NOOB ALERT - Help with first large capacity player - Fiio X5? iPod Classic?

[Zemeraldite]

Hi guys, I'm a huge Audionoob, I've had my share of walkmans and ipods in the past but really need help creating a high quality set up, not looking for anything extremely fancy, just one with decent sound and a big storage preferably.

I found two good deals, a near new iPod Classic, and a new Fiio X5, for around $150/£100 each, and were thinking of getting one of those ... any thoughts?

Fiio route - Would X3ii be an upgrade compared to the X5? is the X5ii a huge step up from x5? is it worth spending $100/£60 extra to get an Xii rather than an X? Where would the iPod Classic 160gb 7th gen be in terms of audio quality and user interface? I do like how polished the software is for apple... though as long as drag + drop doesn;t take long I'm fine with it.

Welcome to any other recommendations.

What are some decent headphones at around £50-100 ish? I prefer ones that can be used wirelessly.


Tl;dr: want a >128GB player, current shortlist: iPod classic vs Fiio X5/X3ii, + headphone recommendations?

Thanks guys
Look forward to your replies
-Z

 

[slipperybidness]

Is there some reason that your phone won't get you everything that you are wanting?

I have a 20Gb iPod. I've owned it since well before there was a "classic" model on the market. It sits in a drawer, I use my phone! I believe an iPod can only handle MP3, but my phone can handle FLAC.

This is 2017, the smart phone does everything that I need/want from a digital music source!

As far as a good set of cans, I don't know what is available for you, but I own these and I highly recommend them:
https://www.amazon.com/AKG-845BT-Bluetooth-Wireless-Headphones/dp/B00FIZ1SVC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497369616&sr=8-1&keywords=akg+845

I have not heard these, but if I wanted another set of wireless cans, I would be picking these up without a 2nd thought:
https://rbhsound.com/hp1b.php

And, you really can't go wrong with Senns:
https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-Momentum-Wireless-Active-Cancellation/dp/B00SOM7USG/ref=sr_1_11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1497369767&sr=1-11&keywords=sennheiser+wireless+headphones

 

[its phillip]

If you really need a high capacity player I recommend some of Cowon's products

 

[Zemeraldite]

1. I use my phone a lot anyway, and it doesn't have the battery power I need to sustain the day if I constantly listen to music
2. I usually just use it for a lot of media and photos
3. My SD card slot only goes up to 64gb/32gb I believe
4. My laptop is only ... 256GB storage? I want to keep all my music on a device to back it up

I will look at Cowon, any model in particular?
Any thoughts on iPod Classic vs X5/X3ii?

 

[slipperybidness]

1. I use my phone a lot anyway, and it doesn't have the battery power I need to sustain the day if I constantly listen to music
2. I usually just use it for a lot of media and photos
3. My SD card slot only goes up to 64gb/32gb I believe
4. My laptop is only ... 256GB storage? I want to keep all my music on a device to back it up

I will look at Cowon, any model in particular?
Any thoughts on iPod Classic vs X5/X3ii?

Fair enough. My phone does what I need, but it looks like you have some valid reasons to look at a dedicated device.

I did (do) really like my iPod. I guess the real drawback on the Classic model is that it still uses a mechanical HDD. That uses more battery life and is not as robust as the solid state drives in the newer models. The tradeoff is that the old school mechanical HDD has a larger storage capacity.

I can't really help much after that as far as dedicated audio players. My Galaxy S6 has served me well as a do-it-all device (for my needs).

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

1. I use my phone a lot anyway, and it doesn't have the battery power I need to sustain the day if I constantly listen to music
2. I usually just use it for a lot of media and photos
3. My SD card slot only goes up to 64gb/32gb I believe
4. My laptop is only ... 256GB storage? I want to keep all my music on a device to back it up

I will look at Cowon, any model in particular?
Any thoughts on iPod Classic vs X5/X3ii?

1. Battery - playing music doesn't take much energy. with screen off you could play music straight from your phone for very long time. Also get external battery pack from Anker. They are awesome. Stick to QuickCharge models if your phone supports QC.
2. I'm pretty sure that phones which support 32 or 64gb SD will also support 128. But I'd make sure you could return it (just in case). If don't know if you're limited to only flac files, but if you go with high bitrate AAC (192kbps+) it would be practically same as CD especially for non-critical listening.
192kbps AAC are not that large, even 64Gb SD could store about 30 days worth of music if you continuously play it without repeating ..

3. 256gb is not enough to keep your other data, windows and a 128gb backup of your music. Have you considered Google Play? With cheap monthly subscription you could have tons of music and have some of it stored on the device for offline playback (if so required). Spotify as an alternative.

I started using my phone as music player since days from original iphone 1g and never looked back for any dedicated devices.

 

[Zemeraldite]

Thank you very much for the comments, but I have tried to insert bigger SD cards, it just doesn't read/corrupts it for odd reasons. I have a 32GB one in currently and that has already slowed down my phone.
I understand all your concerns but I have been contemplating this for a long time, so it isn't an impulse purchase. I just would like a midrange dedicated player purely for music.
Thanks

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Thank you very much for the comments, but I have tried to insert bigger SD cards, it just doesn't read/corrupts it for odd reasons. I have a 32GB one in currently and that has already slowed down my phone.
I understand all your concerns but I have been contemplating this for a long time, so it isn't an impulse purchase. I just would like a midrange dedicated player purely for music.
Thanks

Fair enough.
Ok , I tried. So this is my recommended dap, Fiio X5 Gen3
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1319158-REG/fiio_x5_iiib_x5_iii_high_resolution_music_player.html
it supports all of newfangled HD audio formats and supports 512gb of storage (2x256gb SD cards, not included)