Ever since the birth of the iPhone people have sent their MP3 players to retire in the dresser drawer and turned to their phones as a primary place of storing music, however as phones get bigger and bigger, music files taking up so much space and poor audio quality means there is certainly still a place for MP3 players on the market. The Hidizs AP80 is a Hi-Res music player with Bluetooth connectivity in a durable compact design, the Ess flagship ES9218P DAC chip delivers an SNR of up to 126dB and THD+N down to -113dB to capture fine details within the music. The AP80 has HiBy 3.0 OS which is a worldwide professional music player system helping to deliver a premium music experience with high runtime and multithreaded man-machine interaction. The Mage Sound 8-Ball Tuning is a combination of multiple algorithms based on parametric equalizer (PE!) and sound field adjustment to allow you to easily find the right settings for your style of music. The device itself has an attractive design, with a solid build quality.

The Samsung 2.45’’ full-size touchscreen provides a colourful display but it isn’t the brightest and can struggle in very sunny conditions. You can connect your headphones over Bluetooth 4.0 or via the AUX port. The AP80 has a built-in FM radio that lets you upgrade your favourite radio channels into Hi-Res audio, there is also a pedometer which can measure your steps should you choose to take it on a run, and you can get about 15 hours’ continuous play time per charge. The SD card slot can provide up to 1TB of storage (there is no internal storage), the new clock display means you will never lose track of timewhilst the new wheel and three button asymmetrical layout makes for intuitive control over the device. If you can’t quite bear to separate yourself from your phone the HiBy Link controls the AP80’s music wireless directly from your phone to ensure High-Res bit-perfect fidelity that is unattainable by Bluetooth whilst the Bi-Directional USB connectivity interface lets you use the device as a high-quality USB audio dongle for your smartphone or as a digital audio source for any other devices. The Hidizs AP80 is a sturdy and easy-to-use MP3 player, the audio quality is impressive and music fans will appreciate the detailed sound. The battery life and screen brightness could be improved but overall this is a great little place to keep all your tunes. RRP $139 Amazon Link

Current Cheapest Price

4 out of 5

Pros

Impressive hi-res sound

HiBy OS

Mage Sound 8-Ball Tuning

Compact and durable design

Intuitive controls

Bi-Direction Lossless Bluetooth Connectivity

HiBy Link

Samsung 2.45’’ Full-Size Touchscreen

FM Function, Step Counter

Cons

Display could be brighter

Battery life is reasonably short

No internal storage