Sony NW-A306 Walkman 32GB Hi-Res Portable Digital Music Player with Android, up to 36 Hour Battery, Wi-Fi & Bluetooth and USB Type-C – Black NW-A306/B, Black

When Apple removed the headphone jack from their newer phones other phone manufacturers began to follow suit. It ushered a new era of how we listened to music today by using Spotify/Tidal/Apple ect. as our primary music provider. For some it was a convenient change. No longer did you have to dedicate precious storage space for music and you had almost complete access to a massive library of music from around the world at your fingertips.Sony's a306 Walkman feels like a product made in a era where it shouldn't exist and yet its one of my favorite devices that I take with me almost everywhere. It's small pocketable form factor makes it easy to tuck away in your pocket during a workout or jog session. The device also feels solid and well put together and It also doubles as a USB DAC making other devices sound quality way better if you're into that type of thing. The device also supports all major music files like MP3, AAC, FLAC, ALAC, WAV and MQA(lmao) just to name a few off the top of my head.The a306 does have a few issues. If you have US firmware your device will sometimes nag you for having your music too loud and will lower the volume once but after shooing the notification away your free to crank your music back up to 11 but every once in a while the notification returns making this safety feature a headache for most. The device also has difficulties driving larger power hungry over ear headphones but if you use IEMs or Bluetooth headphones you should be fine. There's also a search bar widget that cannot be removed from the device's home page but because the device is an android device you do have access to the Google Play Store and I was able to change the launcher that allowed me to swap the search bar with controls for the music player and the Sony Music Player software itself is just ok. It allows you to access the music files on your device but it lacks some sorting options that urks me wrong (The software sorts albums alphabetically while I would perfer that albums be sorted by Release Year, But still you can sort Artist by Album Artist so some thought about organization was consider I just wish they did more.) Nothing special about it imo but if it really bugs you, again you have access to the Google Play Store to find a new one to that better suits your style. Actually access to the Google Play Store gives this device a fair bit of customization that allows you to make this device truly feel yours.Now your probably wondering as to why even have this device when I can just use my phone and while sure you can just use a phone with bluetooth headphones and spotify premium for music. There are also cheaper alternatives like buying a second hand ipod and modifying them to give them more storage and customize cases that Apple never intended for their products are also a valid option for anyone looking for an MP3 player on the cheap but For someone like me who still buys music (CDs, Vinyls, Digital ect.) and have been doing so for years and wants to enjoy my music to the highest possible quality. My personal music collection is fairly large (about 8000 files and still adding more daily) and there are just some music from band that no longer exist that I have that I will never be able to listen on Spotify or elsewhere and being able to listen to them without the need to listen to commercials or having to pay 10.99 a month is a freedom I refuse to throw away. This little device makes that possible.Update 1/30/24: Having used this device for a few months now I still use it regularly and it is still my go to device for music listening to my digital files. Sony recently allowed the device to be update to Android 12 which is nice. The loud volume warning while I understand is necessary due to US law, I wish there was a way to just tick an option on the device "Yeah i know loud music will damage my ears. You dont have to remind me every week." was a thing. The last annoyance has to do with the way Sony configured its buttons for Next, Play/Pause and Rewind. I wish Sony had swap the Rewind/Next buttons to make it feel like nearly every other electronic device with physical buttons but I've gotten use to it but if Sony added an option to swap these buttons around in a menu I would change it in a heart beat.

I really, really wanted to like this. The form factor is great. I can even get over the lag in boot time and app responsiveness, which really is not that bad. However, the volume limiting is a deal killer for me. To be fair, that's not Sony's fault, as the limitation is a function of EU regulations. The Japanese version of this Walkman does not have that limitation. It is possible to manually get around it, but there is no "one and done" setting to override the limit, which just ruins the enjoyment of the unit.The idea behind the limit is to protect your hearing, however like many regulations it fails to account for what happens in real life. If you're listening to an audiobook while running on a sidewalk with traffic beside you, you won't be able to hear the narrator. When I was sitting on the beach listening to jazz, I had a very hard time hearing over the sound of the water and people nearby. On an airplane just forget it--absolutely no audible sound comes through. It's like the EU only considered volume in a silent room rather than in outdoor situations.Bottom line: great design, but volume limit renders it unusable except in quiet indoor situations.

I have, for decades, owned Android devices and never one thing labeled Apple. Not even an iPod. So reading the reviews and seeing people complain that this Sony WM is Android-based is what led me to purchase one. Having first bought a Shanling, I couldn't even get it to recognize the same 1TB memory that is working fine in the Sony. So I returned the Shanling without hesitation...I have used Roon ARC since release and before that, PlexAmp while on the go. I mainly use them in the car with a portable USB DAC. The apps work well "overall" - barring cell phone reliability. ARC runs into minor issues nearly once a day. It might pop up a 'Poor Connection' error or it will just pause what you're playing and then start to buffer. Can become very annoying... This is especially true in heavy traffic because I prefer all of my music files to be in their native format and resolution. So CD rips - 16/44.1 wav, SACDs DSD 1x (dsf) and hi-rez downloads, DVD-As and Bluray audio at their native bit rates and sampling rates. So this takes some bandwidth off my cellular provider and they fail miserably at times. PlexAmp is far more reliable but you're only getting mp3 quality. They transcode everything, as far as I can tell, when on cellular data. Such a shame...And so began my search for a capable but reasonably priced DAP. I am a hi-fi home audio guy, so I pick my battles. On the road, I just want everything to be there. A nice, tight thump when the bass drum kicks, clean midrange that isn't harsh and extended highs. I know I will never get the imaging and 'air' that my expensive home system provides, so I don't fret. It's not very complicated. And we won't even get into the 'you can't tell the difference between an mp3 and a DSD file in the car' rubbish.Before I get into the good and the bad, I will say that the complaints about Sony's Music app are very spot on. What a piece of horse dung. It is ugly, poorly implemented and slow as all heck. When I first mounted my memory card, I had to figure out how to get things onto it. And Sony said you had to add their Music app for Windows 11 to do this. Fine, I did it. Then I started moving files over (8800+ songs) and Sony was taking an eternity! It would have literally taken between 3 and 4 whole days to transfer all of them. I did not want to leave my gaming PC running for that long. My GPU alone would probably make my electric bill sky high this month! So I figured I would remove the Micro SD and put it in my old, slow-as-heck card reader and transfer the music that way. And slow it was. But it still happened sometime while I was sleeping. I would guess 8-10 hours compared to 48-72 for the Sony. That is just unacceptable. Anyway, here are some of the good and bad about it so far:The Good:- Android OS- Google Play Store- Compact chassis- Good function/button location (once you get used to them)- All the connections you should need - including Micro SD slot up to 2TB- USB C charge/transfer port- Sound Quality from top to bottom is good. Clear, extended highs, clean midrange and kick drums well,kick.- Sound great through car speakers or my IEMs.- programmable auto-offThe Bad:- Volume, volume, volume. Where is it?? It is limited on IEMs. Sounds plenty loud in carstereo though, and that is the main reason for buying it. Can go to 120 in-car.- Can be a little slow to react. But not as bad as some of the reviews say.- Sony Music App - really, just get rid of it and use VLC player. You'll thank me.Can't think of anything else at the moment but will update if/when I find more. I can say it's a good buy if you love Android OS.