If I wanted an MP3 player again, in 2023, and wanted to rip cds to it and put digitally purchased albums on it, as actual owned files (not inside an proprietary ecosystem where I pay to only listen to that track within that service) could I still do that? What would I need? I don’t own, and can’t afford, a “real computer”, but i recall having lots of compatibility issues at the time between my mp3 player and computer os anyway. I’ve got an ipad and a pixel. Is there any feasible, non-ridiculously-difficult way to do this? Do they still sell any mp3 players? Do any of the old ones work with modern tech? I miss hearing my music on a simple, quiet, offline device without ads or streaming services.
we got an ‘assortment’ of sansa players from old woot bags (pre-amazon days), enough to still have a couple working ones over a decade later. my co-worker uses hers every morning.
Just got a new Sansa Clip to replace my dad’s old Sansa Clip. Solid device.
I bought a first gen Sansa Clip ages ago on Black Friday sale and fell in love with the damn thing. Small but not too small, good controls, good sound, intuitive UI, uses universal drivers (not a sure thing at the time), even has an FM radio built in. I’ve picked up so many more advanced devices over the years but I keep coming back to it. It’s just a solid piece of hardware.
Also you can install Rockbox on it and play DOOM, if you’re into that sort of thing.