Anybody has an older SanDisk Sansa Clip player?

[Quattro Pete]

I know this is a long shot, since these were popular some 5 years back, and most people just use their phone to play MP3s these days, but anyway...

I just ordered a refurbished Sansa Clip+ on ebay. I needed a simple inexpensive standalone mp3 player that I can use in the car that would also accept memory cards, so this seemed like a good fit.

I noticed Rockbox is supported on this player. Has anyone installed it on theirs? Rockbox gives you AAC support, while the factory firmware does not. Also, battery life is supposed to be better with rockbox, if you don't go overboard enabling various sound processing settings.

Any comments from anyone that uses/used one of these?

 

[2civics]

Just that mine held up really well. I no longer have it but I got my money's worth out of the unit. Feels pretty "old school" seeing it again here.... Good luck.

 

[skyactiv]

My wife still uses hers when she goes running. It doesn't have Rockbox on it. Says she likes it small size and the clip. Pops in a memory card.

 

[Lolvoguy]

I miss these old Mp3 players. They were fantastic at being simplified. Personally I'd rather take one of these than the my Sony z3 to the gym. So much more nonsense that I dont' want when I'm at the gym and it's far smaller too. Honestly, the reason why I go to the gym is so that I'm not bothered by texts and calls. That's my "me" time. The only upside of my phone is that I can connect to the internet and play Songza playlists.

/Rant

I've since resorted to no music while working out

 

[Wolf359]

I have a couple old ones kicking around. They were around $20 a while back. Nowadays I just use an ipod touch. You can get a 2nd gen one on Cowboom which is a best buy store for around $20. I use spotify so it automatically downloads my playlists on the ipod so I don't have to sync with the computer. They also have a 4th gen model for around $50. They start at 8gb and go up to 32-64 or higher.

 

[OneEyeJack]

I use a Sansa® Fuze during my physical therapy with some noise cancelling head phones.

I think it's much more convenient than a smart phone and easier to keep out of the way.

I think it's helped my blot out the world while I'm grinding through the workouts that are helping me recover from cancer surgery.

Those with smart phones have to contend with battery life and a larger device. Some of my workouts last for 2 hours or more on the stair climber and I can advance through music without having to look or fumble around.

This MP3 player may be old school but it works for me.

 

[Rick in PA]

I started with a 2GB Clip and ran that for quite a while. Then my music collection (very specific niche) outgrew it and I got a 4GB Clip Plus. That's the one that got soaked in the rain, but it recovered. I use them for music while I'm working, yard work and whatnot. The Clip + I keep a blank card in the slot to minimize dirt entry. I'm usually adding a few songs per week and like that I can just use Windows Explorer for file management. I like the stock ear buds and have spare foam covers for them (50 pairs cheap from Amazon). The ear bud plug seems to be a weak point, but I guess that would be the same with any ear buds. That I repair by soldering on a new phone jack until the cord breaks somewhere else.

My good player is a Fuse + and I had a Fuse before that. I picked up an earlier Sansa player just for giggles. It was a premium one in its day but I purchased everything refurbished so all the players were inexpensive.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

I have an old Sansa E260. It doesn't play well with my Mac so I don't really use it anymore. Compared to my iPod Nano of the same vintage, it feels clunky and unrefined.

 

[Quattro Pete]

The issue with anything "Apple" is that you can't just copy files using Windows Explorer, so I'm trying to stay away from it.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback everyone.

 

[daves87rs]

Need to find mine.....

 

[sleddriver]

I do. Even older than that. Doesn't accept memory cards! I don't use AAC format though, so moving audio files to/from is just click 'n drag. Easy.

 

[ddrumman2004]

I have one. Actually, I have two....one is just a 2gb model, the other a 4 gb. I use the larger capacity mostly.....at the gym and for entertainment while I mow the yard.
Great little players.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Got the player today. Already installed Rockbox on it (it is in fact dual boot: Rockbox and OEM firmware). So far so good. Simple to use. Good sound quality. I actually did not realize how tiny this device is, even though skyactiv posted a picture of it above...

 

[dlayman]

I still have my Clip Plus running strong after about 5 years, use it nearly every day. The clip on the back broke off though, although I never used that anyway. Its so small you can just put it in your pocket and you can't even tell its there. I use rockbox as well, for the left-right balance and parametric equalizer functions. Battery life isn't great, rockbox or not. I get about 7-8 hours, it may have been a bit more when it was new. Actually for as much as its been used, that really isn't too bad. A cell phone battery would be worthless after 5 years. Simple drag and drop is great as is the ability to organize by folders. It is considered a bit of an "audiophile" player, at least as far as compressed music goes. It doesn't put out a lot of power, but all its measurements are stellar and, despite its name, it will not clip (digital distortion) even at full volume setting. It can even drive Sennheiser HD600 headphones, but not very loudly.

I have several other of these as well that I bought as back-ups, figuring it would have died (or been lost) before long. But I'm still on the original. The only thing I don't like about it is the mini rather than micro usb connector.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Thanks. When fully charged, mine is reporting about 15 hours of battery time remaining, but that's probably only true if you just let it play and don't use the screen at all. Various compression encoders and bit rates impact battery life as well. Mine was a refurb, so the battery is already past its prime.

Quote:
It can even drive Sennheiser HD600 headphones, but not very loudly.

Heh... i was thinking of hooking it up to some full size higher end headphones just for kicks. My Audio-Technicas are in storage though. I might just pick up another set as well as a headphone amp...

I love this little player so far.

 

[Touring5]

I still use my Clip+ practically everyday for listening to downloaded podcasts. Only negative is the FM radio. In rockbox it will tune a station fine and gradually become distorted - re-tuning the station brings it back clear. In the Sandisk firmware, the FM tuner will often have a constant clicking.

My biggest issue with the OEM firmware is that it has to rebuild the library every time you add files. This can be lengthy if you have a memory card installed with lots of mp3's.

I also have an older Sandisk E270 (?) that has a much larger display (very helpful if I'm not wearing glasses or readers).

Still, I love these little players.