Devices you can listen to music on

The best MP3 players might sound like old pieces of tech. But although they’re not as popular as they used to be, this guide features several impressive music players that give you a reliable way to listen to high-res audio on the move without the need for your phone. 

Most people now turn to music streaming services, smartphones or smart speakers if they want to listen to music. There’s nothing wrong with any of those. In fact, you should take a look at our best smart speakers guide and best music streaming services guide if you want to refresh the way you enjoy your favorite tunes. 

However, there are still some things that those products don't do as well as the dedicated music players in this guide. With a couple of exceptions, streaming services can't match the quality of high-res audio downloads; the digital-to-analogue converters in smartphones aren't designed with audiophiles in mind and Bluetooth doesn't have enough bandwidth to compete with a wired headphone connection. That means if you want audiophile-grade sound quality while you’re out and about, one of the best MP3 players might seem like an odd choice, but it could be the best one.

Apple officially discontinued the iPod touch on May 10, 2022, meaning the Cupertino giant has effectively left the MP3 player market. But while Apple may have turned its back on portable music players (that aren't also smartphones or tablets), other big names haven't. Sony recently announced its most ambitious, complex and expensive portable music player yet. 

However, you don't need to drop $5K on Sony's new Walkman to get a massive upgrade on the portable music players you may remember from the 1990s or early noughties. Read on for our top picks of the best MP3 players you can buy today. 

Our top MP3 players and hi-res audio players 

The best MP3 player you can buy

Specifications

Storage: 256GB

Formats: WAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, DSF, MQA

Battery life: 9 hours

Micro SD?: Yes

Reasons to buy

+

Impressive sound

Reasons to avoid

-

Pricey compared to competitors

The Astell & Kern A&ultima SP2000T is the best portable music player you can buy in 2022. Yes, it's expensive, but if you want a premium digital audio experience while you’re out and about, don’t look (or listen) any further. The SP2000T sounds superb.

Two amplifier stages offer seven distinct options, while no fewer than four DACs are deployed to handle two channels of audio information. The SP2000T is unconcerned by digital audio file size or type, and it will happily power any headphones you care to mention. 

The control interface is clean and responsive. The player itself is not so much built as sculpted - though it is too large to slip into your jeans pocket. Even the battery life is half-decent. 

Read the full Astell & Kern A&ultima SP2000T review

A thing of brutalist beauty and a joy to listen to

Specifications

Storage: 64GB

Formats: WAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, DSF, MQA

Battery life: 20 hours

Micro SD?: Yes

Reasons to buy

+

Expressive, expansive, decisive sound

Reasons to avoid

-

Can easily be considered expensive – even though it isn't

Give this A&K your music, sit back and relax – if it doesn't wow you we don't know what will. The A&norma SR25 MKII is a gifted digital audio player that will reignite your love of music. And unlike many of the A&K's more pricey players (one of which is listed directly above here), this one is small enough to put in a pocket and will keep you streaming, pinging or downloading once-treasured songs to it, just to see what it makes of them. 

As well as a new 4.4mm headphone jack, the MKII unit (an update on the A&norma SR25, listed below in this guide) also boasts a new Replay Gain function to uniformly adjust volume playback from sound sources up to 24-bit/192 kHz. You're also getting AK File Drop (first introduced in the pricier A&futura SE180 player) for easier wireless file transfers; BT Sink function for simpler connection of the SR25 MKII to an external Bluetooth device and extra internal silver-plated shielding to protect from electromagnetic interference. 

Although it hasn't been shouted about, four new and quite different-sounding DAC filters are also onboard, which will work if listening in 24-bit/192kHz or less PCM (although they won't work in MQA and DSD formats) and they certainly add value and scope for customization at the level.

If your budget stretches to this player and not a penny more, you won't be disappointed. 

Read the full Astell & Kern A&norma SR25 MKII review 

The best all-rounder MP3 player

Specifications

Storage: 64GB

Formats: AAC

Battery life: 16 hours

Micro SD?: Yes

Reasons to buy

+

Amazing sound quality

Reasons to avoid

-

A little chunky compared to the competition

The Onkyo DP-X1A isn't the most compact device on this list, but we think it's one of the best MP3 players you can buy, offering lots of customizability, an intuitive interface, and fantastic sound.

The DP-X1A looks a little bit like a phone, but much thicker with two audio ports – one headphone jack and one balanced output for those interested in a cleaner and overall better quality sound. The device has an easy-to-use volume wheel, as well as physical playback buttons and two microSD card slots for those with a sizable collection of music. 

The player is built with a full version of Android 5.1, complete with features like Wi-Fi connectivity and the Google Play Store, which results in an MP3 Player that is to Android what the iPod Touch is to iOS. Unlike the iPod, however, the Onkyo DP-X1A is built for super-high-quality audio.

Speaking of the sound quality, it's an absolute dream. It supports a range of music formats, including FLAC, OGG, WAV, MP3, ALAC, and more. In terms of hardware, the device has two chipsets, one to power the overall device, and one to handle the DAC and amplifier – resulting in a noise-free experience. 

