MP3 players, like the Berennis Bluetooth MP3 player, are good for those who want to disconnect from the world but still listen to their favorite tunes. It’ll cost you around $35, but this tiny little device stores your lossless files and reproduces high-quality music. I put down my phone and tested the Berennis MP3 player for a week, evaluating its design, sound quality, and features.

Design: Small and sturdy, no clip though 

The Berennis MP3 player has a design reminiscent of MP3 players from the early 2000s. It’s sleek and compact, but still small enough to grip in your hand, measuring only 1.5 inches wide, 3.54 inches tall, and only 0.33 inches in thickness. Sturdy and well made, this music player can withstand a bit of wear and tear. You can feel the music player has weight to it, and the high gloss metal finish is relatively scratch resistant.  On the front of the music player is a small screen (just over 1 and 1/4 inches). It’s not a touchscreen, but the seven main buttons that sit below it are touch-controlled. However, The lack of a touchscreen may actually be a good thing considering the unit doesn’t have a clip, so many people will end up stowing it in a pocket.  Along one side of the Berennis MP3 player sit a hard power button and a slot for a MicroSD card. On the opposite side sit the hard volume control buttons; and, on the bottom of the music player, you’ll find a port for 3.5 mm audio output and a microUSB port. Overall, it’s a simplistic and unassuming looking unit.

Comfort: Includes earphones

The Berennis MP3 player lacks some desirable features, like water resistance, a clip for connecting it to your clothing, or an armband for use while exercising, but it’s small enough that you can easily place it in your pocket or in a case when you’re listening to your playlist on the go. The package includes a felt case to store the player and accessories. It also comes with in-ear headphones. They’re nothing special, but they do the trick. They slide into your ears on a slight angle, which helps them stay in place. The package includes spare ear tips, nice for when you want to share the earphones or just change out the tips for a clean pair.  

Sound Quality: Supports multiple formats

Music sounds exceptionally clear, with no distortion or tinniness. Even with the cheap included in-ear headphones, you can hear every layer of the music in clear and accurate stereo sound. The player has a signal-to-noise ratio of 110 dB, and it supports an output sampling rate of up to 44.1kHZ, as well as major lossless audio formats like FLAC, APE, WMA, WAV, ALAC, and AIFF. When you connect a decent pair of headphones, higher-res files sound pretty clean. The equalizer has preset for different types of music including Rock, Pop, Jazz, Classic, and Electronica. But you can also customize the equalizer, and tune it to your liking.

Features: Bluetooth and built-in speaker

You can connect a pair of wireless headphones, earbuds, or a Bluetooth speaker. It can only connect to one device at a time, but the Bluetooth connection remains stable at a short-range. I started to experience some connection issues at about 15 feet. The Berennis player only has a Bluetooth transmitter and not a receiver, so you can’t connect it via Bluetooth to your phone or computer. The Berennis player has other features, like FM radio, a built-in speaker, and voice recording for those who might want to take audio notes. It even has an e-book application, but it’s text-only so you can’t download straight from Audible. It has a MicroSD slot (up to 128GB), but it’s finicky. The push-to-eject spring is hard to operate because the card goes too deep into the player, so it’s extremely difficult to remove sometimes. On one occasion, I had to use a pair of tweezers to remove the MicroSD card. I also had a few instances when the MP3 player would lag, and I’d have to press one of the touch buttons two or three times to initiate a command.

Battery Life: Shorter than expected

The battery is supposed to provide up to 30 hours of music playback on a single charge. During testing, the battery lasted for 8.5 hours of continuous play when I frequently cycled through the menu options. On standby, however, the battery hung in there for a few days.

Price: Budget-friendly

Berennis MP3 vs. Agptek Clip

The Berennis MP3 is a solid budget music player, but it’s not going to wow those looking for the latest and greatest tech.