Matt has a good point about the mini jack output but most mp3 players do seem to use a headphone jack output. one thing i learnt was not to use an ipod. if you play a file, the machine plays ther next file automatically which is a pain when you are live. I think other mp3 players do the same unless you create a playlist for each separate song. but if you use a tablet and select the file you want to play and use a playback app it just plays that one file. i've retired my ipod and now use an android tablet with all my songs and then from a file explorer window click on the file i want and use the default music playing app.