Best portable music player

Though it’s a rare thing to need, a portable music player is something you might find yourself in the market for. Whether you’re looking to replace your smartphone as your music source or just looking for an integrated amp and digital to analog converter (DAC) stack that you can take with you: portable music players are the best they’ve ever been—even if their widespread appeal is all but gone.

The FiiO M11S is the best portable music player

Considering that most portable music players are largely specification-driven and aren’t very complicated once you’ve identified what you want: the FiiO M11S has the most bang for buck on the market today. The M11S offers a monster battery, top of the line wired and wireless options, and the ability to use your favorite streaming services. Paired with a respectable output level, it’s none too shabby.

FiiO’s options here are generally the options with the largest batteries that you can find under $1000, so it’s no surprise that the latest addition to the company’s line would stack up against the competition this way. The main reason you’d want something else is if you really, desperately, needed higher power output than the M11S can offer, and that would mean making tradeoffs in the price or features department.

Why is the FiiO M11S the best portable music player?

Paying many thousands of dollars for a portable music player is often only going to get you very small improvements at significant cost—so we’re going to advise you to not do that. While the FiiO M11S might not be everyone’s cup of tea, it does tick all the boxes for a good portable audio player that can also handle pretty much anything you throw at it (including most streaming services). To be clear, this is a unit that isn’t going to be a perfect match for all headphones, it’s just the right tool for most of them.

FiiO does a pretty good job of making the most of the components crammed into this unit, as it provides a parametric equalizer to customize your sound to your liking, or even use presets from others online. Additionally, you can use this unit as a stand-in for a DAC and amp for your computer. Really, there aren’t very many features for portable music players not on the M11S, so this is an easy recommendation. This unit will satisfy the vast majority of use cases that even a highly demanding user would throw at it, save for waterproofing or ultra high output.

If you’re using headphones that require more than a watt of juice to reach an appropriate level, you’re going to want to look for something else. Just like any other portable audio player, you need to match what your needs are to the right product first. However, unless you’re running super insensitive planar magnetic headphones or some ultra-boutique options: chances are extremely good that you don’t need a super high output source. For most people, that makes the FiiO M11S—the cheapest portable music player that has all the best features music players can offer—the best portable music player.

We decided against the FiiO M11 Plus because the upgrades it offers really aren’t worth the extra $175 unless you’re deep in the rabbit-hole of portable audio already. Stacking an extra 10mW of output power and 700mAh to the battery is notable, but considering the M11S already has a decent output level and battery: you’re not likely to notice much change unless you have super power-hungry headphones.

If you’re on a budget, get the Hidizs AP80

Even if you don’t have a ton of cash to burn on this endeavor, you can, in fact, get pretty much everything you’re looking for in a portable music player at a fairly “low” cost. The Hidizs AP80 is a rather unassuming square-shaped device with limited bells and whistles. However, it does tick all the boxes you could want in a portable music player outside of raw power. But even then, we were able to drive the Sennheiser HD 800 S and Meze Audio Liric without any issues. If you need a unit capable of higher output, you’re likely going to be looking at devices in a higher price bracket.

This portable audio player might be tiny, but it offers FLAC playback, LDAC, expandable storage up to 2TB via microSD, and you guessed it: a headphone jack. There are two upgrade options for the AP80 if you decide you’d like something better, but the increase in cost is not likely to be worth the money if you’re looking for major upgrades.

While this may be the “best” in the budget category on paper, what you’re saving in money: you’re spending in effort. The player doesn’t automatically update its library every time you add to the microSD card, and you’ll also have to figure out how to set the auto-shut off feature—otherwise the AP80 will just stay on in perpetuity. But once you’ve smoothed out these rough spots, you can use the AP80 as a headphone amp/DAC for your computer, an FM radio, or just the thing you bought it for: a portable audio player.

Need power? The iBasso DX170 has you covered

While it doesn’t have the same “everything but the kitchen sink” approach as the FiiO, the iBasso DX170 has a lot of power under the hood. The iBasso DX170 has the highest output level on this list, and comes in at a full $50 cheaper than the FiiO M11S. That makes it a good match for someone who—for whatever reason—really, really needs more power. Of course, this could describe audiophiles who love to EQ their tunes with extreme adjustments either way, so if you’re a tinkerer you may want to go this route instead.

Some users have reported that they’re unsatisfied with how cheap the DX170 feels in person, and to that we’d like to note that with a price lower than its closest competition: the cost savings had to come from somewhere. For the utilitarian out there, it may not be such a big deal. However anyone looking for a luxury product may want to look at higher-end iBasso options if you’re a fan of their schtick. Just note that you don’t need to use that “burn in cable” included in the packaging.

The SanDisk Clip Sport Plus is a good gym buddy

Of course, if you don’t need a lot of power, maybe you just need a bog-standard MP3 player like the old days. That’s where the SanDisk Clip Sport Plus comes in. This little fella can clip onto your shirt or armband, and store 32GB (there are smaller models too) of tunes for your workout. Additionally, it’s sweat resistant with an IPX5 rating.

While it’s quite a bit cheaper than the other entries here, the SanDisk Clip Sport Plus isn’t exactly aimed at someone looking to replace a computer or a smartphone for their tunes. This is a product made to remove all thought necessary for someone who just wants to use the earbuds or headphones they’ve always worked out with, and now need a solution with a headphone jack. There’s no card slot, there’s no high-power amplifier, and there’s definitely no streaming support from any of the main music streaming services. However, as this product is a great deal less expensive than a phone (not to mention less of a tragedy if it breaks): it’s a good companion on a workout.

What makes a good portable music player?

