[Closed] mp3 player time - best bang for buck? Sansa Clip+. Walkman?

I debated this for ages after my ipod classic broke. In the end i just put a 128gb memory card in a samsung phone (cost about £35). Dragged the files straight over from the itunes area on the computer and its been fine. Sounds good, easy to use and all my tunes always with me. Bluetooth connection to the van as well

I have a Sansa Clip+, I like it. Nice size, handy to clip onto my shorts for running etc. And easy to press the buttons, better than a touchscreen on a phone.
I have the 8GB model, with a 32GB memory card. That's enough space for most of my music anyway. Probably about 10 hours battery life - mine is a few years old, so maybe a bit less now.

Depending on budget... Buy old ipod classic (latest gen) with broken hard drive, replace with flash card/sd card drive and have new high capacity player...

iPods can't be beaten imo. "iTunes sync thing"? You don't have to sync.. just use iTunes as a media database and drag and drop from it.

i have a sansa clip +. good sound, light, bit cheap feeling but the noises it makes are great so who cares? oh - and just banging whatever size sd card in it is the clincher IMO.

iPods can't be beaten imo. "iTunes sync thing"? You don't have to sync.. just use iTunes as a media database and drag and drop from it.

This ^.
I never sync music, I've got far more music than would ever fit on a mobile device, so I drag'n'drop selected music as and when I want.
Maybe when iPhones get 500Gb storage I'll just sync my entire music library, which is currently somewhere north of 200Gb, but until then I'm happy to just add when I want to.

Can you still get those sansa clip+? I've got one and it is very good.

The Clip+ has been discontinued, and replaced with the Clip Jam and Clip Sport. Not sure if there's much difference. Though it seems the newer ones may be slightly simplified, eg they don't support FLAC.

The latest version is the Clip Sport Plus. It has added Bluetooth, but it doesn't have a memory card slot, rather annoying.

Whats your actual requirement that a phone doesn't do?

I've stopped using my clip as my phone is far better. The clip is a decent bit of kit but the screen and operation has always been a big drawback. On the other hand, my phone does exactly the same job, soundwise, and the OS is just infinitely better. Having a full size screen to search on is very welcome indeed. Oh, and it doesn't use as much battery as I thought it would.

I just stuck a 32gb SD card in my Motorola and I was away.

Thanks for the responses!

Can you still get those sansa clip+? I've got one and it is very good.

Was going to get a Clip+ refurb as they are going for £30-40. It is a small budget. May I ask you and others - Sansa Clip+ - can you perform basic functions on the move without looking at the screen?

Whats your actual requirement that a phone doesn't do?

While walking (and cycling again the future) I loved the Shuffle's ability to. 'Get out of the way'. Really easy to flick back and forth, scan, alter volume, pause etc just with a simple squeeze. I found that I could do it blind once learned the control orientation in relationship to the power switch.

By comparison phones are big cumbersome things that yiu have to fish about for, take glives off, etc, etc.

So why not another iPod Shuffle? Was hoping for better sound (Shuffle is OK but now have better headphones and wanted to give them a workout with Ogg Vorbis, FLAC etc)

Also my old Shuffle had a measly 2GB which meant going into iTunes every time I wanted to change the playlist. I have a very old creaky laptop that spends a LOT more time thinking than doing so this is time-wasting. Would be nice to have a few ready-loaded SD cards to just lob in and go. Or a larger library

I like the idea of a hacked iPod Classic with all of my stuff on it (maybe not to carry - it's a lump?) but for home use/extended camping trips. One for the future as it's not what I'm after right now, nor will it fit the budget/timescale - ie ASAP!

*Edit: Glives?

Gloves. Ah, coffee.

OK got my thinking cap on now. Have thought long and hard about why not just use the phone, and still not 100% on this.

This was a very good question

Whats your actual requirement that a phone doesn't

First thoughts are 'why wouldn't I?' - It (smartphone) has tons of internal storage capacity, it has bluetooth so my Liger Blaze buds are supported. I can listen to streaming podcasts where 3g coverage is good (most places I habitually go seem well catered for here. The ones that aren't are usually places where silence is golden anyway)

Only probs foreseen at first glance are 1. battery life (solvable, replacement is actually in the post) and 2. The big one: usability.

The iPod Shuffle spoiled me in these areas

- Fairly lightweight (yet metal construction, tactile and minutely proportioned). Compared to a phone it's non-existent.
- Clips firmly onto a lapel, Camelbak strap, neck of T-shirt, inside pocket etc. Clip is integral and sturdy as.
- Complete joy to operate, just click one of four points on a raised circle to achieve play/pause/scan/fwd/back functions. To turn on or off you just slide a switch on top. To hear how much power remains just hold a button and it speaks to you.
- No requirement to LOOK AT A SCREEN! Screens became our lives, at rest and at work. At rest at work! They f*** with your head. I don't like this addiction. Time spent away from this addiction is a golden paradiasical wonderland.
- When listening to dedicated mp3 player I can't HEAR (or feel) my friggin PHONE! Phones are our lives. I don't like this addiction/adopted 'necessity'. Any time enjoyed away from txts and voices and alerts and similar sensory intrusions is akin to flying free above a gentle tropical ocean, into the purple sunset. Borne aloft on thermals of transporting, beatific music.
- I don't have a brick in my shorts. I left the smartphone in the seatpack/rucksack/desk.

