Define older... Last year or over 20 years... What options are you looking for and how much are you willing to spend.... Answer from Deleted User on reddit.com
CNET
cnet.com › tech › mobile › digital audio players › best mp3 players for 2025
Best MP3 Players for 2025 - CNET
July 15, 2025 - For many people, 320kbps is indistinguishable from lossless and is the "best case scenario" for ripping in the format. However, modern MP3 players can play other file types as well including lossless FLAC, ALAC and WAV. Yes! There are new models released regularly. They're not nearly as popular as they once were, of course, but there are great options at a variety of price points. For instance, Sony still sells MP3 players under the Walkman branding, while HiBy, Shanling, Astell&Kern, and Fiio are some other big names.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/digitalaudioplayer › suggestions for best older mp3 players?
r/DigitalAudioPlayer on Reddit: Suggestions for best older mp3 players?
December 19, 2024 -
Looking to buy an older MP3 player soon, which one(s) would y'all suggest? In addition, are there any I should steer clear of? Thanks!
Videos
13:50
It Looks Retro… But Sounds Like the Future - YouTube
05:40
Top 5 MP3 Players That Will Bring Back Nostalgia - YouTube
08:31
This MP3 Player Looks Retro… But Sounds Like the Future - YouTube
10:39
The Golden Days of Digital Mp3 Player Nostalgic ! - YouTube
r/DigitalAudioPlayer on Reddit: Where it all started! I made a ...
08:57
Top 5 Best MP3 Players 2025 [Don't Buy Before Watching!] - YouTube
Can you still buy MP3 players?
Yes! There are new models released regularly. They're not nearly as popular as they once were, of course, but there are great options at a variety of price points. For instance, Sony still sells MP3 players under the Walkman branding, while HiBy, Shanling, Astell&Kern, and Fiio are some other big names.
cnet.com
cnet.com › tech › mobile › digital audio players › best mp3 players for 2025
Best MP3 Players for 2025 - CNET
Can you still download music onto an MP3 player?
Depending on the age of the player you can usually still add new music to an MP3 player. New ones, especially Android players, will be able to download directly from the internet or a network storage over wi-fi. Older players may not have this ability, and so connecting it to your PC or Mac may be the best way. These devices may appear as hard drives on your desktop and you can just drag and drop, or you can try iTunes or a third-party app like MediaMonkey.
cnet.com
cnet.com › tech › mobile › digital audio players › best mp3 players for 2025
Best MP3 Players for 2025 - CNET
Is MP3 worse than CD?
MP3 is a compressed format and the bit-rate determines how much lossier it is than the original source, which is usually a CD. For many people, 320kbps is indistinguishable from lossless and is the "best case scenario" for ripping in the format. However, modern MP3 players can play other file types as well including lossless FLAC, ALAC and WAV.
cnet.com
cnet.com › tech › mobile › digital audio players › best mp3 players for 2025
Best MP3 Players for 2025 - CNET
Retropunk
retropunk.substack.com › p › mp3-players-were-the-pinnacle-of
MP3 Players were the Pinnacle of Portable Music
August 1, 2023 - But let’s be real, for most of ... SanDisk MP3 players would be best. However, if you’re up not looking for the latest and greatest devices out there, there are plenty of used goodies available to be found — and if you’re comfortable getting a little hands on with small tech gadgets, you can do some pretty phenomenal upgrades to things like old ...
Louder
loudersound.com › tech
Best MP3 players 2025: Regain control of your music library with these high-powered portable players | Louder
October 21, 2025 - Snowsky is FiiO’s retro-lookin’ sub-brand, and home of the Echo Mini – a budget MP3 player that takes after the portable cassette players of yesteryear. From a tactile interface to the high-fidelity innards they access, the Echo Mini is a groovy device - at once chic and cheap. Its Bluetooth connectivity is bare-bones, but everything else is pretty far-out. ... Astell & Kern’s SE300 is a four-figure MP3 player that does its level best to justify the price.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/nostalgia › what mp3 players did you own?
r/nostalgia on Reddit: What MP3 Players Did You Own?
