Smallest mp3 players: The Best MP3 Players for 2023

The Best MP3 Players for 2023

Standalone MP3 players dominated pop culture for a long time, but in 2023 almost no one needs one. Any iPhone or Android phone is an audio player that works with subscription music apps like Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music and YouTube Music. You pay your $5 to $10 a month, and you get access to nearly every popular song ever recorded. And the tracks are downloadable, too, so you can listen to your music even when you leave a Wi-Fi or cellular coverage area. It’s quick, easy and convenient. What’s not to like?

“A lot,” I can hear some people saying. Maybe you’ve got one too many subscriptions already, so why pay for one more when you already have a music library of thousands of MP3 files sitting on your hard drive? Or maybe you’ve meticulously crafted iTunes playlists, like mixtapes of old, that you don’t want to re-create or transfer to another service. Maybe you have rare, one-off live tracks that don’t exist on mainstream services. (Phish fans, I’m looking at you.)

Now, truth be told, if any of that applies to you, you still don’t need an MP3 player — your iPhone can still sync music files from iTunes (on Windows) or the Apple Music app (on Mac), and it probably has more storage space than your old iPod ever did. Android phones, too, can play whatever music files you can load them up with. But if you want a dedicated device for your music — or, maybe, a parentally curated set of songs to give to a kid who’s not ready for a phone — there are still MP3 device options out there. They’re not all great, and they generally come with some caveats. But if you’ve gotten this far, here’s what I can recommend, more than two decades after the iPod was first released.

Other MP3 players

Yes, the products above are really the only ones I can recommend in this category with any degree of enthusiasm. But they aren’t the only options. If you’re looking for a bargain basement option (under $50), a serious high-end alternative (starting at $350 and going to four figures) or some interesting workarounds, read on.

Swim-friendly option: Aftershockz OpenSwim

Aftershockz

This 4GB “player in a headphone” model uses Aftershockz’s patented bone-conduction technology. It’s also fully waterproof, and retails for about $150. (Note that CNET hasn’t tested these hands-on.)

See at Amazon

The budget hack: Any old smartphone

Samsung

If you’ve got an old phone — or you buy a new one without service — you’ll have access to the full realm of app-based music services, and any music files you care to upload. Something like the $160-ish Samsung Galaxy A03S (shown above) fits the bill nicely, since you can drop in a MicroSD card that you’ve preloaded with tunes.

See at Amazon

High-end options: Sony Walkman, Astell & Kern

Sony is still making new Walkman models.

Sony/Screenshot by CNET

Audiophiles have long looked down on digital music because the sound quality was notably inferior for golden-eared listeners with distinguishing tastes. But the development of lossless file formats (such as FLAC) and cheap ample multigigabyte storage have made portable high-fidelity music a reality.

At this point, there are really only two major players in the high-end portable music space: Astell & Kern and Sony (where the Walkman brand still lives on). We’ve used earlier versions of each brand, but not the current models.

Sony Walkman music players line starts with the new-for-2023 (really!) NW-A306, arriving soon for $348.
Astell & Kern players start at $1,299, and are strictly for true enthusiasts.

If you’re the sort of person who has hard drives full of uncompressed music audio files — and can hear the difference between that and comparatively low-resolution MP3 and AAC files — then, by all means, pair up one of those players with your wired headphone of choice.

That said, nearly all of the streaming music services now offer lossless or high bitrate options — that’s nearly all the big players, from Tidal and Qobuz to Amazon and Apple. (Spotify HiFi, weirdly, remains a no-show.)

If you like what you hear, consider upgrading to a decent headphone DAC (that’s “digital to analog converter”) like the Audiofly Dragonfly and a serious wired headphone. Then you’ll have a solid audiophile option that’s good for the road, without the need for a standalone music player.

Music lockers: YouTube Music and iTunes Match

If you’ve got a digital music collection that includes one-offs and live tracks that aren’t available on the mainstream services, you can upload them to online services, where they can live alongside subscription tracks and be shared among multiple devices (including smart speakers).

YouTube Music, formerly known as Google Play Music, offers this service at no additional cost for up to 100,000 tracks.

Apple users can opt for iTunes Match, which lets you upload your own digital music to live in tandem with Apple Music tracks. Once available for $24 a year, the service now appears to be bundled in as part of an Apple Music or Apple One subscription.

