MP3 Player with Card Slot

Vladdo on 17/10/2015 - 15:49

I recently got a job where you can listen to personal audio while working, but you cannot use a mobile phone. Phones are banned and anyone caught using one will be given their marching orders. They have security everywhere to ensure this happens. ANyway, I have a 10 year old 20gb ipod which has seen better days and I'm barely lucky to get 7.5 hrs out of a charge. So I'm after a reasonably cheap mp3 player that has an expandable slot.

ANy recommendations. Something around the $100 mark would be good.

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • try2bhelpful on 17/10/2015 - 16:00
    +1

    If you have a power source you could take your charger with you and then the battery life will not be an issue. Would be cheaper than buying a new one.

    • Vladdo on 17/10/2015 - 16:15
      +1

      No power source unfortunately.. I thought of this but yeah.. no..

      • Mumbles on 17/10/2015 - 17:35
        +1

        Perhaps you can charge it via a USB cable connected to your work computer.

        If the USB cable isn't allowed then research high end MP3 players at:
        www.head-fi.org

        The majority of high end MP3 players don't have built in camera's (unlike mobile phones or iPod Touch).

        If you aren't chasing sound fidelity then another option is consider all-in-one MP3 headphones or portable speakers. Many of the cheap ones have SD card readers. Just make sure the portable speakers have headphone jacks.

        • Vladdo on 17/10/2015 - 21:41

          The supervisor would probably have a go at me for plugging something into their PC. So I'd rather just leave it alone altogether. I have a set of expensive headphones which I rather like, so would rather use those..

        • iridiumstem on 17/10/2015 - 22:14

          @Vladdo: You'd be better off telling us what kind of expensive headphones you are planning on using, since depending on what it is, some of the cheaper options might not be suitable.

        • ESEMCE on 17/10/2015 - 22:26
          +4

          @Vladdo:
          What about a power bank?

          Or mod your iPod to use a compact flash card instead of a power chewing HDD.
          It's a very simple modification if you can get the iPod open (it's not really that hard)

        • chipstss on 19/10/2015 - 19:01

          @Vladdo: Sounds like an important company, eh?

        • windrc on 20/10/2015 - 08:25

          @Vladdo:
          personal audios.. bring in a guitar and sing along yourselves?

      • stevednj48 on 17/10/2015 - 23:04
        +1

        how about a power bank?

      • zeomega on 19/10/2015 - 15:13

        Get a power bank and you're all set?

        EDT: didn't read comments.. someone beat me to the punch.

    • Malathay on 20/10/2015 - 03:47

      Go to your local K-Mart. They have a rechargeable Mushroom Speaker ($10.00) that takes Micro SD and USB Flash Drive. Sound is OK and the thing runs for over 6 hours (mine does!). Have bought several in assorted colors for my nieces and they love them.

  • Diji1 on 17/10/2015 - 16:28

    Does it have to have an expandable slot?

    • Sage on 17/10/2015 - 17:12

      No, by the sounds of it it's a 4th gen iPod.
      I've seen it's possible to upgrade the storage inside, but I don't know if it's cost effective or too cumbersome for Vladdo.

    • Vladdo on 17/10/2015 - 21:42

      It's more that I have a lot of music and would like to store a number of albums on a card. Plus a 64gb card is cheap, compared to memory built into mp3 players.

  • altomic on 17/10/2015 - 17:26
    +2

    How about one of these 16gb bad boys from ebay for $29.90 delivered. (they can be sourced cheaper but I only looked to a minute)

  • Davo1111 on 17/10/2015 - 17:56
    +20

    sandisk clip zip (or previous model), then flash with Rockbox

    /thread

    • scrimshaw on 17/10/2015 - 18:23
      +2

      Sandisk players are the bomb, and they are cheap to boot.

    • Thaal Sinestro on 19/10/2015 - 00:00
      +1

      Yes, Rockbox is great. So many products are dumbed down nowdays (eg no ability to save bookmarks), but Rockbox makes some of these Mp3 players power user friendly.