We tested the player with multiple pairs of headphones across multiple price ranges, and were stunned with the clarity and exceptional quality of the audio. There’s a reason the Onkyo DP-X1A sits atop this list – it’s a beast in the portable audio world. 

Read the full Onkyo DP-X1A review

The best MP3 player for Apple lovers

Specifications

Storage: 32GB / 128GB / 256GB

Formats: AAC-LC, HE-AAC, HE-AAC v2, Protected AAC, MP3, Linear PCM, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital (AC‑3), Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC‑3) and Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX and AAX+)

Battery life: 40 hours

Micro SD?: No

Reasons to buy

+

Slick Apple design

Reasons to avoid

-

No Micro SD

Apple took us all by surprise when it announced the iPod touch 7 in 2019, the first upgrade to its portable music and video player since 2015 – and then promptly discontinued it in 2022. 

If you can still snag one while stocks last (or on auction sites) though, this iPod supports the FLAC codec, as well as Apple Lossless, giving you more options than ever when it comes to accessing audiophile-quality music.

Using a hi-res audio playback app for iOS called Vox, we listened to Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor. The strings had a warm and natural quality, while soprano vocal duets soared sweetly above the mix without ever sounding harsh. 

In our review we also tested out the inbuilt speaker at the bottom of the iPod touch, and it packs quite a punch despite its size. It won’t do for listening to your Hi-Res music, but if just want a little background music for your gaming sessions and can’t be bothered to dig your headphones out, it works just fine. 

If you need a new MP3 player, and you don't mind using Apple Music, the iPod Touch will do just fine. It's also optimized for gaming, so check out our guide to the best Apple Arcade games. 

Read the full iPod Touch (7th Generation) review

5. Astell & Kern AK Jr

The best middle-of-the-road MP3 player

Specifications

Storage: 64GB

Formats: WAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE(Normal, High, Fast), AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, DSF

Battery life: 9 hours

Micro SD?: Yes

Reasons to buy

+

Beautifully designed

Reasons to avoid

-

Touchscreen isn't responsive enough

The Astell & Kern AK Jr is the best mid-range MP3 player and a serious contender against the more expensive players on the list. 

You get 64GB of onboard storage and there’s a microSD card slot if you want to expand it. It also supports major audio formats, including FLAC, WAV, MP3, AAC, AIFF, and more – and it’s able to play at sample rates of up to 192kHz.

The interface is easy to control. Tap through options using the touchscreen, and select the music you want to listen to. It could be more responsive, but you get used to it. Battery life is around nine hours, which isn't amazing, but not terrible either. 

Music is dynamic and crisp, with a nice and powerful sound. The soundstage on these, when paired with a great pair of headphones, is huge – that’s to say the left and right are clearly defined, while instruments placed at the center of a mix are given plenty of room to breathe. We enjoyed the guitar solo on AC/DC’s Back in Black, while Eminem’s rap on Lose Yourself cut straight through the mix – exactly the way it’s supposed to.

6. SanDisk Clip Sport Plus

The best MP3 player for sports

Specifications

Storage: 16GB

Formats: MP3, WMA (NO DRM), AAC (DRM free iTunes) WAV, FLAC

Battery life: 20 hours

Micro SD?: Yes

Reasons to buy

+

Ultra-portable and light

Reasons to avoid

-

Audio quality isn’t as good as others

The best option for working out, this MP3 player is small and light. It only offers 16GB of storage and although that’s not much in comparison to a phone, it still holds plenty of songs. Despite being built for sport, it supports a pretty wide range of audio formats – including MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV, and WMA.

During testing, we found the battery life is impressive at 20 hours. You also get Bluetooth, which is important for exercise so cables don’t get in the way. 

The interface is dated, not as powerful as your smartphone and it’s not touch-sensitive. But it’s easy to navigate via hardware buttons that serve as playback controls. 

As long as you don’t expect full audiophile-level quality here, you'll find the sound very capable. We found it to be slightly muddy with a small dip in clarity, but for most people that won’t matter – especially when you're out on a run or hitting the gym.

7. Astell & Kern A&norma SR25

The second best MP3 player you can buy

Specifications

Storage: 64GB

Formats: WAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, DSF, MQA

Battery life: 21 hours

Micro SD?: Yes

Reasons to buy

+

Great-looking design

Reasons to avoid

-

Pricey compared to competitors

The Astell & Kern A&norma SR25 is an impressive MP3 player that's designed to make your hi-res audio files really sing, thanks to a new performance mode, support for balanced audio connections, and Bluetooth LDAC wireless compatibility. Because it has recently been superseded by the MKII variant above (which tweaks the build ever-so-slightly and adds a 4.4mm headphone jack plus a Replay Gain function to uniformly adjust volume playback from sound sources up to 24-bit/192 kHz), you may see it slightly discounted, but it's a rare sight for A&K players. 

