Need recommendations for a new MP3 player.

[DWSmith]

My Sandisk Sansa Clip is OLD but it still keeps works with its worn out case.

I've been looking at new ones on Amazon for a long time but I need some recommendations.

I don't need anything fancy, just reliable.

Thanks,
Dan

[davide10]

The Sansa Clip was a great little player. For a replacement, I'd stick with something simple, with physical buttons, good battery life and microSD support. No need for all the fancy features.

[aargee]

My little SanDisk Clip is also wearing out. I use it at night, and the good thing is that it has a simple button layout that you can run the player by feel.

I'd love to replace it with the same unit or something very similar.

[RoGeorge]

I use old Android phones as players (for audiobooks only, but I guess the idea still stands for music, too, only choose a different app).  In flight mode and without any SIM card, the battery of a mobile can last for weeks in standby, or for a few days of non stop audio playing.

The app I am using for audiobooks is called Voice.  It remembers where you left, it can play at faster speed without altering the narrator's voice, it has a timer for falling asleep while listening to a book, etc.  The physical volume buttons of the phone act as playback volume, directly, without the need of waking up/unlocking the phone screen first.  Can play mp3 and most other formats, not only audiobook formats.

The audiobook playing app is free and open source, no ads, called Voice:  https://github.com/PaulWoitaschek/Voice or can be installed directly from Google Play, F-droid, etc.

[Peabody]

Sandisk still makes a couple versions of the clip you have.  But I think the last one that was any good was the Clip+.  I now have the Clip Sports Go model, which is ok, except that fast forward isn't exponential, so fast forwarding through long podcasts is not practical - it takes forever.  You might look through the Wikipedia entry to see what you have.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SanDisk_portable_media_players

The audio is still good, but I think in general the Clips have gone downhill a bit - the later models are not as good as the earlier ones.  If you find a good replacement, be sure to post here.

[Halcyon]

Seems like DAP (Digital Audio Player) is the current terminology for these devices.

Sony still make a series of Walkman products, but they aren't cheap. The ZX700 is going for around AUD$899.

Plenty of cheap models out there too by Anko, FiiO, GreenTouch and Samvix; Never used them, don't know what the quality is like, but if you just want cheap and cheerful, those might be good options over the bargain basement Chinese rubbish from Temu etc. B&H have a bunch in stock.

[NiHaoMike]

What we really need is an open hardware project for one, running Rockbox. Have it accept SD cards or M.2 SSDs for storage and options for audio output ranging from basic PWM output to high end I2S DACs depending on how good of an analog output is desired, with USB headsets also an option.

[RoGeorge]

Add a miniature vibrational-speaker, however they are called, to turn any window or furniture into a loudspeaker when attaching the player to it, something similar with this:  https://waves-system.com/en/produit/10820/