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Audiophile On is dedicated to bringing reviews of high-end portable audio products with an easy-to-understand format. If you want better-sounding headphones, earphones, amps, and DACs we are sure to have something to suit your tastes and price points.
Despite the relatively recent demise of the iPod, the traditional standalone portable music player is still alive and kicking. Whether you want to conserve your phone's memory or you're a proper audiophile seeking the best portable player for your hi-res tunes, our pick of the best portable MP3 players on the planet will see you right.
Most casual listeners will rely on their smartphones for on-the-go tunes, but a dedicated music player will go significantly further in delivering high-quality and high-resolution audio from your pocket, even at the budget end.
Our expert team of testers have tried and tested many players from Apple, Cowon, FiiO, Sony and more over the years, but it's the premium Astell & Kerns that currently dominate our best list for their premium sound quality and gorgeous design. Below are the two best-value models in the company's lineup, sandwiching a more affordable Sony for those who can't quite stretch their budgets.
There's not a chance of the SR35 missing a beat with the music you send its way. The five-star player has the punch and rhythmic drive to keep you tapping along to upbeat tracks, and the insight to draw you into the details of those calmer ones. The presentation is hugely likeable, with a tonal balance slightly on the rich side, and a combination of power and finesse that feels very mature for a source at this level that most headphones will get along just fine with.
As a portable music player, the NW-A306 fits the brief perfectly. It's compact and fits in palms and pockets alike comfortably, and we love the scalloped textured back that gives us a good grip without sacrificing style.
The NW-A306's connections are minimal, but that's no bad thing: the USB-C cable lets you charge, transfer files and use the Walkman as a DAC, while the 3.5mm headphone jack can be used with a variety of good-to-great headphones. The available onboard storage is rather small in comparison to other players, but it is possible to expand the storage thanks to the microSD slot.
If you really do value quality on the go, though (and have the funds to spare), the flagship SP3000 has to be on your shortlist. The high-end player is packed with useful features and built to the highest standards, even if it's a bit chunkier than your standard portable device. Bluetooth is on the menu, so you can use wireless headphones without a problem, and given the no-compromise nature of this design it comes as no surprise to find aptX HD and LDAC codecs on the spec list.
That all brings us to the SP3000's raison d'etre, and this is where the premium player really, really shines. Across the board the A&K player has so much to recommend it, bringing together a tangible sense of musical insight as it coveys dynamic contrasts and rhythmic patterns with skill and intuition. Detail is abundant, while the muscular, taut bass helps anchor everything to provide a cohesive, meaty soundscape.
Whatever your budget, you will be surprised at what you can get for your money these days. Every player here supports MP3 and AAC files of course, but we can all do better than that in 2023. All of the models above also support high-resolution audio files, from 24-bit FLAC and PCM files and even DSD.
Some also add native MQA playback to that compatibility list, so you can listen to hi-res Tidal Masters through compatible players and playback downloaded MQA music in the best sound quality possible.
Have an extensive digital music collection? Many of these MP3 players have microSD memory slots, so your assembled throng of tracks and artists need never stop growing. Expandable memory also means you can keep all of your music at the highest quality possible, without worrying about those large file sizes taking up all of your player's storage space.
There are even MP3 players here that can double up as a DAC to enhance the sound between your smartphone/laptop and headphones/speakers. Some have built-in access to streaming services, too, while others have even more functionality that mirrors a smartphone's (for better or worse).
We have state-of-the-art testing facilities in London, Reading and Bath, where our team of experienced, in-house reviewers tests the majority of hi-fi and AV kit that passes through our door, including the higher-end portable music players that might well be used in a portable hi-fi or desktop scenario.
Most important in our reviewing process is that each product is compared with the best in its price and class. What Hi-Fi? is all about comparative testing, so we keep our Award winners nearby to enable comparisons between new products and ones we know perform highly in the category.
We are always impartial and do our utmost to make sure we are hearing every product at its very best, so we try plenty of different types of music (and music files) and give each plenty of listening time (and time to run in). We use a range of headphones at levels likely to suit a certain player, too.