With an off-center design and aluminum body, it certainly looks the part, and its touch screen is bright and easy to use. 

Inside the SR25 is the sameDual Cirrus Logic CS43198 Master Hi-Fi level DAC as the new MKII model, while native support for DSD256 and 32-bit/384kHz audio is more than enough to satisfy even the most discerning audiophiles.

With Wi-Fi connectivity, you have access to streaming services including Deezer and Tidal, while Bluetooth aptX ensure listening with wireless headphones needn't sound inferior to wired connections.

Other MP3 players to consider

Looking for something else? We haven't tested the MP3 players below ourselves, but we'd still like to recommend them based on their excellent specs and customer reviews.

1. Cowon Plenue D3

The best MP3 player for serious style

Specifications

Storage: 64GB

Formats: DSD, DFF, DSF, ISO, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, ALAC, APE, MP3, WMA, OGG, DCF

Battery life: 45 hours

MicroSD?: Yes

Reasons to buy

+

Great design compared to competitors

Reasons to avoid

-

Screen is a little low-res

This is a small, light and stylish MP3 player with a simple matchbox-like design and a big, wide screen. It's an upgrade on Cowon's previous MP3 player model, this time with a volume dial, Bluetooth and more features.

It offers exceptional battery life. You'll get 45 hours of playback time with regular MP3 files and more than 30 hours with high-res files – which still beats most of the competitors on this list. 

It supports a huge range of formats, including DSD(DFF, DSF, ISO), FLAC, WAV, AIFF, ALAC, APE, MP3, WMA, OGG and DCF. Music sounds brilliant and with Bluetooth, you can listen on a range of different devices. Although there's no Wi-Fi streaming available.

2. Sony NW 155L

The best MP3 player for hi-res audio on a budget

Specifications

Storage: 16GB

Formats: MP3, WMA, FLAC, WAV, AAC, HE-AAC, Apple Lossless, AIFF, DSD, APE, MQA

Battery life: 45 hours

MicroSD?: Yes

Reasons to buy

+

Good, solid sound performance

Reasons to avoid

-

Not much storage without a microSD

A high-res MP3 player from Sony that's affordable – especially in comparison to some of the higher-end devices from the likes of Astell & Kern. 

This MP3 player is short on storage with only 16G internally. But with a MicroSD card you can bump that up significantly. It boasts an impressive 45 hours of battery life and supports a wide range of formats.

Sound is clear and powerful and although it might not be the best out there, it's a huge improvement over listening to music on your phone.

Buying advice

How to choose the best MP3 player for you

If you pair one of the devices in this buying guide with a set of the best headphones you’ve got the ultimate in premium, portable music: high-quality music that you can take on your travels.

So how do you select one? Well, you're in luck. Because the market is increasingly geared towards the audiophile (the kind of people who won't touch Spotify's lossy streams), firms are constantly innovating. These days, ever improved sound quality, hi-res audio support and seriously impressive built-in DACs (Digital-to-Analogue Converters) are making already impressive players even better. 

And there's style to match the substance, with manufacturers also competing on design to deliver players that look as good as they sound. Fan of brutalist architecture? Astell & Kern is the name for you. Something a bit more colorful? See SanDisk or Sony. Want something about the size of a matchbox? Cowon's Plenue D3 is the one – see them all in our guide above.

How we test the best MP3 players

We test dozens of hi-res portable music players every year at TechRadar, and that means we know exactly which features, specs, file support and wireless audio codecs to look out for. 

It's important for us to compare the performance of these players against the claims made by their manufacturers, which is why we take the time to make sure the stamina, durability, connectivity and sound quality claims are legit.

We make sure to test each product against its chief competitors too, so you can be sure that if we say so, the product is the best bet for the money. We live with these players for well over a week and run them in religiously so that the components have 'bedded in' before we commence our tests, and we don't finalize our testing until we are certain of the sound quality.

On this, we test the audio performance using a range of musical genres, using both wired and wireless headphones and streaming (or downloading) music from various sources, to ensure that these products can handle everything from thumping dance tracks to softly-spoken podcasts in whatever format we throw at it. 

After more years in this game than we'd care to admit, we are truly confident that our star-rated reviews are the best indication of the quality of the hi-res MP3 players in this list. There are no sales teams involved in our verdicts, which means if we don't like it for sound, design, usability and features, we simply won't recommend it here. 

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Becky is a senior staff writer at TechRadar (which she has been assured refers to expertise rather than age) focusing on all things audio. Before joining the team, she spent three years at What Hi-Fi? testing and reviewing everything from wallet-friendly wireless earbuds to huge high-end sound systems. Prior to gaining her MA in Journalism in 2018, Becky freelanced as an arts critic alongside a 22-year career as a professional dancer and aerialist – any love of dance starts with a love of music. Becky has previously contributed to Stuff, FourFourTwo and The Stage. When not writing, she can still be found throwing shapes in a dance studio, these days with varying degrees of success.