Do people still use MP3 players?

[el murdoque]

The last time I checked, the portable devices for listening to music were not necessary limited to MP3 but rather high quality phone preamps with a built in device to play lossless audio formats and they were targeted at audiophile listeners. Ibasso comes to mind.

 

[two fingers]

I used to buy MP3 players up until roughly 10 years ago and I loved them. But after a while they became harder to find. As in, finding them in stores.

Did a better method come along? Such as Spotify or some kind of online storage?

I still like the idea of a smaller device dedicated to music that is light and easy to carry.

To be honest, I've gone back to traditional radio. Yes, for 10 years. But if I could find a good player to hold lots of music, maybe hundreds of albums. Or perhaps a way of selecting a dozen albums at a time, and then switching them out each day. If that's easy to do.

I'd even be open to online options, none of which I have used, with the exception of youtube.

Thanks for any suggestions.

They have mostly been replaced by either strong on a smart phone or music stored on a smart phone. With apps like Amazing Slow Downer that allows me to detune music for learning it in different keys, EQ apps, half a dozen good streaming services, etc. I see no need to go back to a standalone device for music.

 

[mcnach]

I used to buy MP3 players up until roughly 10 years ago and I loved them. But after a while they became harder to find. As in, finding them in stores.

Did a better method come along? Such as Spotify or some kind of online storage?

I still like the idea of a smaller device dedicated to music that is light and easy to carry.

To be honest, I've gone back to traditional radio. Yes, for 10 years. But if I could find a good player to hold lots of music, maybe hundreds of albums. Or perhaps a way of selecting a dozen albums at a time, and then switching them out each day. If that's easy to do.

I'd even be open to online options, none of which I have used, with the exception of youtube.

Thanks for any suggestions.

My phone has taken the place of my mp3 players. I have albums stored in it and I also use Spotify. But I still use a tiny clip-on mp3 player sometimes: it's really really small and light and quite convenient for places like gym etc. However, my phone is never far away, so it's not like I need the player, and with decent bluetooth earphones becoming available easily, the phone is the better option in that case too. If I went jogging outside, perhaps, then the tiny mp3 player would be preferable... but again a comfy phone holder is easy to use.

 

[Kawai2g4b]

Yep! That’s exactly what I use. Mostly for practicing. I connect it to my Vox Bass AmPlug and some headphones and I’m off and running! Micro sd card 64gb and I have way more music on there than I could ever need!

it’s also good for biking, skateboarding, roller skating as it’s light and clips right on my shirt. Can’t do that with my iPhone!!

I’m right there with you on a similar setup. I run my Walkman into the aux input on my AMT Pangaea FX for practicing.

 

[Dincrest]

I still do. I like the Fiio one I use. It uses memory cards that can be easily bought in Staples, dragging and dropping in MP3 or WAV files is easy (no need for iTunes), sound quality is good, easily plugs into my car stereo or bass amp...

I mostly listen to music in my car. I'd rather not use my phone in case I need it for other things like navigation. Plus I simply prefer dedicated-use devices than all-in-ones.

 

[hrodbert696]

I was using my smartphone for music while jogging. Then the headphone jack started getting glitchy (I don't have wireless earbuds), and I didn't want to buy a whole new phone just for that little thing, so I got an mp3 player again off Amazon, first one I'd owned in years, maybe a decade. Perfectly happy with it.

 

[lunarpollen]

I think once microSD cards started to surpass 128GB and their prices came down, and cell phones were equipped with slots for them, they started to supplant dedicated mp3 players... The mp3 player manufacturers weren't interested in keeping up with the capabilities that the microSD cards + phones were providing. The technology exists for dedicated mp3 players that can hold 1 or 2 TB of files to be manufactured at the size of a wristwatch or pendant, but no one wants to bother making them. I have a 256GB memory card in my phone, and have almost 18,000 song files on it... it's only a little more than halfway full...

 

[JakobT]

With the last one I had maybe 16G. Does that sound right? I think I was able to store about 100 ripped CDs, which I would sometimes delete a few to add in a few more. Whatever storage amount that I had, I would have wanted about double. I would still like something smaller than a phone.

I've never considered Apple until now.
Do people still even use Ipods?

