The Greatest MP3 Player of all time! Sony NW-A307

[@MyBohemianDreams]

First, you call it a MP3 player when it is capable of playing many hi-quality sound file formats. You go on and on about the fact that YOU think it should have a tiny built-in speaker. You sound like someone complaining that a $300,000 super car doesn't have a cup holder. Clearly, the target market for this device is audiophiles. They would always have it paired to either high quality ear buds or bluetooth speaker(s). This device supports a ton of high end audio processing technology and that adds to the cost. But you casually brush over that fact as if it is a bunch of tech speak that no one cares about when in fact for audiophiles that technology is a major selling point.

[@qcube._.8342]

💯, he is reviewing something he can't understand.

[@Beati3]

Thank you for writing what I was thinking. Should a channel that focuses on e-readers be reviewing a DAP? Probably not. There’s a lot of sweeping generalisation and ignorance of the field that is deeply annoying until you look at the channel title.

[@ectoplasma5]

Don't forget cablebound headphones.

[@DKMRFCBrlz]

You’re the first one to say it doesn’t have a speaker… THANK YOU! I needed to know that

[@JimVincent]

I was actually interested until I saw the price.

[@Dr.Mzungu]

Typical Sony

[@GenericMcName]

Honestly, it's on the cheaper end of the personal music player spectrum. You should see the competition.

[@velvetvideo]

@@GenericMcName that's ridiculous imo. considering the tech and what it does...a used phone is an infinitely better value. an LG v30 comes to mind

[@GenericMcName]

@@velvetvideo nah, it's nowhere near ridiculous. You can get a car for what you can get an Astel and Kern player for. That's ridiculous. You're just not the target audience for this. I happily paid the $800 my NW-ZX100 cost and I've used it every day since 2015. A used phone also fucking sucks for this. It's already faltering in the battery department and doesn't have physical media control buttons. Automatically out in my book if it doesn't have forward/rewind/play/pause buttons.

[@neriozulberti1492]

I’ve revamped an Ipod 5.5 gen wolfson dac with bluetooth microsd and big battery and I’m really happy about the results ,no european cap 😊

[@gilbs72]

I don't have a 5.5 but a 7th gen with the cirrus logic dac which i loved. i also had the sony walkman A55 and was amazed at the difference, specially with DSD files (even 24-bit FLAC), enough to give up my A55 and upgrade to the signature WM1A (to play DSD natively and not via DoP, but also for the 5.5 balanced jack). You just have to try it to see. My iPod Classic is like listening CD quality at best (FLAC via Rockbox) but usually AAC compressed lossy files only. I ask my friends to play their long time favorite tracks on DSD and everyone distinguished aspects of the recording that they never reallzed for years were there. I don't have expensive headphones, I only use Philips Fidelio X1S headphones or Moondrop Blessing 2 IEM, and can imagine how realistic it may be with really good, though expensive, cans. BTW I still play all my lossy tracks on my iPod and love it for casual listening on a train or park.

[@OldTechMemories.mp3]

Finally!! an English review of the 307.

[@thedar7164]

why do you not metnition that the non Japanese version is severely volume capped for wired headphones or IEM's ?

[@JimBobm]

That is the reason I didn't pick one up , glad I read the reviews first.

[@guaiqueritech]

Why would Sony do that? 😮

[@neagu78]

This is a European standard regulation.

[@wolfango]

Why does the regulation apply to Sony but not to other manufacturers? Fiio, Hiby...

[@mokisan]

You can easily flash the japanese firmware here😊

[@guilladogui8259]

Where I can get this 307 version?

[@Goodereadertech]

www.ebay.ca/itm/176539988491?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=qX8-ikaQT02&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=qX8-ikaQT02&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[@Useless-vc4co]

I have an NW-A100Series, and I love it

[@Beati3]

Me too. It upscales the MP3s I ripped from my collection 20 years ago beautifully. The battery life is a big annoying, but I can't be mad at it, especially when it throws up that tape player screen saver.

