what the devil are you talking about? I have a classic and the latest iTunes and I have artwork.

I have the latest version compatible with my OS/MB Pro (it is 7 years old at this point) and that's the bug that's in it. I have tried to find a workaround but no dice.

Ah I see. Something that I've found is that if I use the art from this iTunes art website - https://bendodson.com/projects/itunes-artwork-finder/ - then it will work since it's already the size that iTunes wants and expects on the Classic.

If I put anything bigger than the 600x600 it won't transfer.

Got a better balanced cable for the HD598s today and yeah this is ruining me for lesser audio.

I almost got a player with a balanced output but looked at headphone prices and decided against that splurge. maybe when my son moves out and I have more money.

The headphones I have can handle a balanced feed, just needed to replace the cable.

Well. Here we are. Twice this week my iPod has failed to be recognized by my Mac, and I get a message that the software is corrupted. The files on the iPod are still good, I can listen to them--but since iTunes can't read the software, I can't put anything else on there. I did one factory reset hoping it would help, but the same crash happened when I started to put files back on it.

Which is all to say: where from here? Here's what I'm looking for:

-Bigly storage space, which I'm sure lots of players have. I'm excited to be able to load up tons of HD Flac files. I have thousands and thousands of albums, so this is a must. Most players nowadays mostly use memory cards, right? Would love something with a few slots.

-Simple to use UI, easy to flip between artists and albums and such. I listen for 6 hours or so per day while working, and I want to be able to switch on the fly when my mood changes. Also want artwork displayed on screen, it's just part of the anesthetic I enjoy while listening.

-Would love if loading music was an easy drag-and-drop onto a memory card.

-Bluetooth and wifi are NOT a must for me--I can always listen to Spotify on my phone, I'm looking to use this for HD files and MP3s of stuff that isn't on Spotify (like bootlegs etc.).

-I don't care about other apps (video player, ebooks, etc). Just need this for music.

-Probably pie-in-the-sky here, but I am still a dinosaur who still downloads podcasts from iTunes and transfers them to my iPod every morning. If anyone uses a non-Apple player for this and it's able to keep the files even sort-of organized, that would be a super-plus for me.

Does this sound like any HD portable player anyone uses or knows of? I know multiple people in here have or have had Fiio players in the past. Are these still worth it? I did an Amazon search and there are so many different models that I don't know where to begin. Thank you for humoring me!

You should seriously consider the FiiO M6.

That's one of the ones that came up when I searched

The M7 is like $30 cheaper. Did it lose some features with that new generation? Maybe it's not as stable? Any ideas?

I have no idea I haven't actually used either of those. But I use the M11 which is way more than I really need and the idea of getting one in the same series for that price seems like a no brainer.

Just compare the middle range M series players on the fiio website and figure out what works for you.

I also use mine exclusively for audio playing, but I can toggle the OS between pure audio mode which launches right into the audio player software, or full android mode which is exactly what it sounds like. I do use the full android mode sometimes because I was able to install the podcast app I use on it. I've also used full android to listen to a performance on YouTube and I want better sound than my phone, laptop, or tv.

Podcasts are going to be the biggest adjustment. I have a Stitcher subscription and listen to lots of their premium content, but their app is dogshit, which is why I've never migrated from an iPod to my phone. I will probably just have to find a better app.

I went with the M7! It's going to arrive Wednesday. The big difference was that the M6 has wifi and streaming apps (Spotify, Tidal, etc.), which I feel like I really don't need. The M7 does have Bluetooth, which should be convenient in the car, but besides that it'll have most of the same functionality as my iPod (except podcast support) and it was $30 cheaper than the M6. I've got a 400GB memory card coming with it. I'll post a review at the end of the week.

Picked up a FiiO M7 on a whim when I saw how inexpensive it was. Played with it a bit yesterday. Took about two hours to sync 80GB of music to the card using MusicBee.

I like the form factor a lot. Feels very solid in the hand, and I love the scroll wheel for volume. Can't comment on the sound quality much because I don't have any wired headphones at the moment. My 1st gen airpods seemed super quiet (had to crank the sound to the max to get it to a decent level), but I'm pretty sure they're dying. Looking forward to trying it with proper headphones.

I'm really liking the M7 so far. It does take a long time to sync up files, I've been trying to remember to do it overnight. I probably still have 100GB to transfer over. Sound quality is very good, no complaints. The only issues I've had are getting used to the UI, which is nice and smooth but I'm just so used to the iPod clickwheel. The other is the track buttons on the side--nearly every time I pick it up, I end up changing songs accidentally. I don't think there's going to be a way to do podcasts like I wanted, but it's not a bad tradeoff.

Let’s talk about cables some more. I’ve been upgrading my setup in recent weeks, and am now setting up an old iPad as a dedicated HD music player. Should I be content with basically any well-reviewed USB-C-to-RCA adapter for plugging the iPad into my receiver? Is a $9 cable sufficient? Or should I be looking for something more expensive?

If you're adapting to RCA plugs, doesn't that render the HD part of this moot?

I don’t know!

It does

It does, Trag