If you opt for either of these options, make sure you keep a local backup of your files, just in case these services go away.

Note that Amazon shuttered its “MP3 locker” service in 2018.

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The Best MP3 Players for 2023

Other MP3 players

Swim-friendly option: Aftershockz OpenSwim

Aftershockz

See at Amazon

The budget hack: Any old smartphone

Samsung

See at Amazon

High-end options: Sony Walkman, Astell & Kern

Sony is still making new Walkman models.

Sony/Screenshot by CNET

Sony Walkman music players line starts with the new-for-2023 (really!) NW-A306, arriving soon for $348.
Astell & Kern players start at $1,299, and are strictly for true enthusiasts.

Music lockers: YouTube Music and iTunes Match

YouTube Music, formerly known as Google Play Music, offers this service at no additional cost for up to 100,000 tracks.

If you opt for either of these options, make sure you keep a local backup of your files, just in case these services go away.

Note that Amazon shuttered its “MP3 locker” service in 2018.

More audio recommendations

Best Headphones of 2023
Best Cheap Headphones in 2023
Best Over-Ear Headphones of 2023
Best On-Ear Headphones for 2023
Best Record Player in 2023
Best Wireless Speakers for 2023
Best Bluetooth Speakers for 2023
Best Speakers of 2023
Best Soundbar Under $300 in 2023
Best AV Receivers for 2023

Best Inexpensive MP3 Players Under $100 (2023)

Top 10 Best Inexpensive MP3 Players Under $100 is proof that a great portable digital player doesn’t have to be expensive. Inexpensive players collected in this rating are very different: from cheap players for audio books to basic Hi-Fi. Everyone will find a budget player to their liking.

Mp3 player for many – an outdated class of devices. After all, the phone plays music perfectly. But mp3 players (inexpensive 😉 ) can save smartphone battery power, often give better sound. And it’s more convenient to use: nothing more. To each his own, and the rating of mp3 players under $100 is still relevant in 2023.

⚖️ Topic Ratings:

💸 Which budget MP3 player under $100 is better to buy?

What is the best MP3 player under $100 to buy?

The best mp3 players in the budget segment can be conditionally divided into 2 large groups :

Very inexpensive players that play a little better than the smartphone (or better, but not any). The main task of such models is to unload this same phone in terms of energy consumption. If you listen to music for many hours a day, then the battery of your smartphone will probably be consumed very quickly. We buy an inexpensive portable player, and, lo and behold, the phone can be charged only once a day. 😉
Budget Hi-Fi . This includes models in the price range of $50 – $100, which are focused specifically on sound reproduction. Without any additional options (like watching videos or reading books on a microscopic display). The “heart” of such a model is usually either a dedicated DAC or a well-implemented codec. It is always Chi-Fi – Chinese models with an excellent combination of price and quality. I would not include Sony players here, the sound quality is more in line with the first category.

Accordingly, if you need your smartphone to “sit down” not so quickly , you want a small player for jogging, an option for places where smartphones are prohibited (for example, at work) – you should buy an inexpensive mp3 player from the first category. If you want to buy a music player inexpensively, this is the second category. Chinese Hi-Fi players almost always have some kind of ergonomic and/or build problems, but there are gems among them in terms of sound.

And if you need a Sony Walkman, then you won’t want to buy an inexpensive mp3 player from another company. 😉 There is something attractive about them. Marketing, probably. 😛

What to look for when choosing an mp3 player – important characteristics

Portable players have many important and not so important characteristics . First of all, you should pay attention to those players where the characteristics of the manufacturers are not particularly “shine” (hello, Sony 😉), or non-sound reproduction predominates among them (hello, Apple 😀). Yes, you should pay attention to them and exclude them from the list for selection.

In this rating of mp3 players there are models from Sony. They have a lot of fans who want exactly what they offer. And the reviews are better than any Hi-Fi player. Here to each his own. I’m not saying all Walkmans are bad. Overrated? 90%.