Volume button location: The location and size of the volume controls are surprisingly important. The location of the volume button can determine whether or not you can use a player with one hand.
Transferring songs: Copying songs to external microSD cards is drag-and-drop simple, but the way a DAP handles copying music files to its internal storage varies from one DAP to the next. Some players, like the Pioneer XDP-100R, will mount on your computer like a hard drive, so you can drag-and-drop copy; others require software on the host computer (and in some cases, that software might be available only for Windows). Check the specs carefully.
Most players convert DSD into PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) for playback. Some people object to the notion of converting DSD to PCM. If you share this concern, then look for a player that plays DSD files natively. Whether or not you can hear a difference between the native DSD file or the converted PCM is beyond the scope of this roundup.
Bluetooth: Not all high-res players come with Bluetooth. If you plan on using Bluetooth wireless headphones with your digital audio player, we recommend that the player supports aptX, which promises near CD-quality wireless playback. Some newer DAPs also support aptX HD (also incorporated into aptX Adaptive), which enables the player to stream digital audio files with 24-bit resolution and sampling rates as high as 48kHz (i.e., better-than-CD quality). With both codecs, the player and the headphones you pair with them must be capable of supporting the codec.
Streaming services: If you want to access streaming services such as Tidal (one of few that stream FLAC and that also supports MQA files), take note: Not all high-res DAPs are equipped with Wi-Fi adapters, and even fewer have integration with streaming services. If streaming services are important to you, be sure to buy a DAP that can connect to Wi-Fi networks.
A good turntable or record player should make this process more enjoyable by being easy to use while also delivering sound quality that brings the music to life. We recommend the Fluance RT85N for most people because it includes all the qualities required for a great listening experience.
The EVO is easy to set up, the build quality is superb, and the included Sumiko Rainier Phono Cartridge sounds great. The speed is accurate, and switching between 33 rpm and 45 rpm requires just a simple flip of a switch. This one also supports playback of 78 rpm records, but it requires swapping the belt.
All-in-one record players (which combine the record player, speakers, and amplification in one box) have a well-earned reputation for bad sound, but the Angels Horn H019 sounded much clearer and fuller than most. With its wood-finish top, metal platter, and sturdy, adjustable tonearm, it looks and feels like a good-quality turntable.
Brent Butterworth tested all-in-one record players for this guide. He has reviewed audio products since 1990 for publications such as Home Theater, SoundStage, and AudioXpress, and he wrote many turntable reviews as contributing technical editor of Sound & Vision.
This guide is designed for the person who is either getting into vinyl playback for the first time or has been out of it for a while and wants a simple solution for playing their record collection. For this person, we focused on entry- to mid-level turntables and all-in-one record players priced around $600 or less, and we think simplicity and ease of use are just as important as overall sound quality.
All subjective listening was done using Klipsch F-30 tower speakers connected to a Yamaha RX-V475 receiver, plus a set of JBL Professional 308P studio monitors and a pair of open-back AKG K702 over-ear headphones. We ran all the turntables through a Pro-Ject Phono Box DC external preamp for comparative testing, but we also tested the quality of the built-in preamp if there was one.
The Fluance RT85N is the best turntable under $600 because it has more accurate sound reproduction than every other turntable we tested, which makes it a great choice to play any type of music. It has superior materials and build quality and is an aesthetically and technically beautiful machine. Yet it costs $100 less than its closest competitor, the equally impressive Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO.
The overall sound quality is a slight step down from our top picks. The included AT-VM95E phono cartridge is one of the most popular cartridges around and sounds quite good. But compared with our top picks, this player had slightly less low-end punch and high-end clarity, yet still maintained comparably balanced reproduction and stereo width.
The plinth and platter are significantly lighter than those of our top picks; the whole unit is almost 5 pounds lighter than the RT85N. Lighter turntables are more susceptible to outside vibrations that will interfere with the playback of your record. The platter is made of die-cast aluminum similar to that of the Debut Carbon EVO, but it lacks the same quality and weight.
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