[@GenericMcName]

>Lanyard loop no one ever uses Yeah that's a bad take, I use the lanyard on my NW ZX100 every day.

[@junraywardleuterio2014]

it is still essential for a small audio player.

[@GenericMcName]

@@junraywardleuterio2014 Absolutely. The lanyard hole is what makes using an MP3 player a breeze, especially if it shares a pocket with your phone. The way I get mine out is by yanking it out by the lanyard rather than re-arranging my pocket to find it and then get it out.

[@JamalBlakk]

I’d also add that it’s common in Japan to add straps and other decorative items to devices like this and phones in order to personalize them.

[@Staylor101]

Dose this still have the tape screensaver

[@BrettHoTep]

It’s great that Sony is still making single purpose devices. This is one of those items where if I had enough disposable income I would pick up. I’d almost never use it but I love these sort of gadgets.

[@Chris._P._Bacon]

I'll tell you why there's a cover for the USB, m'kay!!! Overtime in your pocket lint gets into the USB port and eventually there will be so much lint that the USB cable will not be able to go in, and many people think that the port is broken or something because if the cable does not go all the way in, the unit won't be charge, so.......for those who don't know THAT is the cause, a cause that simply by digging out the lint, it'd be fixed.

[@Chris._P._Bacon]

The other two holes never get lint in it, why? Couldn't tell, but I never got lint to the point of poor contact.

[@JustLearning]

What is the Software on the Laptop you show on the video? It looks like software to make music.

[@williamdirks5805]

The SONY phone I had a couple of years ago had EXCELLENT sound quality for a phone. So this is probably good.

[@fealicegreen1942]

CAN THIS LISTEN TO AUDIOBOOKS

[@trubadyr99]

If only SONY had included this audio functionality into their phones! It would be simply astonishing. Just imagine using your preferred streaming service while walking in a park with a limitless digital data plan from your cellphone company! Current DAPs sadly can only get streaming content via WI-FI or play pre-recorded content. I don't think it's acceptable today.

[@junraywardleuterio2014]

The lanyard port (whatever) is a necessary for that size of a Walkman. Its not that big not to use a lanyard.

[@myralchista]

One of the things rarely mentioned is that in these players sony modifies android to support hi res quility in music streaming apps over Bluetooth. That means that over Bluetooth (in apple music, for example) it down samples full hires song to bandwidth your headphones support and the quality is much better than on the phone. Test is. You wouldn't believe it. Try AAC headphones, apple music lossless and play same song from this player and from Android phone. The quality will be much better with the player. It will probably work only on headphones without hires codes support, but I didn't test it. I tested on acc codec. It needs to be enabled in settings. Its called hi res streaming. It is disabled on default to save battery.

[@j4v3l73]

Reminds me Xperia XZ compact series. I use not compact XZ1 as "podcast" player for KZbin, and old walkman nwz-e465 for downloaded audiobooks. This walkman suits me well

[@guaiqueritech]

I love when people repurpose aging tech.. I use my iPhone 5 as my dedicated music player. It holds all my music library internally and has both Bluetooth and headphone Jack

[@danieljimenez1989]

I use the lanyard on my nw-a55, it helps pulling it out of the pocket as I leave the lanyard hanging out most of the time.

[@Amuk-mn3ni]

Would love this as a phone dap

[@Prasojo-nz8oz]

agreed, new walkman should have speaker built in, even the new iphone has amazing little speaker, preety good bass and clear sound. sony should know how to add that speakers

[@mark902]

1996... who the f in 1996 had an mp3 player? like who? 12 people? i didn't even have napster until 99. i didn't het my first ipod until 2005.

[@alfredooliva5175]

sooo what the F is your point

[@mark902]

@@alfredooliva5175 i think my point is rather clear. he said, in the video "even though mp3 players seem like something from 1996..." and i asked who the f had an mp3 player in 1996? because nobody did.

[@RSMethodology]

Right: the first portable mp3 player didn’t drop until 1998

[@tonguelover6666]

@@RSMethodology and basically nobody had it in 1998, so, pretty bs

[@Betancourtdm]

1996 no, but I got my first one, a Diamond Rio PMP 300 in 1998 when it came out.

[@SantiagoSparks13]

Only 64 gb??

[@paultomaszewski1964]

internal, has micro sd card expansion.

[@senzen2692]

If you enjoy music you owe it to yourself to try something like with this some nice headphones, watching out for impedance. Even my old LG G7 and Meze 99 make me smile.

[@pooryaradpoor3156]

Hello thank you Sony is love.

[@edwardfletcher7790]

Or any LG V series phone with their incredible DAC 👍

[@stevenj2380]

NYC. I do not see any availability of this model -A307. Only hard to get -A306 one.(such as B+H NY 'Out of Stock') Potential buyers dislike US and UK models limit gain to prevent listening at high volume but impacts use of some headphones. I have a prior model NW-A105. Sounds fine. I can stream at home to bluetooth speaker easily. BUT. No. 1 worst aspect is poor battery life. Does this newer one have improved battery life? Next, is interface and files mgmt improved since?. Can't do it well if you have tens of thousands of tracks. You can add any which is ' now playing '-to favorites while playing - but NOT to playlists. SONY makes you use their software on your PC, organize them, and sync. I also see no way to edit tags on the device. So my main DAP is a Fiio. Being so much larger, is not an 'EDC' at all. But it sounds 'better' , even has 2 other headphone outs (including balanced). Can edit tags, add to playlists as I use it.

[@amoghmadiwale2397]

Sony can give 3.5mm jack in such small device and bigger 6.3 inches smartphones can't give 3.6mm jack, shame on smartphone brands.

[@stomms]

For this price there are many much better sounding and much more powerful Hi-Res players out there (check out Hiby for example). I had A306 for about a year, it is almost the same as A307, biggest problem was very low power from 3.5 mm headphone jack. It realy can work only with small in ear heaphones and with nothing bigger for sure. Also the screen is too small, sometimes needed apps just does not fit on it and some buttons can be somewhere over the edge. Got it sold and bought HiBy R6III - more powerful, much better sounding and with bigger screen. Otherwise A307 is good small DAP, not slow in any means, but really overpriced. If one wants to use only BT headphones with it - then it could be good enough (battery life is poor though), but for BT listening you really do not need separate DAP and especilly Hi-Res player.

[@Amuk-mn3ni]

Hiby sounds very good. Problem is the battery life which is less than stated and just too low.

[@gilbs72]

sony wants you to pair it with the PHA3 headphone amp. 😁

[@stomms]

@@Amuk-mn3ni Battery on Sony A306 was way wors than on my new Hiby R6III.

[@Amuk-mn3ni]

@@stomms might be worth getting your Sony checked. There's a setting to ensure the battery lasts a long time rather than degrading over multiple cycles. Hiby exaggerate their battery life way too much and I found it wasn't great. A shame as it founded very good (and dac dongles though I prefer the chord mojo 2 for versatility and reh cayin ru6 for a more organic sound). A dap around the size of the old iPhone touch that was so a phone with the same build quality and feel in the hand would be perfect for me!

[@stomms]

@@Amuk-mn3ni All the settings were tuned down for battery saving, but with no much effect. Anyway it is already sold, may be new owner is happy with it :D

[@Dee_Just_Dee]

Wherever you got your MQA info from was pretty far off the mark. MQA is an odd little mostly-lossless codec that uses a special scheme to encode higher frequencies with supposedly better accuracy but lossily.

[@DroidLocks6971]

.... Why Buy This When My Phone Does Everything This Does ? ....What does this do then that my phone (S24 Ultra) Can't Do ?

[@paultomaszewski1964]

Well it has a headphone jack for a wired connection, which for people who care, has better sound quality for their music. That's if you spend a little money for a good set of IEM's/headphones to get the most out of it. Basiclly for the person who really listens to their music, not as something playing music in the backround.

