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MP3 players for the car?

Started by hbelkins, February 07, 2021, 05:21:32 PM

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hbelkins

I'm looking to replace my aging 160 GB iPod classic with a new MP3 player device for use in my vehicle. The battery in my iPod has deteriorated to the point that it won't even stay on when powered up via a charging cable. And beyond that, I'm tired of the clickwheel interface and prefer something like the interface on the iPod Touch or a phone's music player. A high-capacity iPod Touch would work except for two things: the prohibitive cost, and the fact that it requires the iTunes interface for syncing. I much prefer the simple drag-and-drop method of copying music over to the device.

One solution I've considered is buying an inexpensive Android 7-inch tablet with decent microSD card expandability to serve as my mobile music player. Walmart sells an Onn tablet (their house brand for electronics) for $50 and it will accept a 128 GB card. That would come close to matching my 160 GB iPod, and I could always swap out cards to add music.

Another one is to buy an Android phone with the capability to accept a larger SD card, and use it as a wifi-only device. That would give me the added advantage of having a backup phone should something happen to my phone (an iPhone 6); I could just move the SIM card. I can get one for about $40.

I have been using a very old Motorola Android phone as a player, but it only takes a 16 GB card, and is so old I can't even upgrade the Android OS or access the Google Play Store to download music player apps. That's why I want to upgrade to something with more capacity and can download music players with more features than the build-in Android player.

Most of my MP3s are rips of my own CDs, done either with iTunes or with a piece of software called SoundJam MP that iTunes was based on. I have some that have been acquired from other sources over the years (Napster, Usenet binary downloads, Hotline servers, conversions from YouTube videos, etc.)

I'm curious as to what devices others might be using as music players in their vehicles. If I ever get my Saturn Vue dependably running again, I'd be playing through the AUX port on the device. (I do have a Bluetooth AUX device to plug into the port in case the device doesn't have an AUX/headphone jack, like the iPhone 7 and later). Otherwise, I'd be using a Griffin iTrip Universal FM transmitter or an external Bluetooth speaker.

I bought a little player called a HiFi Walker through one of those "reimburse for testing" programs but it's awful. From what I've read, a number of the available dedicated MP3 players will have the same software issues. The player can't read the tags from the files and will not play albums in the correct track order.

For those of you who do use Android devices for your vehicle playback, what player apps are best? I'm wondering how well the built-in Android player will handle gapless albums. One place where the iPod excels as a player is its ability to do gapless playback. There's no annoying bit of silence between tracks on a live album, or when one song segues into another but is split into separate tracks (think Chicago's "Ballet for a Girl in Buchanon").

So, what's everyone using, hardware and software-wise? Am I offbase in wanting to get an inexpensive Android device to use as a dedicated MP3 player?

(For the record, using my iPhone is out of the question. I don't have the capacity on it, and I prefer a dedicated player device anyway; much as I'd rather use a real camera for my photography and not the phone's camera. And then there's iTunes for syncing the music files, which I hate.)


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.


Max Rockatansky

#1
I use a SanDisc MP3 player and an AUX cable for my car.  They take the same SanDisc cards I use on my computer so the downloads aren't too unusual and the device is easy to use given it is meant for outdoor runners. 

Edit:  Specifically I'm referring to the Sport Clip:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SanDisk-Clip-16GB-Black-Sport-Plus-MP3-Player-FM-Radio-Bluetooth-Water-Resistant/113808532242?epid=2255914154&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item1a7f846312:g:fF0AAOSwW2tdICsm&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACcBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%252Fn%252BzU5L90Z278x5ickkAgU0umhwUTmgTFbE5cu7zc%252FVp%252B7rHZ0H0iuGXH33%252FE2g%252FuGVvQ0JbZDKEj6aJdkd1FoqGM4MMYPPIdz5gKpKbns0xYX7ALoQEJyxoErTY1kIvLNByn54slb1DtUQqma%252B8rVl5k2ozt74hnrm5etTQ6fnOlIpiRRHl5xyPhndGg0YXTXf2eUT3Mw4zXgepsSHdsZ9hw3snz6PH9EBlc%252Bji0E1RBAsqkhzEwRvwpwkAiM6gW4JMMz%252FGxQVRjbsgwgP%252FyLvs2CCumrk62jXJjDz74MvPEt869d6JLt81uX%252BEwmJ1%252FovngGHpWc0YHk2LnVbjlDb8Chy94ixDwm5hZ18SFNm2pAUH3up7UwrwPDYCzelp8b5xgp2LMG8ta%252FFBeRvhb%252FleXIaEOSh6KRfDetmNXPe6RFRFUelcg808yUsx7DuPdkmpwzOAPvVGWAYzcBL7%252FKm2C%252FSWvJOmbt7rT%252FMo%252FlcREETMMIck7Nluya8QVOncV1PL0I56Iz2SuKOzgKXbRQKKLgjbt0JasVmNiGzCAR06FF4saKz7KiMNTjF0i7Nvi1xfexIBb6r%252FH5gS7zSoOAjlnVVfA0mZae1iXrjiaE2tVDD%252FUnCpzA2CVR0C8bRw8F1Atx4rjIm%252Fy79dXFfPCg3MBBeu6s46q%252BikobSs93Q0%252FE7kN62x4ZeolT41r33z46kweQQxH%252FR8hamSKWiPOIqqhipLTlNuRlt69xjJH2kIXZD2NgOAcvuT%252B9L7LPFNN%252B1zEbjDsc6Iw5sWYRyutTrNah1KVbDDk3j30PJXg%253D%253D%7Ccksum%3A113808532242a6e48e957d844d6a997254f310502897%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2334524

