Top 15 mp3 players

Amazingly compact and elegant player that attracts the attention of a very decent filling and a wide variety of colors. A good single-chip ESS Saber ES9218P system is responsible for converting a digit into an analog signal. The Shanling M0 player can be used as an external DAC. Supports Bluetooth version 4.1 with aptX codec and LDAC (with different modes). The model is able to shake even quite “tight” headphones and pleases with a clear, energetic presentation. The sound is not Hi-End, of course, with a flat stage and noticeably simplified high frequencies, but it is clearly better than that of the vast majority of smartphones.

The most controversial side of the player should be recognized as a control system - there are no separate buttons, the tracks cannot be switched using a wired headset or the same smart. But wireless headphones do it without any problems. Well, the balanced output here would be very helpful.

A small and compact player from Sony will provide you with good stereo sound and long battery life. The device is easy to operate. It has a small screen on which the playing composition is displayed. Another important parameter by which the player got into the rating is charging method. You can forget that the computer cable will be lost somewhere, because the USB for charging and moving playlists is located directly on the player: you only need to remove the cap.

The second generation of budget players of the FIIO brand acquired an “adult” filling and learned a couple of interesting tricks. The processor has become more powerful and is able to work not only with traditional high-resolution audio formats, but also with DSD64 streams, which added flexibility to the gadget. Especially if you remember that the M3K can also serve as a USB DAC. A modern DAC AK4376A with a built-in amplifier deals with the digital / analog conversion of the player. Perhaps the relatively modest output power is the most important disadvantage of the recommended device. The sound is neutral, bass fans will not like it. To listen to songs with a lot of classical instruments, the model is also not suitable, but for vocal reproduction is quite. One of the mentioned tricks is the ability of the player to work as a voice recorder. And he also has an unusual menu navigation system - with the help of swipes and tapes on a special touch strip.

Hi-Res player with a good-quality filling and quite ascetic appearance. In principle, the device has enough competitors, but none of them can boast the presence of an optical output. If such a chip matters to you, for example, you plan to listen to high-quality music through a car audio system, in this price category X10 has no alternative. By the way, against the background of their classmates, the player stands out also with two memory card slots. But on the USB DAC mode, the developers of the model decided to save.

Another proprietary feature of xDuoo brand devices is the minimalism of their settings. For example, the equalizer is missing here. However, in the presence of "direct hands", no one bothers to install an alternative firmware, at times increasing the possibilities for setting up the device by editing the configuration file. In terms of sound, the player demonstrates noticeably simplified high frequencies, medium speeds and accented lows, as well as softened middle ones.

This player is interesting by the presence of a balanced output, a pair of programmable buttons, as well as an improved USB DAC mode. The first allows you to connect full-size headphones, as long as the small power of the usual is focused mainly on sensitive intra-channel models (IEM). It is clear that listening on a balanced scheme places high demands on the recordings, since all the shortcomings of mastering are immediately apparent (ears). The second advantage is not so obvious, but the comfort of the player precisely increases. The third is to understand the ability to power the gadget from the USB cable itself - a really useful feature during long-term work as part of a stationary audio system. The name of the model rather truthfully reflects its character in terms of sound. Dry and fast bass, wide and deep stage with a clear separation of instruments at mid frequencies, minimally simplified highs. The result - a genre-universal, almost neutral sound without much emphasis. Lovers of juiciness do not like it.

Genre-universal player with conditionally neutral pitch, realistic bass, "monitor" medium and slightly simplified high frequencies. The sound of the DX150 is literally a bit inferior to the older iBasso. On the other hand, the younger model is less picky about the quality of the musical material. Recall that the chip line is easy to replace the final amplifiers, made in the form of a standard removable module. There is no need to correct anything in this way, we don’t see, as far as the complete AMP6 is more than good and will pull almost any headphones (with the exception of the “tightest” ones). The main drawback of the player can be considered work on Android, with all the nuances that accompany this fact. For example, significant energy consumption during periods of "sleep." But the elementary nature of installing third-party software allows you to unlock the potential of the DX150 as fully as possible.

