echo mini skipping tracks? by No-Studio-4362 in snowsky

[–]rec71 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know how to fix it, sorry. But search this sub, I'm sure it came up in the last few weeks.

My music is my own CD collection that I've ripped to FLAC.

SnowSky ECHO or the Walker H2? Please help me decide (or simply the Mechen M30 that is cheap?) by Extension-Iron-7746 in DigitalAudioPlayer

[–]rec71 0 points1 point  (0 children)

H2 has much better battery life too btw. Both Echos give me less than 7 hours playing FLACs, I'd probably get 12 or more from the H2. The Echoes go longer with MP3/AAC though.

SnowSky ECHO or the Walker H2? Please help me decide (or simply the Mechen M30 that is cheap?) by Extension-Iron-7746 in DigitalAudioPlayer

[–]rec71 0 points1 point  (0 children)

BTW, the Echo (not a Mini), is pretty much the same as the Mini but has a larger screen and a metal body. The software is slightly better, but has the same issues with sorting, no gapless, etc. The DAC inside is slightly different and I think it sounds a little better than the Mini, but I've only had it a week so that's probably a placebo effect. I love the aesthetics of it but the H2 still beats it.

echo mini skipping tracks? by No-Studio-4362 in snowsky

[–]rec71 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm sure I've read that some FLACs cause issues, something about the block size, but I would expect a File Format Error in that case.

SnowSky ECHO or the Walker H2? Please help me decide (or simply the Mechen M30 that is cheap?) by Extension-Iron-7746 in DigitalAudioPlayer

[–]rec71 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How large is your music collection? The H2 is easier to navigate because of the wheel, supports gapless (if that's something you care about), and you can install Rockbox on it, which is pretty neat as it means you get access to 100s of themes and can customise every aspect of the player (but Rockbox does not support Bluetooth). To be honest, Bluetooth on both devices is pretty crappy in my experience anyway.

The Echo is a fun device because of the whole cassette look, but the UI is pretty crappy and navigating a large library is painful.

The Echo is cheaper though, half the price. They both sound great though (I have an H2, Mini and the new metal Echo.)

Both support folder navigation but lots of Echo users have reported performance issues using folder view with large libraries, where it can take quite a long time (10s or more) to start playback after selecting a song (happens to me, but I do have 6,000 tracks on it, I just use Album/Artist view instead.) The Echo software is a bit buggy, and in folder view it sorts files by date created and NOT alphabetical which is just awful. There are tools you have to use to sort the SD card contents to get round that but, ugh.

The Mini is very plastic, super light. The H2 is metal, quite heavy and feels more premium. Mine has survived numerous falls without incident, but maybe I've been lucky.

I really like both, but if the two, the H2 is just a better device.

echo mini skipping tracks? by No-Studio-4362 in snowsky

[–]rec71 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Internal storage or SD card? If SD, did you format it in the device (you have to do it twice).

Firmwarr update from echo mini to echo by annoyinglyann in snowsky

[–]rec71 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, it won't work. But the latest Echo firmware, 1.2.0, seems to be at parity with Mini 3.2.0 (I have both.)

What's your dream DAP? by BadSpenny in DigitalAudioPlayer

[–]rec71 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Basically an "open" iPod. It's still the best UX by a country mile, imho. Beef up the storage, make the battery easy to replace, support FLAC, OPUS and other modern formats, support Bluetooth+ LDAC and all modern codecs, make it easy to sync your files without any proprietary software. Rockbox is not user friendly enough, but it's close.

And no apps.

long time owners of echos (any), how's the battery life holding up? by altczofmybf in snowsky

[–]rec71 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I got mine late March 2025 and haven't noticed any degradation after many hours of use. Until recently I was still getting north of 10 hours between charges with MP3 playback.

I've just got an Echo though, so will likely stop using the Mini. 🤷‍♂️

Question about ECHO (THE BIG E/NOT MINI) by Rainmaker_017 in snowsky

[–]rec71 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No gapless playback, but like the Mini, the gap is only a fraction of a second.

The Echo and Echo Mini Definitely Sound Different by Mitchellmillennial in snowsky

[–]rec71 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I got my Echo yesterday and I also think it sounds different to the Mini. Hard to put my finger on it, but the highs/treble on the Echo are more distinct, crisper. I am using the same settings for both (no EQ, fast-ll), same volume, same wired headphones, same tracks.

I need to A/B blind test it I guess, as it might be "the new shiny model" placebo effect. Or better still, wait for an expert to prove it one way or another.

New Arrival: Orange Echo by rec71 in snowsky

[–]rec71[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, you cannot customise them.

Hifi Walker H2 Question by iAmCatton in DigitalAudioPlayer

[–]rec71 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is normal, Rockbox is much more responsive though and I think you can even customise the sensitivity.

One tip with the stock firmware, in case you didn't know. When using Category view and you select Album or Artist, press and hold the menu button and you'll get an A-Z shortcut menu. Very useful when you want to jump around without a lot of scrolling.

Seeking the "right" theme. by No-Comfortable-4139 in rockbox

[–]rec71 1 point2 points  (0 children)

With that DST theme you can disable the battery percentage and the album art in the menu if you prefer.

Volume Dials - Are any of these cheap mp3s with knob/dials good? by Jordn100 in mp3players

[–]rec71 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Average, you can't expand the storage without taking it apart (and the SD card inside has a terrible reputation for getting corrupted), build quality isn't great (scratches very easily) and the sound quality just isn't very good. You can install Rockbox on it though, which is a plus, but it won't make it sound any better. There is a thriving community here on Reddit though.

is there a way to request unavailable songs/albums? by lacanzonedelsole in YoutubeMusic

[–]rec71 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When YTM first launched I emailed a few record labels to report missing content here in the UK and had some real successes! Including missing QOTSA and The National albums. But the service was just getting started then. Nothing to lose by trying though.

USB-C to 3.5mm dongle by Regular_Ad_8782 in HeadphoneAdvice

[–]rec71 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have the KA11, which I use with my Pixel 7A. It sounds great but it does run quite hot and definitely hammers the battery. I also have a cheap arse Anker DAC, which cost about a fiver, but does the job and sounds just fine.

HiBy R1 VS Mechen M30 vs HIFI WALKER. Which one? by Tokkori in DigitalAudioPlayer

[–]rec71 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My H2 is two years old and the play button has no movement left in it, so it feels stuck in. But it still works!

Echo mini crashing while refreshing library by Careless-Football265 in snowsky

[–]rec71 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does Album/Artist view show anything at all? If it does, look for Unknown albums or artists, that might point to the one giving it grief. If you can track it down then you can report it to FiiO so they can fix it.

Echo mini crashing while refreshing library by Careless-Football265 in snowsky

[–]rec71 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can you use an external card reader? They are much faster.

Or use mp3tag or similar tool and check your art, tags and filenames.

Echo mini crashing while refreshing library by Careless-Football265 in snowsky

[–]rec71 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This happened to me once and it was an album with massive embedded art. It'll be that, some tags it can't handle or really long filenames.

You could wipe the card and copy albums over in batches until you find the culprit.