I will note that used for it's intended purpose I'm on my third Sport Clip in the last five years.  The device when it is bounced around a lot sometimes shakes the San Disc out of place which will reset it.  I've never experienced this issue while driving the car though.  The battery tends to die after two years but there is a USB adaptor that has worked on every car I've owned to play it as a media device.  I personally like to be able to swap songs with the device in my hand which is why I use the AUX Jack.

Takumi

At one point, several years ago, I had a Galaxy MP3 player that ran on Android, but it quickly lost OEM support so it fell by the wayside. I just use my old iPhone 6S+ as a glorified iPod now, since I still use iTunes.
Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:52:59 AM
Olive Garden must be stopped.  I must stop them.

Don't @ me. Seriously.

FightingIrish

I typically repurpose old phones, and currently use my previous phone, a Samsung Galaxy S8 (recently upgraded to a Note20 Ultra. Mostly use the stock Samsung Music Player downloaded from Play Store. It does support gapless playback and even crossfading, but there should be plenty of offline music player apps that will do the job.

Any modern phone with decent processing power and proper SD card support should work, and they're cheap. You can also use on-screen music player widgets, and uninstall non-stock apps for the added effect.

1995hoo

My iPod Classic is on its last legs as well. I'm considering an Astell & Kern KANN because it can play DSD.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

Roadrunner75

My Ipod Classic is still working well, but at some point something is going to happen to it and then I'll be in the same boat.  I've been wondering about the same thing for eventual replacement.  I believe most of the CDs I've ripped to it via the Itunes program were in Apple's format (AAC?), so I would need something that could play it (not looking forward to converting all of them to MP3).

hbelkins

Quote from: Roadrunner75 on February 08, 2021, 01:29:01 AM
My Ipod Classic is still working well, but at some point something is going to happen to it and then I'll be in the same boat.  I've been wondering about the same thing for eventual replacement.  I believe most of the CDs I've ripped to it via the Itunes program were in Apple's format (AAC?), so I would need something that could play it (not looking forward to converting all of them to MP3).

Depending on the model, battery replacement on the iPod Classic isn't difficult if you are skilled in such things. I've had two batteries put in my iPhone by someone who has the knowledge and the tools. Some iPod batteries are soldered to the device, and some aren't. The hard drive died in my brother's iPod, and he replaced the battery when he replaced the disk with one of those SD card readers, and he's agreed to replace my battery if I want, but he cracked the screen on his iPod when he did the replacement (it still works). But there's the clickwheel interface and iTunes syncing to hassle with.

I'm leaning toward the Alcatel Insight (an AT&T prepaid phone for only $39 that accepts a 128 GB microSD card) if my local Dollar General will ever get any in stock. Although the idea of a 7-inch tablet sounds good as well.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

Ned Weasel

I get my music on CDs and use my car's built-in CD player.  If an album is only available as a digital download, I write it to CD, as that's a legal means of media transfer as long as I don't distribute it.  My previous car only had a tape deck, so I recorded my CDs to cassette tapes to listen to them in the car.

How does one even use an MP3 player in a car without having to awkwardly fumble with a damn touch screen?
"I was raised by a cup of coffee." - Strong Bad imitating Homsar

Disclaimer: Views I express are my own and don't reflect any employer or associated entity.