If you consider yourself a fan of high-quality sound, but do not want to give up the advantages of modern cloud services, you will have to compromise on the Android player “on board”. From the unpleasant features of this operating system, we can recall its low energy efficiency and, what is worse in this case, a noticeable delay when the gadget is operating in USB DAC mode. The recommended Hidizs flagship has gone through a challenging three-year development path with 120 design variants and ten prototypes and is now ready to please us with a circuit with separate ES9118C DACs per channel, as well as a pair of quartz oscillators for accurate conversion of digital streams with different sample rates (reduce jitter). Unfortunately, the AP200 has no balanced output. In general, the sound of the player is neutral, although the high and middle frequencies are still slightly smoothed, and the low ones are slightly accentuated. It can be expected that the pitch and color of the musical compositions will be fully determined by the headphones used.

In favor of this model speak premium appearance and long duration of work on a single battery charge. Of course, the latter is achieved by no means in a mystical way, but by a quite ordinary one - due to a small output power. In other words, the player is intended for use with sensitive in-ear headphones. The expression “both the Swiss, and the reaper, and the igruts' dude” is not applicable to Plenue J - the functionality of the device is reduced exclusively to reproduction through wired “ears”. At the same time, the player practically does not add any gag to the playing material.Of course, except for Cowon's proprietary chip, namely the JetEffect sound effects package. True audiophiles will pass by her, but music lovers will appreciate without special complaints. What else will please Plenue J its owner, so it is a decent amount of internal memory.

It is a rather nontrivial case when the younger model from the same line is not only cheaper, but also noticeably better than the older one. Almost without touching the main stuffing of the M7, the company's specialists have added the capabilities of this player with full support for online services. It seems to us that it is precisely this chip that today distinguishes portable digital conventionally middle-class players from entry-level sound-reproducing devices. As for attempts to compare with "music" smartphones - yes, they are inferior, and what is the difference in prices? In addition, not every expensive smart can boast the presence of the LDAC codec and the ability to work as a transport, and the Fiio M6 can. On the main talents of the player, so to speak. The frequency response of the device is absolutely linear, but it is impossible to call its sound monitor. The developers have contrived to somehow add power and drive to extreme frequencies, because of which increased musicality, and at the same time, the versatility of the younger "brother» M7.

The most unusual player in our ranking. A very peculiar design, a musical style completely unusual for Astell & Kern products - the company decided to take a risky experiment, which turned out to be very successful. Literally from any point of view, the KANN model is interesting. Although in terms of available interfaces: separate balanced and unbalanced inputs / outputs, simultaneously operating a pair of different types of USB ports, the possibility of parallel use of SD and microSD memory cards, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth with aptX HD codec. Although with regard to technical abilities: the exorbitant output power can be used as a transport (and without intermediate signal conversion, i.e. in the bit-to-bit mode). Though in the sense of reasonableness and convenience of the interface - it is enough to recall the simplicity of a quick change in volume (if there are 150 levels). As for the sound and manner of presentation, as opposed to the technical predecessors that are prone to maximum detail, this player is more inclined to musicality and integrity when playing any composition.

Unlike its predecessor, which is prone to some kind of “analogy,” the QA361 model exhibits extremely technical “digital” pitch and neutral sound. However, with the latter, everything is not so unambiguous - its character largely depends on the headphones used, the filter settings and the mode of operation of the amplifier. The peculiarity of Quloos players can be considered radical, while ensuring the quality of reproduction. In order to eliminate the smallest sources of interference, their developers decided to limit the single-threaded operation mode of the firmware. That is why QA361 does without Bluetooth and Wi-Fi modules, is not able to serve as an external DAC or transport, it does not even have a primitive similarity to a media library. But from a technical point of view, everything is very cool here: high-performance master oscillators, a separate microcircuit for volume control, only power supply filters take up half of the case. Jitter simply has no chance!