u/DJWGibson

Posted a whine on r/walkman about how my current DAP is dying: https://www.reddit.com/r/walkman/comments/1t9rsof/nwa55_headphones_disconnecting_wired_and_bluetooth/

Had it five years and am saddened that something physically inside seems to be loose.
And now I need a new Player.

I can probably go as high as $500 but am looking for something with good, reliable hardware that will last. Nice and durable for the inevitable drops (bonus points if there are cases available). Mico-SD card is a must. I'd still prefer a 3.5mm jack even though I know it's a potential point of failure.
Good software would be great, or at least something that will work easily with existing software (MediaMonkey and/or iTunes).

I liked my Sony device a lot, but the software for it was ass. And the start-up was slow (but not really a deal breaker).

Picked-up a Sony NW-A55 Walkman back in 2021 and have been using it pretty much daily since.

While using a pair of good Bluetooth Headphones with a wire, my device has been skipping or the music will just stop (like it does when the headphones are unplugged). And when using a different pair of wired headphones, it doesn't do the skipping but will still stop randomly as if the headphones were disconnected.
When using those headphones via Bluetooth OR another set of headphones it will randomly disconnect. I'll need to find the device again or toggle the Bluetooth on-off.

It started about a week ago while I was on my commute, when it started skipping. Like a record on a scratch. Skipped that song or Windows when it freezes with a video playing. I moved to the next and it worked fine for a few seconds before the same.

I've reset the device to factory settings and tried different cords with the headphones with no new results.
I've cleaned the headphone jack with a cotton swab but I don't see how that could be causing problems with the Bluetooth.

Thoughts?

I feel like something is loose inside. But I'm not sure.
Is a Walkman something that could be taken to a cellphone repair place?