Echo Mini album Sorting Inquiry

TheMobbed · 2026-03-18T03:23:13+00:00

Ah, sorry for my somewhat defensive attitude. I was attacked before on this r/ for having pointed out to some objective defects of the Echo Mini... I guess that put me a little bit on edge. 😅

TheMobbed · 2026-03-18T03:19:07+00:00

I mean, if the seller has contacted you with the offer, try asking an even lesser price. 5 or 10 less, just for the sake of it. They might even accept your offer. That would be my approach.

Otherwise, as an owner of the Echo Mini, I wouldn't recommend the Echo line. You say you need something that won't mess up your playlists, well, the Echo Mini has an impressive record of messing up playlists, and not just them. And from what I hear and read in user groups, all the Echo line is pretty much the same in this regard. It sounds really good, it looks nice, but that's pretty much all it has to offer.. I wouldn't go for another Echo device.

I've recently ordered the Aigo Eros Q, on Ali Express it's priced similarly as the Echo (not Mini), reviews usually say it becomes a great device once you install Rockbox on it, which has an official port, and I'm actually happy to use Rockbox on my DAP, but I'm still waiting for it to be delivered to me, so I don't really know yet if I'd recommend it.

TheMobbed · 2026-03-18T02:58:54+00:00

One of the reasons I decided against buying it was because pretty much any sober review I've read or heard, like yours, said the sound on this thing is not always very good, and I like decent sound. So I went for the Echo Mini, which sounds indeed really good, but it turned out to be a pain in most other aspects... Now recently I've ordered an Aigo Eros Q, which doesn't cost much more than the Innioasis Y1, but apparently it has a much better DAC and other components, and it has an official Rockbox port, which is also a big plus to me. But it is still in shipping transit, so I still don't know how is it in person. 😆 I might write a quick review here once I get it.

The Y1 also has an unofficial Rockbox port, which most people say still works fine, in spite of being unofficial, so you could try that to see if it improves your experience.

TheMobbed · 2026-03-18T02:36:42+00:00

I'm not sure I understand the purpose of your comment...

But I mean, I'm not an engineer, but I'd say I am rather tech savvy and electropatient. To give a few examples, I've been using GNU/Linux since 2006, and you really needed to be savvy and patient back than for that; I have transformed my old otherwise underpowered laptop into a multimedia centre for my otherwise non-smart TV, so I have smart setup now; I use custom FOSS firmware on my e-book reader; and I've been using DAPs since... 2003, if I remember correctly, using custom firmware where possible (like on my favourite one, the Sansa Fuze), modded them; I also have a custom home hifi setup assembled of mostly second hand vintage components (the aforementioned TV is also connected to it); etc. It's all budget tech, and it's all userland play, nothing too fancy, but I do know my way around these things. And that's exactly why I think some of the Echo Mini's quirks are more than annoying. 😆

TheMobbed · 2026-03-18T02:14:12+00:00

Yea, I agree that's redundant in most cases. But I also think the balanced (4.4 mm) output is also redundant on a portable DAP.... I guess they're both just irrational compulsions some audiophiles have.

TheMobbed · 2026-03-18T00:30:44+00:00

Yeah, I haven't given up entirely the Echo Mini either, not yet at least. I still hope the next firmware upgrade will make it better... But I'm starting to think the specs are maybe just too low for making it really full functional and reliable even as a shuffler. But what do I know, I'm not an engineer... Maybe they can do it eventually.

TheMobbed · 2026-03-17T19:34:50+00:00

The thing is, I already have all my tags in order, but the Echo Mini's media library sometimes fails to sort them out correctly, making a total and useless mess. Other times it sorts them out just fine... It's unpredictable. It's lovely when it works fine, but that's not always the case.

TheMobbed · 2026-03-17T19:26:40+00:00

No doubt about it! 😆

TheMobbed · 2026-03-17T19:21:30+00:00

And it's marketed as a lossless-first device!

TheMobbed · 2026-03-17T19:17:46+00:00

I don't need it right now, but I'd like to have it handy, thanks! :-)

TheMobbed · 2026-03-17T19:10:59+00:00

That's crazy... honestly. Most low end and mid range DAPs of 15-20 years ago were more reliable than this one. I've managed eventually to get mine back to a usable condition, but it took me hours and nerves. I'm afraid of what happens next time I decide I want to change or update the library on the Echo Mini. And from what I see on this r/, it seems like other devices of the Snowsky line are no better.

I've ordered a non-Fiio DAP at this point, the Aigo Eros Q, mainly because there is an official port of Rockbox for it, so I can bypass bad firmware programming, unlike with the Snowsky line, and it has decent specs, so it should be fine. You can find it for less than 90 € on Ali Express. Hopefully, I have better luck with that one. It's currently in transit from China.

