Sony Walkman NW-A306 Touchscreen MP3 Player - 32GB, Blue

I bought this because I wanted to listen to hi-res audio but didn’t want to pay an absolute fortune for a player. The audio quality (to me) is excellent, especially when paired with a pair of Sony wireless headphones (WF or WH1000XM5). Somehow the Sony to Sony connection just works brilliantly. There are many effects you can apply to the sound including an equaliser to tweak the frequency range, DSEE Ultimate to upscale lower res audio towards CD quality using AI, DC Linearisation to recreate analogue speaker characteristics and even a Vinyl Processor to recreate a vinyl sounding output. But I’ve found the best one (which disables all the others) is ClearAudio+; a one switch setting which seems to boost and enhance the clarity of every track.Yes, it’s an Android 12 O/S and yes it is a bit on the slower side to boot and can be a bit laggy, but I can live with that because I bought it as a music player and not a tablet and that is where Sony have put the emphasis.I see some reviews make references to loading files to the device as being “clunky” especially with a Mac. I’m not sure what the problem is here - I have a MacBook and file transfer is a doddle. Simply format the SD card on the A306 using the Android file formatting tool, take the card out and connect it to your computer and then simply cut and paste your music files and folders to the Music folder on the card that was created when it was formatted. Put the card back in and use the little icon at the top of the Walkman app to re-create the database and ….bobs your uncle! You don’t need Sony Music Centre and you only need Android File Transfer to get music on to the internal storage and because only about 17 of the 32GB of this is available, it’s pretty pointless anyway.The next great thing about this device is the wireless connectivity and the fact that it runs on Android means you have access to the Google Play store, and that means you can download anything you think useful, particularly streaming or content based apps like Spotify, Tidal, Amazon Music and Audible. All of which I’ve found work great, just like an iPad but with better sound quality! I’ve even installed PlexAmp and set up a PlexAmp media server on my NAS so I can access my full music library from anywhere in the world - again this works great on the A306.I’ve also read, but not yet tried, that you can use the A306 as an external DAC, which means I could swap out my SoundBlaster DAC if I wanted, although….actually having a dedicated hi-res music player like the A306 negates the need to listen to music from an iPad or iPhone using an external DAC and wired headphones. 0n the topic of wired headphones - the A306 is good but not as good (in my opinion) as with (Sony) wireless headphones - the power output from the A306 is apparently relatively low and therefore needs the volume turning up to pretty much maximum.And finally….after the sound quality and the portability, the absolute next best feature on this device is the cassette screensaver which comes on after a few seconds, the colour/spec of the tape being shown matching the quality of the track being played!Overall this is a powerful, feature packed device which produces superb sound quality. It does have a couple foibles but fortunately these aren’t in the space that matters and what the device’s primary function is - playing great sounding music.

WARNING: Out of nowhere, the volume on my earbuds automatically got so loud in my left ear that it almost blew out my eardrums. I had no issues with the earbuds while using them with my phone for over a year. Something is not right with the play button as well. It automatically plays and stops sometimes.There's no option for a double tap to wake up the lock screen. Since it's a touchscreen Android device such features should come by default.After having the device for couple of weeks, realised that it takes ages for the device to turn on once its been turned off. Device is too slow for such high price.The display feels bit off. And there was a little spec on the screen as well. Please inspect photos for details.I couldn't register the product on the Sony website. The register page seems like it's bugged and the issue has been ongoing since 2017 or maybe even longer.The device feels compact and portable. I will update you about battery life soon. I will probably be using maybe 7 hrs most in a week or even less.Easy to transfer files from PC.Sound quality: Compared to the Samsung S24Ultra, using Sony WH-XB910N headphones (wireless), the Sony MP3 player doesn't sound as wide (bigger). Both devices were used in default settings.There is a bit of a lag while trying to rewind or seek the exact part of the song. Again as compared to the S24Ultra, the phone doesn't have such lag. I think there shouldn't be such a lag for a dedicated mp3 deviceIt feels like I'm using an Android device with a Sony music player app.

