I can't stand when people say there's no need for a separate music device. There's plenty of reasons. Maybe we don't want to kill our phones or bloat it out w/ junk data. Its like saying there's no reason to have a high end camera or shoot on film.
It's like saying there's no reason for good e-readers when there are ipads and android tablets that can do the job. Sony DAPs are niche and they don't need to cater to the mainstream masses, but they do and they trickle down tech from their signature series to the zx and a series. Their wm1zm2 sells for $3,698.00 that's not a mainstream price.
@@JeremyWalla Like you said, you have a choice of what to install. That goes for your phone. My brother complains about all these social media apps. I always ask him, "why are they on your phone? You installed them. You created the accounts."
Tbh, I've always been a fan of a dedicated device for audio (and as of nowadays you can't have one without the other, video too). Don't take me wrong, our smartphones are amazing, but think of the battery life we save when using a dedicated device. Also, let me point out a single and simple thing the phones often end up not allowing: disconnect from work. We all have had the experience of being in the zone, vibing to our favorite jams just to have it all interrupted by a call and it all going down the drain. With a dedicated device that's not a problem anymore!
@@joshuaewalker yes, but it still shows that there's a call coming in. It doesn't interrupt the good music you're enjoying, but still shows the call coming in and is still disturbs you in a way. Not everyone get bothered by this, but to people like me, who get anxious when seeing the little notification, that can be a vibe smasher. So a dedicated device helps a lot. It's awesome that you don't get bothered by the notifications, but that's your personal experience that's not appliable to everyone else. Hence, the reason a dedicated device is helpful to people who has this sort of problem.
I got my first Walkman many years ago, NWZ-A860. I got a ton of use out of this every single night for years as a teenager. Still holds a charge, battery hasn’t bloated, still works like new. Sony has my loyalty til the end.
I always wanted a walkman. These products are now targeted to audiophiles and i have a lot of music in flac format, most of it it's classical music. I just like the idea of a dedicated music device. I hope to buy one of these devices one day. Fiio is another company that makes great music players, from what i've heard.
Rec’d mine on Saturday. Bought because of size/portability, battery life, microSD slot, headphone jacks and quality of sound. Haven’t used wired headphones yet because I can’t get past how incredible my Bluetooth earbuds sound. This DAP makes me a very happy man.
@blackbriarwolf5766 May I suggest looking up a local, reputable audiologist and having your hearing tested. Check with your parents insurance and see what they can cover. Best of luck to you.
Hi there. Out of curiosity did you also have the a105? If yes, how does the 306's battery compare to it? I'm heavily considering getting this one once it comes out in my country because the battery of my a105 is a tad bit disappointing.
@@FG-td4vs there is some differences with bt and devices depending on how well the manufacturer implemented the bluetooth codec in the phone. some cheap chineses phones can do it poorly. If it is audible or not is a whole other question but it can be measured.
Once you hear a proper audiophile music sound on great headphones with high res player (not bluetooth), you will understand why people buy it. It changes the game completely in terms of sound quality. You just don't want to go back anymore.
I hope that Sony keep on making these. Love to have my phone separated from my music and don't have to worry about losing any more battery needed on the phone. Perfect for traveling and working out
I can see why a dedicated music player is worth it. It’s kind of annoying when I’m mid squat and the music stops only for Siri to ask me if I want to reply to a message or for a phone call to come in.
Hey, I wanna point out that this isn't a new thing. Sony has been making these things for awhile, the last android Walkman was the NW-A105, and before that there was the NW-A55 (this one didn't have android though), both still recent devices. There are many companies making DAPs, like FiiO and Astell & Kern. They're mostly for audiophiles. Sony is only the most well known.
I do love that most reviews that mention it only has 32gb of storage with 18gb taken with the operating system, then forget that you can upgrade the storage up to 2 TB.
Saying there is no market for a DAP, is like saying there is no market for an e-reader since our phones have kindle and kobo apps. DAPs, AMPs, IEMs are a billion dollar industry.
