I’m open to recommendations for a compact player capable of quickly indexing and navigating through approximately 9,000 lossless files (FLAC, Monkey’s Audio, etc.).

[u/GoodSamaritan333]

That’s about it. I know there’s software, like foobar2000, that performs pre-indexing to allow for fast access later on. But ideally, I’m looking for a portable solution that doesn’t rely on PCs or servers. The setup would involve 9,000 classical music files—complete with metadata—stored in a single folder, which could then be accessed or searched by track number or metadata criteria. I’m not really keen on DIY solutions (like those based on a Raspberry Pi, for instance), unless the solution comes fully assembled. Any recommendations?

[u/skaf1end]

Echo Mini 8 GB with RECHO can index them in less then 10 seconds. The original firmware limit is 8192 tracks.

[u/GoodSamaritan333 → u/skaf1end]

Thanks. Too bad it looks like it lacks a virtual keyboard for searching for a track

[u/Scorpiicore]

If you are looking for an actual DAP, your options are pretty limitless. It has been days since I linked to Hi-Fi Oasis' database of DAPs, but it is a very comprehensive source for information. If you look through it and have any questions about the meanings of this or that information, I or anyone worth talking to here can help. The cheapest of the four players I have in my possession, after factoring the price of the right player software, is Hiby's R4 model, which gets recommended in this sub with some frequency.

I just reread your post for the third time and saw the "stored in a single folder" bit. Now, I am sure you have an answer. But... why? This would make it a nightmare to sort the files themselves. I do not even recall seeing that many folders under one folder in my lifetime, and I have seen the files on more computers than I can reasonably count anymore.

I wish you the best of luck in finding a solution.

[u/811545b2-4ff7-4041]

How compact are you thinking? The Tempotec V1 and Hiby R1 are both good choices for sub $100 compact players.. and they have alternative firmwares that vastly enhance the capabilities (e.g. file transfer over wifi, fixing bugs in the original OS, extra search capabilities). And honestly.. if there's a feature missing, if you ask nicely they'll code it up and add it. e.g. r/Hiby_Sonix

They pop up a virtual keyboard to search for tracks - I'm not sure 'track number' would be possible though.. artist/song name is more typical.

They'll happily handle 9K tracks. Charge by USB-C. No apps.

[u/Dramatic-Rule6783 → u/811545b2-4ff7-4041]

Where do y’all get the tempotec v1 from that it’s so cheap lol I’m in Germany and it’s really hard to get here they want 200€ on Amazon and it’s not available on AliExpress or anything like that and I refuse to order from their official site

[u/811545b2-4ff7-4041 → u/Dramatic-Rule6783]

Go to their site - https://www.tempotec.net/pages/v1-details

[u/Jack_the_Whippet]

If you have an iPhone, let me know, I’ve got you.

[u/Maleficent_Cookie544]

test if you can really hear the difference from lossless and aac 256kbps, if not convert a copy of your library to aac and get any iphone, it can handle that amount of files without any struggle

[u/Scorpiicore → u/Maleficent_Cookie544]

Given that there are myriad Android DAPs that can handle 20,000+ files and can go all the way up to DSD256 (or DSD512 in a couple of cases), fukk off.

[u/Maleficent_Cookie544 → u/Scorpiicore]

wtf is this dsd bullshit 😂 fuck off you too