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”.
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.
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.
Why so anti-Bluetooth?
Bro works in a scif
5g is all about Brain-Control, man
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
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.
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 need a male-male 3.5mm audio cable…
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.
The closest you’re going to find is probably the SanDisk Sansa Clip+. It can receive FM, but IIRC no wireless other than that. I don’t think it’s made new any more but you should be able to find it for less than £100 online.
I came to suggest a clip too! Loved those things
Sorry, FM is out too, I didn’t even think of that when I wrote the post.
Ok, now you are just being ridiculous.
This is clearly a troll thread.
Based on the comment saying
Can’t have it in the office.
I don’t think this is a troll. I think OP works in a high-security setting, or around extremely sensitive equipment. I’m leaning toward the latter because I wouldn’t expect an SD card to be allowed in a high-security setting.
But receiving FM doesn’t matter. Tons of things can receive FM that don’t broadcast, like tooth fillings.
Corporate rules rarely care about logic.
Tooth filings pick up AM, not FM. Assuming that’s even a real thing. All you need got AM is a diode which can be made to varying levels of performance with a number of common materials.
FM radios generally use superheterodyne receivers which generates a radio frequency to be mixed with the incoming signal to pull out audio.
This receiver does emit a small amount of RF as a result and it’s how the TV police in the UK would catch you for skirting a TV license.
TV licence people were never capable of detecting TV like this. They just assumed everyone has a TV but not everyone pays for the licence. So would pursue people without a licence.
They’re main detection technology was looking in peoples windows and intimidation to gain access to their homes.
An FM receiver is purely passive. I mean there might be places with rules against it, but why? It doesn’t influence or affect anything…
FM receivers are capable of producing interference. Note their listing here.
The weird thing about this post is that both of the obvious scenarios that would lead to the kind of restrictions OP’s workplace has don’t quite add up.
- If radios are banned due to interference, random electronic devices like digital music players are also capable of producing interference. It’s surprising that any kind of personally owned electronic gadget is allowed.
- If it’s a high-security environment, it’s surprising that any personally owned digital storage device is allowed.
I wish OP would elaborate, not because I doubt them, but because the explanation is probably interesting.
My guess is OP works in a max security or super max prison.
Do you think an FM radio is enough to be banned from a SCIF?
I have a friend who occasionally works in a SCIF. My impression is that a radio receiver would probably be allowed, but an SD card would not. That’s what makes me suspect it has to do with sensitive equipment, though I’d be a little surprised any electronic equipment not explicitly vetted is allowed in that situation.
I’ve had 3 Sansa Clip+ players. I never even accidentally switch to FM. I understand why your workplace bans Bluetooth. Mine does as well. Do they also ban the FM tuner?
I don’t know exactly what you’re avoiding wireless for, but it has no ability to transmit, only receive FM if that matters. You could fairly easily disconnect/break the antenna and permanently disable even that.
my man, if it has a radio, it can be hacked, doesn’t matter if it was originally engineered to receive, it can also be made to transmit, as well as receiving opens any electronic device to hacking as well, how likely that would happen i can’t say, but it’s possible
No.
Too much television for you.
Why? I am curious now.
I’d like to use my existing 3.5mm headphones. Also doesn’t support FLAC and has tiny capacity.
If you’re fine buying slave-labor import, I found a “MECHEN M30 HiFi MP3 Player” on AliExpress for about $45 USD. Pretty good reviews all things considering. No wireless that I can tell, headphone jack out.
These kinds of standalone “hifi” portable media players will be the only things that support memory cards and “no wireless” like you’re asking for. And even then a lot of them include Bluetooth, if not just for remote control support, as well as audio out.
Looks like a good option. Thank you
Of course.
Keep in mind YMMV on their firmware. People seem to be happy with it but I don’t own one so I cannot say how well it will perform, but I am at least assuming it can handle normal Playlist sorting and other things you need.
Based on your requirements, your best bet is to hum to yourself.
sound waves are a form of wireless transmission, better make sure to not connect any kind of speaker to it
Build your own? Given the constraints, that might actually be more viable than you’d think. Keep in mind, you could disable or even block radio transmitters to comply with whatever your environment is.
I did this with a Pi Zero once. It’s a fun project if you have the aptitude for it.
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
Someone works for hezbollah and doesn’t want his music player blowing up unexpectedly
OP most likely works in a SCIF - where such restrictions are pretty common.
TL;DR OP is a fed or fed contractor
Wouldn’t it still count like a USB stick though?
Look on fiio.com. At least in the past they made some no-wireless ones. 128gb wasn’t really a thing in the mp3-only era though. Cowon D2 is a very player but uses SDHC (32gb max) rather than SDXC. I don’t remember if it has FM.
I highly recommend a fiio X1. You’ll have to find a used or refurb, but they are crazy simple, cheap, and have excellent sound quality.
Throw in a 256g sd card and mount it as a usb disk.
It has physical buttons and a scroll wheel like the old iPods.
Did I mention great sound quality?
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.