SectorZ

Quote from: Roadrunner75 on February 08, 2021, 01:29:01 AM
My Ipod Classic is still working well, but at some point something is going to happen to it and then I'll be in the same boat.  I've been wondering about the same thing for eventual replacement.  I believe most of the CDs I've ripped to it via the Itunes program were in Apple's format (AAC?), so I would need something that could play it (not looking forward to converting all of them to MP3).

You can convert them in one shot in itunes. In preferences, change the import settings to MP3 and whatever bit rate you want. Then, highlight all the songs that are in AAC format, file/convert/create MP3 version. If you have an SSD it'll fly, but a normal HDD it'll take a while. However, it should be workable in one step. You can at least spot try it with an album or two, see how fast it does it, and go from there. It'll make a duplicate so you then just delete the old version.

JREwing78

Quote from: stridentweasel on February 08, 2021, 05:38:08 PM
How does one even use an MP3 player in a car without having to awkwardly fumble with a damn touch screen?

I set up playlists and set the player to shuffle tracks. One tap skips to the next track. If that doesn't solve my problem, I wait until my next stop to futz with the screen, or switch to the radio.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: JREwing78 on February 08, 2021, 09:02:41 PM
Quote from: stridentweasel on February 08, 2021, 05:38:08 PM
How does one even use an MP3 player in a car without having to awkwardly fumble with a damn touch screen?

I set up playlists and set the player to shuffle tracks. One tap skips to the next track. If that doesn't solve my problem, I wait until my next stop to futz with the screen, or switch to the radio.

Another advantage of the SanDisc player I linked is that it is button controlled and really intuitive to use without looking.

Mr_Northside

For about 8 years or so I loved my SanDisc Sansa Clip.  It came with 8GB "onboard" and had a SD slot I added another 8GB  (I think there was a size limitation on how large the card would be, and I think it might have been 8GB). 
It hooked into the computer via USB (and charged that way too), so I also ripped and compressed most of my collection and just copied and pasted it over (didn't need any special software or anything)
It had an FM tuner, which was nice, and played pretty much any file format you threw at it (from uncompressed .wav's, loss-less .flac, .mp3 (of course), and I think I went with mostly .ogg at the time.

Over the years, the battery started holding less of a charge, and then my dumb ass forgot to take it out of a pocket when I did a load of laundry.  That didn't kill it totally, but it was "wonky" afterward.

I can't vouch for the newer generations...... and I certainly understand the appeal of having stand-alone devices instead of using the phone for everything, but at the point that died, I did just start using my phone to play music.
I don't have opinions anymore. All I know is that no one is better than anyone else, and everyone is the best at everything

doorknob60

#12
One thing to watch out for with the ultra cheap Android devices is some of them have poor sound quality out of the 3.5mm jack. I bought a super cheap prepaid Android phone with the intention of using it as an MP3 player. I only paid $20 for it from Fred Meyer (Kroger). The software was fine and it had a MicroSD slot, so I had no issues copying my music over and loading them into a music player app, but the 3.5mm output quality was just not very good (sounded very flat and kinda muffled), so it did not make a good MP3 player. I've never noticed bad quality on any other phone or MP3 player I've owned, but that's the only time I've bought such a low end device. That was years ago so maybe the DAC quality has improved in low end devices, but I'm not sure.

My recommendation if you go that route would be to buy a used older flagship or midrange device. Something like a Galaxy S7 for example, old enough that most people will have upgraded to something newer so you can probably find them cheap, but still plenty usable to download apps from Google Play, and the hardware likely isn't going to crap out (and it's better built than low end devices). It could also serve as a backup phone if you needed it to. The 3.5mm output on any device like that should be just fine, as would Bluetooth if your car supports that.

I've seen mention of SanDisk MP3 players and I had one in the past that I was very happy with. I installed a custom OS Rockbox onto mine but it's not necessary. No idea if they still make them, or how much they've changed. Haven't used one in about a decade.

One last thing to note, a lot of devices will say things like "supports MicroSD card up to 32 GB" but in most cases, larger cards will work just fine. Some of them right out of the box, some you might need to format to FAT32 from a computer first.

hbelkins

My Saturn Vue has a six-disc CD changer, but it's a pain to keep up with a bunch of CDs in the car (I did it in my truck for years) so I'd rather have a player.

