Intro
For quick context: I still use a digital music player (Sony Walkman NW-A45) frequently. I am not super fond of this player for reasons.
I have looked around for a while now, and I personally cannot find any suitable solutions (both new or old). I am curious if there exists anything that I might have missed, I would love to know about it.
The Short List:
- Handles large media libraries
- MicroSD Support
- Preferably no network connectivity
- Properly handles ID3 v2.4, Vorbis tags (A45 FAIL)
- Handles album covers in a sensible manner (cover.png, embedded) (A45 FAIL)
- Live play queue editing (A45 FAIL)
- Preferably Sub-$300 USD
6 Comments
ClipperDefiance@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1y
Have you tried Rockbox? It's not a device, but an alternate firmware for a number of popular and obscure media players.
My only other suggestion is picking up a slightly older Android phone and just leaving it in airplane mode. I like Vinyl Music Player. I think Vinyl does all the things you want.
jrgd@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 1y
Rockbox unfortunately is built with "dinosaurs" in mind. As a side effect, the project does not intend to properly handle modern ID3, Vorbis tags.
I could use an older Android phone, but would have to find a suitable device to de-Google and load a custom music player app onto (such as Vinyl). Neither my Pixel XL nor Pixel 5a that I own currently are suitable targets (neither have microSD support, my Pixel XL has a damaged headphone jack and needs to be repaired). If you have any recommendations for something used that has a headphone jack, microSD slot, and can bootloader unlock via adb, let me know.
ClipperDefiance@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 1y
I did some research and the Samsung Galaxy S9 or S9+ (but only certain models, specifically the ones with Exynos processors) seems like a good option. They're officially supported by /e/OS, have an SD slot that supports up to 400 GB, have a headphone jack, and can be easily found for under $300.
kamiheku@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 1y
Which tags does it not intend to support? Not doubting you, just curious!
jrgd@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 1y
The explicit denial I saw is multi-genre, multi-artist in ID3 v2.4 I won't be parsed.
EDIT: The source.
Rockbox will only pick up one of a tag (RIP Vorbis) and will only parse up to 500 bytes on higher end players, 240 bytes on other players of the grouped tag (RIP ID3 v2.4).
kamiheku@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 1y
Huh, interesting.