They just sound better than a phone, especially Sony, they do their audio components in house and just have a full rich sound. Good stuff. BTW got this player and it's a winner, much better batter life than the previous model and faster. But don't get the US or EU/UK model they're volume capped. I got mine from accessory jack and it's HK model and in English and not volume capped.
@blackbriarwolf What? That makes no sense. There's no vinyl here. So it's not relevant. But certain people like vinyl and tube amps. Nothing wrong with that. And if you ever listened to a nice Sony dap you'd know it easily sounds better than a phone.
A dedicated device only for music is the best thing!!! i use my Hisense touch for this and reading at the same time... and without interference from apps and stuff. So i'm excited to see this walkman still living
as someone who likes to simply just listen to music - this one is worth buying. Streaming aside - the memory those music files holds is annoying sometimes its nice to have dedicated device just for them
theres something i like about using an ipod and wired earphones, maybe its the analogue connection or the music on device. But no distractions is the best part.
Haha, it's a generality, it's like saying, nobody makes calculators anymore, and then you go on AliExpress and find a million calculators, It's just a generality that the majority of people do not consider it necessary to have a dedicated device to play music Audiopholes, sure, but the average person does not
You are not looking at other perspective because I see a desire for a dedicated music player. I have a phone but I don't want to tie up my phone all time time and put a drain on my battery when I can have a separate unit
Thanks to Good-e-reader for his review. I got my NW-A306 a week ago and I would like to comment on my experience with the device. First, the God stuff: Great construction, portability, and design. Compared with the previous iterations (I own the NW-A45 and NW-A55 respectively) it is slightly bigger than them and I would say closer to the NW-A105. The 10-band equalizer is an improvement same as the other sound enhancements. The Bluetooth feature is definitely one that really makes a huge difference. I connected my player to my Pioneer head units on my Mustang and my Chevy truck (the truck comes with factory-installed Bose speakers) and it is quite the revelation of how great the improvement is. The sound is exceptional and makes the best out of your speakers, especially the Bose. Battery life lives up to what Sony claims, but I will recommend the user read the specifications when it comes to the life expectancy of the battery when using it in conjunction with other applications. If you are going to use your Sony player as a mini version of your Android phone and watch videos, stream music, and run a plethora of functions you will run out of internal storage and battery life in no time. If you use it as a Hi-Res player, you are up for a treat and hours of enjoyment. No, it doesn’t run Android Auto because it doesn’t come with a built-in GPS (C’mon guys, use your phone for that…) Now, to the Bad stuff: I mentioned the exceptional sound and quality improvement that comes with this new model, however, I am rather disappointed with the output power of the device when it comes to headphones and I am talking about cranking up the volume. Look, I already suffer from some hearing loss from my days in the service, but I can tell you, my A-45 and my A-55 with their volume cranked up to 65 out of 120 plays reasonably loud enough for me to enjoy every note and detail on every FLAC track (from 40 to 196 Mhz). for some reason, it does not happen with the NW-A306. I followed some forums about this issue and it seems like Sony, is putting volume caps for the wired headphones, but I am afraid for some reason it also happens with wireless headphones (I am sure there are experts about this matter that can shed a light about it) But, there’s the precedent that there’s a regulation in the EU that states that personal music players must have a volume limit that should not exceed 80 Db (www.hear-it.org/new-eu-standards-for-personal-music-players-and-mobile-phones ) is Sony doing this to all their music players? I am not sure, but there are some forums to seem to indicate that (www.reddit.com/r/walkman/comments/10q11ef/psa_new_walkman_volume_caps_also_include_na/ ). All I know is this…I tried my wireless Bose QC-45, Bose earbuds, Sony WF-100MX4 (terrible battery life), my wired HiRes Pioneer wired-in-ear headphones, and my Sony wired ones and they all yield the same results: the volume has to be cranked up high to enjoy the immersive experience with detrimental effects on the battery life. Also, the 360 Spatial Sound App does NOT work with this Walkman, tried to download it and install it and I get the message: “This device is NOT compatible with this application” Now, let’s talk about additional storage besides the internal 32Gb that in reality becomes half if you run only the basics with