As per title really. I’m looking for a new small music player that will play MP3 and FLAC files. Preferably that takes a large SD card, otherwise has at least 128gb of storage. I want to be copying files directly on to it in a file browser and for them to play in the right order (I have a player that plays in the order the files were copied on to it, which is full on madness). I have no interest in iTunes and I run Linux as my computer OS.
Also needs to be less than £100.
And I really mean no wireless functionally at all, I don’t mean “includes Bluetooth but it can be turned off”.
Just buy a Walkman and enjoy your life
A cassette walkman
An all-in-one modern solution for that: https://www.wearerewind.com/
(The Fiio CP13 is better, but it doesn’t have recording functionality)I have a WM-EX631. I dont trust anything made after 94 thats not Sony. 2004 is my absolute cutoff.
I’m jealous, that sounds like a very nice unit. Unfortunately it’s hard for me to trust used portable machines like that one if I can’t verify they work beforehand. I’m sure it sounds much better than the newer units though.
There is still a trove on EBay and Etsy. They’re just expensive. Just make sure theres pictures, the seller mentions its tested, and you have 200-400 bucks you’ve luckily come into.
The only issue mine has is it sometimes flips to the other side of the tape automatically before reaching the end. Though I think thats operator error somehow.
How do I transfer my FLAC files on to it?
You dont without effort, but theres not really any modern Walkmans that dont connect to WiFi. You are pretty much limited to cassette and disc Walkman, maybe a minicd player. You could burn your FLACs to a CD if you wanted. I’ve looked at a few modern Walkmans and they are basically shitty android devices, a phone with a 3.5mm jack would be better.
You need a male-male 3.5mm audio cable…
Check for some cheap Ali express mp3s
Yeah this isn’t a bad idea. Especially if you get one that supports MP3 files on a CD, you can have several hours of material on one CD-R.
I wrote a little blog post about my experiences trying a variety of different alternatives to just streaming music like most people do. Using players that support physical formats has been a very fun way to expand my music taste in unexpected ways.
Go to Ali Express, and filter through the “mp3” results. They will cost less than $10, be made of the cheapest material possible but meet your requirements. Otherwise you are thrift store shopping
Based on your requirements, your best bet is to hum to yourself.
If this is a normal restriction at your office, would other people who work in that environment have solutions?
I specifically remember getting Linux to load music on my iPod Nano during my Ubuntu phase. There’s got to be a way to do that still, but i understand the frustration.
Maybe a generic player like those old generic USB MP3 Players? Nothing i found comes with 128GBs of space unless it also has Bluetooth or some wireless functionality.
If all else fails just get an old Android phone and don’t use the wireless features if you find one with an audio jack.
AGPTEK U3 USB Stick Mp3 Player, 40GB Music Player Supports Replaceable AAA Battery, Recording, FM Radio, Expandable Up to 128GB
Why so anti-Bluetooth?
Bro works in a scif
Can’t have it in the office.
And someone will question this, but that’s all there is to it.
About the only viable response these days is SCIF.
Huh, Okay, buried the lede there because I was very skeptical of your specific set of needs until this and now it makes sense.
The Mechen M30 seems to meet your spec, but I haven’t tried it, I just looked it up. There seems to be a bit of a niche for single-use audiophile music players that may get you what you need.
Thank you, looks like a good option
5g is all about Brain-Control, man
Follow up question, why do you need music?
Someone works for hezbollah and doesn’t want his music player blowing up unexpectedly
🤣
Think you would likely have to scour garage sales and used buy/sell sites for one of those ancient portable mp3 player devices. I remember the old iRiver devices did support FLAC natively but that was before 128GB storage existed so no idea how something like that would behave when you stick in a 128+ GB SD card into it.
The other tricky part is that something that old/used may have a worn out battery so any device with a built-in battery may not stay on for very long.
The other comment makes a good point, starting out you should focus on anything that https://www.rockbox.org/ supports since that’ll give you FLAC support. (besides the Archos, apparently it is impossible to play FLAC on those https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/WhyRockbox.html).
The other tricky part is that something that old/used may have a worn out battery so any device with a built-in battery may not stay on for very long.
If you can solder, you might be able to replace old batteries.
Honestly, if you think about all the increasingly-aging hardware out there with built-in rechargeable batteries…given that some people would like to use them, the way there are people who like vintage hardware from earlier decades, there have to be some people out there who must specialize in replacing internal batteries.
Do they still make the Sandisk Clip and Sandisk Go? Years since I used one, but from memory don’t they do what you need?
I’d like to use my existing 3.5mm headphones. Also doesn’t support FLAC and has tiny capacity.
