[BetaWolf]

I'm looking to get a new media player to carry around with me. I've had a Creative Zen (2007 model), Sony Walkman (don't know which model, but it was a small candybar style one from 2009 or 2010), a Zune HD, and a Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0. I've got to say, I preferred the Creative Zen in every way, partially because it sounded better (to me) than the others, and because it was comfortable to me. I like being able to change tracks and adjust the volume without taking it out of my pocket.
 
What is a good player without a touchscreen or, if it has a touchscreen, has buttons I can use instead? Must sound good. 32 or 64GB storage preferred, 16GB acceptable, 8GB good enough if it has expandable memory.

 

[tomasskalnin]

Rockboxed ipod classic is realy great- best ui, good sound and very, very much storage.

 

[BetaWolf]

Thanks for the response. I would prefer flash storage due to smaller form factor, better battery life, and less loading times. Is there anything good with just traditional buttons, like the Archos 24y?
http://www.archos.com/products/mp3/archos_24y_vision/specs.html?country=us&lang=en
How about the iriver Lplayer?

 

[Dyaems]

Quote:

I'm looking to get a new media player to carry around with me. I've had a Creative Zen (2007 model), Sony Walkman (don't know which model, but it was a small candybar style one from 2009 or 2010), a Zune HD, and a Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0. I've got to say, I preferred the Creative Zen in every way, partially because it sounded better (to me) than the others, and because it was comfortable to me. I like being able to change tracks and adjust the volume without taking it out of my pocket.
 
What is a good player without a touchscreen or, if it has a touchscreen, has buttons I can use instead? Must sound good. 32 or 64GB storage preferred, 16GB acceptable, 8GB good enough if it has expandable memory.

 
 
 
then a CF-modded ipod? haha
 
whats your budget?
 
although these are touchscreen based, the cowon s9 or j3 fits you since they have external buttons to change volumes and switch songs while they are inside your pocket. also, they sound good, looks good, have micro sd slot, and they come with 8/16/32 gb variants.
 
the downside of it is cowon stopped manufacturing it, so you may want to look at the FS section of the forum.
 
 
it is also rated 20-30 hours of battery life with flac playback

 

[H20Fidelity]

.

 

[gelocks]

I say, get yourself a Clip Zip... It doesn't have the best battery life out there but it's cheap, accepts microSD cards, you can RockBox it, it reads 64GB microSD cards (you have to format it to FAT32 though) and it is extremely capable. Got an iRiver S100... it's Ok.

 

[Retrias]

most High grade/audiphile DAP out there doesn't have touchscreen don't they ?
like rocco
Hi sounds
Hifimans series
Colorfly c4
 
the AK 100 comes with buttons as well

 

[tomasskalnin]

I had rocoo ba, studio v and rockboxed ipod classic. Overall ipod is best. Apart from sound hisound are terrible.

 

[gelocks]

Quote:

most High grade/audiphile DAP out there doesn't have touchscreen don't they ?
like rocco
Hi sounds
Hifimans series
Colorfly c4
 
the AK 100 comes with buttons as well

 
and most of them are NOT reliable as they have lots of crashes, poor firmware implementation and almost non-existent support... 

 

[Retrias]

I don't think the hifiman have that many problem , but eh if you are going to buy a DAP, might as well go for the sound you like the most . I would have to say that kind of blanket statement shouldn't be applied to everything on the audiophile market

 

[BetaWolf]

Quote:

 
then a CF-modded ipod? haha
 
whats your budget?
 
although these are touchscreen based, the cowon s9 or j3 fits you since they have external buttons to change volumes and switch songs while they are inside your pocket. also, they sound good, looks good, have micro sd slot, and they come with 8/16/32 gb variants.
 
the downside of it is cowon stopped manufacturing it, so you may want to look at the FS section of the forum.
 
 
it is also rated 20-30 hours of battery life with flac playback

I know, I'm pretty picky when it comes to electronics. Things have to be a certain way for me.
 
Thanks again for all of the replies so far. I'm going to say that 32GB or more flash memory (or 8GB with microSD/SD card slot) and having actual buttons takes preference over audio quality here. I'm not that choosy since most decent IEMs sound good enough for me on the go. As long as it sounds better than a mainstream Android phone, I'll be happy.
 
My first MP3 player was a 2007 Creative Zen, and like I said, I liked being able to change tracks and adjust the volume by feel alone. I'm considering getting an older Creative player, such as the X-Fi Style or Zen X-Fi 2 (that does have SOME buttons). I'm also still looking at those iriver players, and even considering some players with optional touch functionality.

 

[tomasskalnin]

Sandisk sansa clip zip is realy good choise too.