I’ve been wanting to re-build my personal music library offline for a while now, for 2 reasons: 1) nostalgia for offline content that I don’t have to rely on a streaming service for and 2) building up a library for DJ sets which ties into point number 1.
I did some research and decided to look into the FiiO media player line. They have been popular amongst HiFi audio heads and since Apple doesn’t make the iPod anymore (RIP, IMO worst decision they’ve made) I figure this would be a good alternative.
What I like about it is that you can use it offline, use it with high res audio (flac, OGG) files and you can expand the internal storage with a micro USB card. I miss the days of phones and devices using extra storage with a card, and this was a great feature. It also looks pretty snazzy too!
I went with the M9 model since I saw it on eBay used, and it was way more affordable than buying one new – which can range from $500 and up. I’m not ready to spend that kind of money since I don’t have the high res music library nor super high quality headphones to take advantage of that high res audio quality. Hi end headphones are a whole new world and my wallet isn’t ready 🤣
So far I love it. I can transfer my offline mp3 and flac files via USB easily; I know Bluetooth is an option and I’ve learned how to update the apps and side load apk’s such as Tidal, Spotify, SomaFM, and PocketCasts, for when I do want to stream some audio and store it offline. I know you can use this as a DAC, but I don’t think my ears are tuned to understand that yet. XD
If you’re curious about all the options I’ve included the link to this particular player above. I’m currently using it with my Audio-Technica ATH-M50X monitor headphones, and I’ve been loving the separation from this and my phone or computer.
Do you use an mp3 player, DAP, or similar? I’d love to hear about it on Mastodon or comments below 😄
@BinaryDigit it’s so beautiful.
@eternity_html thank you! That’s a stock photo of course, but in person it’s quite similar! https://pixelfed.social/i/web/post/591311569815349967
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What a beautiful photo of the headphones. I’m doing something similar, but with a modded iPod Video 5th gen. The 5th Gen video model has a Wolfson DAC which was rated the best out of all the classic iPod models!
I love seeing that other people are doing this too! I’ve always been partial to offline music collections, mostly because I get really sick of stuff being pulled from the streaming services I use without warning. Having to re-add and organize your collection just because some licensing agreements were changed is unreasonable. I’m sticking with my old Samsung phone that has an mSD slot until I no longer can, but when I switch I will probably start looking for a standalone player. I’ll definitely look into this one since you’ve recommended it!
Agree, it’s so frustrating! I hope you find one and let me know how you like it 😀