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Hands On With The Hidizs AP30 Music Boy; A Game Boy-Inspired Music Player With Audiophile Ambitions
(gardinerbryant.com)
this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2026
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Technology
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Well, that article really made me consider getting a dedicated music device again after decades of using my smartphone.
A few months back I had a grand plan about buying a ton of options, going from entry level to high-end, a refurbished and done up iPod, a Zune, a feature on the PSP's sound capabilities...but after two or three I got distracted
Reviewing this was a pleasure, and reminded me why something like this little fellow is magic for music. The sound difference between FLAC on this V.S. streaming is enormous!
I'm so glad you liked my artivle/review/impressions! :)
Can you really tell the difference? Like even compared to lossless streaming, I know there are some songs where it seems to be better detailed but that also could be my own bias, on top of that, I know some songs don't even have lossless versions released so if you buy the flac you're literally just getting the CD quality version anyway.
If the streaming is lossless it would be impossible to tell the difference as they would be the same file.
But for many streaming services yes, you can certainly tell a difference.
I usually find that I can only tell the difference between high quality compressed music (v0 or better) and flacs with specific tracks that I know extremely well and only when using really good speakers or headphones. Some of the streaming services have noticeable lower quality, but it is usually good enough. The main reason I keep flacs around is for being able to burn a cd to transcode to other formats.
are you our friend, Gardiner?
Hi there!
I am not Gardiner, but he is one of my best friends! While you'll know Gardiner from his YouTube (I assume!), he and I run the site together, equally. His focus will be no surprise to you, but mine is almost entirely the gaming scene, and then some forays into new things :)
we're friends now
Tbh, we rely too much on smart phones, even though it's really cool to have a single device that does all these things, I think it was overall bad for society. Now the releasers of the software for these devices basically monopolize how so many things are distributed and what content they can have.
The devices themselves aren't the issue (as it is with most tools), but the environment they exist in leads to societally toxic outcomes.
The existence of smartphones does not imply the lived reality of tracking, privacy violations, ads ads ads, monopoly-like software distribution and shutting out people for not having a smartphone from important services.
The latter is a consequence of unchecked capitalism and authoritarianism - it's a policy issue.
I switched to using a dedicated DAP because I haven't been able to get a phone that fits my needs with a headphone jack. am considering getting this, if the kickstarter was active I'd be tempted to get it at the $75 price. There's no way I'd pay over $100 though, there are too many caveats I have with this device considering I already have a DAP that is OK.
Take a look at the fiio echo nano, might be right up your alley. ~50-60€ DAC, 3.5mm audio jack, small form factor, retro look
+1 for Echo Snowsky, great cheap DAP for flac files, and has Bluetooth support if you're in a pinch. Only downside is the slightly crappy UI design.
I've actually had it on my list for a while, but I haven't had the best luck with Fiio products, especially their portable dac/amps so i am a bit leery.
You can get a not too old xperia 5 or 10 from ali for a pretty decent price, probably an x3 compact for a much lower price as well
I actually had bought an Xperia for exactly that reason and they kept sending me a carrier locked phone. After the third return I gave up :(