Best thing to store/download and listen to music on holiday?

[Patio]

Real basic level stuff

Got a work phone and a private phone but don't want to use

I want an ipod/mp3 type thing to download music to for when on plane/holidays that isn't Internet dependent

Would ideally also like to store photos on it that I could view if device plugged in to laptop

Any suggestions welcome

[mikeiow]

Not sure why you wouldn’t want to use your private phone.
Spotify, offline music download….phones are already decent cameras.
Only one thing to charge & indeed carry. Bluetooth to speaker.

Aside from that, sorry, no ideas - been using my iPhone/s for precisely those things (& more) for years!

[.:ian:.]

https://www.fiio.com/ Best in some metrics, but really one for the audiophile bs thread

The mp3 players on Amazon seem to be broadly either

1) straight to the bin e-waste
2) pseudo-audiophile overpriced wkery

£150 android phone and a £20 256gb sd card. Stick all the mp3s and photos on the sdcard.

[gus607]

1. Smartphone.
2, Spotify.

[RizzoTheRat]

gus607 said:

1. Smartphone.
2, Spotify.

3, Headphones. Don't be that asshole listening to music on his phone speaker.

For flying, noise cancelling headphones like the Bose Quiet Comfort or Sony WH1000 are well worth it, but a bit bulky for wandering around with.

[dundarach]

I'm with OP, we're off to the sun shortly and not sure I want to worry about taking my phone poolside. Everyone I'm bothered about is with me!!

I'm thinking of buying something like this:


£20 off amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bluetooth-5-2-Player-Buil...

With bluetooth so I can use my in ear phones etc. and bin the free ones.

Sit back and relax!!

[mike80]

Phone + SD card really is the best option these days I think.

[OutInTheShed]

15 years ago, you just stored some p3 files on your phone and it 'just worked' with a built-in music playing app.

Now you seem to need to buy a 3rd party app which messes you about.

In those old times, you could just plug a wire from your phone into any amplifier you wanted.

[mikeiow]

dundarach said:

I'm with OP, we're off to the sun shortly and not sure I want to worry about taking my phone poolside. Everyone I'm bothered about is with me!!

I'm thinking of buying something like this:


£20 off amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bluetooth-5-2-Player-Buil...

With bluetooth so I can use my in ear phones etc. and bin the free ones.

Sit back and relax!!

For those who hate progress
I mean, hopefully it will work for you, but now the OP has to manage his photos to the device as well as music…whereas Spotify+GooglePhotos (or similar - other apps & storage solutions are available!) can already be doing it for you on one device.

[RizzoTheRat]

OutInTheShed said:

15 years ago, you just stored some p3 files on your phone and it 'just worked' with a built-in music playing app.

Now you seem to need to buy a 3rd party app which messes you about.

In those old times, you could just plug a wire from your phone into any amplifier you wanted.

You still can just dump mp3 files on to your phone and then either use a built in app, or a free install like Music Player to play it. Admittedly the lack of headphone socket is a change, but bluetooth earphones or speakers are cheap as chips these days (my soundpeats were about £30 and an Anker or JBL speaker can be had for a similar price.

mikeiow said:

For those who hate progress .

Or for those who hate to leave several hundred quids worth of small easily nickable electronic lying about. Another good option is a watch with built in MP3 player as you don't leave it anywhere, but they're more expensive.

It can get a bit silly though, I usually take my big bose headphones to listen to with my phone on the plane, my Aftershoks to use with my Garmin watch when running, and my little in ear Soundpeats to use with my phone when something a bit smaller is required, like using a museum tour app. So I often take 3 pairs of headphones on holiday

Edited by RizzoTheRat on Tuesday 23 July 09:35

[camel_landy]

FWIW - I just use an old iPhone 5 SE...

• It's worth bugger all.
• Bluetooth or wired headphones (still has 3.5mm jack)
• Plenty of storage.
• Usable with or without a SIM.

M

[fourstardan]

I do find that phones on beaches and around pools are always getting hot on holiday and the battery dosn't then last as long.

[David_M]

As per Camel_Landy - just use an old phone? Everyone has one (five, seven, more) in a drawer somewhere. Wipe and reboot, so no email, bank etc on it. Then it's either use a Spotify login or drag a load of MP3s onto an SD card.

[paulrockliffe]

My watch is waterproof for swimming and will play MP3s that you put on it as well as using streaming apps. Can also view photos on it if you really wanted. You do need to put the MP3s on your phone first, then tick the stuff to sync across to the watch, but it's all very painless really. Samsung phone, Samsung watch, Samsung Music app.

The only thing my watch won't do really is take decent pictures, so if you're wanting to be phone-untethered on holiday, they are a solid option, especially the LTE versions that aren't reliant on a Bluetooth connection to the phone to get calls etc.

I went through the MP3 player thing a year or so ago to get my daughter something that wasn't a phone to listen to music on, because she was 6 at the time, the market is horrific. £500 Sony ultra-hifi things or £20 junk that is almost unuseable.

[x5tuu]

Patio said:

Real basic level stuff

private phone but don't want to use

I want an ipod/mp3 type thing to download music to for when on plane/holidays that isn't Internet dependent

Would ideally also like to store photos on it that I could view if device plugged in to laptop

Any suggestions welcome

But why? Assuming you arent a luddite and have a smart phone ... you have a device that will do it all already - you can load music onto any android or iphone so is not streaming and your smart phone is very capable of viewing photos.

[Patio]

mike80 said:

Phone + SD card really is the best option these days I think.

What size/memory sd card would be best to go for?

No experience of this so apologies for basic level if understanding

[Magicmushroom666]

Sony make these lovely little walkmans:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-NWE394L-CEW-Walkman-...

Had great success using them on the go, copy across mp3s easily and a reasonable interface. Standard 3.5mm jack as well.

[GlenMH]

Magicmushroom666 said:

Sony make these lovely little walkmans:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-NWE394L-CEW-Walkman-...

Had great success using them on the go, copy across mp3s easily and a reasonable interface. Standard 3.5mm jack as well.

Bit of a shame that that doesn't have a microsd card slot on it. 8GB isn't really enough.

[mike80]

Patio said:

What size/memory sd card would be best to go for?

No experience of this so apologies for basic level if understanding

I would go for 128 or 256gb. This one is £23.50 and you will be able to get hours and hours of music on it: https://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Extreme-microSDXC...

I tried a few of those cheap MP3 players a few years ago after I lost my ipod, but they never seemed to last more than a few weeks. A Spotify subscription and a phone with a decent amount of capacity worked out a lot better in the end.

[gus607]

RizzoTheRat said:

3, Headphones. Don't be that asshole listening to music on his phone speaker.

For flying, noise cancelling headphones like the Bose Quiet Comfort or Sony WH1000 are well worth it, but a bit bulky for wandering around with.

I'll try again.
1. Smartphone.
2. Spotify.
3.Any decent pair of headphones.

I use Sony WH1000XM5
Because i'm not an asshole who listens to music on his phone speaker.