Definitely - though in many cases they’ve been supplanted by iPhones. I still have a couple kicking around.

Also, services like Spotify and Apple music have made downloaded MP3s and even CD’s obsolete to a large extent. Maintaining a library of downloaded and ripped music makes little sense to most people when everything’s available online for almost nothing.

 

[lark_z]

Oh yeah, 2-3 mp3 players laying around, but I use my old Android phone for practicing. It's easier to tweak the playlists and stop/start/rewind on the phone that it ever was on the mp3 players. Now, if I go to the gym, one of the mp3 players is going along due to the small size.

 

[ElectroVibe]

They have mostly been replaced by either strong on a smart phone or music stored on a smart phone. With apps like Amazing Slow Downer that allows me to detune music for learning it in different keys, EQ apps, half a dozen good streaming services, etc. I see no need to go back to a standalone device for music.

Interesting. But that's a little different.

 

[ElectroVibe]

I think once microSD cards started to surpass 128GB and their prices came down, and cell phones were equipped with slots for them, they started to supplant dedicated mp3 players... The mp3 player manufacturers weren't interested in keeping up with the capabilities that the microSD cards + phones were providing. The technology exists for dedicated mp3 players that can hold 1 or 2 TB of files to be manufactured at the size of a wristwatch or pendant, but no one wants to bother making them. I have a 256GB memory card in my phone, and have almost 18,000 song files on it... it's only a little more than halfway full...

Why can't someone make a player with those built-in?

 

[mongo2]

To be honest, I've gone back to traditional radio.

For several years I've listened to streaming radio on my phone or notebook, usually either WBGO out of Newark, NJ or Jazz24 out of Tacoma, WA.

 

[GreggBummer]

I had a pretty nifty MP3 player during my tour in Iraq. It absolutely saved my mental health.

 

[Stewie]

Until about a year ago, I was burning copies of bought CDs and putting them in the slots of my truck and PC. A friend turned me on to Pandora,and that pretty much does it for me. I've only been unable to find one song, and that one isn't on Youtube either. Never had an MP3 player. I don't think I've ever even seen one

 

[Black Out Jazz]

I buy old Android phones really cheap and install SD cards and use those as MP3 players as I don't store any music on my own smartphone.

Why?

 

[jnewmark]

I still use an iPod , and you can find them nos, or refurbished, on Ebay. I have two: one for the car, one for home use.

 

[boombloom]

Absolutely. I still have sound docks in the kitchen and the bathroom. I listen to Cartalk etc. while in the shower, doing dishes etc. I have a ton of podcasts and music on the 120gig iPod and it's great for long drives.

 

[two fingers]

Interesting. But that's a little different.

Why?

An MP3 player is a tiny computer with a Music app. A phone is a not-as-tiny computer with lots of apps, including a phone app. (Actually, if you want to get technical, it's a two-way radio app.)

Both devices play music from a chip, drive, card, etc. I can store thousands of songs on my phone. I can't think of one single advantage of a standalone device for musoc playback.... not a good one anyway.

 

[smtp4me]

I used to buy MP3 players up until roughly 10 years ago and I loved them. But after a while they became harder to find. As in, finding them in stores.

Did a better method come along? Such as Spotify or some kind of online storage?

I still like the idea of a smaller device dedicated to music that is light and easy to carry.

To be honest, I've gone back to traditional radio. Yes, for 10 years. But if I could find a good player to hold lots of music, maybe hundreds of albums. Or perhaps a way of selecting a dozen albums at a time, and then switching them out each day. If that's easy to do.

I'd even be open to online options, none of which I have used, with the exception of youtube.

Thanks for any suggestions.

I am in an opposite situation - I rarely listen to the radio. I have Sirius/XM in my car and an app on my smart phone to stream it, and I still have an iPod.

If you have a smart phone, it can be used instead of a MP3 player. And it's not a bad idea since we take our phones everywhere, the music is always available. I would think that smart phones and streaming services have rendered MP3s somewhat obsolete.

 

[Ric5]

Do people still use MP3 players?

YES ... I do

I drive 2 cars ... my SUV has an MP3 player built in so I put songs on a thumb drive. In my old Mustang convertable I use a sansa mp3