Any #Rockbox users looked at the Innioasis Y1 yet?
The port is still being tinkered with, but it's a much cheaper option than a refurbed iPod classic.
Obviously as a blind person you get no real text-to-speech output in files, but you do get a decent battery, USB-C, bluetooth and perhaps eventually wifi, a supposedly solid DAC and all the other benefits of Rockbox for a $50 USD device.
Yes, it's a cheap Chinese plastic thing, but ... well. I have fallen into ponds with technology aboard.