The SD card on my Echo Mini was full. I didn’t like the idea of navigating even more music on one device, so instead of a bigger SD card I just got another device.
This device isn’t perfect, but I can’t think of better alternative for my tastes except maybe an iPod. But those are crazy money to get upgraded to today’s standards (larger storage, lossless support, etc).
A new device, the Snowsky Echo (not mini) has been announced and also looks gorgeous. But I like the idea of having a few identical devices. I might get a third for meditations, audiobooks (despite the lack of chapter support) and ASMR.
Theoretically the improvement with balanced audio comes with the fact that the cone can push and pull the sound since you have positive and negative terminals for both left and right. It’s borderline snake oil, but the actual difference is that it can drive headphones more loudly with the same “level” of output. 50% volume on 3.5mm might sound closer to 75% volume on a balanced cable. These are not scientific numbers, but hopefully that makes sense.
Thank you very much for that. I was able to do a bit more reading with that context. My headphone cable is on 1 meter long so I’m unlikely to notice an improvement in quality, especially at the low volume I listen at. But if I ever set up a stationary sound system at home I’ll get good headphones for running whatever distance I need.