the Android OS, the Sony website mentions all the different types of MicroSD cards that are compatible with the device but never mentions what the limit is. I do know that my A45 and A55 comfortably accommodate a 512Gb MicroSD. I read in some forums that its predecessor can run up to 2Tb of storage, but I still have yet to hear from any user that reached that amount of storage. One more gripe, Sony released these wonderful pieces of technology, but no accessories (covers) for these Walkman players. Unless these screens are made out of Corning Gorilla glass, I would not take the chance of taking my device out and dropping it with devastating consequences. There is a case for this Walkman, the CKS-NWA300 (only advertised on the Sony Asia website) www.sony-asia.com/walkman/products/cks-nwa300 but the site says “coming soon”. It is my impression that the Sony marketing department is missing a great opportunity in revenue by not releasing accessories for these players. I hope Sony is taking note and do some changes in the form of firmware and patches. My comments are based on my personal experience and preferences, I am sure other people’s experiences might be different from mine. So, in conclusion, is this a great personal music player? I think it is a great leap forward from Sony in keeping the Walkman legacy alive and filling that gap left by Apple when they sent the IPod to pasture. But, I still think there’s room for improvement and only time will tell. Thank you for reading my lengthy post.
Audiophiles like these devices. I still use a mp3 player. It's a generic device. For some reason I like to keep music away from my mobile, specially when listening while sleeping or working without distraction. And a word about Sony Walkmans, I have an old device that uses cassettes. Its sound is nice, even when using the FM. Probably it's tuned to sound like that.
I've got the NWA 105 which is fantastic except for the battery. I'm getting one of these for sure as an upgrade. If you love music don't use your phone as poor quality, these DAPs are excellent 👍
Yep, the 105 is great, got one for myself and later for my oldest son, too. Besides the battery (for our needs acceptable) there's this strange thing that you can buy almost no covers etc. in Europe. The 306 seems to have same size, so I hope it's successful enough that they also sell such accessories. Importing an original one from Japan would be 30 to 50 $.
Can't wait to properly separate my music from *everything* else in my life that goes via my phone (also a Sony, a 5 IV, but I'm not brand crazy or anything). The joy of listening to my Bluetooth speaker(s) and not have WhatsApp or whatever interrupting... yay! And to do so in a quality way. Look forward to your review! 😊
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I might be interested in this device. I have a few questions. 1. Is it compatible with Audible? 2. Is there an app for LibriVox audiobooks? 3. How good is the music organization? My primary music of preference is classical and I need a way to view or select music by composer. 4. Can I shuffle by album? Or is it track or song only.
There are lot of options for music players out there. Some of them output amazing quality music. I believe that your due diligence needs improvement 😉 That said, sure, smartphones have take over the mainstream segments of this industry, but it's not over, at all.
There are so many brands that produce high quality audio and hi-res audio player: Fiio, Ibasso, Hidizs, Astell&Kern.....It's nothing new. These audio players have been around for years and years. I hope Sony did a good job.
You forgot Cayin, Cowon, and Shanling as well. And they don't just make one model, they all make multiple models from budget/entry level to high end versions that sell in the thousands. Cayin even has DAPs that have tubed in them to get a more analog sound.
This is for all the hifi music fans . If your not using it for that then you won't see the value in this. I have the nw-a55 and it's night and day when using it and my samsung ultra to listen to hifi music . They put android on there so you can use apps like tidal to stream master /atmos with out casting it to the player. It is also a big improvement from the nw-a105 because of the battery . There is a huge hifi crowd out there most are listening to and buying vinyl and playing music from this on the go.
I wouldn't expect it to have a good built-in mic, if any - but I'm sure there's some way to use the USB-C port at the bottom to plug in quality mic. However, a dedicated recorder would probably make more sense. I remember reading an Amazon review where some guy was quite happy using a Sony recorder to listen to FLACs.
Ive had walkmans since forever, they are just amazing and yes, still people enjoy music quality, still people buy cds, still people have good wired headphones
Of course there's a big room for Dedicated music players. Ever get tired of Notifications, Notifications and more notifications on your phone, while trying to hum your favorite tune.