[@SchlumplesSchlumolomus-u9u]

LMAO An E-reader (cringe) dude reviewing a product like this is hysterical please do more

[@HDSoundNo1]

Cool mp3 are the best love files i will buy it for sure

[@sebasrex]

Es lo mismo que el NW-A306, pero con mas almacenamiento interno.

[@ideedit]

Why?

[@JoeWalnut-o1u]

i hope next walkman device have built in amazing speaker as newest iphone quality. since it is an pure audio device. hopefully

[@justsomephguy]

Some people actually still use/want a lanyard.

[@-iIIiiiiiIiiiiIIIiiIi-]

No 4.4mm balanced audio jack? No thank you!

[@junraywardleuterio2014]

An A-series Walkman doesn't have 4.4mm jack - that is technically a mid-range Walkman. if you want to have a 4.4mm jack, use a usb-c DAC/AMP with 4.4mm or purchase the NW-ZX707.

[@senzen2692]

There is one major gotcha: Sony doesn't update Android so after a few years apps stop working; not a problem for your own music, a bummer for streaming.

[@Solitaire001]

This why I purchased two A55 Walkman Digital Audio Players: It uses Sony's Proprietary Operating System. Usually Sony gets it right from the get go and due to that there are no updates.

[@loki115_s]

Why does it need wifi 😑

[@Goodereadertech]

To access the internet

[@fazzxides8429]

For streaming Tidal/Spotify/Apple Music

[@BillyBanter100]

I'm afraid Sony are out of step with this one. Their last great Walkman was the MiniDisc player IMO.

[@fazzxides8429]

Lightweight review

[@Andru92-96]

Not in the USA too bad!

[@zkan87]

i wish u could use it as a phone

[@dvandeun]

hahaha

[@guaiqueritech]

I use my iPhone 5 as my DAP. It suffices my needs 😁

[@nairac212]

Unrealized playing until drained

[@muccisebastian9300]

Sony needs to cut the crap and make discmans again

[@shamnoor07]

The source of mp3 nowadays corrupt so many format decreased the quality itself. No matter what hi end equipment you used...

[@LyuboA]

this thing is $500 ta it's only with $350 Overpriced

[@shamelessplace11]

The best ever? I would say no. Here's why someone's already alluded to it in the chat. You cannot stream your music via title Apple music Spotify whatever you want while you're walking down the street while you're taking a run while you're in the gym if there's no Wi-Fi around you get no music. Unless you've uploaded which that's why we purchase these is to upload their tracks and take them. But with the ubiquitous usage of streaming platforms you need a player that you can use Wi-Fi and on a mobile network. That's why currently right now the best device you can use for your music collection on and off the cloud is still a telephone or a cell phone until Makers of these DACs realize they need to somehow ingrain themselves or partner with phone manufacturers The majority of people won't buy them. These will just become very expensive toys for a certain portion of people who listen to music. That's just my opinion and my rant y'all don't have to agree with it and it's cool if you don't

[@JamalBlakk]

It would defeat the point of this player to use it for streaming. If you want to stream, use your phone. Phones are built to connect to services.

[@shamelessplace11]

@@JamalBlakk I don't agree I don't agree at all, a duck is built for you to listen to high quality music on the go that's what it's for. Your phone is a multifunctional device that can also be a DAC. So if you can get a phone to give you the same output as a DAC That's all you'd ever need. For the simple fact that not only could you load your high quality music, you could also stream it from the services that you use. Why have a streaming service if you can't stream it doesn't make any sense

[@cosmindinaa]

I agree with both of you, but honestly, the best approach would be a smartphone with the same quality DAC and headphone jack that this player has. Why is it so hard to do this? No one wants to carry two devices. Instead, smartphones are slowly stripping all the features. I miss HTC..

[@stomms]

You can always download music in Spotify or Tidal to listen on the go, no wifi is needed for that.