The very first dedicated music player I had was an Archos Jukebox. Can't remember the capacity, but it had a USB 1.0 connection that made copying files agonizingly slow. I still have it; I ought to power it up and set it up to copy the files off of it to another drive while I sleep. It might be done when I wake up the next morning.   :-D

Quote from: doorknob60 on February 09, 2021, 03:34:09 PM
One thing to watch out for with the ultra cheap Android devices is some of them have poor sound quality out of the 3.5mm jack. I bought a super cheap prepaid Android phone with the intention of using it as an MP3 player. I only paid $20 for it from Fred Meyer (Kroger). The software was fine and it had a MicroSD slot, so I had no issues copying my music over and loading them into a music player app, but the 3.5mm output quality was just not very good (sounded very flat and kinda muffled), so it did not make a good MP3 player. I've never noticed bad quality on any other phone or MP3 player I've owned, but that's the only time I've bought such a low end device. That was years ago so maybe the DAC quality has improved in low end devices, but I'm not sure.

My recommendation if you go that route would be to buy a used older flagship or midrange device. Something like a Galaxy S7 for example, old enough that most people will have upgraded to something newer so you can probably find them cheap, but still plenty usable to download apps from Google Play, and the hardware likely isn't going to crap out (and it's better built than low end devices). It could also serve as a backup phone if you needed it to. The 3.5mm output on any device like that should be just fine, as would Bluetooth if your car supports that.

I'm not exactly a vehicle audiophile, so that's not a huge factor. Price, however, is. If I can't find a Galaxy S7 for around $40, I'd be better off with the new prepaid phone or mini-tablet option. I do have a Bluetooth AUX jack that I could plug into the AUX port on my car stereo and run Bluetooth from the device instead of a cable if need be.

Quote from: stridentweasel on February 08, 2021, 05:38:08 PM
I get my music on CDs and use my car's built-in CD player.  If an album is only available as a digital download, I write it to CD, as that's a legal means of media transfer as long as I don't distribute it.  My previous car only had a tape deck, so I recorded my CDs to cassette tapes to listen to them in the car.

How does one even use an MP3 player in a car without having to awkwardly fumble with a damn touch screen?

For years, I copied vinyl albums and CDs onto cassettes until I got a Sony Car Discman as a Christmas present from my brother one year. It played through a cassette adapter (remember those?). What few digital downloads I've bought, I've burned CDs from them as well, and I had gotten in the habit of burning copies of CDs I bought and playing them in the vehicle instead of keeping the originals in the car.

I don't think it's awkward to fumble with a touch screen in the car. No more so than anything else involving the screen (such as punching in directions for the GPS app; I would include reading a text or email but some people find that behavior to be improper so I won't mention it). It's more awkward in my opinion to deal with the iPod's clickwheel.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

Scott5114

Try asking around at the office if anyone has any obsolete Android phones they might be willing to part with. I've got three (a slider–remember when those were a thing?–a Galaxy 4, and a J7) that I just have sitting around the house collecting dust because by the time I replaced them they were obsolete enough that I had no hope of reselling them for enough to justify the hassle of finding a buyer.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

cu2010

I second Scott's advice. Not all Android devices are created equal, and a lot of the cheap ones are just that- cheap.

I use my Google Pixel 4 XL phone with Rocket Player. My options are, however, limited, because my car has no aux port, so I'm limited to connecting via Bluetooth. Of course, this phone has no headphone jack...

If you're looking for something relatively inexpensive, stick with a low-midrange Samsung device. That $50 Walmart tablet might sound like a good deal, but most of the ONN stuff is complete garbage.
This is cu2010, reminding you, help control the ugly sign population, don't have your shields spayed or neutered.

NJRoadfan

Buy one of these: https://gromaudio.com/store/usb_adapters/gmc-chevrolet-saturn-buick-06-12-usb-android-iphone-car-integration-adapter-kit.html

Then buy a flash drive or a cheapo Android phone since it has a standard USB port on it. Using the car's controls to change tracks makes life easier, you'll wonder why you fumbled with the click wheel in the past. That and much better audio quality and it'll charge your phone or player automatically.

US71

My van has a USB port, so I record all my music on a flash drive and play on the USB post
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

mgk920

Quote from: stridentweasel on February 08, 2021, 05:38:08 PM
I get my music on CDs and use my car's built-in CD player.  If an album is only available as a digital download, I write it to CD, as that's a legal means of media transfer as long as I don't distribute it.  My previous car only had a tape deck, so I recorded my CDs to cassette tapes to listen to them in the car.

How does one even use an MP3 player in a car without having to awkwardly fumble with a damn touch screen?

You can buy inexpensive adapters that will allow you to plug in both a charger cord and an audio output cord AND have all of the usual control buttons for the player.  Very intuitive controls that you can feel for.

