The Finest MP3 Gamers for 2023
John Falcone Senior Editorial Director, Procuring
John P. Falcone is the senior director of commerce content material at CNET, the place he coordinates protection of the location’s shopping for suggestions alongside the CNET Recommendation group (the place he beforehand headed the patron electronics critiques part). He is been a CNET editor since 2003.
- Self-taught tinkerer, casual IT and gadget guide to family and friends (with a number of self-built gaming PCs below his belt)
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Finest MP3 participant for die-hard iTunes customers
iPhone SE
Fundamental funds MP3 participant
SanDisk Clip Sport Plus
Screenless Spotify possibility
Mighty Vibe (at the moment unavailable)
Gone are days of utilizing a standalone MP3 participant just like the iPod. Whereas they as soon as dominated popular culture, nearly nobody wants an MP3 participant these days. You should purchase any iPhone or Android telephone and pair it with subscription music apps like Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music and YouTube Music to make use of it as an audio participant. You pay your $5 to $10 a month, and also you get entry to almost each in style tune ever recorded. Most tracks are downloadable, too, so you may hearken to your music even once you depart a Wi-Fi or mobile protection space. It is fast, simple and handy.
However perhaps you assume a subscription service is not for you. Perhaps you have acquired one too many subscriptions already, so why pay for another when you have already got a music library of 1000’s of MP3 information sitting in your exhausting drive? Or perhaps you have meticulously crafted iTunes playlists, like mixtapes of outdated, that you do not wish to re-create or switch to a different service. Perhaps you will have uncommon, one-off reside tracks that do not exist on mainstream companies. (Phish followers, I am you.)
Now, if any of that applies to you, you nonetheless do not want an MP3 participant — your iPhone can nonetheless sync music information from iTunes (on Home windows) or the Apple Music app (on Mac), and it in all probability has extra space for storing than your outdated iPod ever did. Android telephones, too, can play no matter music information you may load them up with. However if you would like a devoted system to your music — or, perhaps, a parentally curated set of songs to present to a child who’s not prepared for a telephone — there are nonetheless MP3 system choices on the market. They are not all nice, they usually typically include some caveats. However should you’ve gotten this far, here is what I can suggest, greater than twenty years after the iPod was first launched.
Finest MP3 participant for die-hard iTunes customers
iPhone SE
The iPod Contact was the final devoted music participant in Apple’s lineup, nevertheless it was formally discontinued in Could 2022. You’ll be able to nonetheless discover used fashions on the market, however do not anticipate them to be supported for for much longer.
What to do as a substitute? Get a used iPhone, or a brand new iPhone SE — and simply apply it to Wi-Fi. The latter will price you about $429 all-in (for 64GB of storage), however you may get a tool that may run the newest model of iOS, and it may possibly pull music from iTunes (on Home windows) or Apple Music (on the Mac). It really works seamlessly with Bluetooth headphones and audio system, however you may want a pesky Lightning adapter to make use of old-school headphones. And, as a result of it is acquired the App Retailer, you can even go for alternate companies like Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube and the like (as long as you may entry a Wi-Fi hotspot), along with or as a substitute of the Apple Music app.
Sure, that is approach an excessive amount of to pay for a “music participant,” in my e book. However it’s probably the most succesful and versatile possibility right here, particularly for individuals who are already within the Apple companies universe — or refuse to go away their iTunes-based MP3 library. It is also a pleasant fallback moveable MP3 participant possibility for youths should you do not wish to spend up for an iPad, which begins at round $300 and is not pocketable.
Present knowledgeable take Present much less
As soon as upon a time, folks strapped iPod Nanos to their wrists and referred to as it an Apple Watch of kinds.
These days the actual Apple Watch can act as a sorta-kinda iPod, not less than for Apple Music subscribers. Simply sync some playlists to the Watch, and you’ll take pleasure in digital music (to not point out podcasts) on a set of wi-fi headphones, even when the iPhone is nowhere close by. Get an Apple Watch SE for lower than $250 for fundamental music playback, or go for an Apple Watch Collection 8 or Apple Watch Extremely if you would like extra non-music options. Be aware that current Apple Watch SE gross sales have seen the costs of the 40mm model drop to as little as $200 and the bigger 44mm mannequin dip under $230.
