Hacker Harrier
New Head-Fier
Hi everyone,
I'm looking for a replacement for my iPod Nano 3rd gen. I'm on my 3rd, as I still like the small form factor and the push button clickwheel, though the audio quality and battery life isn't great (obviously it's ancient tech now).
I'm moving over to FLACs and I require a player that gives tactile feedback in my coat pockets whilst I'm walking. This device has to be robust, as I will end up dropping the unit onto tarmac footpaths, although I can attach a wrist strap to the case/cover of most glass touchscreen DAPs. I'll mostly be listening on the shuffle setting.
I'd ideally like to get 5 years'+ use out of the thing. Needs to take a 128GB MicroSD card. Nice things to have but I probably won't use are: Bluetooth, Wifi, DLNA and streaming service access. I use wired Sennheiser MX170 "Dirtybud" basic earphones, as they let in traffic noise for my own safety. These will be replaced with VE Monk plus earphones when they expire. My budget for the new DAP is GBP £50-£110 ideally (USD $71-$156 as of May 2021).
I'm 90% certain I'll buy the xDuoo x2s, as it's cheap, compact, looks robust, is getting good feedback from buyers and I think has a replaceable battery. Not too keen on the postage stamp sized, rudimentary OLED display, and currently has issues with FLAC tags, which is probably fixable with a future firmware update.
I've been looking for a year or so and have a shortlist of DAPs, but have I missed out any good models, new or used that I should consider?
My shortlist:
Others:
I'm looking for a replacement for my iPod Nano 3rd gen. I'm on my 3rd, as I still like the small form factor and the push button clickwheel, though the audio quality and battery life isn't great (obviously it's ancient tech now).
I'm moving over to FLACs and I require a player that gives tactile feedback in my coat pockets whilst I'm walking. This device has to be robust, as I will end up dropping the unit onto tarmac footpaths, although I can attach a wrist strap to the case/cover of most glass touchscreen DAPs. I'll mostly be listening on the shuffle setting.
I'd ideally like to get 5 years'+ use out of the thing. Needs to take a 128GB MicroSD card. Nice things to have but I probably won't use are: Bluetooth, Wifi, DLNA and streaming service access. I use wired Sennheiser MX170 "Dirtybud" basic earphones, as they let in traffic noise for my own safety. These will be replaced with VE Monk plus earphones when they expire. My budget for the new DAP is GBP £50-£110 ideally (USD $71-$156 as of May 2021).
I'm 90% certain I'll buy the xDuoo x2s, as it's cheap, compact, looks robust, is getting good feedback from buyers and I think has a replaceable battery. Not too keen on the postage stamp sized, rudimentary OLED display, and currently has issues with FLAC tags, which is probably fixable with a future firmware update.
I've been looking for a year or so and have a shortlist of DAPs, but have I missed out any good models, new or used that I should consider?
My shortlist:
- xDuoo x2s (my #1 choice, button rattles, currently has FLAC tag issues)
- Hiby r2 (my #2 choice, glass front and back; requires case and wrist strap, reports of button rattles)
- Shanling Q1 (glass front; requires wrist strap, overly sensitive buttons)
- Used iBasso DX90 (has replaceable battery, not very compact, micro USB, used ones still above £120 budget limit)
- Shanling M0 (on the shortlist with its adaptable dial control, requires extra clip-on clip, reports of failures after 2 years)
- Fiio M5 (on the shortlist with its adaptable button controls)
Others:
- TempoTec V1-A (glass front; no case or cover on sale, reports of headphone jack socket failures)
- Used Cowon Plenue D/D2 (non user replaceable battery)
- xDuoo x3ii (good sized buttons, not compact)
- xDuoo Nano D3 (some tiny buttons, micro USB, reports of laggy user interface)
- Fiio M3 pro (reports of issues, laggy user interface, crashes)
- Hiby R3/R3 Pro (ideal form factor, but over-specified for my requirements, new ones above ideal budget)
- Hidizs AP80 /AP80 Pro (glass front and back, case for the model hides the tiny buttons)
- Sony DAPs eg. NW-A45/A55 (touchscreen front but has buttons; requires case, wrist strap, proprietary cable, workaround for annoying volume limiter, new ones above ideal budget)
- Fiwwat H10 (reports of lots of issues)
- Benjie/Ruizu/AGPTEK models (cheap but unlikely to last 5 years)
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