BTW, I'm still using a set of cheap computer speakers that are thrown onto the back seat floor of my car that I got in the mid 00s, they are shaped like triangular prisms so that they stay put, they have an internal power supply (no 'wall wart' power supply), plugs into an inverter for power from the car, plug into the 160 Gb 'classic' iPod that I still use and it sounds great (people riding with me have commented on how good it does sound).  I then just Zip-Tied the cords together to keep everything neat and orderly.

I can also listen to the car radio for a game or current affairs/events discussion at the same time I that have tunes playing in the background (I like that  :nod: ).

BTW, I am likely going to have to replace the iPod in the foreseeable future, not because its mechanical hard drive might be showing early signs of failure (it is not), but due to obsolescence - it now has just under 23K files in its library and is thus approaching its 25K file software limit (Grrrr...).  I play the files in random order ('shuffle') from its entire library, resetting it every time that I set out for the day.

Mike

SectorZ

Quote from: mgk920 on February 10, 2021, 11:49:33 PM
BTW, I am likely going to have to replace the iPod in the foreseeable future, not because its mechanical hard drive might be showing early signs of failure (it is not), but due to obsolescence - it now has just under 23K files in its library and is thus approaching its 25K file software limit (Grrrr...).  I play the files in random order ('shuffle') from its entire library, resetting it every time that I set out for the day.

Mike

I think you're OK there. The 25K limit was only due to the iTunes match service. In fact, the 160GB models stated you could have "up to 40,000" songs on it. I actually did have 27K on my 160GB iPod so I know it's OK. I also had, for a bit, an iPod with a custom 256GB SSD on it that had over 30K songs on it, also without an issue playing or syncing with iTunes.

hbelkins

Quote from: NJRoadfan on February 09, 2021, 06:00:30 PM
Buy one of these: https://gromaudio.com/store/usb_adapters/gmc-chevrolet-saturn-buick-06-12-usb-android-iphone-car-integration-adapter-kit.html

Then buy a flash drive or a cheapo Android phone since it has a standard USB port on it. Using the car's controls to change tracks makes life easier, you'll wonder why you fumbled with the click wheel in the past. That and much better audio quality and it'll charge your phone or player automatically.

Three negatives about that solution. First is the cost. It's $150, or three times the cost of an aforementioned Android device. Second is the installation. I'd either have to mount it myself (not gonna happen due to my lack of aptitude and skill for such things) or pay to have it done, with the auxiliary issue of where to place it. Third is that apparently it would rely on the text display of my factory stereo, which is rather limited and doesn't give the cover flow-type option that displays album artwork.

I am partial to something that reads the tags from the files to group them into albums, etc., instead of reading a file structure organized by folders.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

US71

Before I bought my current van, I used a portable CD player that ran off the cigarette lighter and had a special adapter that ran through the cassette player

Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

hbelkins

Quote from: US71 on February 11, 2021, 03:05:00 PM
Before I bought my current van, I used a portable CD player that ran off the cigarette lighter and had a special adapter that ran through the cassette player



The CD Discman my brother got me for Christmas back in the early 1990s changed my life. It was powered through the lighter and used the cassette adapter as well. I went through several portable CD players, but never found one as good as that first one. I quit taping CDs to cassette to play in the car after that.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

1995hoo

I got my first Discman in 1986 and it lasted me until 2003. I was all set to get another until I read a Newsweek article about the iPod, which convinced me the device wasn't just for punk kids pirating music. The idea of not being limited to whatever set of CDs I happened to have at the office was very appealing.

I mentioned the Astell & Kern KANN before, but after doing some research, I think I'm leaning towards their A&norma SP15 instead because it's MQA-capable (the KANN isn't) and costs $100 less than the KANN.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

Brandon

Quote from: stridentweasel on February 08, 2021, 05:38:08 PM
I get my music on CDs and use my car's built-in CD player.  If an album is only available as a digital download, I write it to CD, as that's a legal means of media transfer as long as I don't distribute it.  My previous car only had a tape deck, so I recorded my CDs to cassette tapes to listen to them in the car.

How does one even use an MP3 player in a car without having to awkwardly fumble with a damn touch screen?

Some, newer cars allow you to simply plug the USB flash drive directly into the radio system.  That's what mine does (2017 Jeep Renegade).  I plug in the flash drive and it plays automatically.  After that, I can control much of it through the buttons on the back side of the steering wheel and, if I need to, control it via the radio touch screen.
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