1. iPod Classic 160GB (has since been refurbished and sold on)
2. Fiio X1 first-gen (sold on as I wanted to move up to...)
3. Fiio X5 first-gen (stolen, luckily without SD cards in there at the time)
4. Sony A15 (went on holiday to Portugal with me this past August and never came back; accidentally dropped it with enough force to kill it on impact)
5. iBasso DX50 (I think it was a hard-drive failure that iced it)

carrow said:

  So... my iBasso DX50 is screwed. Internals decided to nope out on me last Sunday on the first leg of an 8-hour journey to Belfast, which was super-great and fun of course. I travel quite a bit so am reliant on a good DAP for most of my music needs (so I don't absolutely slaughter my data cap via streaming, also).
 
My budget for one has increased significantly as I've recently secured a part-time job and have a birthday on 23rd Nov, so I'm willing to stretch to €500 if the value-for-money makes it worthwhile!
 
I've used the following in the last couple of years:

1. iPod Classic 160GB (has since been refurbished and sold on)
2. Fiio X1 first-gen (sold on as I wanted to move up to...)
3. Fiio X5 first-gen (stolen, luckily without SD cards in there at the time)
4. Sony A15 (went on holiday to Portugal with me this past August and never came back; accidentally dropped it with enough force to kill it on impact)
5. iBasso DX50 (I think it was a hard-drive failure that iced it)

 
Good battery life is a plus; if the battery's user-replaceable, even better. Expandable storage via microSD card(s) is a deal-breaker; if I can't get the bare minimum of 128gb of music on my device (all MP3 V0, though FLAC support is great too) through on-board and external storage then I'm not interested. USB OTG capability would be preferred.
 
Open to any possible brand you can throw at me; have looked into the Fiio X1 second-gen, Astell & Kern AK70, the Hifiman HM650 and Sony A25 & ZX1 - am now opening the floor to the knowledgeable HF community for some extra options, so have at it!

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tienbasse said:

  You say expandable memory is a deal breaker and then state you want at least 128Gb storage by combining internal+external, I'm not sure what you really mean.
 
 
I'll be brutal: <500$ for 128Gb internal memory, won't happen in the current market.
User-replacable battery: not common for DAPs, a bit more common for smartphones.
 
With a microsd slot for storage expansion, your choice at <500€ is suddenly MUCH broader, including DAPs and audiophile smartphones.
Without any additional criteria, we can't help you, you have to do your homework as well.

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carrow said:

   
Well, what I meant to say was that if I can't get 128GB of storage from a combination of onboard and external memory, that's probably not something I'd be happy with. The likes of the Hifiman HM700 have no microSD slot and top out at 32GB onboard memory, which is miserable when there are much more generous players available like the Cowon Plenue D, with a microSD slot that will take 128GB cards and possibly 200GBs also.
 
Actually, I said €500, so that's closer to $550, giving me a bit of extra wiggle room if I want to import something

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davidcotton said:

 
Sony zx1 right now will be a bit out dated with older version of android.  It was slow to start with according to some members, and with new models just round the corner (a35 etc) springs to mind.  Plenue D will take a 200gb card but has a file limit that means it won't actually read it (that bit's annoying as that's the only thing that's stopping me.
 
Other models include the aforementioned pioneer 100r, and the cayin i5 which can be had for around £350 or so from amp3 using a 10% code they have from time time.  Also there's the shanling m1 as well.

Do you want wifi enabled for streaming or are happy to just have onboard memory?
 
Also worth bearing in mind is that Black Friday is just around the corner so may be some good deals on.  Granted in the uk/europe we don't get the deals that the u.s get's but may be something about.

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tienbasse said:

  Cayin i5 is well equipped and a complete solution within your budget (great AKM4490 DAC).
The Pioneer is pushing your budget slightly but is great as well, especially if you're after bigger storage (32Gb + 2 memory slots).
 
After this you have pure audio players less oriented towards streaming, like Cayin N5 (2 slots + balanced output, UI is old-style but VERY complete in terms of options) or Loto PAW5000 (1 slot, very small form factor).
 
I'm sure people will come with other suggestions.
FiiO and iBasso also have some players in this pricerange, but my opinion is that their UIs are having trouble with large audio libraries (by number of files, not by size).

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