      • chipstss on 19/10/2015 - 19:03

        play/pause, shuffle, repeat, skip, playlists, equalizer… what else do you need?

        • Davo1111 on 19/10/2015 - 19:32

          It's good, but i wish it just had a "play all" button on the main menu.

          What's impressive about it is the fact it can quickly build a database of 40GB of music files.

  • plmko on 17/10/2015 - 18:19
    +6

    Fiio X1, end of story.

    • gimli on 17/10/2015 - 18:39

      why?

      • plmko on 17/10/2015 - 18:46
        +2

        Because it's the only serious sounding music device for yoir budget. And to answer your question yes dedicated players sound so much better than phones, a lot better.

        • faded on 18/10/2015 - 10:14

          I would be going with either the Fiio or Sandisk option, I am very hard on my gear and broke 3 iPods in 2 yrs, got nearly a year out of a Sansa Clip(think that's what it was called) and over a year out of the X1 (got it on pre-order) without it giving in yet.

          Both have better sound quality than my previous iPods, and expandable sd slot so you don't lose music/playlists when the device dies. Both can makes playlists on the go which is a big plus for me.

          Had to rockbox the Sansa clip where as I have left the Fiio standard.

          The Fiio is surprisingly resilient to my carelessness too, it did a full cycle in the washing machine 3 weeks ago, left it on my dash to dry out for a few days and it is back up and running like a champ.

          Get either one if these options with a set of Xiaomi Piston II or III's and you will have one if the best budget combos going.

    • Kikkoman56 on 19/10/2015 - 14:51

      +1, Have one too. Great build and sound quality for a cheap as price, I got mine from noisy motel free shipping. Arrived in less than a week.

  • gimli on 17/10/2015 - 18:39
    -1

    On a side note do dedicated MP3 players sound better than music from a phone?

    I guess it would depend on your phone. (currently I have a nexus)

    I guess it would depend on which nexus. (currently I have a 5)

    I guess…

    • iridiumstem on 17/10/2015 - 22:07
      +1

      Well, it really would depend. I cannot say things for certain since I've never owned any of your devices.
      That said, many many people do tend to say that Qualcomm chips have awful DACs (which I don't believe it to be as massive as some people are dishing it out to be, but I believe that it's significant enough to be noticible for older generation devices). Newer ones, I cannot say for certain since I've never owned a "newer device" other than G2, which I've never used to listen to music (my gf's and the device has 16GB storage).

      Anyways, moving on, I did hear issues with Nexus 5 though that said since I've never owned any of the nexus devices, I cannot say whether it'd be as massive as some people make it out to be.

      Though would a dedicated MP3 Player make your experience so much better that you cannot believe it's not the same earphone or headphone? It'd give you a difference, but I am not sure how much of it would worth the amount of cash you want to throw into. Headphones tend to change drastically in terms of measurements as you go up the price line, but DACs tend to change less dramatically. Unless you had issues with the device driving your headphone or earphone, the earphones were affected by output impedance (if your earphone has BA), or you've been hearing white noises, I cannot imagine the investment giving you bang for the buck.

      Also, current gen flagships are not that bad in terms of measurements. While dedicated ones would obviously be better in many areas, the differences are getting smaller. Also whether you will need the features in DAP is another question. The MP3 player market have moved to fill the needs of the audiophiles, who demand far than an average consumer would require.

      TL;DR, It'd more than likely be better, but whether it'd worth the money would depend on many other things.

  • Randxyz123 on 17/10/2015 - 19:28

    Where do you work where they don't allow phones?… Weird but anyway

    Can you charge your iPod while you work?

    You can grab a USB portable charger for $30-40 and wack it in your pocket with your iPod.

