I stream from my Macs and have all time favs or new fav recent releases on my iPhone for when I'm on planes so I'll always have access to some music. I still use my iPod 5.5 gen in my car always on shuffle with a major chunk of my music library. Upgraded it to an SD card and replaced the battery so it's lighter weight and more storage.
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Other Still using iPhone as an MP3 player?
- Thread starter d4zza
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I have my entire library (~17K songs) synced to my phone as 256k AAC files and I also use my 1 TB modded iPod classic and LG V30 for lossless listening. For streaming I just use my own Plex server and I don't subscribe to any services since a good chunk of my library is stuff that didn't get a digital release.
I'm often in areas with low/no reception, and absolutely loathe streaming. I've been growing and maintaining a massive collection of MP3/FLAC music files since the 90s. The Apple Music app is awful for all of that, in my experience. On my computer I'm using Swinsian (which sadly seems to be abandonware) to play my entire catalog. On my phone I use Doppler, and manually add/delete music files as needed. Still download music from Bandcamp whenever possible, or Amazon/Beatport. Or if the music is "unavailable for purchase" due to licensing ******** but available for streaming, I download the files elsewhere - but my first choice is to try and throw the artist a legitimate purchase. I love music.
It's funny you mention that because I had almost given up trying to buy music from a particular band that disbanded decades ago. Ebay had their CDs for $100 once in a while. Just found two of their albums on Bandcamp!
IIRC the iPod was my introduction to the Apple ecosystem.
Always enjoy listening to music - cd/records over the years were converted to digital for downloading to the iPod.
The iPod (4 or 5 the gen?) was stolen, replaced by a Nano and finally a Shuffle. Nano still works fine. Shuffle the power button has died, but can still be put into a Bose Sound Dock.
All of which seems to be more consistent than the music app on the current iOS and iPhone...
Always enjoy listening to music - cd/records over the years were converted to digital for downloading to the iPod.
The iPod (4 or 5 the gen?) was stolen, replaced by a Nano and finally a Shuffle. Nano still works fine. Shuffle the power button has died, but can still be put into a Bose Sound Dock.
All of which seems to be more consistent than the music app on the current iOS and iPhone...
iTunes files aren't special - just DRM free AAC files. I have a fair amount copied over to my NW-A55 Walkman, and it also handles ALACs.
You can't manage them through iTunes/Music.app, no, but the files/metadata work.
I use my iPhone for music that ranges from stored on the iPhone to streamed from Amazon. I also use it daily for audiobooks. Like some here, I also store music on a NAS and as I have enough room on my iPhone for much of my regular music, the NAS is more for home play on a superior sound system.
I don’t think iTunes music or video files work on non apple devices without conversion.
I have a last generation iPod Touch I still use as my music player. I never use my iPhone for music. My phone is my communications device and portable miniature iPad. My iPod is just for music.
I wish I still had my 3rd gen iPod Nano.
I wish I still had my 3rd gen iPod Nano.
I use my ripped cd library via Apple Music app until this year when I’ve swapped over to Apple Music.
Apple Music is convenient but my biggest gripe is abandoning my old library that’s prob cost thousands over the years and it feels wasteful.
Apple Music is convenient but my biggest gripe is abandoning my old library that’s prob cost thousands over the years and it feels wasteful.
I think I have that still in a drawer.however it’s worthless as I work connect to a modern Mac,.
Definitely use my phone for music. I don't have a Music subscription. I still have my 2000+ LPs (and a turntable, etc), along with maybe two thirds of that in physical CDs and a few SACDs and DVD-As. I have the full library on my iMac, and a smaller lower-res version on my iPhone. I can definitely hear the differences between the original media and mp3 etc, but when I'm running, or on a plane, or in the car, I don't care.
I'm pretty sure that I have a 32GB iPod, but the library is bigger than that—and so is my AW6!
I'm pretty sure that I have a 32GB iPod, but the library is bigger than that—and so is my AW6!
I wasn't stating an opinion.
Unless for some reason you have ancient FairPlay encoded tracks you haven't re-downloaded as DRM free versions, they'll work fine.
Hello! Little more advanced here. MP3 format was removed decades ago? I ripp all my music from vinyl into 192 kHz / 24 bit in 100 % uncompressed AIFF format.
I use then Roon for the last 5 years as main source to music.
All music is stored on a NAS but is copied over to a dedicated Windows 11 computer mainly for Music/Roon every night. This computer is 100 % fanless.
I use VPN to Roon but latly been using Roon ARC.
I use then Roon for the last 5 years as main source to music.
All music is stored on a NAS but is copied over to a dedicated Windows 11 computer mainly for Music/Roon every night. This computer is 100 % fanless.
I use VPN to Roon but latly been using Roon ARC.
I try to, but ever since the introduction of Apple Music the subsequent updates to macOS and iOS have caused local music syncing to become extremely unreliable for some reason*, so I use an iPod instead.
The iPod I use is a 2004 4th generation with monochrome display, I upgraded the 40GB hard drive to a 256GB SD card and replaced the battery with a large one extracted from a power bank. It can last over a month with 2+ hours of daily use on a single charge.
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* Not sure if anyone else is experiencing these issues, but it's almost impossible to drag and drop local music files from the Music app to a connected iOS or iPadOS device now. I have "manually manage music" enabled and normally I should be able to just drag and drop tracks from my library to my device and it should start syncing. Instead, nothing happens and Music doesn't start up the sync session although it seems to transfer each track's metadata but not the tracks themselves. I have to manually click the "Sync" button in Finder after an unsuccessful drag and drop and there's a 10% change it will successfully sync. The other 90% of times it will just say "preparing to sync..." and do nothing. If I unplug my phone at this point the Mac doesn't even detect the device is disconnected and stays at this screen. I can't even safely restart my Mac in this state because the perpetual sync prevents shutdown, so I have to hold down the power button and force a restart.
