It's funny to have been on the front end of the rapid consolidation of devices only to see the tail end of it when we distribute them again.

I also have one of those. Really nice, premium-feeling hardware and great sound quality, as expected from Fiio. They really should have added some additional buttons though. Forward/back, menu navigation and volume control all using the same 2 buttons is quite annoying. The software is also rather clunky and basic, comparable to the average mid-2000s "nugget" - I guess that might make it even more nostalgic for some. In any case, it's cool having my own dedicated device for music I own again. Right now, it's a solid 7/10 device for me, but could easily become an 8 or 9 with better software.

I have a teeny tiny 2015 smartphone with a headphone jack, an SD card, the SIM removed, and a copy of Foobar2000 installed. It was never fast enough or capacious enough to be a very good portable internet portal, but it runs something simple like Foobar2000 very, very well. The battery still lasts longer than the one in my actual phone does. And it was (in a sense) free. Reduce Reuse Recycle.

People here are complaining about another device to carry around, android phones not having enough storage, streaming being better etc.

There are programs and apps to stream your own. I have a nas (network attached storage) where I keep my music. It came with a music player and a mobile app out of the box that can stream and cast my collection. Plex can also do it quite easily. I'm sure there are others too.

... There’s something about having a fixed library, one that I’ve put together myself, that makes listening feel more deliberate in a way that streaming never really did....

Yes there is. Welcome to the 20th century.

I fucking want one

Quite the ad. There are a ton of devices with similar specs just like this on the market. The price is good so if you like the design and want an off-network device this will do fine.

What's the benefit of this device when you can just put your audio files directly on your phone or laptop already?

i alwaya have 512GB android phones and happy with my MP3 collection, and a few movies thats all I've done for the last few pones sans SD card. There are still a few adnroid phones with an SD slot. My Nokia XR 20 has an SD slot and a headphone jack. I use it as a backup phone on my bike though with a Quad lock

I have an Echo Mini, and I have come to really enjoy using it, both as a DAP and a usb DAC. I will say, the software isn't great. For example, whenever I add new files to the SD card, "favorites" are just wiped out, rendering the feature basically useless. Sorting is weirdly inconsistent. These are things that could be fixed with firmware updates,

I don't get why the firmware is closed source. Don't they have much more to gain by opening it and allowing enthusiasts to help improve it? What is the benefit of keeping the source secret?

Jealous you got the metal one. I bought the earlier plastic version. They're supposedly making a Echo Nano version too

I was alone, falling free, trying my best not to forget

Nice! I've been eyeing these for awhile. This was a great read and has me convinced to get one.

It's not bad but they are usually useless unless you have high quality music, even then you need some quality headphones or IEMs to make proper use of it. I'm not against it but software usually sucks and updates are really rare, until then I'm not sure I can buy another one.