It is not necessary to sit and understand all these tricky features of Hi-Fi players to choose the right one. Let’s focus on the main ones:

Supported headphone impedances . If your favorite model is tight 300 ohm studio headphones, then a player that pulls a maximum of 100 ohms will not work for you.
Support for formats. If your entire music library is in mp3, then any player will do in the budget segment. But if there are a lot of flac, ape, dsd and other lossless formats, you will have to choose the player more carefully. Or look at a more expensive segment.
Power versus resistance . Measured in milliwatts. It is important that there is not much difference between the maximum and minimum load.
Memory capacity, expansion options . The main thing is that there is support for large microSD cards. Well, or a large internal storage. There is no point in buying a separate player and listening to compressed mp3s on it.
Autonomy . Hi End players “live” on one charge for a short time. Up to 10 hours on average. This should be taken with dignity and reconciled. You can’t deceive physics: a high-quality audio path requires serious power.
Availability of desired functions . Ability to work as a USB DAC, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Android as a shell and so on. Who needs what.

All other harmonics, channel separation, etc. are not so important. Especially in the non-audiophile segment.

TOP 10: Best Inexpensive MP3 Players Under $100 – Budget Rating (2023)

Model	Description
1. Shanling M0 100$	Best Budget MP3 Player Under $100 in 2023;
2. Fiio M3K $75	Best MP3 player under $80 with smooth, authentic sound;
3. Digma Z4 $30	The best budget mp3 player under $30: with Bluetooth and extras. functions;
4. Sony NW-E393 $75	Good portable MP3 player with screen, budget Walkman;
5. Digma B4 25$	Digma’s best flac player: cheap mp3 player with AUX output and FM radio;
6. Zishan Z4 $100	Good budget mp3 player with flac support: inexpensive Hi Fi;
7. Fiio M5 $100	Budget Hi-Fi player: one of the best sound quality;
8. Redant X7-7Keys 20$	Best inexpensive MP3 player under $20;
9. Sony NWZ-B183F $60	Inexpensive good quality mp3 player;
10. Digma S4 25$	Good cheap mp3 player.

10 Digma S4

Good cheap mp3 player

DIGMA S4 is a good cheap mp3 player. A great option for $25: reads many formats, including flac, has a display and additional features like viewing pictures, video and text. It is not clear why they are on such a screen, but these are the details. Just a good mp3 player without problems. And inexpensive.

This cheap mp3 player has an unusual design. Paw print buttons. Interesting. But not everyone will like it. 😉

9 Sony NWZ-B183F

Inexpensive good quality mp3 player

The

Sony NWZ-B183F is an inexpensive good quality mp3 player from Sony. Compact size, metal case, good assembly, interesting design (there are many colors) and quite convenient operation are the nice distinguishing features of this model. The main disadvantage is only 4 GB of internal memory. And you can’t expand them with a memory card.

We can say that this is an inexpensive mp3 player with good sound. Is he worth his money? You can’t answer 100% yes to that.

8 Redant X7-7Keys

Best inexpensive MP3 player under $20

The

Redant X7-7Keys is the best inexpensive MP3 player under $20. Stylish design, partially metal case, support for popular formats, including lossles and touch controls. And all this for $ 20 – an excellent inexpensive player.

Redant X7-7Keys – mp3 player cheap on Aliexpress

This model features a built-in speaker. Inexpensive mp3 players are not often equipped with them.

7 Fiio M5

Budget Hi-Fi player – one of the best sound quality

The

Fiio M5 is a great budget Hi-Fi player. Small with a touch screen and quite convenient controls. Of course, the main thing is a very good sound for its size and price. This is almost the best mp3 player in terms of sound quality for $100. The player supports all major audio formats and can work as an external DAC. And Bluetooth is also available here.

Fiio M5 – budget Hi Fi player on Aliexpress

This affordable player comes with a fun accessory: a hand strap. In this version, the player can be worn like a watch. The dials, by the way, are included in the firmware. 😉

6 Zishan Z4

Good budget mp3 player with flac support

Zishan Z4 is a good budget mp3 player that supports flac and other popular formats including DSD. First of all, it pleases with a really “adult” sound, excellent for its price category. Push-button control, the format is “metal brick”, but not quite old school.

Zishan Z4 is the best budget player on Aliexpress

Another indisputable plus that not every budget player has is 4 outputs. Two options for balanced, regular for headphones and linear.

5 Digma B4

Digma’s best flac player – cheap mp3 player with AUX output and FM radio

DIGMA B4 is a cheap mp3 player with AUX output and FM radio, the best flac player from Digma in our rating. Budget and functional device. Video playback, pictures, FM radio, voice recorder function, support for all major audio formats, you can even change the playback speed, which is useful for audio books. An inexpensive music player is it.