Sony has always cared for the music. These DAPs are still relevant. Audiophiles will buy them for sure . But when we talk about Audiophiles, they always look for the balanced output inside a DAP. Huge opportunity missed by Sony!! It is priced reasonably well but lack of the 4.4mm output will just prevent it's potential audience to reach out for it.
They did not miss the opportunity, this one here is just the cheaper model. The more powerful one has a balanced output. It’s called NW-ZX707. I’m not sure but if I remember correctly they will release it this month
I don’t listen to music on my phone at all because: a) Sound quality on my dedicated player is superior by an observable margin and, b) I prefer to own rather than rent my music and dedicated players typically have expandable storage options to accommodate a large-and-growing music library. BTW, it’s not just Sony still making dedicated digital music players. Astell & Kern, FiiO, iBasso, Cowon and SanDisk are among companies making a whole range of players.
There is absolutely a market for this. Most people listen to music via their phones these days, that's true. Most phones have cheap audio circuitry, and a lot of people listen to low quality streams or MP3's. Both of which are WORSE quality than a compact disk! If you care about audio quality - then you absolutely should be listening to music in at least CD quality or preferably FLAC format. This Sony device is perfect for that. I have an older Sony Walkman myself. Paired with a decent pair of headphones it offers great audio quality. Believe me, on a decent player, and decent headphones I can hear the difference between MP3 and FLAC (hi-res) files of the same track. In my opinion, the Apple iPod was never a great device. Early iTunes music downloads were shockingly bad low bit rate quality. Yes, you had the benefit of your entire music collection in one device. But it was at the expense of sound quality 10 to 15 times WORSE than CD quality! So, in my opinion - the Sony Walkman today does make sense. Portable on the go listening with high quality reproduction at CD quality and beyond.
I pre-ordered and it will be my first dedicated portable music player for over a decade. I can't wait! This version just seems like they've nailed the feature set and design at a reasonable price point to attract people like me who don't identify as an Audiophile but definitely an enthusiast. (And a loser for having a minidisc collection 🥸)
If it had a larger screen like the Samsung Galaxy Player I had several years back I'd get one in a heartbeat. That thing was basically a smart phone without a phone number
Whats the neer way to get MP3 files? Ive been buying music since the itunes days and not looking forward to repurchasing the same albums but in a different format.
I love my walkmans! Long live the Diskman which I also use on a daily because my Grand Cherokee doesn't have a CD player.I wanted an anniversary edition but we didn't get them in the USA. I'm currently using a 50series as a primary because my e-series battery is getting old.
I don’t at all believe that such a device is created for the masses, but for the few of us who like our music to have some separation from the rest of things it may be worth a look. I didn’t read all comments; someone may have made this point. It isn’t that some of us don’t like social media apps, we just have a certain criteria for our music experiences. Again, it isn’t for everyone. I’d still be using my iPod if I didn’t switch to flac. Personally, I don’t know if I would buy this just to use streaming services… but maybe.
Walkman 43V3R! I use Sony smartphone for smartphone stuff, old Sony j7 cellphone to ring, Sony t2 to read and walkman to listen music and audiobooks. Would SonyHonda create really good EV to drive 🤔
Smartphones are fantastic at doing many different things. Unfortunately, they're terrible at doing specific things extremely well. Digital music players have dedicated processors for converting the audio signals on top of amplifiers that can deliver balanced signals to more precise listening devices. Granted this is a niche market but to dismiss it completely is a bit ignorant. Nevertheless, thank you for the review and I appreciate your time and effort in creating this content for us.
This is an audio player, I can't even say it is a media player. MP3 is just a format and it is not the target for Sony devices. Please don't review any kind of audio player if your subject for the video is "MP3 player"
Still hang on to ZX300 I think having Android in a media player is just bad for battery life? With all the wifi streaming high res files etc What do you think
I like to relax with kindle and mp3 player on beach holiday. Taking a 1000 dollar smart phone on the beach covered in sand and baked in the hot sun. Plus you have all your credit cards, banking apps access and personal details at risk if stolen
It's good but in my humble opinion it's very big in size... If they could make it smaller in size this device could be the best... I like MP3 player with clips and it should have FM radio as a must.