That's better. For me.

I bought an iPod Nano [b]6th gen[/b] for commuting. 16GB storage, little touch screen, tiny device with a clip, goes on a belt loop. Check eBay for them, go for anything from £30-£75 (8gb obviously cheaper). Got mine for about 35 quid. Battery life is excellent too.

Thanks everyone. Must have finally talked myself into buying a replacement Shuffle as just bagged a new 4th Gen for £25 and ... breathed a sigh of relief 🙂

No hope for me it seems.

Did look at a Nano 6, but (for reasons mentioned above) when oot and aboot I like the Shuffle's format and the blind button controls. More time spent on iTunes sucks but it's no great hardship in the grand scheme. 15hrs battery will suffice.

Apple are missing a trick not offering the Shuffle or similar with + storage + bluetooth. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. It is a tiny thing already.

As for this old Sony lipstick-looking thing that's gone all laggy...sound is pretty good but the controls and menu are shockingly counter-intuitive, even hazardous. I spent more time with it out of pocket and turning it off by accident than I do active listening. That all sounds like a terrible Dad joke about marriage. Onwards....

So why not another iPod Shuffle? Was hoping for better sound (Shuffle is OK but now have better headphones and wanted to give them a workout with Ogg Vorbis, FLAC etc)

I've done direct comparisons with AAC 320Kb, Lossless and FLAC, and with good 'phones any differences are indistinguishable from differences in the quality of the mastering of the original tracks - volume alone varies dramatically in different recordings, as well as quality; a case in point being Fairground Attraction's first album.
I used to use it as a demo recording when I sold hifi, it's mostly acoustic instruments, nicely arranged and recorded, sounded great.
Until I ripped it and listened through good one-ear 'phones, when it was hugely disappointing - it was like having a window that was covered in a coating of dust, music that should ring and sparkle just sounded dull and muted, yet other recordings like Paul Simon's Hearts and Bones are beautifully clear, and this is just using 320Kb AAC, variable bit-rate.
Makes life a lot easier just using one setting that works really well, and the file sizes are reasonable too, especially with a smaller device like a Shuffle.
One thing I love about Nano and Classic iPods, that's the control wheel, which is pretty easy to operate one-handed in a pocket, which you can't do with a phone or Touch.

Maybe when iPhones get 500Gb storage I'll just sync my entire music library, which is currently somewhere north of 200Gb, but until then I'm happy to just add when I want to.

I picked up a 128Gb class 10 micro SD the other day for 30 quid. For 60 quid you could carry your entire music collection with you [i]right now[/i] if you weren't so wedded to iDevices. (-:

[url= https://www.iflash.xyz/teaser-the-1tb-ipod/ ]The 1Tb iPod[/url]

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I have had many devices but the apple ipod just works... Mind you I am not that forward thinking as I was still using a portable minidisc player in 2010...

If you can stretch to £100, check out the Cowon M2.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cowon-M2-32GB-MP3-Player/dp/B00NOY0MFM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484600271&sr=8-2&keywords=cowon+d2

The UI is... a little challenging, although once you get used to it it's fine. But the battery life is epic, the sound quality's good, and with a microSD card you can get it up to 64GB capacity if you want. And it's small, not heavy, fairly robust, and so on.

[i]if you weren't so wedded to iDevices[/i]

Mine does me just fine (though it's far from my 'whole collection ')

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Ye gods I was nosing about at the Nano 6th Gen. via Youtube and saw epic PHUN!

A missed opportunity? Surly me. Could've had the headphone wire running down under the sleeve and attached to this missed (golden) opportunity!:

DezB better get busy, my loss could be your gain!

Got my kid one - he's got a watch strap and wore it to school. Friends were convinced he had an Apple watch 😆

Timely as having a clear out and have an 80gb IPOD classic sat in the drawer - is it worth anything - seems such a shame just to bin it? 😕

"Timely as having a clear out and have an 80gb IPOD classic sat in the drawer - is it worth anything - seems such a shame just to bin it?"

Take a look online Andy - youight be pleasantly surprised hoq such you can get for it.

Really! *Scampers off to ebay*

Well I never - thanks Rob 😀

Cowon M2 - The UI is... a little challenging, although once you get used to it it's fine. But the battery life is epic, the sound quality's good, and with a microSD card you can get it up to 64GB capacity if you want. And it's small, not heavy, fairly robust, and so on.

If they can be Rockboxed then any capacity card will work and the UI should be much better. Just had my Sansa Clip die (Rockboxed) and the replacement cost has put me off. Succumbed to using my phone - I'll get used to it in days I reckon

Just got to find out the max capacity card a Wileyfox Swift will take... Officially a 32gb, but using a 64gb. If it can take a 500 (and the price comes down a bit) then I'm set. If my music collection gets bigger than that there'll be a whole load of crap in it.

@Andy - how much? 🙂

No idea mate - drop me a mail