sansa clip+ is fine for most IEM...

just get a clip+ it sounds basically as good with IEM's as the more expensive players and if it breaks just buy a new one...

BTW I have owned most headphones so I am not talking out of ignorance... the clip+ is a good sounding player and is a bargain for IEM's... if you are using over ear headphones then you would want a more powerful amp depending on the headphones.

Sansa clip + 32Gb + Shure SE215 = best portable setup that is durable and not too much money.

rids57 · 22 Jul 2015 at 21:15

Sansa clip + 32Gb + Shure SE215 = best portable setup that is durable and not too much money.

While it is undeniably great value for money the Sansa clip is cheaply made and has a very poor reliability record.
The Shure SE215 has major reliability problems too, due to the removable cable connection failing, they also have a pretty dramatic treble roll off so will sound overly dull to a lot of people.

NirK · 24 Jul 2015 at 15:12

rids57 said:
While it is undeniably great value for money the Sansa clip is cheaply made and has a very poor reliability record.
The Shure SE215 has major reliability problems too, due to the removable cable connection failing, they also have a pretty dramatic treble roll off so will sound overly dull to a lot of people.

All I can say is over about 8+ years I have owned sansa clip and shure se215... The se215 failed once and were replaced by shure.. I think they have fixed the problems with them that were in early batches...

The Clip+ also broke recently after around 7 years use and I bought another one for £30... the clip+ is great build quality for the money and only costs £30 to replace anyway. All I have read and experience says they are reliable and well built for the money.

Have also owned many other pairs of IEM under £250 and the shure are better built than most of them tbh. Yes if you want very bright IEM's (and hearing loss probably) then the SE215 might not be the best.

For the money (if you don't like overly bright treble anyway) sansa clip + microSD card + SE215 are definately the best value, best sound quality, most durable for money... the SE215 are well built compared to most other headphones I have owned.

rids57 · 24 Jul 2015 at 15:49

For the same kind of signature, maybe not quite as rolled off in the highs but still extremely smooth, the RHA MA750s really take some beating. Built like tanks out of stainless steel, they sound better than the SE215s (according to the critics), very high quality thick cable with integral (ultra comfortable) ear guides, 10 pairs of ear tips (8 dual density and 2 comply) and to cap it all off, a 3 year warranty, all for exactly the same price.

The problem with audio cutting out on the SE215s is common to all IEMs that use the MMCX removable cable system and as far as I know no solution has been found except for buying a new cable.

That you've got 7 years of use out of your Clip+ is good to hear but there are a lot of people who get no more than a couple of months and that can be seen just by reading the Amazon reviews. With around 2000 giving 4 and 5 stars and 560 giving 1 and 2 stars that means 25% of people are extremely unhappy with them, which doesn't say much for build quality and quality control.

Ryanr1987 · 24 Jul 2015 at 18:13

I didn't find the clip anything special. Even at it's £30 price tag. Outside of the iPod there's not been many DAP's I trust for reliability. The iPod was great(Classic) although a little rolled off. The Fiio daps take that slightly warm, musical sound and also have better resolution and extension.

I'd always try to at least advise someone to go with a Fiio as their reliability is second to none. My old iPod classic 160gb was a close 2nd. That thing has been through more bumpy trips than I can remember. My point is spent a bit more and get a reliable investment.