[AONihilist]

Well... My current source, the iPod Nano 7th generation, is dead in the water. No warranty, no way of repairing it without costing me a bomb (compared to the purchase price).

I was wondering whether there are sources that run on Android other than Android phones (because I already have an iPhone). What I'm essentially looking for is a good MP3/ALAC/FLAC player that runs on Android.

I just want to use it as a mobile device to surf the Net or download Android apps while still being able to use it as a source. I used to own a 'droid, so I know how awesome it is to be able to download torrents off the Net or to watch Flash videos without a computer.

Are there any such Android music players? It's best if it isn't a tablet, but I can get one if it's really good.

 

[shch13]

Look at the Samsung Galaxy Player series. 
Also look at the Sony Walkman Z or F series.
 
Basically Android's iPod Touch.

 

[AONihilist]

Look at the Samsung Galaxy Player series. 

Also look at the Sony Walkman Z or F series.

Basically Android's iPod Touch.

They're both impressive, but I prefer Sony above Samsung due to personal reasons. That aside, I was wondering whether there are other players instead of these, of which I already know. Something that was built to be a source, and a good one.

 

[julian67]

There are a couple of series of Android based media players from Archos which arer not current but possibly still available new if you search, and which can often be found really cheap as used items.

The most recent would be the "generation 8" series A28, A32 and A43 Internet Tablets. The numbers refer to 2.8", 3.2" and 4.3" screen sizes so these are very small and extremely slim devices. They run Froyo and only have resistive screens so will not suit anyone who wants to try every latest app or requires multi-touch and pinch zoom and so on. The audio output is really good except for high output impedance so you need headphones/IEMs which don't sound different at different loads (so no balanced armatures). I have an A43 and it sounds great with my Shure SE215, Sennheiser Momentums, Sennheiser CX95 and Koss KSC75. It has 16GB onboard storage and a microSD slot. The smaller players don't have a microSD slot. I find mine is great for internet radio, www browsing, rss client, remote control of my torrent server, music server and so on. It plays video up to 720p. Battery life as an audio player is at least 24 hours, maybe quite a lot more. It is less if you play video, browse www etc but still very good. As a very versatile audio player the A43 is great once you add stuff like DeadBeef and Rockbox. The tablet stuff is secondary and these things absolutely do not offer a slick Apple type experience and there is a lot of negative opinion of them for this reason.

I broke mine beyond repair (totally my fault) and in the end bought a used one to replace it. I wanted a replacement and found that small Android based media players have almost vanished from the market since larger tablets got a lot cheaper and smartphones got better. I considered the Samsung Players but they are known for having lots of annoying system noise intrude into the music while the Archos players don't do this.

I notice when you find these new they are expensive and not good value. I paid about £45 for mine, boxed and condition as good as new, at which price I'm happy.

 

[AONihilist]

There are a couple of series of Android based media players from Archos which arer not current but possibly still available new if you search, and which can often be found really cheap as used items.

The most recent would be the "generation 8" series A28, A32 and A43 Internet Tablets. The numbers refer to 2.8", 3.2" and 4.3" screen sizes so these are very small and extremely slim devices. They run Froyo and only have resistive screens so will not suit anyone who wants to try every latest app or requires multi-touch and pinch zoom and so on. The audio output is really good except for high output impedance so you need headphones/IEMs which don't sound different at different loads (so no balanced armatures). I have an A43 and it sounds great with my Shure SE215, Sennheiser Momentums, Sennheiser CX95 and Koss KSC75. It has 16GB onboard storage and a microSD slot. The smaller players don't have a microSD slot. I find mine is great for internet radio, www browsing, rss client, remote control of my torrent server, music server and so on. It plays video up to 720p. Battery life as an audio player is at least 24 hours, maybe quite a lot more. It is less if you play video, browse www etc but still very good. As a very versatile audio player the A43 is great once you add stuff like DeadBeef and Rockbox. The tablet stuff is secondary and these things absolutely do not offer a slick Apple type experience and there is a lot of negative opinion of them for this reason.

I broke mine beyond repair (totally my fault) and in the end bought a used one to replace it. I wanted a replacement and found that small Android based media players have almost vanished from the market since larger tablets got a lot cheaper and smartphones got better. I considered the Samsung Players but they are known for having lots of annoying system noise intrude into the music while the Archos players don't do this.

I notice when you find these new they are expensive and not good value. I paid about £45 for mine, boxed and condition as good as new, at which price I'm happy.

Well... Damn.

1) I primarily use BAs. I've got the TF10, UE 900, PFE 112, ER-4PT and so on. I'm not a fan of Dynamics, so I guess it can't work for me.

2) I don't mind the resistive touchscreen. Not much, since my primary device would be my iPhone. Still, it hampers me greatly because most apps run best on capacitive touchscreens. Remember that I'm also using this as a backup laptop when I have no access to my MacBook for basic functions.

3) I don't think I can find these anywhere in my local stores unless I get them online.

It seems like no one thought to pull Apple's iPod touch idea and put that into a 'droid.

