Looking for that next DAP to replace my FiiO X3ii

[Grado Diesel]

I’m looking to get a second DAP for work so I can semi retire my aging FiiO X3ii to the car.
My setup is DAP>Schiit Vali2 (with mouse ears and chrome dome as my favorite tubes)>Sennheiser HD6XX. I also have a pair of HIFIMAN HE-400i’s I use once in a while.

What’s something comparable to the X3ii that uses micro SD’s, plays all the same formats (mostly Flac, mp4a and mp3 for me), doesn’t need a special music manager program to drop the tunes in (I like how the X3ii is just like a jump drive) and is around the $150 price range?

Also I would get something better than the X3ii if the price is in my range.

 

[Marisu]

One of the first daps that I bought was x3ii, sadly it died after 2 months...

Now I've been using the Sony nw-a40 for the past couple of months. I'm quite happy with it.
The interface is quite good when you get used to it, it has all the buttons you need (next/last track, play/pause, volume, button/touchscreen lock) and it has a touchscreen.

I've been using it with a 64gb sd card and it works just fine (remember to format the sd card in the a-40 menu).

The only gripes I have with it are:
1. It doesn't sound as good as x3ii
2. It doesn't read some cover arts in jpeg
3. Some versions have a volume cap (you can get rid of it by using this easy guide here -> https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/SonyNWDestTool)

You can find it used for around 130$ (I managed to buy it for a 100)

If you're looking for real reviews here's the thread about it -> https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sony-nw-a40-series-nw-a45-a46-a47.854779/