I’m looking for an MP3 player that can handle being used outdoors while doing yardwork. It needs to use buttons for control, as opposed to a touch screen. (so no old cell phones) It needs a reliable battery - something standard like an 18650 would be great, alternatively it should use AAs.
Used to use an old Sandisk Sansa Clip+ back in the day, but unfortunately, it did not come with a replaceable battery. Still, loved that thing. Flashed custom firmware on it and loaded it up with everything I had. It was so small and light.
3 Thanks
Yep, I have an old SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip somewhere, but the battery in it died so it’s not very useful anymore.
Now I use my smartphone as an MP3 player. 
Sorry, I’m not of much help. 
YEAH! Try to get a portable tape player that’s not a POS! I got some cassettes I’d like to transfer.
Even portable CD players are hard to come by for a reasonable price.
I also have used the Sandisk Sansa Clip+. Really nice little player. Don’t think they are made anymore. The ones available seem to old stock/used and the price is quite high.
There are some knock offs. No idea if they are any good.
None ever used a 18650 I know of. Most took AAA or were rechargeable.
Many had pathetic screens and menus.
Don’t knock an old phone + bluetooth (no cable). Easy downloads from the library. I mostly listen to books.
It’s REAL hard to get downloads into MP3 players now. Android is easier than Apple (which SUCKS for that).
I still have a couple of them (Sansa Clip+). I haven’t tried them in quite a while. Did the same with firmware. They were great little players.
I have been using one of these (Hidizs AP80) for nearly 4 years now. Battery is still good. It has a touch screen, but does have hard buttons of play/pause next and previous tracks. Plus a nice knob for volume. I have a 256 gig micro SD card in it. That is lots of music. Plays pretty much all formats. Has Bluetooth and physical headphone jack. It is tiny. I like it. Real nice player for a reasonable price (for today anyway)
Hard to find anything these days with only hard buttons for controls.
1 Thank
Still using my old sansa clip as well. It still takes a charge after all these years. I am not really sure how old it is but the last software update was 2008. Maybe daily use helps them live longer.
Good luck with your search, they just don’t make this sort of thing any more.
2 Thanks
Don’t discount old-timey cellphones. I had a few where I never ever directly transferred anything to the phone, but loaded up the microSD memcard separately.
Screw MTP and whatnot. At worst I’d usb it to get to the memcard as its own drive in file-mode and stuff a few t00nz on it, but ordinarily I’d keep a “master” (whole directory structure) on disk, a copy of the “master” on flash-thingy, then copy from one to the memcard.
Even after the phone got antiquated (provider locked out 2G then 3G phones), I still used it as a mp3 player, notebook, and alarms, 'though it was a pain to constantly have to resync the time with no connection to any network.
It was only after the “buttons” for volume up/down, etc., started falling off that I had to retire it, else I’d still be using it today. It was a touchscreen otherwise.
Alternatively, if your phone has a BT setup, get one of those handsfree doodads. One kind looks like a U-shaped collar with attached earbugs to stick in, and buttons on the “collar” for volume, track, answer/reject incoming calls, skip, etc.
Similar is a “string” with 2 earbugs, and blobby thing in the middle with the buttons.
I had one of each when I’d take the buses to/from work and just wanted to chillax instead of driving in. They work pretty well.
Or just wireless BT earmuffs. Lightweight on-ear, bulky over-ear, noise-cancelling, etc.
I had an old Sansa that was like a half-cylinder, screen/buttons on the flat side.
Was cumbersome even trying to select an album, as it tended to Strongly Prefer just linearly playing what’s on the lineup. Hearing the same opening song every time you’d power up could make you buggy. Think that’s why I gave up on it.
If you had 700 or more t00nz on it, and the album was midway through, would you really want to skip past 300+ songs, one by one, to get to it?
I was hoping there was the equivalent to Convoy or Sofirn in MP3 players. There’s tons of manufacturers on Amazon, not sure which are reliable.
1 Thank
I managed to solve my own problem via another of hobbies - radio.
