Do people still use MP3 players?

[jmlee]

Spotify is garbage because it plays at MP3 quality.

Actually, in the paid "Spotify Premium" service, they stream at AAC 256kbit/s which is pretty darned good.

 

[jdh3000]

I have a nice old sony 16 gig that still works great.

I got my wife something at best buy for Christmas, I can't remember what brand but works fine, and hardly cost anything compared to what one used to spend on these... I know I'm cheap, but I did splurge on some wireless headphones and a Bluetooth speaker so she can listen to it at work.

When I was searching the very unhelpful employees at unnamed stores said "just use your phone".

Finally found those at BB and it's working great.

I personally don't want to use up soace on my phone for music... I'd much rather have that room for pics and video when I need it.

 

[lavmonga]

The overwhelming majority of people use their phones for music. I know literally 0 people who use MP3 players, but there's gotta be some out there. I would be surprised if you found 1/100 Americans using an MP3 player.

 

[klejst]

Yep, I use my old Android phone as a music player when walking, mowing etc. The music files are in MP3 format so that counts right?

 

[lermgalieu]

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

Uh, yeah - the cloud and your phone. My iPhone has 256GB of storage.

 

[bass12]

I did the same with an 80 GB iPod Classic (to 120 GB). It was a bear getting the thing apart, but I got the SD card kit in and it works. The kit + card was about $60.
EDIT: The bonus is that it made the iPod considerably lighter, and since there's not moving parts, it uses less power so the battery lasts longer.

Sounds like it's time to replace the battery. You can get them pretty cheap online. They come with the tools for getting the iPod apart.

For me, it's nice having a dedicated music player that can hold my entire CD collection. I have a lot of music that are either out of print or it's highly unlikely to be available to stream. Plus I can create playlists to my tastes and listen to entire albums if I want. It's what I usually listen to in my car.

Thanks for the info - I didn’t even know that replacing the battery was an option.

 

[lunarpollen]

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

microSD card ports? They *can* easily make players with those built in; they just don't for some stupid reason.

 

[Krisfield]

Still got my Sony USB MP3 player and FM Radio. Using iPhone and Spotify nowadays.

 

[MonetBass]

Thanks for the info - I didn’t even know that replacing the battery was an option.

If you go that route, make sure you watch some videos about getting the battery out. It's easy, but you need to follow certain steps not to mess up the connector.

 

[socialleper]

Most of the music I love listening to was produced to be listened to through a transistor radio. And the amount of background noise you get when, for example, commuting, means that hi rez audio (is that what we used to call hifi?) is a bit redundant.

High Resolution refers to bit rates. A standard CD is 16 bit 44.1khz sample rate. High Resolution is usually 24 bit and at least 48khz, with 96 being common, and 192 being very high quality.

 

[socialleper]

Actually, in the paid "Spotify Premium" service, they stream at AAC 256kbit/s which is pretty darned good.

I've never done a side by side of that version of the service. AAC is still a lossy format. I would lean towards Tidal or Qobuz to avoid that.
As a musician I'm unhappy about the royalties streaming services pay, so I still prefer to buy CDs or digital downloads of HiRez flacs.

 

[spiritbass]

I use a Sandisk Clip Jam for listening to audio books while I am working or mowing grass...

 

[lokikallas]

I was an early adopter of the "phone as my iPod". Back in the day, the motorola sliver had the ability to hold 100 songs, and when the iPhone came out I jumped right on board. I had an iPod classic until it died, but I've mostly used my phone. I stream my collection (about 30 gigs) from the cloud. I sync about 300 songs on the phone to have offline, mostly playlists of gig material. Otherwise it's just SiriusXM and various apps now.

 

[vvvmmm]

microSD card ports? They *can* easily make players with those built in; they just don't for some stupid reason.

I have a couple bought offa the 'zon.

 

[bass81800]

I have several MP3 players, some recently purchased from a wide variety of choices on Amazon, and, I am sure, other sites. They are definitely being made and I think there is an upgraded Walkman too. I think they are great. I can listen to my music at work and it allows me for more portability. I can also plug it into a nice set of speakers that I use at home. There are some really high end ones out there. Why drain your phone? A charge on even my basic MP3 player with tons of music lasts for days. I wish people would think of using them more.

 

[Orangeclawhammr]

I've got a 128gb uSD card in my phone with all my music on it, when that fills up I'll probably just buy a bigger card.

That makes at least two of us. I also have Sirius and Amazon Music Unlimited on both my current phone as well as an old one.

 

[QweziRider]

Did a better method come along?

My phone.

 

[ComesATime]

Over the years, I had hundreds of CDs, records, and cassettes. I had a few iPods. A Zune...a Creative Zen: Vision M. I think I liked the Zune the most, honestly, though my iPod classic was a favorite, too.

I resisted Spotify for a good while...but they have a great library and pretty good quality. It's not lossless, no, but when I'm going about my day, on the train, whatever, it's more than sufficient, especially in high quality.

And while the royalties aren't much for artists, some of what I listen to is long out of print, so it's nice the artists get something. Plus I try to buy merch, make shows, and occasionally some vinyl, too.

If you have a fairly recent phone or one that has expandable memory, I do think Spotify is a great way to go. You can "download" the albums for offline listening, and, while you don't own them at any point, it is still handy when traveling/off the grid/etc.

If you have already have a phone, a $20 SD card and $10 a month for Spotify premium will set you up nicely.

I have my records and lossless files for when I really want to sit down and listen, but, if I'm being honest, it's rare these days. I don't have the type of equipment where I'll ever really notice a difference, either. My phone plus my nice Audio Technica Headphones are doing me just fine.

 

[levis76]

I have used an iPod nano daily for the last several years. Convenience and it tucks away nicely.

 

[Slough Feg Bass]

I don't like having my phone all the time, I tend to leave it at home or in my bag or somewhere I don't have to look at it.
I use the SanDisk mp3 players for years, they weight like, 1 oz, hold many gigs of music, and plays pretty much any formats, mp3, flac, wav, wma, etc.
I make playlists for myself, it has a recording feature to jot down ideas I might have, and it also has built in FM Radio with pretty good reception.
Cheap enough so that if I lose it or something, I can just get another one and move right along.
tough enough so that if you drop it from a 2nd story balcony into the parking lot, it still works just fine. (it was an accident, but it still works!)

Point being, if you want light weight player of music that JUST does music, then there are great options out there. And the little clip is handy for exercise and such.

I don't want all that crap on my phone.