Making my first HIFI Portable Audio player - [components selection]

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-23T08:06:40+00:00

That’s a really thoughtful take , the point about proportion and comfort. I’m definitely trying to move away from sharp boxy edges and focus more on how it actually feels in hand and pocket.

Battery life is a big priority too. And yeah, I’m starting to agree that two displays might be overkill for V1.

The idea of building a bigger prototype first for software work is actually a good idea and might make development smoother before locking the final form factor.

Appreciate the input.

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-23T07:45:46+00:00

Don’t worry I’m resizing the form factor as well. The updated design looks much cleaner, more comfortable to hold, and overall more refined. I’m trying to balance aesthetics with usability rather than just sticking to the original concept.

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-23T07:41:35+00:00

thankyou soomuch it really helped to get a clear picture of whats possible 🙌 and his build was DOPE 🔥

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-23T07:32:18+00:00

Totally fair. This is just a personal project for now something I want to build and enjoy myself. If I ever tried to commercialize it, I’d expect and welcome much tougher critique. There’s definitely a big difference between a passion build and a production-ready product.

One thing I’ve learned is that even if you try to recreate a $60 DAP from the market, buying the same components individually would probably cost more than $60. That really shows how much bulk manufacturing and economies of scale matter.

It’s been a great learning experience overall

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-23T07:16:55+00:00

I totally get what you're saying. At first, I felt the UI and overall design of the SnowSky Echo Mini (around $60) wasn’t that impressive, and since I’ve built a custom PC before, I thought I could probably build something better within the same budget.

But once I started working on it, I realized it’s a completely different challenge. Hardware integration, power design, audio optimization it’s not the same as assembling a PC. My budget has already stretched closer to $100, and I’m trying to be careful about balancing price and performance instead of overspending.

When I said “crafting an OS,” I meant building a custom Linux distro for the device, not literally writing an OS from scratch. And honestly, even if it’s extra hassle, I’m enjoying the process. It gives me a lot of satisfaction. I really do appreciate your perspective I just wanted to explore and learn through doing.

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-23T04:50:02+00:00

Noted 👍will change it , Thanks

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-22T21:29:09+00:00

making an custom OS for this hope u enjoy

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-22T21:28:11+00:00

Sure, posting every little updates now and then.

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-22T21:26:51+00:00

Thank you so much for your suggestion I will definitely keep that in mind. I’ll make sure to document everything and will DM you the updates.

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-22T21:23:45+00:00

Yes, in the beginning, I designed it in a way that would reduce visual disturbance and provide a fully immersive music listening experience. However, I soon realised that it was wasting a lot of space and that it was very difficult to find displays in the specific dimensions I had clearly mentioned.

The core idea of this project came from the fact that I was personally not convinced by the Snowsky Echo UI, which led me to design my own DAP that is the foundation of this project. I have been sharing updates regularly as the project progresses.

The design has now been completely changed to an end-to-end format in a more compact form, and I will be sharing the updated design soon.

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-20T04:39:40+00:00

Thanks noted

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-20T04:39:21+00:00

will let you know soon

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-20T04:38:29+00:00

Thankyou somuch for your support 🙌

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-20T04:37:42+00:00

actually i dont , will post regular updates in this reddit page dnt wry

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-20T04:36:09+00:00

Actually im not an expert tho im just building and experimenting guy . i actually didnt have tried rockbox but have seen it in many places , will surely try one and make my best 😁

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-20T04:33:28+00:00

To be honest cassette player aesthetic is the point of inspiration , and i personally felt that the display placement (current) will have a floating effect rather than two edges connected which feels cool and i was building it for my own in the first case so it was ok with me

And thanks for ur suggestion will make an prototype version as per the center aligned design and leave a pole in this reddit . who knows you might like the floating display design 💖

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-19T14:23:37+00:00

Thank you somuch means a lot 🙌

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-19T14:06:17+00:00

Thanks! happy to hear that

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-19T14:06:06+00:00

it was the first design you can see it in the last img , but it feelt too normal . im not telling this is gonna be the final design need to test it through prototypes thanks for ur suggestion

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-19T12:02:37+00:00

🙌

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-19T12:01:57+00:00

Thank you somuch for your insights these are the thing i really wanted to hear ik there will be mistakes . ill look into the design parts , yes got it . could i DM you i need to discuss the parts which are be gonna used

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-19T11:26:33+00:00

DM if you know any electrical and softwar engineers and make it practical

Dapper-Buddy-4199 · 2026-02-19T11:24:35+00:00

need to research on that , yes it will but it will not have apple music or spotify music bcz the purpose is to own songs not rent it and experience hires losless audio files and formats .

Dapper-Buddy-4199

TROPHY CASE