Best MP3 players 2026: Top portable audio players tested by our expert

It crucially doesn’t lose any information during the encoding process and so sounds far superior to MP3. This format is uncompressed and lossless – hence the large file sizes. Unless a product doesn’t have a natural, price-comparable rival, it is always compared to at least one other class-leading competitor. Most important in our reviewing process is that each product is compared with the best in its price and class.

• Storage is limited to 32GB (22GB usable), but the microSD slot supports up to 2TB, solving that issue.
• With its blue bumpers on every corner, it wasn’t an iPod-style looker, but it made all the 32MB (yes, megabytes!) players at the time look flimsy (even if it did little for my already limited campus cool factor).
• Player Mods specialises in upgrading iPod Classics with optional Bluetooth, more storage, larger batteries, USB-C charging and even an AirTag, so it won’t get lost.
• The SP3000 delivers both amplification and sound quality that’s cleaner and more efficient than any digital audio player we’ve ever heard.

MP3 players are making a comeback – I tested 15 to find the best

For the best results, choose the highest MP3 bitrate (320kbps) to preserve as much of the original sound as possible. The trade-off is a drop in audio quality, since compression removes some detail. You can convert WAV files to MP3 with most free conversion tools, including VLC Media Player and Audacity, though many other converters are available. Converting WAV to MP3 reduces the file size and makes the audio much easier to store and share.

This means a player’s standard onboard storage of 32GB will hold just over 10,000 MP3 files. MP3s encoded at 128kbps will lose more sound quality data than those encoded at 320kbps (kilobits per second, where each “bit” is essentially a “piece” of the song). The bit rate at which an MP3 is recorded affects the sound quality, too. Whether you’re an avid audiophile or a music lover who simply wants to conserve your smartphone’s memory and battery, a dedicated music player is worth considering. Is iOS music player with EQ all about comparative testing, so we keep our favourite five-star and Award-winning digital audio players nearby so we can benchmark the performance accordingly.

Apps

After all, it’s a handy GPS, a very acceptable camera, a brilliant internet portal, and probably quite a decent telephone. Navigating the interface is achieved with a row of physical buttons along the top of the player, again in the style of an old cassette player. A microSD slot lets you expand the storage to 256GB. There’s even a fake battery compartment on the back, which I spent far too long trying to slide open before realising. The echo mini is pure nostalgia and a delight to look at – fire it up, and the 2in screen displays an animated cassette tape spinning away inside as your music plays. All this in something that looks like it’s fallen out of a posh Christmas cracker.

The player features Bluetooth for connecting headphones, so kids can also connect their favorite wireless headphones. With dual DACs and a massive battery, plus support for balanced and unbalanced output, the M11S covers any audio needs you may have. That said, a Snapdragon 660 chipset powers the player, so it’s nice to have plenty of battery power on tap to keep things rolling.