Not perfect, but absolutely worth it for hi-res audio
I’ve been using this Walkman for about two years, and my experience is that it is not a perfect device. The battery life could be better, and the system can feel a bit slow at times. It also is not the kind of player you fully appreciate right away. To really get the most out of it, you need to learn how to use it properly, understand what kind of files to play, and start paying attention to higher-quality formats like FLAC, DSD, and other hi-res audio files, which also take up a lot of space.
That said, once you get into the world of high-resolution audio and actually hear the difference, there is no going back. This is not a beginner-friendly device if you expect instant results, but once you understand it and pair it with the right headphones, it becomes completely worth it. For anyone who truly cares about sound quality and wants a dedicated music player, this is a great choice despite its flaws.
M
Muy buena calidad, la recomiendo
★★★★★
La mejor compra que he hecho :)✨️
Muy bueno y lindo, no entiendo pq tanta mala crítica dura mucho tiempo encendida, no se traba ni se calienta y es super lindo ahora tengo espacio en mi teléfono y no me gasto la bateria y es compacto y super portatil aunque recomiendo usar audífonos con cable para que dure aun mas
A
Andrés
★★★★★
Es muy bueno, pero no para exigentes
El reproductor cumple muy bien con su tarea, reproduce muy bien la música de alta calidad como flac, wav y streaming como tidal y hasta el mp3 en 320 lo reproduce bastante bien.
El reproductor no es de alta impedancia, no alimenta auriculares que exigen mayor energía, el volumen se puede ajustar y obtendrás un buen sonido pero con los auriculares adecuados, (yo por ejemplo uso los fiio fh3 y tiene buen volumen y la música es superior).
Hay que hacerle ajustes para obtener la calidad y volumen que se requiere (puedes usar una IA para ecualizarlo a tu gusto)
Es algo lenta y la batería le dura poco pero es buen reproductor y cumple, la música suena mucho mejor que cualquier smartphone convencional, si buscas fidelidad intacta y máxima este no es para tí, si eres exigente con la calidad, velocidad y duración de batería, este reproductor no es para tí. Es accesible, si. Es ideal para tu primer equipo audiofilo principiante y barato, si.
C
Customer
★★★★★
It works... sort of.
Had this now for a little over a year and the struggles have soured me on Sony Walkmans.
The battery life is pretty poor, consistent use will only get me 8-10 hours of use, assuming I can set it and forget it without fiddling to change my music. Using it with the screen on cuts into said time.
I use it with a 1 TB micro SD card and the Walkman slows down pretty significantly just with normal use.
Adding music will regularly error and require me to disconnect it from my computer and reconnect before I can add more. Sometimes it errors and doesn't even tell me so when I'm listening later the album will randomly stop early or skip songs because they didn't get copied over.
The bluetooth is fine, it works when the Walkman is on your person and in the pocket that matches the receiver of your headphones. Leaving it a room over, in the pocket in the opposite side of your body, or even carrying something between you and it can cause connection issues.
The Walkman has this awful tendency to force you to lower the volume if set too high for a while. I understand the safety feature and it's a minor inconvenience when using headphones since you can't turn the volume back up until you dismiss the pop up. When driving, many cars force devices to max volume so that sound is controlled by the car. This makes sense but with this Walkman, it means that it works until the sound warning pops up at which point the device is pretty much bricked until you turn your car off as it's locked into the pop up since the car is forcing the sound to max while the warning is trying to lower it. Device becomes locked in a never ending pop up that can't be dismissed.
I originally got this to replace my old phone when it died and newer phones no longer had micro SD card slots and nowadays I find myself wishing I just picked up an older phone used. At least it hasn't stopped working entirely so that's something.
