Best Budget MP3 Players
On Ali, even with a limited budget, you can buy a high-quality MP3 player.
Ruizu X26
Built-in memory: 8 GB. Support for external memory card: yes. Screen size: 1.1 inches. Bluetooth function: yes. Battery: 200 mAh. OS: Android.
Ruizu X26 is one of the best inexpensive players with good sound. The device is small in size, has good sound for the money and useful functions. The player has several useful functions - a pedometer for tracking health and a voice recorder. The device also has several audio modes: rock, nature, classical, pop, jazz, bass.
Pros:
- 30 hours of playback.
- Lots of memory.
- Excellent ergonomics.
Minuses:
- Small screen.
- Not very high quality build.
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IQQ new x2
Bluetooth function: yes Built-in memory: 8 GB File formats used: MP3, MP4 FM radio: yes E-book: yes Screen size: 1.8 inches OS: Android.
An excellent option for those looking for a budget player. The device settings include an equalizer, clock, and alarm clock. The following items are supplied with the player: a USB cord and headphones. Another advantage that should be noted is the connection of wireless headphones via Bluetooth.
Pros:
- Updated version.
- High quality build.
- Battery life is 5 hours.
Minuses:
- Small screen.
- No Wi-Fi.
Ritmix RF-3410
Representative of classic MP3 players: this is exactly what they were like at the dawn of their appearance: similar to a flash drive and with tiny monochrome displays. The only difference is that this model, which costs about 1,500 rubles, has more memory than in the old days - 8 GB, which can be expanded using SD cards. The body is rubberized and attached to clothing using a clip.
The battery lasts for 10 hours of operation. This device will not produce stunning sound, but it is perfect for e-books, especially since there is a bookmark function specifically for them. Theoretically, you can even read ordinary books in TXT format here, but I’m afraid to even imagine who will do this on a 1-inch diagonal screen.
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Price: RUB 1,389
Digma R3
This device is very similar to the previous one: the same microscopic monochrome display, the same flash drive format with a clip, the same 8 GB of internal memory, the same price of 1,500 rubles. Can be used as a voice recorder or radio: the player stores up to 20 stations. The main advantage, like the previous device, is its low price.
Price: ₽ 1,590
MP3 player: buyer's guide
In case the name doesn't mean anything to you, an MP3 player is a compact electronic device that cannot make calls, send SMS, and in most cases, also open Internet sites or play games. Its main and often only task is to play music from the internal flash memory in MP3 format (still the most popular in the world) or in other audio formats:
- Firstly, cheap MP3 players sound better than cheap smartphones, and expensive ones sound better than expensive ones, while costing much less. In the language of analogies, a smartphone is a Swiss army knife that can do everything, but does everything equally poorly, and a player is a corkscrew that has only one function, but performs it perfectly.
- Secondly, most players have convenient physical buttons for controlling playback and volume. Pressing on them, receiving a tactile response, is much more comfortable and pleasant than sliding your finger across the phone screen. Especially when it’s frosty outside, and you don’t want to take off your gloves at all.
- Thirdly, players are much lighter and more compact than smartphones. The modern fashion for huge touch screens has turned smartphones into heavy, bulky shovels that are little more convenient to carry in most pockets or handbags than real shovels. And it would be nice to just wear it! What if you want to go for a run with music? The player will fit into the narrowest pocket, but with a smartphone you will have to dance.
- Fourthly, the player saves smartphone memory and can also be used as a portable flash drive.
- Fifthly, the battery charge of an MP3 player usually lasts for a very long time, which cannot be said about smartphones. And the player helps save precious phone charge.
- Fifthly, you can take the player with you to places where you cannot take a smartphone with a camera, for example, to sensitive sites.
- Finally, sixthly, players sometimes can do things that smartphones can’t even dream of. One Espada Cassette Capture EZCAP from our selection is worth it!
There are several important points here.
Memory size. If you are buying a player specifically for MP3 music, then a model with 4 GB of built-in memory will be enough for you: this will fit several hundred songs (depending on their quality and duration) and an entire library of audiobooks. When choosing a device capable of playing lossless formats, look for more memory, preferably 10 times, and even with the possibility of expansion using SD cards. One way or another, there will be no excess memory. Practice shows that the most convenient flash drive is a player that you always have with you.
Supported audio formats. Actually, most people buy MP3 players for music in MP3 format. For the most part, these devices also support less common formats: OGG, WAV and others. Do you need a machine that supports FLAC, AAC, ALAC and other lossless options? It’s up to you to decide. Still, 95% of people do not hear the difference between an MP3 with a decent bitrate and the same song in CD quality, and of the remaining 5%, only every tenth is ready to buy headphones that can demonstrate this difference. However, it is better to have lossless support in the player than not.
Display. It should be bright and not fade in sunlight. Whether it should be sensory is a separate question. In my opinion, touch screens in audio players are pampering. A good player can live just fine without a display; the Apple iPod Shuffle and its numerous clothespin clones are an example of this. And the main thing is...
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Interface and controls. The buttons on the player should be large and comfortable so that you can press them blindly in your pocket or in the cold with gloves on. It is desirable that the system interface is also convenient and logical, but it depends on your luck. For example, my favorite Cowon players sound great, but they operate as if they were designed not in Korea, but on Mars.
Additional functions. Most modern MP3 players can not only play audio, but also view photos, show movies and listen to radio. These options have already become the default functionality. Some can do all this and much more, turning into analogues of smartphones, only without access to the GSM network.