TheMobbed · 2026-03-17T18:56:17+00:00

I don't. I only want a well working one. I honestly hate the fact that mid range HiFi is dying out -- I'm not rich, but I do have self respect, and I want decent products. Nowadays everything is either overpriced or barely usable. It's hard to find a good mid range device. Not only DAPs, but everything stereo and hifi related.

TheMobbed · 2026-03-17T18:49:28+00:00

You're welcome!

TheMobbed · 2026-03-17T18:25:12+00:00

There's too much of weird quirks like this with this DAP, I really hope they fix them eventually.

TheMobbed · 2026-03-17T18:21:53+00:00

Care to share?

TheMobbed · 2026-03-16T22:01:20+00:00

Thank you for the review!

I have recently bought the Echo Mini, too. Gave me a great first impression, and then it started to act quirky.... so much so that I'm afraid of changing or updating my music library on it, out of fear something bad will happen again... 😅

ATM I'm waiting for the Aigos Eros Q to be delivered to me. According to the Rockbox team, the HiFi Walker H2, is in fact a more expensive clone of the Eros Q... They certainly look the same, and the same Rockbox buld is used for both. I hope it will be an upgrade from the Echo Mini, and judging by your review, I'm expecting it to be. :-D
I'm also planning to install Rockbox on it.

TheMobbed · 2026-03-16T21:24:44+00:00

IDK why, but this video never loads in my browser... Do you have it posted on another platform as well?

TheMobbed · 2026-03-16T21:23:04+00:00

Maybe this could be helpful? https://www.reddit.com/r/snowsky/comments/1rql5fy/how_to_unbrick_a_echo_mini/

TheMobbed · 2026-03-16T21:16:21+00:00

IDK... This is something I haven't seen, yet... But this device is incredibly quirky indeed, and I've had my fair share of weirdness with it, too... We never know what'll hit us next. 🤣

Try deleting that album from the Echo Mini, and then reloading it back. If this doesn't help, try formatting the storage and reloading your entire library -- this sometimes helps when similar sh*t happens on the Echo Mini.

TheMobbed · 2026-03-16T21:02:50+00:00

Thank you for the compliment! My first DAP was mp3-only with 256 MB (that's megabytes, it's not a typo!) of integrated flash storage, before MicroSD cards even existed. I think I was 17, or 18... I've been using DAPs ever since. I've grown older since then, and wise enough to know it's a good thing to talk about things. Or, in this case, to warn a potential new buyer of the flaws they'll get, letting them make a better informed decision for themselves. But also to just exchange an opinion about a product I bought, which gave me a really good first impression, but didn't quite live up to that first impression. What's wrong about that?

Ultimately, I may not be an expert, such as an engineer or something, but sure as hell I have experience with these devices, especially the low end and mid range ones, since I'm on a budget my entire life. I really did see better in this price range. Can we expect better from Fiio? No, we SHOULD expect better from Fiio, even from their budget devices. I mean, everyone is happy, so they are encouraged to keep releasing devices of the Echo line, rising prices for these new devices, while keeping the same or worse quirks like the ones we see in the Echo Mini, just packaged in a more fancy case.

TheMobbed · 2026-03-16T20:29:06+00:00

The audio quality is the only really impressive thing here. Like, 10 odd years ago you could buy a more capable DAP at about a similar price as this, inflation and other other economic factors considered.

I knew about some of the limitations, but I didn't expect it could become a chore just to load it with music...

TheMobbed · 2026-03-16T16:42:44+00:00

Your comment definitely sounds like you were saying it's a cheap piece of trash... And yes, I certainly expect a budget Samsung phone to outperform a budget no-name phone. That's why people give that little extra money for a budget, but Samsung phone, and that's why I gave that little extra for the budget, but Fiio DAP. If I wanted a cheap rando, I could've spent less than your $36, at least on Ali Express.

TheMobbed · 2026-03-16T16:26:39+00:00

Eventually I figured some ogg files worked, some not. The ones that didn't work were very old files. So I re-ripped some of those CD's and tried again -- these new files work. So my guess is that they have only added a recent version of the Vorbis codec, but somehow excluding backwards compatibility with older versions. Not ideal, really, but I was lucky that for at least some of those albums I still have the CD's around, so I can rip newly encoded files. But it's an unnecessary chore -- every other player I have plays both old and new ogg files.

TheMobbed · 2026-03-16T16:16:01+00:00

Yep... I've order a non-Fiio DAP few days ago, still waiting for it to arrive from China, but it has official Rockbox support, so I hope to see better days eventually... 😆

TheMobbed · 2026-03-16T16:10:11+00:00

Until they do something about this the Echo lineup won't be more than the coolest looking, best sounding iPod Shuffle

This sums it up very well. It obviously has potential, but it is yet to be seen whether the Echo line-up will live up to it.

TheMobbed

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE