I'd like to buy a new player to put rockbox on, what should I look at?

[clutch]

I've been using Rockbox for years on the Sansa e200R - e250 units.  I'm on my third one that is still working but the encoder on the scroll wheel is driving me nuts as it has random jitter. 

I'd like to buy a new player that takes micro sd cards and works with rockbox and I'll retire the e250 to serve as a spare.

What should I look at to purchase? 

Thanks,

Clutch

[mario69]

I suggest fiio m3k

[clutch]

I suggest fiio m3k

All I can find is used. 

[7o9]

There are not many devices supported by Rockbox that can still be bought new retail. By the time a working Rockbox port is developed, manufacturers might no longer sell the devices.

Ebay or second hand might be your best bet.

A 'Surfans F20' might still be available new, but I believe there is a new hardware revision that is probably not supported. The 'Shanling Q1' also still looks available. Unfortunately both are not really cheap.

Look for the supported devices here: https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/TargetStatus

[Kofa]

I just now ordered this, from walmart.com, I think it ships from China.  It says it's an Aigo Eros Q, for just $29?! Seems too good to be true.  Do you think this is actually rockbox compatible as this page says it is? 

https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/AIGOErosQK

https://www.walmart.com/ip/EROS-Q-aigo-HiFi-Digital-High-Resolution-Lossless-Music-Audio-Player/234471690?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=101043425&&adid=22222222227000000000&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=42423897272&wl4=pla-51320962143&wl5=9018911&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=278534602&wl11=online&wl12=234471690&veh=sem&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIz_-hpayW9gIVkY7ICh2D9QHEEAQYASABEgLwovD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[7o9]

It looks a lot like it, but usually when something seems to be too good to be true, it is.

A real Aigo Eros Q should be about 5 times as expensive.

Will be interesting to see what you actually get.

[xbliss]

I just now ordered this, from walmart.com, I think it ships from China.  It says it's an Aigo Eros Q, for just $29?! Seems too good to be true.  Do you think this is actually rockbox compatible as this page says it is? 

https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/AIGOErosQK

https://www.walmart.com/ip/EROS-Q-aigo-HiFi-Digital-High-Resolution-Lossless-Music-Audio-Player/234471690?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=101043425&&adid=22222222227000000000&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=42423897272&wl4=pla-51320962143&wl5=9018911&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=278534602&wl11=online&wl12=234471690&veh=sem&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIz_-hpayW9gIVkY7ICh2D9QHEEAQYASABEgLwovD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Did you get it?

Works?

Update?

[Falco98]

I have a Surfans F20 bookmarked on Amazon, but so far I can't for the life of me discern whether or not this model is affected by the firmware update that precludes RB from being installed.  In the RB documentation it's only noted on the other branded players, not on the Surfans.  Amazon reviews are also mixed, some folks have confirmed that it runs RB, and at least one review claimed it no longer allows installation.  This is frustrating since otherwise it seems like a perfect RB target device.

[amachronic]

A bad firmware version may preclude the use of the hosted port, but assuming the hardware underneath is the same, you should be able to use the native port no matter what firmware it ships with. I think the native and hosted ports should be on par in terms of functionality and stability, and they're both well supported.

The installation instructions for the native port are here: https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/Main/JztoolInstall. Daily builds are generated for the native port (https://build.rockbox.org/data/rockbox-erosqnative.zip) but they're not currently listed on the builds page to avoid confusion with the hosted port.

[Falco98]

Cool, thanks for confirming that, it's reassuring.  If I finally pull the trigger at some point I'll report back with my results.

[Falco98]

So I have my F20 now and interestingly, since March 2022 they're coming with firmware revision 2.7 instead of 2.5 (the latest mentioned by RB util).  Trying to install anyway with RB util insta-crashes on me.

I took my chances on manually installing the prepatched 2.5 FW update and it seemed to work - i get the bootloader with Rockbox or OF choices, and RB boots fine - but the second I try to play music, i get a segmentation fault and it forces the player to hard restart.

If I boot into the OF, it now reports it's on firmware version 2.5, and playing the same music seems to work with no hitch.  Caveat that I've only tried this particular album so far.

Anyone have any insight?  Have I just angered the gods by installing a downgraded firmware, or what?

ETA: nevermind, i figured it out - TL;DR, rockbox was choking on an Ogg Vorbis file with an unusually high-rez album art embed (presumably); everything else I try it with actually works fine.

[Ren]

I'm also looking to buy a new DAP for ROCKbox.
This would be my first ROCKbox player so far. I only found out about the existence of this alternative open source firmware about a month ago or so.
But I have many years and lots of experiences with modding gaming consoles, or flashing firmwares like LineageOS etc. onto Android devices.
From looking through many of the listed Players in the Target List and in price comparison sites/ebay/amazon... I came up with 3 possible choices that would be possible to buy from within germany. And seem to have a somewhat good stability of ROCKbox. The Shanling Q1, The Fiio M3K, and the Surfans F20. From what I've seen the Surfans F20 looks best to me. But maybe you can tell me your thoughts on this matter?
Also what isn't clar to me is if it would be possible to use bigger microsdxc cards than 256GB in the Surfans F20, since I read that would be the limit. But it seems artificial to me why there should be a size limit like this when bigger microsdxc cards have the same technical standart...? Has anyone tried to use bigger cards in this player? And what about changing the battery of this player, are there spare ones available? I couldn't find any...

[Oscar]

I do own a Shanling Q1 as well as a Surfans F20 (since a few days). Both run Rockbox quite well. I'm happy with both of them. Both do have a more than reasonable battery runtime with my typically 320 kbps MP3 music library. The Shanling runs in my test for about 19 hours and the Surfans F20 runs even for 26 hours non stop playing. To answer one of your questions: I use a 512 GB microSD card on both devices without any problem.

Since my Surfans F20 is the one with the v2.7 firmware and the "new" NAND, I had to use the bootloader (v7) from the thread https://forums.rockbox.org/index.php/topic,54228.0.html to install the native port. It went without any problems.

I slightly prefer the Shanling Q1 over the Surfans F20 though. These are the reasons:

• The Q1 has the bigger and better looking screen
• The Q1 has a touch screen. And with adequate settings/themes Rockbox runs reasonably well with a touch screen.
• The housing of the Q1 is rounder and works better in my hands and my pockets. I don't like the sharp edges of the F20. Maybe the Hifi Walker is better in this regard?

But It seems that the Shanling Q1 is not easily available anymore. I got mine for 110 USD a few weeks ago. The only available option on Amazon.de at the moment is 189 EUR whereas the Surfans F20 runs for 107 EUR.

I can't say anything about the Fiio M3K, except that it is hardly available anymore as well.

[Ren]

I deceided myself for the Surfans F20. I paid 127€ on Amazon for it.
I got it with the 2.7 Firmware and a new NAND how it seems,
Sadly the newest Version of the native build isn't working on my device it just gives me a stroboscope like flickering screen..
I installed it with the V7 Bootloader from here