Spotify, Tidal, Youtube Music. They rent you temporary access to music you don't own and drain your phone battery as much as your wallet. While vinyl and CDs brought back the joy and intentionality of physical listening, they lack portability. Digtial Audio Players (DAPs) claim to be the modern solution, but really they are just a latest version of an iPod and in many ways the older, retro device wins out.
Choosing a DAP
Finding the right standalone player depends on your budget, whether you want modern features out of the box or if you prefer a more retro approach
- Budget modern DAPs (AU$100+): Compact, dedicated players like the Fiio Snowsky Echo offer a nifty player, physical buttons and microSD card expansion but lack a fast and refined user interface.
- Android DAPs (AU$350+): higher end DAPs from brands like HiBy and Fiio offer what is basically an android phone with a CNC alumimum body, physical buttons, headphone ports and audio circuitry to drive demanding headphones.
- Phone Dongles (AU$20+): plug your headphones into a dongle. Plug your dongle into the USB-C port, have a slightly awkward time. You are using your phone, so you get distractions, notification and battery drain.
The Retro Options
If you want the best bang-for-buck, help reusability or just want a cool retro nostalgia hit, there are 2 stand out options
- And old android phone: Pull that old phone from the draw, make sure it has a headphone jack and do a factory reset on it. Suddenly you have a dedicated, purpose build DAP for free.
- A Classic iPod: It won the MP3 wars for a reason. It's click wheel navigation holds up, storage of 30GB, 80Gb, even 160Gb is likely more than you can dedicate to music on your current phone and it has an extremely dedicated and active modding community.
Turning a Phone into a DAP
Repurposing an old phone sitting in your drawer is the fastest zero-spend route to a dedicated player.
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Find an old phone: Look in your "old tech draw", ask your parents or friends or grab one on Facebook Marketplace. Make sure it has a headphone jack
- Factory reset: Clean out all the old apps, don't install anything new on it beyond the music player app. If your device is supported, a custom ROM like LineageOS will give you a lean, fast, energy efficient base to work from
- Airplane mode: Keep airplane mode on and remember you can turn wifi and bluetooth on even in airplane mode if you have wireless buds or want to sync wirelessly.
- Lead the library: You can drag and drop your library or use a syncing tool for wireless sync.
You will be surprised how fast an old phone is running minimal services in airplane mode. The battery should also give you hours of playback, even on an aging device.
An iPod in 2026?
iPods remain an exceptionally viable DAP, especially the classic or video versions, provided you are willing to spend an afternoon refurbishing one or buying a pre-modded unit.
The biggest single issue is going to be the battery. At 20+ years old, you will be lucky if the original battery can turn it on. Luckily, a battery replacement is an easy mod.
The idea sweet spot for iPod modding is the 5th Generation (aka iPod Video) or 6th/7th Generation (iPod Classic)
- Great sounding, full click wheel and large storage capacity
- USB connection (older models used firewire)
- easily sourced and reasonable priced replacement parts
- plastic and metal clips, no glue removal or heat guns needed to open
Keep the Drive or Upgrade to Solid State?
Keeping the mechanical spinning hard drive is completely viable if you are on a strict budget or happy with the stock capacity (30GB–160GB). However, aging drives are vulnerable to mechanical failure from drop impacts
Replacing the drive with an iFlash adapter (allowing the use of 1-4 SD cards for storage) drastically reduces weight, improves seek times, and removes power-hungry moving parts. It also allows a large battery to be installed if you want to go weeks without plugging in. The major disadvantage of the flash storage is cost. With 2026 storage prices where they are, getting 256GB of storage is going to cost an arm and a leg. You can quickly approach the price of a brand new, mid level Android based DAP when modding.
A new Battery
Opening the iPod 5th Generation is about as difficult as replacing RAM in a laptop. The 6th/7th generation is a little harder and requires a more delicate to avoid scratching or bending the outer shell.
Make sure to get the correct battery. There are 3 types.
- standard size for thin iPods
- standard size for thick iPods
- large size for flash modded iPods. Much larger capacity, uses the space freed up by removing the hard drive
Thin iPods are the ones with smaller storage capacities, which the thicker ones were used to house the larger hard drives.
The $25 Earbud Revolution: Modern IEMs
If you don't already own a pair of decent wired headphones, the recent leap in In-Ear Monitor (IEM) performance is staggering. While most consumer electronics get more expensive and restrictive every year, budget wired IEMs are one of the rare tech categories getting dramatically cheaper while delivering near-audiophile acoustics.
A prime example is the Tangzu Wan’er SG 2 (Jade Dragon Edition). Sourced on AliExpress for roughly $25 AUD shipped, these budget IEMs output clean vocal separation, balanced treble, and tight bass control that rivals gear costing ten times as much a decade ago. While light plastic housings won't survive heavy physical abuse, the detachable 2-pin cables and tuned dynamic drivers provide an unbeatable entry point for an offline setup.
Where to start
Transitioning away from cloud streaming doesn't require dropping hundreds of dollars on boutique DAP hardware. You can scale your setup based on what you already own:
The free tier
Pull an old smartphone out of your desk drawer, enable Airplane Mode and pair with some old wired earbuds or headphones. You can even use existing bluetooth buds to get you started. You now have a zero-distraction, high-fidelity audio player for the price of an hour or 2 of set up.
The $200 retro tier
Source a 5th Generation iPod Video or 6th Gen Classic, drop in a high-capacity replacement battery, grab some $25 IEMs and start listening to your library.
Reclaim Your Attention
Rebuilding an offline music collection is ultimately an exercise in intentionality. It shifts your daily habits away from renting media on subscription loops, doom scrolling and reading notification. It puts focus back onto tactile, deliberate choices and lets you listen to your music on your terms.
Stop buying the latest in disposable tech, cancel the monthly subscriptions and reclaim ownership of your library. Use the money you save to buy one of our awesome retro shirts, like our Hearts Life Bar retro gaming shirt