October 6, 2023 - Loved that player. ... I remember working at a Radio Shack as a teenager, and the manager always pushed us to sell these off brands, and got mad when people bought iPods instead. ... One of my first had only 15mb of space and a small screen. The next one had 64mb of space. Lol there was one called a Rio in there, SanDisk had 3 different early types and was even the first mainstream one to have radio on their mp3
Manifest-tech
manifest-tech.com › ce_gallery › portable_gallery_players.htm
Portable Media Player Gallery - 2000s
Play MPEG-4 and WMV video, up to DVD resolution MP3, WMA (protected), WAV audio; JPEG, BMP, PNG photos; Adobe PDF viewer
eBay
ebay.com › electronics › portable audio & headphones › ipods & mp3 players › vintage mp3 player
Vintage Mp3 Player for sale - eBay
Explore vintage MP3 players like the Diamond Rio 500 and Apple iPod Classic. Relive the nostalgia. Shop Vintage MP3 Players on eBay!
Timetoast
timetoast.com › timelines › mp3-players-throughout-history
Timeline: MP3 Players Throughout History | Timetoast
Sony Walkman NWZ-ZX2 For a heavy $1,200 you can now get the Sony Walkman NWZ-ZX2, one of today's best MP3 players.
MensXP
mensxp.com › home › technology › tech hacks
5 Iconic MP3 Players From The 2000s That We Wish They Still Made Today For Music Lovers
July 12, 2020 - It came with 120GB of internal storage; one of the few media players to offer that amount of storage space. Microsoft also launched the Zune 4/8/16 models to complete with the iPod Mini. ... This Singapore-based company still exists today that make TWS earphones. However, their MP3 players took the world by storm, especially in India.
CNET
cnet.com › tech › home entertainment › audio › old mp3 players that are still worth buying
Old MP3 players that are still worth buying - CNET
August 17, 2009 - Slacker's first-generation Wi-Fi portable media player sold for $200 when it hit in 2008. Today it's just $50. CNET Networks · There was a time in the history of MP3 players when new models were clearly superior to hardware that had been on the shelf a few years.
NME
nme.com › home › blogs › nme blogs
Happy birthday, Sony Walkman – here are the best, worst and most iconic portable music devices of all time
September 11, 2019 - Stack of old music devices; Sony Atrac3Plus Car Ready CD Walkman, Sharp MD-MT161 MiniDisc Portable Recorder, Creative Zen DAP-HD0014 MP3 Player and Apple iPod 3rd Generation MP3 Player.
Old Time Radio
otrcat.com › recommended-mp3-players-for-old-time-radio
Recommended MP3 Players for Old Time Radio | OTR MP3 Player Reviews | Old Time Radio
Sony CFD-S20CP, MHC-EC55, ZS-XN30 and ZS-X3CP, ZS-RS60BT, CMT-LX20i, CMT-MX500i, CMT HP7 5-CD Microsystem , CMT BX-1- , CFD-S07CP, CFD-S50- some early generation MP3 Sony boomboxe models plays 80% of the recordings and is temperamental and refuses to play some recordings for unknown reasons ... Solid-state players fit in the palm of your hand and plug into your computer to transfer old time radio shows via USB cable rather than playing the CDs directly.
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Portable_media_player
Portable media player - Wikipedia
November 23, 2025 - Meanwhile, in Eastern Europe including Russia, higher priced players with improved design or functionality were preferred instead. In South Korea makers like iRiver and Samsung were particularly popular, as well as such OEM models under local brands. Creative was the top-selling maker in its home country of Singapore. In China, local brands Newman, DEC and Aigo were noted as the top vendors as of 2006. The Samsung SPH-M2100, the first mobile phone with built-in MP3 player was produced in South Korea in August 1999.