It’s rough to admit, but the MP3 player is a bit of a relic of the past. If you want a portable music player, chances are the actual things you need it to do are fairly limited in scope and easy to accomplish. Consequently, this is one of those products that you can absolutely just check for the things you want on a specifications page and simply grab whatever suits your needs. There’s no right or wrong DAC chip to get—just whatever works for your needs and budget.

A portable music player won’t need to stand in as your primary entertainment device, so you really just need something with a headphone jack, decent battery life, and the ability to store your library of music.

What questions you need to answer

Here’s the info you need to track down before buying a digital audio player:

1. How much power do you need?
2. What formats are your tunes in your library?
3. Do you need access to a streaming service? If so, you’re going to need a player with Wi-Fi (or perhaps even a fork of Android).
4. What headphone connection do you need? Do you want a balanced output?

Nice upgrades are going to take the form of things like an expandable memory slot (microSD) or Bluetooth connectivity over advanced codecs like aptX or LDAC. Additionally, you may see different DAC chips from companies Texas Instruments, Sabre, or Burr Brown. Truth be told you’re unlikely to notice a difference there, so don’t let that be the deciding factor for you. There are other specs you may want to pay attention to also: battery size, bit depth and sample rate supported, power output, file types supported, and internal file capacity.

Many of the units listed on this page are also capable of standing in for your DAC and headphone amp, which is a nice way to consolidate your electronics if you’re just starting your equipment stack. The vast majority of headphones out there aren’t going to need a ton of power.

What is the difference between balanced and unbalanced? Is unbalanced bad?

Hobbyists love their bespoke equipment, and headphones are no exception. Some boutique headphones require a balanced connection using either a 2.5mm 4-pole TRRS, or 5 pole 4.4mm Pentaconn. These aren’t going to work if you shove them into a normal headphone jack, you’ll need the correct port on your device, or you’ll need a dongle to get headphones with these cable terminations to operate. However, there’s a growing number of portable audio players that can accommodate these connections.

The difference between a balanced and unbalanced connection is in how the signal is treated on the way to your ears. Balanced connections will make use of a concept called differential signalling to supposedly tamp down noise introduced by interference from outside, whereas unbalanced connections will simply take the single ended audio signal from your source without doing that. While it sounds like it might offer a huge improvement, decent shielding on your cables (which should be assumed at this point) should mean that there isn’t any significant difference between the two strategies as far as noise is concerned, for headphones at least. If you don’t have a balanced connection, you really don’t have anything to worry about.

Are you sure you even want a portable music player?

Many people looking for portable music players are looking to use their favorite headphones with something they can carry, and would drop the idea in a hot second if their smartphones could keep up. Now that the headphone jack is extremely rare in smartphones, it’s entirely possible that what some people are looking for isn’t a portable music player, but a USB dongle.

These devices are generally a lot cheaper than portable music players, and they allow your smartphone to be the music player you want it to be. As always, products like this are mainly spec-driven, so any will work so long as they can meet the power requirements of your headphones—and the only hookup necessary is to use the USB-C port of your Android phone. Apple users will need to specifically look for units that have lightning connectors—though 9 times out of 10 you’ll be happy with the Apple 3.5mm dongle.

There’s also no need to overspend here, as even the cheapest units on the market are often powerful enough to drive higher-end options like the Sennheiser HD 800 S and even some planar magnetic headphones like the HiFiMan Sundara without any trouble. It’s one of those situations where the tech behind this sort of thing has gotten so good that it’s a non-issue at this point, and features are going to be what differentiates the models—not performance.

Why would you get a portable music player instead of using your phone?

Now that the headphone jack has disappeared from smartphones, there’s a small but vocal segment of music lovers that need a way to use their wired cans that isn’t tied to a computer. In fact, I’m one of these people. I often find myself travelling around with dubious access to internet, and streaming access is poor at best. Ever drive across the great plains? Not so great cell reception there, is it?

While you could absolutely load up your phone with downloaded songs, you’re then fighting space issues if you don’t have a microSD card slot—something that is also going the way of the dinosaur. Even though this is mainly a problem for people who listen to higher bitrate files to the exclusion of all else, it’s still a concern for those who fill their phone’s storage with other things, like movies or photos or apps.

Having a portable audio player on hand will allow you to not only offload the responsibility for your music playback onto a device that isn’t hamstrung by your data connection (or storage), but there are a number of other capabilities you can unlock. For example, smartphones aren’t amazing with high-end headphones, but a portable audio player with a high-current output can handle just about any headphones you want in your hotel room, cabin, or other destination.

What are some alternatives?

Of course, our impulse to prioritize function and cost above all other concerns may not be what you’re looking for, or maybe you just want something that fits your niche a little better. That’s fine! Here’s a few other models that you can check out:

1. Shanling M0 Pro: This unit was well received upon its release last year, but doesn’t do much to set itself apart from the Hidizs AP80 Pro. It’s still a decent unit, though.
2. Astell & Kern KANN Alpha: a pricy unit, this product is built around raw output power. If you have headphones that just can’t get loud enough with other products, this is pretty much the portable that’s most likely to satisfy you.
3. iBasso DX240: Think the DX170, but with a bigger battery and more storage capacity.
4. Sony NW-A306-B: A straightforward music player that undercuts the high-end in price, but falls short when it comes to power output.
5. Sony NW-ZX507: Sony’s most recent attempt to make a powerful portable. 100+mW output means overkill for most headphones at normal listening volumes.
6. FiiO M11 Plus: This product is much like the M11S, but with a bigger battery and higher output.

This list is not exhaustive and will expand as we get to experiment with new products as they release. However, this is a decent cross-section of what’s available and worth your money.