It’s really unfortunate Apple dropped the iPod Nano. The ones with a physical scroll wheel and small display were just the right size for sticking in your pocket and going for a walk, run, or bike. Great way to leave distractions behind.
This one looks like it’s got some good design ideas. Nowadays, most people have streaming playlists. If they add software to snapshot those playlists onto the device in high quality, they might have something.
I’ll always have fond memories of my iPod classic with the 160gb storage. Endless playlists!
Oh goodness… The day mine died was a day I’ll never forget. So sad. What I wouldn’t give to see the songs on those playlists again for reference.
Regular price : 119$
Kickstarter price : 85$
With 1$ reservation : 75$
https://www.hidizs.net/products/hidizs-ap30-music-boy-1-deposit
Okay here’s what I don’t get.
Awesome little gadget, good DAC, and the only Bluetooth codec it supports is SBC? No aac, no aptx hd, no ldac, no LE Audio?
TLDR: digital audio player with 3.5 and 4.4 mm outputs, a Cirrus Logic CS43198 DAC, Bluetooth 5.3, and USB DAC functionality.
Pros:
- Linux based system
- physical volume wheel
- looks cute and well-made
- Bluetooth
- good DAC
- low THD+N: 0.0015%
- competitive price
- EQ, unclear if parametric EQ
Cons:
- Kickstarter
- only up-to 256 GB storage (my library is ≈ 550 GB)
- low-res Bluetooth, only SBC support
- mediocre op-amp, RT6863, only 61+61mW@32 Ohm, basically unusable for headphones
- there’s a lot of good competition, see Fiio’s Echo Mini, Echo Nano, Disk, Qudelix-5K.
This is really helpful, thanks. I was especially curious about the power output. I have a specific pair of headphones I use for low output devices (other than IEMs), so I’d be OK, but if it had enough power to handle more of my headphones I’d probably dive in.
By that simple description it sounds almost exactly like the original iPod
I would get this if it had a search function. Idk why no one ever thinks of a search function with things like this.
Edit: I’m still probably going to get it after thinking about it at work all day. But I do still think search would be nice
But I do still think search would be nice
I gave them all my feedback, and they have said that firmware updates will bring this and other features in as improvements. This isn’t in users’ hands yet, so (ironically) my waffling review actually did some help for them and users who end up with them!
Probably because text search on a tiny device with no keyboard really sucks in my experience.
With the ability to hold 8000 songs like to says I would have settled for a scrolling search type of deal at least
Funny enough, it can almost certain hold way more than 8000 songs, my MP3 player in the early 2000s could hold much, much more than that. As I said in another comment, as long as the UI isn’t brain dead it should be fine. It isn’t like any sane person scrolls one by one through all their songs, you usually filter by album, artist, or genre first.
Basic: .ogg / .opus support? MIDI player?
Advanced: Godot games, programming target?This is also the sort of thing I could see having an OLED for longer battery life (+always-on info) not that I could justify the price. I don’t even really need a second portable device (and my headphones situation isn’t good either).
Maybe the sort of device I’m wanting is unlikely to exist, especially with some sort of battery compartment at this size and in this-day-and-age.
The price is ok, and if you told me that couple years ago, I would buy it. Now, that my LG ThinQ V40 is back from the dead, with HiFi stuff and 3dtsx sound, I will stick with it.
I had a LG G6 for awhile, which had the lovely focus of quad-DAC and made sound beautiful
Such a shame they no longer make phones :(
Yea, it’s shame.
It looks cute. But first time I heard headphones being called monitors and IEM keywords. Had to go search what the hell that was about. Also never heard about a 4.4mm connection. Calling something as capable to read “books” when it’s just txt files is a bit overselling it. And at that size is probably something more like a notes reader. I didn’t see anything written about the battery life and if bluetooth works properly and how that affects battery.
Also assuming for the ‘audiophile’ market often means overpriced stuff with lots of buzzwords and confrontation bias.
The manufacturers website lists a 1200mAh 3.8v LiPo battery with a runtime of 8-10hrs BAL, 10-12hrs PO if using wired headphones, and 6-8hrs if using wireless
I’m not actually sure what BAL and PO means
I’m not actually sure what BAL and PO means
“Balanced output” and “Phone output”? Like the former for when using the 4.4 mm balanced connector and the latter for when using the standard 3.5 mm one… I guess.
8h with wireless doesn’t sound too bad at that size. I would hope it to support the ldac codec, but wouldn’t bet.
I really need to backup my music, pure apple music and sc mightve been a mistake, great for discoverability, but I shouldve been downloading and backingup everything, every once in a while a song gets taken down
Are there any headphones that include an opus player with a micro sd card?
literally just got my btr15 today I guess imma buy this toi
I want one. Unfortunately, by the time it comes out I’m sure I will have long forgotten about it.
Do the dollar reservation and you won’t because they will email you and ship it to you as well!
I’ve been rocking a Hifiwalker H2 with Rockbox installed for the past couple of months. I highly recommend.
I’ve heard conflicting info regarding the maximum size for an SD card in one of these. Can you confirm or deny if it can take a 1TB card? If so, it really sounds like the perfect device.
Sorry I can’t confirm. I’ve seen reports on Reddit that 1TB cards actually do work but haven’t tried myself.
I remember carrying around a walkman with a tape. then a walkman with a cd. then a small mp3 player, and then finally a phone.
I simply do not understand why people want to go backward. So inconvenient.
I can take my phone and stream music from my server. If I really want to I can download to the phone (simple drag and drop KDE connect style or syncthing if I want to go that route). I use only FLAC by the way.
Does nobody remember how annoying moving files around actually is?
I don’t have ads on my phone, and I can turn off everything else if I want to only have it as a music player for a period of time. Adding another device just seems silly.
Edit: worth saying: thanks for posting this though, I am interested in seeing gadgets and it is an interesting design and has unique features.
Edit: worth saying: thanks for posting this though, I am interested in seeing gadgets and it is an interesting design and has unique features.
Thank you! Don’t worry, zero offense taken! These things are pretty niche these days, so you’re well and truly in the majority with that POV!
I can take my phone and stream music from my server. If I really want to I can download to the phone (simple drag and drop KDE connect style or syncthing if I want to go that route). I use only FLAC by the way.
This is the important part here, the quality of those files is dependent on the DAC your phone has. Phones don’t place much emphasis on high-quality DAC implementation because they’re built more for things like for convenience, battery life, and mass-market audio (think Bluetooth earbuds and streaming compression). They’ll play your FLACs for sure, but the internal DAC and amp stage are usually an afterthought rather than a focus.
This one’s built around the Cirrus Logic CS43198 chip, which has one purpose in life: make sound good!
In the end these won’t be super convenient for most. But there’s plenty of people who want to drop using their phone for everything now, or who want to try out a new way of listening to music.
True about the DAC, but if I am out and about I am not sure I don’t notice that much, and Bluetooth is so much easier. I know the degradation on bluetooth.
But I do have a high quality DAC cirrus based USB c dongle for when I want it to sound good.
I do notice that for the price, this whole device is really not much more than a high quality dongle so that’s pretty good.
Its the same situation where people purposely downgrade their phones to flip phones.
Sometimes simplicity is more convenient and secure. Especially when you don’t need all the gimmicks a modern device has - it is a difference of paying $100 or $1000+
