Comment by rtpg
4 days ago
My understanding is there are decent MP3 players by places like Fiio at this point? Haven't used any of em in anger though
Though I have a walkman (that kinda sucks cuz it's android.... it's (USB-C AND annoying Android OS) XOR (Proprietary charging cable) from Sony nowadays
> Why can't somebody take simple smartphone hardware and make a modern media player that is not a phone?
Sony Walkmans are this, along with a bunch of the random mp3 players you would find on amazon. I don't know why some other people replying to you are acting like this doesn't exist.
> Sony Walkmans are this
The cheapest one I'm seeing is the Sony NW-A306. That's around $600 - I think it fits into the OP's category of "some sort of enthusiast audiophile flac player thing that costs way too much"
dunno where you're looking, they're 400 USD
But also just type "android mp3 player" into Amazon dot com. You'll find plenty of stuff under $100[0]
[0] https://www.amazon.com/4-02-Player-Bluetooth-WiFi-Speakers/d...