P.S. I was wondering... Can I get my 'droid to sync with my iTunes? I know I can sync data to and fro, but the thing here is that... Well, iTunes users should have by now realized that iTunes logs the number of times you play a song. Can I sync this data to and fro? I'd just like to see how many times I've played a particular song.

 

[julian67]

Unfortunately the Archos players aren't ideal with BAs unless you add an inline resistor such as the Etymotic ER4P to ER4S adapter and even then I think the inconvenience and reduced levels make it unsatisfactory. I suspect the Samsungs will be an especially bad choice as well because very sensitive IEMs will reveal the system noise at its fullest. It's worth noting that the iPod Touch also has problematically high output impedance, measured at 7 ohms by nwavguy.

It seems the Android based Sony Walkman F800 that someone else mentioned might be your best bet. I've not heard one but have seen reviews claiming they work well with multi BA IEMs but I know they don't have microSD slots so that is a limitation compared to the older Samsung and Archos players.

 

[AONihilist]

Unfortunately the Archos players aren't ideal with BAs unless you add an inline resistor such as the Etymotic ER4P to ER4S adapter and even then I think the inconvenience and reduced levels make it unsatisfactory. I suspect the Samsungs will be an especially bad choice as well because very sensitive IEMs will reveal the system noise at its fullest. It's worth noting that the iPod Touch also has problematically high output impedance, measured at 7 ohms by nwavguy.

It seems the Android based Sony Walkman F800 that someone else mentioned might be your best bet. I've not heard one but have seen reviews claiming they work well with multi BA IEMs but I know they don't have microSD slots so that is a limitation compared to the older Samsung and Archos players.

Well... It appears I must add a tablet to my bag load. An Android tablet specifically for my laptop work, and then get a DAP...

Why can't all the corporations just work in harmony?

P.S. I do have an iPod touch 5G in the household. I don't seem to get much impedance issues out of it.

P.P.S. The Samsungs don't work with Mac, so are there any that do?

 

[julian67]

If you run Mac OS and use iPhone then why throw an Android device into the mix??? I would just buy another Nano. I believe the Apple ecosystem is carefully designed to be so inconvenient with non-Apple products that it will inevitably lead to this conclusion

I'm unsure that the Samsung Players don't work with Mac. They show up as USB mass storage devices just like any external drive so you can drag and drop whatever files you like. They're not Apple so no iTunes sync but surely there must be third party OS X apps which let you manage non-Apple media players?

 

[AONihilist]

If you run Mac OS and use iPhone then why throw an Android device into the mix??? I would just buy another Nano. I believe the Apple ecosystem is carefully designed to be so inconvenient with non-Apple products that it will inevitably lead to this conclusion

I'm unsure that the Samsung Players don't work with Mac. They show up as USB mass storage devices just like any external drive so you can drag and drop whatever files you like. They're not Apple so no iTunes sync but surely there must be third party OS X apps which let you manage non-Apple media players?

Well... Did you read why I wanted an Android? The first post?
 
That aside, I know there are third-party apps that allow data syncing through iTunes to Android, but the question here is the play-log which I asked back here. 

 

[Mimouille]

The latest Sony ZX1 fits the bill.

 

[JohannLiebert]

Note 2 is still a very fast phone. Very enjoyable sound with root(voodoo) + neutron.
Sony ZX1 doesn't come near, aswell as S4 and Note 3.

 

[Mimouille]

Note 2 is still a very fast phone. Very enjoyable sound with root(voodoo) + neutron.
Sony ZX1 doesn't come near, aswell as S4 and Note 3.

Have you tried the Sony DW ZX1 high res player that just came out or are you just inventing this? Very few people, including me have it, and the sound is at the level of audiophile DAPs.

 

[AONihilist]

Note 2 is still a very fast phone. Very enjoyable sound with root(voodoo) + neutron.
Sony ZX1 doesn't come near, aswell as S4 and Note 3.

I did say no phones, no?

 

[JohannLiebert]

I just read the the title. But Androidphones have better hardware for the same price and the samsung flagships have low output impedance. 
Big community with guys who create audio mods. A rooted Galaxy S3 or Note2 with Neutron Player sounds superb. Definitely a point to consider.
 
Sony never had players with a good headphone jack(high output impedance).

 

[AONihilist]

I just read the the title. But Androidphones have better hardware for the same price and the samsung flagships have low output impedance. 
Big community with guys who create audio mods. A rooted Galaxy S3 or Note2 with Neutron Player sounds superb. Definitely a point to consider.

Sony never had players with a good headphone jack(high output impedance).

Well... I do have the AK10... It should work with the Sony players.

I do know about the nice hardware of 'droids, but I already have an iPhone. It's kinda dumb to carry two phones and only use one as a phone while the other is simply useless except for some minor use for downloading stuff and as a media player. It's just dumb.

That's why I said earlier that I would have to incorporate a Android tablet into my portable technology gear. What happens now is that I use that tablet as my portable Android laptop and my iPhone as my source.

That is, unless someone can come up with a decent Android source... Put simply, I'm still hoping for another contender to come up.