    Dick's website is being annoying today but they are currently on sale http://search.dicksmith.com.au/search#?p=Q&ts=ajax&w=powerba…

    • Vladdo on 17/10/2015 - 21:48

      I work with a lot of sensitive financial, insurance and medical data that has to be manually typed from a scanned image into a database. The PC is so locked down all I'm able to do is open up the custom built data app. It's in full kiosk mode with no access to anything, but it is running XP.

      Anyway, they forbid any mobile phones due to them being able to sneakily record stuff. Whether that be camera or audio recording, it's not allowed.

      I'd rather not charge anything while at all. The ipod is on it's last legs as it often comes up with a sad ipod face.. I think the hard drive has issues powering up.

      • Randxyz123 on 17/10/2015 - 22:30

        Fair enough.

        I've been looking at Cowon as suggested by inose below and they look good though some of their devices have built in recorders so you should check with your boss before buying anything.

        Otherwise you'll have to grab an elcheapo one from eBay.

        What do your colleagues use?

      • ESEMCE on 17/10/2015 - 22:34

        An even better reason to do the compact flash hack then!
        New life for the ipod and less battery sucking to boot!

        • iridiumstem on 17/10/2015 - 22:37
          +1

          Probably replace the battery as well if you can source a battery for iPod 4th gen.

        • Randxyz123 on 18/10/2015 - 00:47

          @Oversimplified: Not a bad idea you can grab a new hard drive and battery.

          and follow the instructions to replace them.

        • iridiumstem on 18/10/2015 - 06:44

          @knick007: I'd recommend replacing the hdd with sd card or cf. HDD are too fragile for mp3 players.

      • faded on 18/10/2015 - 10:21

        That will rule the Sansa Clip out as it has an in built sound recording device. There is no way they would know this unless they went through it though.

  • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2015 - 20:02
    +1

    Cowon, end of story.

    http://www.cowonglobal.com/

    They've been in the beginning since back in the dayz, when South Korea and Germany was the only places to even have MP3 players I believe… so they've been around for a very long time.

    I had two of them, sold one, and the older one (7 years?) is still going strong (though only 512MB).

    • gimli on 17/10/2015 - 20:15

      Lol 3rd option and /thread

    • sheepy on 18/10/2015 - 07:42

      I used to have a D2+, it's pretty nice but I remember Cowon was quite pricey so may be out of OP's budget.

    • Takius on 19/10/2015 - 10:41

      I've got a Cowon S9, I've had it for about 5 years. It's fantastic, and amazing battery life too.
      But the Cowons are a tad expensive, and the one I have has an in-built mic and I'm guessing many of the other models do too.
      Otherwise, I would highly recommend them to anyone else looking for an media player.

  • mskeggs on 17/10/2015 - 20:28

    Sansa clip. Cheap, expendable

  • Dobe on 18/10/2015 - 10:17
    +1

    For about 5 years I have used both the Sandisk Clip+ and the Sandisk Clip Zip.
    Both are still working fine and when they die I would definitely buy again.
    Both have microSD card slots and I've used 32gb microSD cards without issues.
    They are so small and light and the clip is perfect for attaching to clothing.
    I have used both in the workplace and at the gym.
    As for battery life, both go well over 10 hours of constant use.
    Here is the difference between them:

    1. Sandisk Clip+ (now called "Sandisk Clip Jam") has a small screen with one colour LED menu.
      best price you will find is the Israel seller on eBay for the 8gb version = $62 delivered (note the 8gb is the onboard capacity which is exapandable by using the microSD card slot).

    2. Sandisk Clip Zip (now called "Sandisk Clip Sport") has a half size screen in full colour.
      best price you will find is the Israel seller on eBay for the 4gb version = $85 delivered (again note the 4gb onboard memory is expandable with a microSD card).

    a common issue with these players is easily overcome by understanding the different type of file transfer/usb connections the player can use. Sandisk website has a great trouble shooting guide to help if required.

    Totally awesome product.

  • Charity on 18/10/2015 - 10:48
    -1

    You want the best ?

