Question Any recommendation for a decent budget MP3 player?

[MrYossu]

I'm looking for an MP3, and am getting very fed up with the poor quality of the ones I've tried. I keep buying things from Amazon and sending them back by return of post. I've tried loads, and they pretty much all have one or more of the following issues...

1) Don't respect MP3 tags. This means that they show songs in alphabetical order (usually of file name) instead of track order.

2) Even when they do respect the tags, most only use the first 10-15 characters of the album or sing title, so if you are a fan of The Jim Spriggs String Band (and let's face it, who isn't? 😁), then it will mix up the tracks from "The Jim Spriggs String Band Live In Botswana" and "The Jim Spriggs String Band Unplugged" and show them as one album.

3) Unintuitive UI, making it hard to find what you want.

There are more, but those are the big ones for me.

I've tried the Chinese stuff whose names I'd never heard of, and I've tried big names like Sony (quality seems to have plummeted in recent years) and SanDisk, but it doesn't seem to make any difference.

I looked at some reviews, but the supposedly budget ones reviewed were usually several hundred Pounds, which is way out of my range. I can afford up to £80 or so.

Anyone able to recommend anything? Thanks

 

[punkncat]

I have to be honest in saying that I haven't had or used an MP3 player since around the time of the Apple Shuffle. Phones have become pretty good at it for the past long time. Have you considered utilizing an older phone that you may well have laying around for this use?

Certain functionality such as wireless charging, internet access, storage being changeable and so forth make them strong contenders for the duty.

 

[MrYossu]

I have to be honest in saying that I haven't had or used an MP3 player since around the time of the Apple Shuffle. Phones have become pretty good at it for the past long time. Have you considered utilizing an older phone that you may well have laying around for this use?

Certain functionality such as wireless charging, internet access, storage being changeable and so forth make them strong contenders for the duty.

I don't actually have such a phone, and don't really want one. I know it sounds old-fashioned (which I am!), but I'd prefer a standalone MP3 if I can get one.

Thanks for the suggestion tough. It's something to keep in mind if I really can't get a decent MP3

 

[thestryker]

I'm not sure you're going to find anything in your price range. If you haven't tried something from Shanling you might give it a try (if they're available there). Portable music players have left mainstream so they're mostly for folks who want better quality than they'd get from a phone so you tend to be talking £250-300 starting price for good ones.

 

[futureman 101]

All I can suggest is you read the comments on say Amazon and watch YT reviews. I noticed a few small music players that got a lot of surprised positive comments on A.

I've got one of the Sony ones and it sounds great but the small battery is the problem. Only 5 hours playtime(betwen 30-80% battery) and you have to throw it away as battery can't be replaced.

So I'm also now using a smartphone(not as a phone, but music player, apps and internet). You can organise music into different folders, it has a much longer battery life, massive storage capacity and the battery can be replaced in a minute.

So in the long term it probably works out cheaper.

 

[MrYossu]

All I can suggest is you read the comments on say Amazon and watch YT reviews. I noticed a few small music players that got a lot of surprised positive comments on A.

My experience of reviews on Amazon is that the majority of them (for this kind of item at least) are from people who were offered a free gift card in return for a 5-star review.

I don't trust Amazon reviews at all. I only ever look at the 1 and 2-star ones, as those are the only ones that have a chance of being genuine.

I've got one of the Sony ones and it sounds great but the small battery is the problem. Only 5 hours playtime(betwen 30-80% battery) and you have to throw it away as battery can't be replaced.

Which did you get? I have a Sony NWZA-15 A that I bought about 6 or 7 years ago, and it's great, but you can't get them now, and the reviews I saw of Sony's newer ones didn't inspire me. Lots of comments about poor quality.

I'm not sure you're going to find anything in your price range. If you haven't tried something from Shanling you might give it a try (if they're available there). Portable music players have left mainstream so they're mostly for folks who want better quality than they'd get from a phone so you tend to be talking £250-300 starting price for good ones.

Makes sense.

Thanks to both of you for the comments

 

[kanewolf]

I don't actually have such a phone, and don't really want one. I know it sounds old-fashioned (which I am!), but I'd prefer a standalone MP3 if I can get one.

Thanks for the suggestion tough. It's something to keep in mind if I really can't get a decent MP3

A used cell phone that you don't put a SIM card into is an excellent MP3 and streaming player. You will get bluetooth connectivity for earbuds etc. I use an old cell phone in the garage for my music player.

 

[COLGeek]

A used cell phone that you don't put a SIM card into is an excellent MP3 and streaming player. You will get bluetooth connectivity for earbuds etc. I use an old cell phone in the garage for my music player.

I do the same for my drone controller.