P
Paul barry
★★★★★
Loving the product 👍💕🎶🎵🎸🔊
Very [Very]~g00d🔊🎵🎸🎶 I am still learning how to use all the features truly happy $buying!! It,👍 I like listening to music a real lot so instead of always running down the battery 🔋 listening on my phone 📱 this gonna def work better 👍👍 $paid kind of a lot for it but,, I feel g00d becuz it a good brand it’s a little of a learning curve for (me) lol 😂 next review I believe is the one terabyte microSD card that I bought also from you guys I’m {Still} (trying) lol 😆 to fill it up
Sourmonkey
★★★★★
Disappointed
Product came with a defective screen
Z
Zach Henderson
★★★★★
A very competent source device…
I’ve literally spent months reading reviews of all manner of digital audio players and eventually settled on the Sony NW A306 which is the current entry level “budget” Walkman.
I was sorely tempted by fancier audio players which cost four to five times what this one does. But in most cases those are built with a lot of power to drive expensive high impedance headphones. This isn’t really my use case.
I’m more interested in using it as a source for other components: Bluetooth speakers, wired connection to the living room stereo hi-fi, and ultimately my insane PA system for when it’s time to rock all the acres. I haven’t tested the last one yet, but it’s coming 🙂
The quality of the Bluetooth connection is pretty decent, well in excess of 50 feet outdoors. Less inside but good enough for streaming to an amp in the next room.
The wired connection from the 3.5mm jack to my stereo sounds excellent. No complaints. There is a built in EQ in the native player app as well as other sound filters. I haven’t played with these very much but it’s nice to know they’re there.
The Android OS may be a little sluggish compared to what one would find on smartphones, but I’m going to avoid using extraneous apps as much as possible. I will experiment with a few streaming platforms and network WiFi features (nugs dot net, Tidal, Roon, etc…) but I’m not too worried if the results aren’t ideal. I still have my phone if needed.
If you pick up this model, make sure the firmware is up to date. Supposedly there was a low bass response issue with the original software. Also, those sold in the US and Europe have a capped volume level- a safety regulation thing. If you want the full power version look for a Japanese import. You’ll have a louder player but will likely forego any warranty protection. I almost went this route but decided against. Again, I’m not interested in driving headphones and figured my components can push the volume as loud as needed. So far this has been the case.
For my purposes I feel this little player offers fantastic bang for the buck.
C
Customer
★★★★★
Damaged Item
Sent to me probably as a return, this was an open taped damaged box, not all of the accessories were even there. This is an expensive item, terrible the way I received this
Roberto Martinez
★★★★★
Excelente producto para la gente que tiene iPhone
No entiendo por qué le dan tan mal Review cuando realmente se siente la gran diferencia de audio sobre todo si eres una persona que tiene iPhone ya que no tiene un procesador de audio en alta definición
Jelly Face
★★★★★
"Neat"
Feels good, sounds good, UI is slower than it should be, there are DAPS at half the cost that run better. Bluetooth is horribly unstable. Poor sound volume output, won't let me go past 50 on low impedance headphones claiming it's to protect my hearing. I can't hear my music at 50% volume. The is ignorant of the headphones being used with this which NEED more power and disrespectful to people with hearing disabilities who NEED the volume higher to enjoy it (not that this DAP is strong enough to help with anyway). This is with the volume limit disabled by the way, so it is not an oversight on something in the settings.
After a restart it took away my ability to control the volume all together. I also had an issue yesterday where the lock screen would not unlock until the media player randomly appeared on the screen.
S
Sgallegos
★★★★★
Unimpressed
After much R&D on many DAP's - I landed on Sony, for the name recognition associated with quality I'd experienced so long ago.
This product underperformed on every level.
R
Rodrigo
★★★★★
does not run streaming music apps
It needs an NFC. It is very tedious to have the Bluetooth headphones connected every time it is turned on, I think that for more than 300 dollars it should come with this. It does not run the applications and closes them. I tried to connect my Samsung buds and it wouldn't let me, I know they want me to buy their headphones but they could let the customer choose the headphones they want to use and not force them to buy their products
Firulais007
★★★★★
decepcionado :(
su sistema operativo Android es muy lento, parece un celular de hace 10 años y le falta potencia al sonido, creo que se necesita un dock amplificador aparte, me decepcionó en el producto, en mi casa cada que apagaba el equipo y volvía a encender no reconocía la memoria mini sd y tenia que hacerlo manualmente :(