    Sony NWZX2

  • Speckled Jim on 18/10/2015 - 14:37
    +1

    I bought two Jensen JSMP-8GBJA (8GB) in 2011 and they're still going strong.

    Good:
    Front and rear case is aluminium.
    Sound quality much better than our Huawei phones.
    FM radio, e-reader & video playback.

    Bad:
    Only accepts 16GB card.
    Resistive touch screen.
    320x240 res.
    Crap buds supplied.
    Likely impossible to find new.

    Target were flogging them, might still have a few on clearance.

  • Randxyz123 on 18/10/2015 - 15:30

    Another option is the clip iPod nano.

    Do you seriously have over 16GB of music?

    Like http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Apple-iPod-nano-6th-Gen-Green-16-…

  • slow on 18/10/2015 - 20:43

    Another vote for SanDisk Sansa clip. An awesome little player.

  • psyren89 on 18/10/2015 - 21:26
    +2

    If you do end up getting a Sansa Clip, be sure to install Rockbox on it.

  • paperkut on 18/10/2015 - 21:32

    Yes, Sansa Clip. If you also like listening to audiobooks they can play Audible or Overdrive files and put them into separate category from your music.

  • extract on 18/10/2015 - 23:37
    +1

    Don't be a tightarse, get a Fiio X5 or better yet the Fiio X5 2nd generation since it seems like you will be listening to music all day at work so you might as well enjoy listening to it on a good quality device that will bring you many hrs/years of joy?.

    • [Deactivated] on 19/10/2015 - 14:34

      I just checked out the Fiio x5… all I can say is wow. It's like the Ferrari of MP3 players.

  • Plasma on 19/10/2015 - 11:07
    +1

    I originally had a Sony NWZ A15. Up to 30 hours battery life, very small and light. Sounds great. Prefer the Fiio X1 ($129) and X3 2nd gen ($259). Prefer the X1 over the Sony by a small margin and the X3 is incredible…but if it comes down to size and battery life the Sony is unbeatable.

  • sovereign01 on 19/10/2015 - 11:36
    +1

    Just replace the battery in your iPod

  • Brouw3r on 19/10/2015 - 15:12

    Can't you just buy a dedicated phone for ~$50 and tell your work that it doesn't have a sim card in it?

    • scrimshaw on 19/10/2015 - 15:48

      It has voice recording and video recording functions, as well as the ability to communicate without a SIM card (e.g SIP, Skype, VOIP)

  • Gnostikos on 19/10/2015 - 15:28
    +1

    Sony NWZ-A15 (16GB internal storage + upto 128GB MicroSD card) or NWZ-A17 (64GB internal storage + upto 128GB MicroSD card).
    The NWZ-A15 goes for around $250, the NWZ-A17 for around $350 (much better value).

    The Fiio's people keep banging on about have great sound quality but nothing else going for them. Horrifically laid-out interfaces, clunky navigation, very unstable firmware and shorter battery life. They're also significantly larger/heavier than any of the Sony MP3 Walkmans.

    I've been using Sony MP3 Walkmans since the NWZ-S545 (3 generations old); they are legendarily rock-solid, their playback times/batteries have no equals (I've gotten 45 hours or more on one charge at times by dimming the screen to the lowest brightness) and they're very easy-to-use (drag and drop files, no 3rd-party transfer software, folder structure is seen by the player as it appears in Windows).
    The DACs in them are galaxies apart from the iPods and I think as near as makes no difference to the lower-end Fiio X1/X3 (although it's highly subjective, and both camps of fanboys will maintain their MP3 player is better, but realistically I think both are more than adequate for audiohpiles from a sound quality point of view).

