#Best portable audio player 2018 upgrade
#Best portable audio player 2018 Pc
#Best portable audio player 2018 Bluetooth
#Best portable audio player 2018 windows

If you don’t mind its lack of support for music streaming services, Sony’s NW-A55 is an excellent pick.īuy: Sony NW-A55 Walkman at 3.When you want to put your eras with the highest audio quality, you will not miss the portable music player, PonoPlayer. Sony says this audio player gets up to 45 hours of music playback per charge, and recharges using a proprietary connector. It has 16GB of storage, with the option to increase it with a MicroSD Card. The NW-A55 fares pretty well on the technical side.

The NW-A55’s standout feature is its support of DSEE (digital sound enhancement engine), which Sonys says improves the quality of lossy digital files to sound more like high resolution audio. It does not support Wi-Fi, though, so you can only play music from your local music library. Like FiiO’s M9, the NW-A55 supports SBC, LDAC, and aptX-HD, so you get a better wireless experience. It can play all of the popular lossy and lossless audio formats, and output them through a headphone jack or over Bluetooth. Sony’s original Walkman was one of the most important piece of portable audio technology ever released, and the NW-A55 helps carry on that tradition. If the DAC in your computer isn’t capable of playing high-resolution audio files natively, the M9 becomes a two-in-one device.

#Best portable audio player 2018 Pc

Once connected over USB, you can output audio from your Mac or PC through the M9 and out of its headphone jack. We’re recommending FiiO’s M9 as a standalone high-resolution digital music player, but can also be used as a DAC for your computer.

#Best portable audio player 2018 upgrade

It only has 2GB (gigabytes) of storage, which is its weakest link, but you can upgrade it by up to 2TB (Terabytes) with a MicroSD Card. You should get about 10 hours of music playback per charge, and the device recharges via USB-C, a universal standard for a lot of modern tech. On the technical side FiiO’s M9 fares pretty well. The M9 has both a 2.5mm and 3.5mm headphone jack if you’d prefer to use a wired pair.

#Best portable audio player 2018 Bluetooth

It also supports codecs (digital technology standards) like aptXHD, LDAC, HWA, and SBC to reduce or eliminate compression when listening to music on Bluetooth headphones.

It can play lossy (MP3 AAC) files, high resolution (FLAC, DFF, DSD) files, and music from high resolution streaming sites. The one that stands out most is its ability to play digital music from any source. BEST OVERALL: FiiO M9įiiO is one of the biggest names in the the high resolution digital audio player space, and its M9 offers all the right features.

#Best portable audio player 2018 windows

Streaming: As we mentioned earlier, some of our recommendations can play both local music files and high resolution audio available on premium services.Ĭompatibility: The music players we’ve chosen work with both Windows and MacOS, so you can transfer music to them regardless of which operating system your machine runs. This upgrade allows you to continue using your high resolution music player as your library of music grows. Storage: All of our picks have a fairly modest amount of internal storage space, but you can add more by popping in a MicroSD card. Maximum resolution: All of the music players we recommend can play DSD (direct stream digital) audio files, which are the highest quality digital music files available right now. If you still maintain a local digital audio collection, don’t want to take up space on your phone, or listen to high-resolution music often, getting a dedicated high-resolution music player is a good move. While the main draw of these music players is support for high-resolution audio, they can also play MP3s, AACs, and other compressed audio formats. This best-of-both-worlds approach allows you to natively play files purchased from sites like HD Tracks, Quboz, and Acoustic Sounds alongside songs from massive streaming libraries. Some also support streaming from services that offer high resolution music, like TIDAL, without applying compression thanks to their DAC (digital analog converter). If you haven’t used a dedicated digital music player since the click wheel iPod, you’ll be happy to know they’ve been updated with modern conveniences like a touch screen. They have a headphone jack, so you won’t need an adapter to use higher-end cans, but also support Bluetooth if you’d prefer to go wireless. These devices can play high resolution (better than CD-quality) digital music without compression. But, if you want to experience the highest quality digital music, it’s still worth using a high-resolution music player instead. If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.įor many people, the transition from buying digital music and maintaining a local library has made way for streaming.