HIFI WALKERH2 MP3 Player – High Res Audio DAP with Bluetooth5.2, Lossless Music Player, DSD DAC Support, Portable FLAC Player with Line Out, 64GB Memory Card, Expandable to 256GB

I'm trying to cut down on my daily phone usage and as part of that I realised having to cart it around to listen to music through Spotify all day was just encouraging me to then start doomscrolling, so I decided to see if MP3 players were still hanging around and was delighted to stumble across this one. Just to be clear from the off, I'm not an audiophile and I don't really care about music quality so long as the vocals are understandable and the bass is thumping so I'd recommend looking at other reviews if you need that info!I was hesitant about the software as reviews are mixed, and I'm not sure if it's because I had MP3 players growing up (mainly Sony before switching to Apple), but I don't find it that hard to navigate at 36 years old? Category breaks down your music by artist/genre/album etc. whilst the Explorer shows your tracks by how they're physically sorted in the device. Settings relates strictly to music playback (like the equaliser) and includes all options for the music screen (like album art etc.), whilst System Settings is for the device itself (backlight, music scan, etc.). The device is very responsive with no delay when waking it up from sleep or scrolling through screens of songs. If you do experience any issues with Category not picking up the music on your device, go to Settings, hover over Music Scan and press and hold the M button. The device will then scan itself and find everything on the micro SD card :)I understand from reviews that the Bluetooth is an older protocol but I had no issue connecting it to my Sony WF-C500 earbuds, nor a pair of cheap no-brand over-ear headphones I got earlier this year. The connection will start to distort if I go about eight feet or so away from the device but I always have it on me so that's not an issue. If your wireless earbuds are quiet it's likely you need to turn the volume up on the earbuds themselves - I had to do this with mine and now they're super loud. I've also used the aux and, well, it's an aux! You just sort of plug the headphones in and off you go.Battery life seems to be really good, too. I've had the player for three days now, listening around four hours per day, and haven't had to charge it from it's out-of-the-box state yet.The build quality is really nice, solid without being too heavy - I have it on a lanyard around my neck and whilst I definitely feel that it's there, it's not so noticeable that it's distracting or discomforting. The back panel is glass and therefore a fingerprint magnet but it looks so slick I can't be mad about that lol. The buttons all have a really good clicky feel and whilst the scroll wheel takes some getting used to once you do it's fun to use (and a bit nostalgic for the iPod era I grew up in, although it's not capacitive). It's a weird device to look at in photos, but it's laid out in a way that makes everything easy to reach whilst using it. The screen is also much sharper than I was expecting and at 50% backlight is easy to view in both ambient and direct sunshine. It's a tiny bit smaller than I thought it would be, but its size is just about right I think.All in all, if you want an MP3 player that feels like it's going to last you a long time I don't think you'll find one better than this at the ~£100 mark. I'm really pleased with my purchase and I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of mileage out of it!

For around £100 or so this player has very high quality sound, and fantastic build quality. I have a Sony NW-A105, and imho this sounds a purer higher definition sound. The Sony has terrible battery life (android) and horrible eye burning screen, and the DSP effects mostly sound like an echo chamber. These however have a cheap TN screen but it’s serviceable and clear, the OS is easy to get used to and the physical controls work well with 1 hand. There are a few missing features that you would expect for a higher priced player, but all essentials are there. The equaliser seems best turned off, with a pure Hi-Def sound, when used it seems to filter each frequency band rather than boost. But as the sound is so sharp and clear already I can see why it works this way. Bluetooth could be an issue, as the sound is very low. So if you can’t adjust the sound on say Bluetooth headphones you are stuck if it sounds low. Using a speaker you can turn up the volume on the speaker. However tbh wired will always sound better than wireless, otherwise why would you listen to lossless audio on very lossy, low bit rate/bandwidth Bluetooth. Overall it can’t compete with the expensive audiophile brands, but it’s not supposed to. If you’re looking for a cheap lossless player I think this is unbeatable. Crystal clear, pin sharp sound. Nicely made with a nice metal shell (Sony is cheap & nasty plastic), and the preferable physical buttons. I can think of a lot worse to spend £100 on, especially in todays money crisis. 5*

All in all, this is an excellent little music player which I've only had 24 hours, but it's been pretty much used constantly. It's not perfect, hence four stars, not five. I won't go into the technical details as there are some far more competent reviews about sound quality, specifications etc.For me, this was a replacement for my wonderful little Sandisk Clip Jam which has just given up the ghost, and is now discontinued. In a sea of what seem to be cheap (and nasty?) players around the £20 - £50 the HiFi Walker is expensive but it's in a different league to all the others. It's very solid, heavy and really well built, the buttons have a good feel to them, and the music quality is pretty awesome. The battery lasts well - on one charge I've been listening to music and talking books for over 14 hours, and the battery level indicator is showing 50% full still. Contrary to some other reviews, mine came with a very concise instruction booklet that is easy to understand and is extremely helpful. Maybe the manufacturer took notice of the previous comments and upped their game.The only negative for me is the user interface, which quite frankly is poor, confusing and not intuitive. That said, everything you could ever want is there, including a sleep timer (frustratingly hidden under 'system settings / display settings / scheduled shutdown'). If you spend some time going through things, the menu starts to make sense, but frankly it should be easier.