A number of decent radios from XHDATA & Retekess have the ability to play mp3s from a microSD memory card, aka TF card. Those cards are cheap right now.
https://www.amazon.com/XHDATA-Portable-Shortwave-Receiver-Operated/dp/B0CN15B9M4
This can serve as an emergency weather radio and takes an 18650 for long lasting power.
https://www.amazon.com/Retekess-V115P-Rechargeable-Connection-Flashlight/dp/B01ARN28SQ
This looks like a less costly version with no backlight.
That XHDATA is a decent performer for its size. The Retekess I hear is also pretty good, but I’m not the biggest fan of those old Nokia batteries.
1 Thank
I’ve had 2 of the Xhdata radios and they both crapped out during the warranty period. The replaced one with another that looked like it had been returned by somebody else and told me it hadn’t.
I’ve been thinking of taking a slightly different approach and getting a low powered FM transmitter to use with CDs or Internet streaming. I could listen to what I wanted throughout the house as well as in the garage and outside that way without having to spend time downloading. Or trying to fix the downloads so that all the songs were in the albums like I had to do with some of the MP3 players I have.
1 Thank
That’s a bit of a shame. Do you know which models these were, for reference?
this one is recommended - and on sale right now:
Be careful wen looking for FM transmitters. Many of these are very low powered and have problems even covering a single room. Also, many of them just don’t sound very good. I have a couple from CCrane that are OK. Out of the box they are very weak, but there are instructions online for adjusting them… Still, unless you add some antenna the coverage my not be what you want.
Something like THIS is much better. Probably can be had on Aliexpress much cheaper. Still, you will lose a bit of sound quality.
If you don’t mind ripping all of you music, something like the Hiby above would work well. I have a couple of the Hidzs AP80 Pro X units (Also on sale now). I love them. I think you can put up to a 512 gig MicroSD card in them so they hold lots of music. With high quality MP3 (192 kbps or above) or better, FLAC files you will also have pretty decent sound quality. Noticeably better than the FM Transmitters that can be had for a reasonable cost.
I don’t know if you’re still looking for an answer, but I use a HiBy R1. It’s a great mp3 player!
The bad ones were the D109WB. I bought a D219 first and it’s been fine but the last 109 gets really distorted if I use it too much unless I’m using headphones, something in the amplifier is bad.
I replaced it with a C Crane Skywave 2 and have been pretty happy with it.
The C Crane was the one I was thinking of, but I really haven’t done much besides think about it for a while. A few other people have mentioned they use and like them.
I’ve got a small part of my CD collection on an old laptop now. I’ve used it to load up a few MP3 players and iPods over the years and I’m concerned how long it’s going to last, especially if I convert that laptop to Linux. I was thinking more of loading up my 5 disk CD player or a tablet for a source and listening to music using the radios I’ve got scattered throughout the house.
Skywave 2’s been my go-to these days as well, though in hindsight, going with the SSB version might have been useful. Two NiMH batteries, and it’s good to go for ages. Been tempted to test out the XHDATA D-808, but there isn’t really much it offers over the Skywave 2 besides SSB and utilizing a button-top 18650.
As for audio, I keep a simple little Retekess boombox around, which also has a tape deck. Highly unlikely to come across an old mixtape, but the possibility isn’t zero, so just in case…
Once again, in hindsight, maybe having bluetooth would have been a good addition, but honestly, if it can play CDs, that’s good enough for me. There’s a certain charm about taking the time, flipping through binders, and selecting something to listen to from start to finish.
1 Thank
I think it was Radio Jay Allen that wrote how the Skywave2 and D808 are both made in the same place and that Xhdata copied CCrane when they came up with the D808 but left off the weather band as they didn’t plan on selling it in north America.
I thought about getting the SSB version but didn’t want to spend the extra $90 or so to listen to old guys complain. But I would have if it was cheaper.
1 Thank
Caheck this one.
The hottest little radio I have tried… and I have a bunch of the better ones. Including both of the flavors of the Skywave.