Present knowledgeable take Present much less
Today, you may nonetheless get very fundamental music gamers on Amazon, however they’re practically all from no-name China manufacturers. (We tried one like this, and it was tremendous, however nothing particular.) Within the (distant) previous, the tiny SanDisk Clip household of gamers had been a serviceable possibility for fundamental music playback (as long as you are nicely versed in the old-fashioned drag-and-drop methodology of file switch). However some Amazon reviewers have criticized the later iteration of that mannequin — the Clip Sport Plus — saying that its Bluetooth connection wasn’t as much as snuff. If you wish to go this route, you would possibly wish to persist with wired headphones, which may even allow FM radio playback.
Present knowledgeable take Present much less
Screenless Spotify possibility
Mighty Vibe (at the moment unavailable)
- The Mighty Vibe is a tiny music participant with an built-in clip that shops downloaded Spotify playlists and podcasts. It has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, so you should utilize it with Bluetooth headphones and audio system. It is good for runners who do not wish to carry a telephone round to hearken to music. There is a headphone jack for wired headphones.
- Bluetooth headphones are purported to robotically re-pair, however some fashions might require manually re-pairing. Battery life is simply OK.
The Mighty Vibe is the closest fashionable equal to the iPod Shuffle, the screenless iPod that was beloved by runners for weighing subsequent to nothing and simply spooling off songs from their favourite playlist. (It is also an important gadget loophole for sleepaway camps with “no display” guidelines.) The catch is that this mannequin solely works with Spotify Premium and (because of a current firmware replace) Amazon Music, each of which will be synced wirelessly.
The Vibe can retailer upwards of 1,000 songs in its music library, and — in contrast to the outdated Shuffle — it helps wi-fi and wired headphones. However it prices by way of the headphone jack by way of a proprietary cable, reasonably than extra ubiquitous micro-USB or USB-C connectors. The 5-hour battery life is so-so, as is the worth tag over $100, which feels greater than what you wish to pay for this MP3 system product in an period of $30 wi-fi headphones and $200 good telephones.
Present knowledgeable take Present much less
Sure, the merchandise above are actually the one ones I can suggest on this class with any diploma of enthusiasm. However they are not the one choices. When you’re on the lookout for a discount basement possibility (below $50), a critical high-end various (beginning at $350 and going to 4 figures) or some attention-grabbing workarounds, learn on.
This 4GB “participant in a headphone” mannequin makes use of Aftershockz’s patented bone-conduction know-how. It is also absolutely waterproof, and retails for about $150. (Be aware that CNET hasn’t examined these hands-on.)
When you’ve acquired an outdated telephone — otherwise you purchase a brand new one with out service — you may have entry to the total realm of app-based music companies, and any music information you care to add. One thing just like the $160-ish Samsung Galaxy A03S (proven above) suits the invoice properly, since you may drop in a MicroSD card that you’ve got preloaded with tunes.
Sony remains to be making new Walkman fashions.
Audiophiles have lengthy regarded down on digital music as a result of the sound high quality was notably inferior for golden-eared listeners with distinguishing tastes. However the growth of lossless file codecs (equivalent to FLAC) and low cost ample multigigabyte storage have made moveable high-fidelity music a actuality.
At this level, there are actually solely two main gamers within the high-end moveable music house: Astell & Kern and Sony (the place the Walkman model nonetheless lives on). We have used earlier variations of every model, however not the present fashions.
When you’re the kind of one that has exhausting drives filled with uncompressed music audio information — and may hear the distinction between that and relatively low-resolution MP3 and AAC information — then, by all means, pair up a kind of gamers together with your wired headphone of selection.
That stated, practically all the streaming music companies now provide lossless or excessive bitrate choices — that is practically all the large gamers, from Tidal and Qobuz to Amazon and Apple. (Spotify HiFi, weirdly, stays a no-show.)
When you like what you hear, take into account upgrading to a first rate headphone DAC (that is “digital to analog converter”) just like the Audiofly Dragonfly and a critical wired headphone. Then you definately’ll have a stable audiophile possibility that is good for the street, with out the necessity for a standalone music participant.
When you’ve acquired a digital music assortment that features one-offs and reside tracks that are not out there on the mainstream companies, you may add them to on-line companies, the place they’ll reside alongside subscription tracks and be shared amongst a number of units (together with good audio system).
YouTube Music, previously generally known as Google Play Music, gives this service at no further price for as much as 100,000 tracks.
Apple customers can go for iTunes Match, which helps you to add your personal digital music to reside in tandem with Apple Music tracks. As soon as out there for $24 a yr, the service now seems to be bundled in as a part of an Apple Music or Apple One subscription.
When you go for both of those choices, ensure you hold a neighborhood backup of your information, simply in case these companies go away.
Be aware that Amazon shuttered its “MP3 locker” service in 2018.