iPod Classic Is Gone, Which Portable MP3 Player Do You Suggest?

I tried buying an iPod Classic 160 gig earlier today, only to find its been discontinued. There are a few available on Amazon, but they are over $500 now. I need a good, high capacity mp3 player (NOT PONO). Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

Pono...

 

A smartphone? My HTC Desire 610 can take a Micro SD up to 128GB.

 

If you're willing to wait 4-5 months for order fulfillment, Pono is a great value. If you want something in roughly the same price range in days rather than months, a Fiio X5 might work for you.

 

FiiO x1, x3 or x5

 

iPhone 6 128gb

 

It might help if I explain my situation a bit. I work and live on a cruise ship. I work 6 month contracts, so I need a big assortment of music to keep me occupied. I obviously cannot bring my hi-fi system on the ship with me, as much as I would love to. The Fiio x5 looks interesting. But battery life is a big thing. The iPod Touch 64 gig might be my best bet (but 64 gigs just does not seem like it will be enough). The whole reason I need another iPod is because the TWO classics that I bought over the past couple years, the headphone jacks have crapped out on me. So I am reluctant to buy another iPod. I like the concept of PONO, but the hardware seems a bit ridiculous.

 

a 12"-14" screen laptop with your choice of software.

 

You can get your headphone jack repaired for about $50 at most ports of call - places that do iphone repairs - in an afternoon if you explain your situation.

The other option might be a cheap Android phone with a Micro SD card slot. My Samsung came with an app that made getting music from itunes easy.

 

I'm also interested in a replacement for the iPod, but for 6 months, I agree with the suggestion of a laptop. I'd probably take an external hard drive too so I could have my whole library.

Unfortunately, every alternative to the iPod classic I've looked at fails at something, usually capacity, 128 GB shared with apps and other data is not large capacity IMO. Some don't do gapless playback of lossy files and I've yet to find one that does shuffle by album.

 

I really like my little Sansa Clip Zip-I'm pretty sure they have some which can handle large capacity memory cards.

I haven't heard of iPod touch models having a headphone jack problem…or Classics either. Maybe you can post more about how you use it-maybe how it is stored or held is making a problem by applying pressure or something. 64 GB is quite a lot-I used a 32 GB for quite a while. Even with 256, 320, and lossless files it was enough storage to have a wide selection, and it kinda forced me to rummage through my library and re-discover things, which was cool.

If you have free WiFi on board I would definitely get a touch or a phone, not a straight MP3 player. There is SO much stuff you can stream available, and a variety of apps and podcasts as well.

 

Frankly, I would avoid the FiiO players despite their excellent audio quality. The build quality is inconsistent, the player software is so glitchy, support so poor and simple features that you may be used to in an iPod that are either much tougher to deal with or simply not there on the FiiO that at least in my case, resulted in a frustrating user experience and eventual return. If you can do eBay, there are literally thousands of gently used and new 160 GB iPod Classics for under $300 which is about $200 less than a FiiO X5 with the additionally needed 2 SD cards.

I have 2 iPod 160 GB Classics and never had an issue with either one.

If you're not going to use the player as a portable on your person, yes, a budget laptop and perhaps a little 1 or 2TB external drive is a better solution, plus you can use the laptop for a lot of other internet and software features as well.

 

I appreciate everyone's responses. I do realize that a laptop would be the better solution. I am planning on getting one soon, but for now all I need is an MP3 player. I do have an external hard drive with all my CDs ripped to it. But I need a portable MP3 player to bring with me on airplanes, buses, walking around in the ports of call, etc. I normally keep my iPod in my messenger bag with my Sony MDR-V6 headphones. It doesn't get trashed, or thrown around much. I also don't h ave a habit of dropping them either. I take good care of my stuff. So I don't know why both of my previous iPod Classics have failed me. I did take them to an iPhone/iPod repair center near where I live. They said the jacks are soldered to the motherboard and it would take hours to fix. The guy told me I would be better off buying a new one for the amount he would charge me. And that was what I was planning on doing before I found out that they had been discontinued. So now I'm just weighing my options. The Fiio X5 looks interesting. Does it do gapless playback (which is essential)? Thanks for everyone's input.

 

If the headphone jack is the issue, how about using the 32 pin connector into a docking station or headphone amp and just enjoying the two you already have?

 

I did not know that. What about an iTouch?

 

Two Sansa Clips (in case one breaks, although mine hasn't in years of Gym use) and a 4 or 5 32GB cards filled with different music would be about the same cost as the MSRP on the Ipod 160GB classic and would survive desert island treatment.

 

A couple of things: I had the jack repaired on a previous ipod classic - as I said $50. The repair person felt that the case I had it in might be a contributing factor. I believe it was a Griffin case. The second thing I note is your headphone selection - could it also be contributing to the problem? Could using a small extension cord take the strain off headphone jack and if it fails make replacement as easy as swapping out the cable?

 

If it's just the headphone jacks that have gone bad then get a dock cable and an external amp.
Dock cable: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005N6ZAT2/
Fiio E12 amp: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B6QXWIY/
Fiio E11K amp: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MFMW29I/

The dock cable and amp will bypass the iPod's built-in headphone jack and give you better sound as a bonus feature.

The Fiio amps are OK. I linked to them because they're inexpensive and likely to be good enough for your needs. They aren't the greatest sounding portable amps, but they do manage to sound better than the sound from the iPod's built-in headphone jack. I have a Fiio E12 amp that I use with my iPod Classic. Works OK and the sound is OK. Better amps do sound better but are more expensive. The amp lasts about 12 hours per charge, so will need to be charged more often than the iPod.

 

I'd love to see an ipod touch up to 160 to 200 Gb in the future, but it doesn't look like that's gonna happen anytime soon, 128 is barely enough for me.

- Buck

 

Holy moly... Is that a hard lifestyle to get used to?

 

I would definitely go with an Android phone or player that allows external cards. Most current phones and players can handle up to 128gig cards. 2 or 3 cards and you shod be set.

The other advantage to this setup is you don't have to deal with iTunes. Just drag and drop your music to the card.

 

It can be. But instead of dwelling on the negatives, like being away from your family and friends for 6 months straight, I like to focus on the positive aspects of the job. Like the fact that in the last two years, I have been to over 80 cities in about 45 countries around the world. Not a bad gig for a 26 year old working as a sound tech on the ship.

 

That is very cool.

 

Can you bring a laptop and a pair of Audioengine speakers?

 

I used to be a dealer for AudioEngine. That was my first thought while being on the ship. Its on the list (with the laptop), but I need to take care of my portable device situation, first and foremost.