First off, this replaced my iPod Touch, final generation, which wouldn't sync with my Mac anymore. Don't you just love the way Apple 'end of line' their tech? My biggest concern was whether the Walkman would handle gapless playback and it does perfectly.On day one, I plugged in my Sony headphones and was very disappointed. Even at full volume, the sound was terribly quiet. Underpowered. I tried the NW-A306 with my X-Box Bluetooth headphones and the experience was completely different. The sound was superb. Since the power was coming from the headphones, the sound kicked eardrums and was much better than on my iPod!In terms of the device's operating system, the device updated to Android 13 upon startup. I'm perplexed as to why Sony felt it necessary to build the device on the 'full Google experience' and not just use Simplified Android. The interface is a little sluggish, but I've dealt with worse. I added a high speed 512GB memory Micro-SD card and am delighted to say that all my ALAC files fitted on it fine. I have more than 256GB worth of music and audiobooks, but not that much more, so the expandable memory is wonderful, having been limited by Apple's refusal to countenance expandable memory.The built-in Sony Music Player app is a bit frustrating, partly to do with the hardware. This device is extremely small: small enough that it usually takes a couple of goes to type in my pass code on start up even with my bony fingers!! That means it needs a simple, uncluttered interface. Unfortunately the display is very cluttered. Given the size of the device, the player tries to pack in too much info. Between the song title, artist name, the audio format and duration, plus 'three dot' menu many of the titles of songs are cut short. There's space on the screen to add another line that hasn't been taken advantage of.The player is very lacking in terms of functions I took for granted on the iPod. Creating playlists is terribly tedious. You can't just created a playlist and import tracks to it. Instead, you have to create a playlist (the cluttered display, which includes a massive playlist logo on the left means you can't call it more than 'Party' or 'Chill' before the words go off the screen. There could easily be another line added for the playlist name. On an actual playlist, we get a HUGE image of the source album's artwork on the left, then the title, which manages to fit about two words' even the artist name crops off. For example, The Sea Devils by Malcolm Clarke appears as 'The Sea De...' and 'Malcolm Cla...'My frustration is that the issues with the app are can all be easily sorted with an update. Everything feels a bit primitive compared with the old iPod Music app. A major problem is the lack of ability to customise the display. When I want to look at the list of albums, I want them sorted in order of artists, then by year. Instead, the album list only offers alphabetical order. My only option is to go to an artists list, then go into the artist's albums. That's not a good way to select an album quickly. I also want to be able to ditch the gigantic images of album covers on the left of a playlist so I can read the track names.Oh yes, the alphabetical order issue. Make sure if you're coming from a Mac you go into the Mac's Music app, go to the sort field and force the names of albums and artists in the sorting field to remove the 'The' or 'A' from the name. Otherwise, you're going to have a lot of albums under the letter 'T' for 'The' or 'A' for 'A'. It took me hours to do, then copy everything back on to the memory card.I removed pretty much every optional app I could, because I want a straightforward music player and not an 'almost phone.' All the Google junk - Maps, Chrome, GMail, YouTube, Drive, YT Music, Google TV, Meet, Photos, Calendar and Files - are a waste of space sitting there and are probably part of what makes the system sluggish. I haven't tried any music streaming services. I'm old school and only copy across my CD rips and the occasional purchased Hi-Res audio file. With the device on Airplane mode, it last hours between charges and it recharges very quickly.I know this sounds very negative, but I'm handling these issues perfectly well. Having been stuck unable to update my iPod for a year, being able to drag and drop tracks has been a huge boon. The sound is excellent. I was easily able to set the Big Finish and Audible apps to download to the memory card. I'm using the device every day and it's a joy, whether I'm using it with a Bluetooth speaker or the Bluetooth headphones.I'm hoping Sony will overhaul the Music Player app so its lack of power for wired headphones can be addressed and the ability customise the various list views can be included. At the moment, the app is on the level of my first iPod, circa 2006. Additionally some of the much-vaunted Sound Adjustment app functions don't work with Bluetooth headphones, which is frustrating, since the device isn't good enough with wired headphones.So a mixed bag. Fantastic sound on my wireless headphones, ample room with an memory card for all my music in a decent format, but the Android version is sluggish, the power output to wired headphones is useless - on a train you wouldn't be able to hear a thing - and the music player interface is ill-thought-out and needs a serious overhaul. It's as if no one at Sony has looked any other devices. Being able to list your albums in order of artist, seems obvious to me and the cluttered screen is fatal for such a tiny device.On the other hand, I can easily update the tracks by taking out the micro-SD card and plugging it into my computer. I no longer have to worry about the Mac not synchronising with a perfectly decent iPod that I only bought in 2019 and there's thus no way an errant Mac update will render my Walkman a waste of space. This Walkman should last me for years, with any luck. Now Sony really need to bring out the official case for their Walkmans in the UK. It's available in Japan.So, my suggestions for improving the device: adopt a Simplified Android operating system, stripping out the Google aspects, seriously overhaul the music app to bring it in line with Apple's Music app's functionality for downloaded tracks and design the app for the tiny screen size.It's a great little gadget, loaded with potential. It just needs a simpler OS and a upgraded music app.

I have owned this for two years now and nothing to complain about. Long battery life and good sound quality. I use them with my Sony headphones.