What about the sound? This is an mp3 player with a good radio, not a hi-fi player. It has better sound than many smartphones. But not everyone.

4 Sony NW-E393

Nice portable MP3 player with screen, budget Walkman

The

SONY NW-E393 is a good portable MP3 player with a screen. Budget Walkman. Budget only by Sony standards. 😉 Half price (or more) here for the Walkman brand on the case. Nevertheless, the player produces pretty good sound, has comfortable ergonomics and lasts long enough on a single charge to think about an outlet no more than once a week.

Much of Sony’s audio technology is overpriced. This portable player with a screen is no exception. But apart from the price: a good mp3 player.

3 Digma Z4 🥉

Best budget MP3 player under $30

Digma Z4 is the best budget MP3 player under $30 with wide functionality. It can play many audio formats, including flac. There is also a small display. Separately pleases the ability to connect headphones via Bluetooth. Not all budget mp3 players are capable of this.

This is the best mp3 player in its price range, it even has extra features. For example, video playback. The screen is 128 by 128 pixels. For what?? 😀

2 Fiio M3K 🥈

Best MP3 player under $80

Fiio M3K is the best mp3 player under $80. Main advantages: balanced sound and omnivorous. The player reads DSD and ISO images, for example. Can play files up to 384 kHz in wav format. Yes, and it can be used as an external sound card.

Fiio M3K is the best budget player on Aliexpress

Bluetooth is missing from the additional functions. Many competitors in this price range have them. But here we decided to concentrate on the sound.

1 Shanling M0 🏆

Best budget MP3 player under $100 – in 2023

The

Shanling M0 is the best budget MP3 player under $100. It is very compact, but there is a screen, Bluetooth connection with LDAC support is possible, inside the Saber DAC, many formats are supported, including DSD. And the sound is also very good for its price segment.

Shanling M0 is the best budget mp3 player 2020-21. Aliexpress

There is even decent autonomy – about 13 hours. In terms of parameters, this is the best mp3 player under $100.

💎 Useful related articles:

Smallest MP3 players – RATE1

03/27/2009

Up to a certain point, it has always been believed that the bigger the thing, the better. So the Americans were proud of their biggest cars and giant hamburgers, and the citizens of the Soviet Union were proud of their biggest country and biggest planes, writes point.ru.

However, technological progress has changed everything, and now engineers have launched into the race to develop the smallest device in the world. Few things better reflect the results of this struggle than an MP3 player. Each manufacturer of these small singing sticks strives to reduce their size as much as possible.

For example, Apple recently announced that its new iPod Shuffle is so small that one can only be surprised. The dimensions of this MP3 player are really impressive: 4.5 cm long and only 0.8 cm thick.

But other companies are also on the alert and are ready to prove that it is their devices that have the right to be called “the smallest MP3 player in the world.” Edition PC World presents six contenders for this title.

1. uCan by Ubanana The manufacturer claims it is “the smallest fully integrated waterproof MP3 player”. The kit comes with 2 GB of memory, which allows you to store up to 15 hours of music, which can be enjoyed at a depth of up to 3 m. Considering that the uCan player is mounted on the back of the head, it is rather difficult to call it the smallest. But if you absolutely must listen to music while winding the breaststroke or butterfly kilometers in the pool, then there is simply no alternative.

2. Wallet Slightly thicker than a credit card, this player is so small you’ll need a special adapter to plug in your headphones. The player’s memory capacity varies from 4 to 8 GB, and it comes with a USB connector. Despite the fact that Walletex claims that their brainchild is waterproof, it is probably not worth taking it with you for a swim. But you can order a unique coloring book for the upcoming office party from the manufacturer.

3. iRiver S10 This model is really small. Measuring 4.2 x 3 x 1 cm, it weighs only 17g. The S10 comes in two variants (1GB and 2GB) and a single battery charge provides eight hours of continuous music playback. In addition, the player from iRiver has a 1.5-inch OLED display for viewing photos, a built-in FM radio, a voice recorder, an alarm clock, a stopwatch, and can work as a removable hard drive.

4. “Cube” MobiBlu DAH-1500i The appearance of this device two years ago caused a lot of noise. It was assumed that the “cube” should “kill” the iPod Shuffle with its size. In principle, he almost succeeded: no matter which side you look at, each is 2.3 cm in size. The only problem is that the device is a cube, and it is not very convenient to carry it in your pocket.