Hello, if you are still using them, which one do you use ?
I have 300 GB of music. I am looking for one that is privacy respectful and able to read flac. Any recommandation ?
i use an old cellphone with the radios disabled. throw a big old microsd card in and youre good to go.
I would also do that but sadly I do not have any spare phone and my phone has no sd card slot
If you’re in the USA, best buy might have a returned low end phone, Moto’s often have SD slots.
Sadly, Android does not have a good folder player tgat does FLAC, so VLC is it.
android has a neat little “folder player” ☞ https://f-droid.org/packages/souch.smp/
I am not in the US. I don’t like to buy second hand smartphone in my country. It is either overpriced or straight up junk, be it in the local equivalent of craiglist or in specialized store. However, It is the solution I would prefer if I can get a spare phone from someone I know (given or bought). But I have not been lucky yet. Most people I know use their phone untill they stop working or there is no sd card.
I used to use Mortplayer on Android for years which played FLACs and used folders well. I don’t know the current state of the app, but it might be worth looking into.
Some of the old LG phones (the V series) were known and sold for the quality of their audio. If you can find one of those on eBay it should be pretty cheap.
I had to get a player without any internet access or camera awhile back to use while working with confidential information, and ended up getting a 2nd Generation Fiio X3. Was a bit expensive, but was the most recommended for the price at the time, was a lot cheaper than the Sony, B&O and Astell+Kern it was compared with in reviews, and still works well years later. I just use a microSD card reader to update it, there’s a driver to install if you want to use it as a DAC otherwise it’s not needed
I backed this: https://www.crowdsupply.com/cool-tech-zone/tangara
Its not yet released and is in the manufacturing process but I think it’s worth considering
You should look into Rockbox. It’s an open source alternative firmware for a variety of portable media players that adds features such as support for more file formats (and it runs Doom). As for which supported players I’d recommend then maybe a flash modded iPod or an AIGO Eros Q or K (also sold as the HIFI WALKER H2, Surfans F20, or AGPTek H3).
Did not know Rockbox, definitely will check it.
AIGO Eros Q or K (also sold as the HIFI WALKER H2, Surfans F20, or AGPTek H3).
Are they all the same ?
I am currently rocking a Shanling M2X which I bought secondhand for €75,- from the local classified ad websites.
Officially supports up the 512Gb but according some reviews it can do up to 2Tb microSD cards ( https://headfonics.com/shanling-m2x-review/ ). I currently have a music collection of about the same size. The Shanling M2X can drive all the IEMs I throw at it, has enough file system support to read just about anything and has WiFi and Bluetooth. Although the WiFi can only be used to wirelessly sync files (which can be a pro but also a con, depending on how you look at it).
However if you don’t feel like going secondhand, Shanling offers a whole bunch of devices meant for offline playback of local files.