I'm considering buying this one since I destroyed 5 batteries on 2 different devices within 3 years just listening to music. If you keep using your phone for that, charge recharge cycles destroy your phone's battery health...
Long time ago....Samsung makes Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0 and 5.0....then 4.2....and particulary the 4.0 sounds incredible...it was an Android device with Samsung DNSe wich was an amazing custom to your music.
Sony fills a huge hole with this device where cellphones don’t care much about sound quality through your headphones and with todays couple hundred dollar headphones you can actually use your sound techs to its full potential with a such a device. But let’s see if they reach that expectation after using it
Soon, we're doing plenty of research due to the increased number of purists and the amount of negativity on the comment section It seems that the true audiophiles plan to drag us through the mud if we don't say exactly what they want to hear, so the review is going to take longer than a typical eBook reader :-)
Cool! 😁 I'm only rely interested in it to use for my audiobooks. The physical side buttons and the SD card slot would help with that amazingly! Being android based aswell means I wouldn't need to rely on the pre-installed music app if it doesn't have good audiobook capabilities (such as re-wind 10-30 seconds, and hard save of location even after a reset). 😂
I would love it if Sony made this a phone as well and call it Xperia Walkman, while the current flagship is called Xperia Cybershot. I’ll accept Xperia Alpha too
Well if you are interested in anything Sony related, we are a distributor of theirs, and can get you most anything :-) Really the only place to buy Japanese Sony e-paper products is our company :-) so feel free to send us an email store@goodereader.com
Walkman has been around since 1979 long before Walkman phones and iPods. Sony make devices for the fans! Doesn't matter about market share or popularity
So never heard of hi-res audio? Lookup the Sony NWWM1Z ($1500). Brands like HiBy, FiiO and Asttelk & Kern to name a few. Cell are way better nowadays but nothing like hi-res audio ayer paired with some Grado, Sennheiser, Focal, Campire Audio (to name very few) connected to custom made cables ! It's another experience that is way too expensive. This walkman would be great for beginners and since Sony is mainstream it should help push the market.
not sure i understand the point of this. guys review. Doesn't seem to be at all knowledgeable about the hi res dap market., Sony has been making these devices for. some years now. This. model is just an upgrade, so not like they decided, 'hmmm lets start making music players again'. There is a market for these because most phones are not going to give you. CD quality to the headphones or even hi res without some cumbersome adapter/dac etc. I personally own a couple of the sony walkman DAP's and they sound. fantastic. If sound quality is of real importance to you. Consider one of these stand alone players, with a good quality pair. of headphones.
Because it's not a review. It says unboxing in the title and we unbox it in the video So it's an unboxing not a review. We haven't contacted sony, who sent us the sample, to discuss the unit, We haven't researched the device yet. We haven't sat around conference table in our office to talk about the unit and our thoughts and script the video out. "Unboxing" It's a term utilized on RU-vid where you open a product and see what's inside
I'm Sure the RU-vidr is aware that Sony created and owns all of the music industry so it follows they that develop a dedicated device to consume music . . .makes perfect sense to me
Yes, we are aware. We are a distributor of Sony and they send us samples on a monthly basis It just seems that Sony tries so hard to keep properties with nearly no market share alive like their cell phones for example. Where they hold 1% market share and yet release several flagships per year
Like pretty much every device that supports micro SD that has come out in the last 5 years,it will support atleast 1tb cards.. and 2 tb cards when they reach the market :). I have found that even older devices that say they only support 32GB actually can support 1tb cards I'd you format them to FAT32. This being android based tho it will support up to 2TB
@@OlderRockRocks it probably wont come down in price much as there isn't any real competition :( just look at the older NW-105.. some places are still selling it for £300+
@@goodereader Ah, I understand. Did you get a chance to listen to any music on this thing? If so, was it noticeably different to listening on a smartphone?