Weirdly enough this doesn't happen with pre-iOS era iPods. I can drag and drop music to them and they sync right away.
The iPod I use is a 2004 4th generation with monochrome display, I upgraded the 40GB hard drive to a 256GB SD card and replaced the battery with a large one extracted from a power bank. It can last over a month with 2+ hours of daily use on a single charge.
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* Not sure if anyone else is experiencing these issues, but it's almost impossible to drag and drop local music files from the Music app to a connected iOS or iPadOS device now. I have "manually manage music" enabled and normally I should be able to just drag and drop tracks from my library to my device and it should start syncing. Instead, nothing happens and Music doesn't start up the sync session although it seems to transfer each track's metadata but not the tracks themselves. I have to manually click the "Sync" button in Finder after an unsuccessful drag and drop and there's a 10% change it will successfully sync. The other 90% of times it will just say "preparing to sync..." and do nothing. If I unplug my phone at this point the Mac doesn't even detect the device is disconnected and stays at this screen. I can't even safely restart my Mac in this state because the perpetual sync prevents shutdown, so I have to hold down the power button and force a restart.
Weirdly enough this doesn't happen with pre-iOS era iPods. I can drag and drop music to them and they sync right away.
I have a big library that is now a bit of a mess from past iTunes Match uploads and backups etc.
On my iPhone I use foobar2000, because I have a managed work phone that doesn’t let me sync music with iTunes.
Does anyone know how to get music on my Apple Watch, without a paid subscription to Apple Music or an alternative paid subscription service?
On my iPhone I use foobar2000, because I have a managed work phone that doesn’t let me sync music with iTunes.
Does anyone know how to get music on my Apple Watch, without a paid subscription to Apple Music or an alternative paid subscription service?
Didn’t realise I could make such a decent thread with none of the usual hate that this forum can sometimes attract.
Great to hear the different ways that people are utilising non-streaming methods of listening to music.
A genuine thanks to everyone for their input to this thread.
Great to hear the different ways that people are utilising non-streaming methods of listening to music.
A genuine thanks to everyone for their input to this thread.
I have about 50GB of music on my MacBook which gets sync'd every so often to my iPhone and also to an iPod Touch. I rarely play from the Mac.
In the car I play from my iPhone through the car's sound system.
In the house I play from the iPhone in conjunction with a couple of HomePod speakers.
When having a party I use the iPod Touch in conjunction with Ultimate Ear Boom speakers so the music isn't interrupted by incoming alerts (and it also means my personal data isn't viewable).
When touring on motorbike I use the iPod Touch in conjunction with either Apple noise-cancelling AirPods, or my pair of custom-fitted Ultimate Ear monitor speakers.
In the car I play from my iPhone through the car's sound system.
In the house I play from the iPhone in conjunction with a couple of HomePod speakers.
When having a party I use the iPod Touch in conjunction with Ultimate Ear Boom speakers so the music isn't interrupted by incoming alerts (and it also means my personal data isn't viewable).
When touring on motorbike I use the iPod Touch in conjunction with either Apple noise-cancelling AirPods, or my pair of custom-fitted Ultimate Ear monitor speakers.
I also use for music, I'm not relying on streaming services. I use an app called Amperfy to access my music collection that I host in my server at home.
My simple rule is that if I want to listen, watch or play something more than once, I want to own it rather than stream it. Preferably physical, but I'm happy with personal digital copies too. I would never want to be in a position where I didn't have instant access to all my favourite things, most of which are now from the last century.
I sort of do…I have iTunes Match and Apple Musi. I collect live recordings from my favorite bands, typically in lossless, but I also crest an MP3 copy and load them to my iCloud music library. This was an issue for me in the iOS 17 beta as it had a problem playing mp3 files, but glad it is fixed.
Like others mention, I also like buying copies of the stuff I like, preferably physical, but also buy tons of digital copies, from iTunes, or other digital retailers if it is not available there.
This is primarily why any cloud service for music that I have ever used has been fed from my main music library. That library is currently on my NAS, but has been on other Macs/PCs over the years and survived intact. However, the main bulk of it is all the CDs I have in a CD tower in my garage.
There is stuff in my music library that was either a one-off purchase or stuff that is so niche, I will never find it again. So, I keep my CDs as a physical backup.
But yeah, this is why I don't subscribe to PAID cloud services.
Since Apple Music & Spotify I own no more CD‘s or MP3 files. I hear everything I like so I had to buy a looot of music.
Also no CD player or DVD or BlueRay. Nothing.
Also no CD player or DVD or BlueRay. Nothing.
I used to buy so much music, that i'm saving a ton of money with Apple Music. Some of it were CD's i imported, some of it bought in iTunes...
I still have access to all of it, even if it is not available in Apple Music, thanks to the "Matching" feature.
And all is available on every device. The car. Sonos Speakers. Webbrowser. One single library.
Don't see a reason to make things more complicated for me, when it seems to work so effortless.
Tried to switch to Spotify once, but the lack of the "matching/uploading" feature made it impossible for me. I want everything in one single library and not be restricted to what they have in their catalogue.
I still have access to all of it, even if it is not available in Apple Music, thanks to the "Matching" feature.
And all is available on every device. The car. Sonos Speakers. Webbrowser. One single library.
Don't see a reason to make things more complicated for me, when it seems to work so effortless.
Tried to switch to Spotify once, but the lack of the "matching/uploading" feature made it impossible for me. I want everything in one single library and not be restricted to what they have in their catalogue.