PCWorld
pcworld.com › home › news › entertainment news
Evolution of the MP3 Player | PCWorld
April 25, 2025 - Other players such as the Diamond Rio PMP300, also with 32MB of storage, hit the market soon afterward. The success of the PMP300 made the MP3 format even more popular, and drew the attention of the Recording Industry Association of America. The RIAA sued Diamond subsidiary RioPort because it feared–correctly–that music piracy would run rampant as people ripped CDs and turned audio tracks into digital files.
HIFIWALKER
hifiwalker.com › home › dap guides & tips › dap guides & tips
Old MP3 Players vs. Modern Devices: Which Is Better?
January 9, 2025 - When considering the best vintage models, take a look at these recommendations: ... Unique Features: Iconic Click Wheel and sleek design make it a favorite among collectors. ... Unique Features: Known for its exceptional sound quality and includes FM radio and voice recording capabilities. ... Unique Features: Compact size and high fidelity make it a cultural icon in portable music. These options represent some of the most sought-after collectible MP3 players, perfect for those looking for both quality and nostalgia.
Amazon
amazon.com › retro-mp3-player › s
Amazon.com: Retro Mp3 Player
MECHEN M30 HiFi MP3 Player, Lossless DSD High Resolution Digital Audio Music Player, High-Res Portable Audio Player with 64GB Memory Card (Gold) · AGPTEK A02 MP3 Player with Bluetooth 5.3, 1.8 inch Screen Portable Music Player with Speaker, FM Radio, Voice Recorder, Supports Expanded Up to ...
Gizmodo
gizmodo.com › apple-ipod-shuffle-creative-casio-intel-mp3-players-bes-1849370269
Winamp Is Back From the Dead, but These Classic MP3 Players Are Sadly Gone for Good
August 5, 2022 - Earlier this week, we discovered that Winamp, our media player of choice during the heyday of MP3s, is back from the dead and revitalized to run on modern Windows PCs.
Public
public.com › home › learn › nostalgia hour: how we listened to music before the ipod
Nostalgia Hour: How We Listened to Music Before the iPod - Public.com
September 15, 2022 - SaeHan Information Systems, a South Korean company, launched its MPMan mp3 music player in 1998; an American competitor, Diamond Multimedia, introduced the Rio PMP300 later that year.
NPR
npr.org › sections › monitormix › 2009 › 11 › slideshow_a_decade_of_mp3_play.html
Slideshow: A Decade Of MP3 Players : Monitor Mix : NPR
November 9, 2009 - Even before the very first iPod, electronics and audio companies exercised ingenuity to develop handheld audio players, but they didn't always have the smooth, chic look that players have now. We've moved from batteries to USB chargers. Players now feature WiFi access and phone integration. And now, thankfully, we don't have to lug around that case of CDs. For nostalgia's sake, let's a take a look back at what MP3 players used to look like.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/digitalaudioplayer › recommendations for 2000s/2010s mp3 player?
r/DigitalAudioPlayer on Reddit: recommendations for 2000s/2010s mp3 player?
July 21, 2025 -
hello, ive recently got into offline music and am looking for an older mp3 player from around the 2000s/2010s with good sound quality. kind of struggling with knowing what are the most important specs / brands / models to look into (on yt theres a lot of talk about the ipod classic 5.5 gen, but i want to see what else is out there).
key qualities:
- easily moddable / replaceable battery and storage
- aesthetics: NOT touch screen – i love buttons so much (vibrant colors would be nice but not necessary; love the look of older sony walkman mp3 in the E/S series)
- budget friendly (< $100 but preferably < $70 i am sadly a broke college student)
would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions :)
Top answer 1 of 6
2
The only decent player that's actually moddable afaik is the ipod classics, I'd honestly suggest just getting a used one in good condition/refurbished if you can otherwise
2 of 6
2
nah, dont do it. these will have issue connecting to modern operating systems, battery issues and more. dumb idea.