Chinese Android MP3 Players

[zazzko]

Hi,
I'm not sure if you already pulled the trigger on one of these, but be aware of two things:

1. Most of them doesn't support audio via USB-C port, so you are end up with the internal amplifier. I have one of these and it is certainly not enough even for efficient EIMs like IE200. I need to keep the volume around 80 to 95%.
2. Many of them are rooted, so some of the Android streaming apps simply refuse to start. One example is Apple Music.
3. Many of them have zero support, so forget about the new Android version or security fixes.
4. They all supports LDAC, but you can find not that many headphones with LDAC. M300 has AptX, AptX HD and AptX Adaptive (+ LDAC).

I have this one:

Amazon.co.uk

If you don't care about video, check this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bluetooth-Oilsky-Lossless-High-Resolution-Portable-Black/dp/B0DXKFGF9H/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=2ZTUT6NN5V143&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Dh2uafkwA7bC0_AtPcO_xw4rShrCCu18UABVFFYTntiUnEelzKHYTRzj0sG7bR3Mb4T0Arrx-8Y-7k_WGyNEDUQIqdiiTE86y6lzcduwF1A0Jw0mk6Inc5M5o6wriuvVq5wztoVBEy9fg5WZ5b3AWKfAygjWfy-SDmI0T212ohds8n4ESF23_6Vu-i0znODa3T8xjRZsQfumihlru5YF0oKAPlgt2nP-80pvM3iFouU.Cr_zismeqBWOWZmFRuid-zuxZuPuLt_7IXnGC4P8cL4&dib_tag=se&keywords=oilsky+mp3+player&qid=1747426048&sprefix=oilsky+mp3+player%2Caps%2C100&sr=8-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

But to be honest M300 has unbeatable price right now, so most probably this is the best option.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Cheers. My usage is with Bluetooth headphones, so the internal amp isn’t a concern.

I’ll be getting one soon enough, but I’ve no rush at the moment, as it wouldn’t get use for a few months.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Okay, I've finally bought a HiBy M300. Bad news - I can't get it to connect to my iPhone's hotspot.

I've search the interweb and tried all the suggestions to fix this, but nothing works.

Anyone?

 

[Panelhead]

Depends on device. If it includes BT5+ the data limits are much higher. More higher quality codecs. LDAC runs up to FLAC speeds. Bluetooth will operate at the highest data rate supported by both devices.
The FLAC files are compressed even with LDAC. But play 96/24 no sweat.
I have an Android 16 tablet just for his purpose. One displays data rate. A dac shows this is received with LDAC codec. But BT 5.0 and up is required.
Apple offers does not support LDAC.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Okay, I've had to go round the houses to get this to work. I can't get the M300 to connect to my iPhone's wi-fi hotspot; I've had the IT guys at work on it, the lot, no joy.

I do have a TP-Link portable wi-fi dongle. It'll connect to that, so 'problem solved', except I had to buy a SIM card. Not a fortune, and I'm really only wanting to use it on holiday, but it sticks in the throat paying for GBs when I have GBs laying around spare.

However, I've had a think about it, and decided on this. The playlists I go to most often on my Amazon account, I can download at home using my home wi-fi, so that doesn't cost anything. Subsequently, the only time I'll need to 'waste' wi-fi is if I want to listen to something, it's not on my CD rips, and I've not already downloaded it at home.

This player, for a solution to simplify accessing both my streamed music and ripped music, has proven to be anything but simple. But I'm there now. I've come this far, and we'll just how to see how I get on when I visit Tenerife later this month.

 

[DAP chap]

I have the M300, and it's beautiful in blue, which is good because there isn't a good case available for it that I like. I'm happy with it , and although I now own a more powerful and versatile Fiio M21, the M300 will still be valuable and a heavily- and especially everywhere-used music device, in part because it fits in the watch or coin pocket of my jeans (and tucked behind a cool belt). Maybe you could trial one through Amazon, which is how I get (or return) most of my gear.

By the way, like the one you posted and most DAPs today, my three are beautifully engineered, designed, and manufactured in China.

 

[shuppatsu]

It's not ideal but I found the easiest way to load music onto my iPhone is to use the Foobar 2000 mobile app's built-in FTP server to upload my 128kbps Opus files wirelessly. I'd much rather not have a second device to remember to keep charged and have to futz with bluetooth pairing between multiple devices.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Right, I've had a week in Tenerife (and a couple of plane flights) to test the M300, and here are my thoughts.

The good is that I can till all my ripped music (many thousands of tracks) converted from FLAC to mp3 320Kbps, and my go-to Amazon Music playlists (which inclue quite a few tracks I don't own/haven't ripped physically) downloaded to the player in the same format, and have access to all that on one small device, and can listen to that without interuption from my phone (calls, texts, notifications, bings from WhatsApp, etc.) on my Bluetooth headphones using LDAC. What's not to like.

The bad is that there's a clear issue trying to use an iPhone as a wi-fi hotspot, an issue which others are clearlt having, and HiBy did little-to-nothing to try and help. Also, the screen is maybe a little smaller than I'd ideally like, but I can just about get on with it.

The M300 cost me £122 and the Micro SD card (Amazon Basics 512GB) cost me £43, so £165 total (though the M300 is now £143 at Amazon, whilst the same MicroSD card is £71, a total of £214). Apart from the iPhone issue, it does the job I bought it for, and does it well.