    The NWZ-Axx models add some new features to the MP3 Walkman series like FLAC support, Bluetooth music sharing/streaming, NFC streaming, and DSEE HX up-scaling. Nifty features include: tons of equalizer/bass/sound settings, on-the-fly playlist creation, custom playback ranges (A-B repeat in a song), custom playback pitch/speed (slow down/speed up songs or pitch), FM Radio, Alarm/Sleep Timer, SensMe automatic playlist generator (analyzes your music collection and sorts all available songs into different "mood" categories; has some flaws but good enough to group most similiar-sounding genres together).

    • Davo1111 on 19/10/2015 - 19:36

      I agree, the Sony NWZ series is very good. I had one prior to my clip zip and was bulletproof.

      There were 3 downside imo.

      1. very expensive in australia (sony AU pricing :/ )
      2. No SD card slot
      3. No software updates - meaning all bugs stayed with the life of the device.
      • Gnostikos on 20/10/2015 - 01:59

        No SD card slot

        Well that's been resolved, thankfully, otherwise I too would have had to ditch the MP3 Walkmans as their previous upper capacity limits of 16GB just do not cut it in 2015. Though there were some lesser-known NWZ A-Series in the past that had 32GB capacities.

        No software updates - meaning all bugs stayed with the life of the device.

        The only real bug I have encountered across multiple generations from the NWZ-S545, the NWZ-E474 and now the NWZ-A17 is an occasional forced library/index rebuild at times (despite not adding new media/changing names or folder structure) that will make boot up take a few seconds longer than average.

        These things don't freeze, crash or randomly reboot and I've had 3 different generations of them. In fact my now 6-year old NWZ-S545 still works flawlessly and still sees use as a workout MP3 player that can I treat a bit harshly.

        • Davo1111 on 20/10/2015 - 02:26

          I had the NWZ-E444(?). It would crash with problem files, which was impossible to resolve. It also had redundant "add to favourites" options.

          It wasn't perfect, but imo it was much better than my previous ipod nano 4th gen… my dumbest purchase to date.

    • iridiumstem on 19/10/2015 - 22:30

      I will say two words, Gapless Playback.

      Eh, I've heard good things about Sony NWZ-A10 series, while the measurements were underwhelming compared to Fiio X3 (which was on similar price range as far as things went when I was looking at DAPs), NWZ probably is alright. I've seen people giving comparisons (I was thinking of getting either X1, X3 or NWZ-A15). I've thought about it for few months and decided to invest what I was going to spend on a DAP onto a smartphone (since I don't have a multi-BA earphone or headphone that I use outdoors that I need a DAP for). Then bloody Samsung decides to use bloody ESS chips in their bloody S7.

      That said, both side were fairly convincing in my opinion. Both companies looked like they offer reasonable products from what I've been reading. Though I was thinking of going for Fiio products, since they did have better measurements (X3) or cheaper price (X1). Though I would've needed to check Sony one and Fiio one out IRL.

  • smpantsonfire on 19/10/2015 - 22:23

    Maybe a second hand 3rd gen iPod Touch. come in 64gb, and probably ~$100 on gumtree.

  • [Deactivated] on 20/10/2015 - 02:12

    How can there be a PC, but no power source. Never mind… Aliexpress have some small, cheap, rechargeable mp3 - and mp4 - players.

  • Parentheses on 20/10/2015 - 07:23

    I would check whether memory cards are allowed - the secure areas I've worked in often have a 'no USB/other memory devices allowed' policy in place along with no phones.

  • Randxyz123 on 25/10/2015 - 16:52

    Try Shopping Express?

    http://www.shoppingsquare.com.au/p_408112_Mini_Clip_MP3_Play…

    It's probably a piece of crap but it'll do the job.

    • scrimshaw on 25/10/2015 - 21:45

      That's Shopping Square, not Shopping Express.

      I had something like this. It was crap. The battery degrades very quickly and within about 2 months of use it no longer holds a charge. So it's very much a disposable device… with a few months of service life.

      You'd be much better modding your iPod to take CF cards.

      • Randxyz123 on 25/10/2015 - 21:47

        My mistake.

        I know they would be crap but they are $5

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