I have a large music library that I don’t have much storage left for on my phone. There are of course other ways of solving this problem, but are there any good dedicated music players like iPods still around?
Ideally I’d like it to have Bluetooth functionality for wireless headphones, at least 512GB of storage, and an SD card slot. Possibly physical buttons as well.
HIFI WALKER H2-128GB (or H2 Touch): This is perhaps the best match for your request. It features a, 2.4-inch screen, physical buttons for navigation, Bluetooth 5.2 for wireless headphones, and supports up to 512GB (or sometimes 1TB) MicroSD cards. It is known for high-resolution audio support (DSD, FLAC).
Surfans F20 HiFi MP3 Player: Similar to the HiFi Walker, the Surfans F20 offers a sturdy design, scroll wheel, and physical buttons. It supports up to 512GB SD cards and features Bluetooth 5.2.
Sony NW-ZX707 Walkman (64GB Internal + SD Card): While pricier, this Android-based DAP features a 5-inch touch screen, but crucially retains physical side buttons for volume and playback control. It supports MicroSDXC cards for massive storage expansion. Modded Apple iPod Classic (7th Gen): These modified classics, often sold on eBay, feature SSD storage upgrades up to 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB, and have been updated to include Bluetooth functionality and a USB-C port.
MECHEN H1 Pro / MECHEN M30: These budget-friendly options offer Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and support for up to 512GB MicroSD cards.
Additionally, for the H2 and F20, there are rockbox CFW if you don’t like the firmware it came with.
Rockbix is a custom firmware dating back decades giving relatively easy and logical way to browse and play your own music.
as an owner and regular user of the H2, i feel it important to point out that it also works as a USB DAC.
it also displays lyrics for anything you have .lrc files for - the collection of mp3s on my 512GB microsd card took me about a month to get lyric files for. I created a set of scripts that would either look online and download them, or ran them through some speech-to-text on linux to create them from scratch. This last part was critical as I have a huge number of old-time radio shows and drama which obviously wouldn’t ever have lyrics for, but is a lot of fun to read along.
those two features (the USB DAC and the lyrics file support) are what sold me on the utility of this player. Overall, it’s a fantastic device and I enjoy the snot out of it.
Looked up prices for these and they’re all around $120, modded iPods ranging between $150-$900 and Sony Walkman one is around $900.