[@okAngelface]

Ineffective "rant." Calm down. A cellphone is not an mp3 player. An mp3 player is not a cellphone. A bbq grill is not a stove. An ice chest is not a refrigerator...Yada, Yada, Yada.

[@James_Bond_Fantasy]

The moment you see the Android UI, you know it has lost the soul of Walkman.

[@quents]

Physical buttons? 😅😅😅

[@James_Bond_Fantasy]

@@quents haha it’s not about physical buttons. I just don’t feel they are as unique as the old Walkmans once were.

[@James_Bond_Fantasy]

@@quents maybe it’s just me being unreasonably nostalgic lol

[@guaiqueritech]

@@James_Bond_Fantasy I get you, but remember Walkman as a brand has had to evolve. I recall the great Sony Ericsson phones of the early to mid-aughts and they had their unique UI, in order to keep up with the times. Developing a bespoke UI for a device that will not be mass produced would inevitably increase the price even more. At least you can download a theme or icon pack and make it more unique 😅

[@James_Bond_Fantasy]

@@guaiqueritech Yes that’s absolutely true. Otherwise Walkman might already be defunct like Aiwa, Sharp , iRiver, iAudio and iPod.

[@justinecooper9575]

$500? Ok, obviously not targeted at me. That's not a criticism, just an observation.

[@LyuboA]

no 4.4mm jack disappointing

[@MrNoidZ]

You can't call these things MP3 Players. It's a DAP (Digital AUDIO Player, not Digital Media Player). MP3 is also dead. It's a format that was designed to be able to share music with dail-up modems in the 90s. It's shitty quality music people got accustomed to as normal. It's not. It cuts off the highs and the lows of music that CANNOT be restored. It's just gone. There's nothing that can actually restore that. And there's also no actual AI that does that for you. Bad quality stays bad quality. It doesn't restore files it just fakes that it sounds better. It doesn't Stop using MP3 and start getting your music in FLAC/WAV/ALAC files. Also KZbin uses heavily compressed audio, even on 4K. Almost everything you consume digitally right now is bad quality. Even CD's were compressed back in the day, but stil 100x better than MP3.

[@JamesMincey]

Though there's no denying that 16 and 24-bit lossless tracks sound amazing, the quality of legitimately purchased MP3s from stores like Beatport and Amazon still sound great to my ears. The convenience of having tiny files that can easily be transferred and stored (while still sounding great outside of an audiophile AB test) is really underrated these days.

[@Solitaire001]

@@JamesMincey With MP3s there are a number of factors to consider. The original MP3 Patent Holders have stopped supporting the MP3 format. However, another group has created an encoder named LAME (short for "LAME Ain't an MP3 Encoder") that has continued to work on and improve the MP3 format, and it produces MP3-compatible audio files. Although other lossy formats like AAC sound better at low bitrates, when it comes to high bitrate MP3s (say 256kbps or higher, or using the highest VBR setting) it is basically a wash. For myself, I basically RIP to FLAC, but I end up purchasing MP3 off of Amazon.

[@eagle2D2]

They still make MP3 players? Everyone I know use their cell phones.

[@HeDoesNotRow]

phones suck

[@paultomaszewski1964]

DAPs are what they are and plenty of people make them still, not just Sony. MP3 is just one of many formats they can play and they have way better sound quality than any phone out there.

[@Solitaire001]

One of the reasons that people still want Digital Audio Players (DAP) is because with a SmartPhone there tends to be a lot of distractions. I've been watching KZbin on my SmartPhone and I often get interrupted with notifications, alarms, text messages, and phone calls. With my Sony Walkman NW-A55 DAP it is just a music player with nothing to interrupt me when I'm listening. Plus, my DAP has much longer battery life (how much playing time depends on factors like Bluetooth, the type of files you're listening to, and the audio settings), although at it lowest it is likely longer than a SmartPhone.

[@illk1978]

Get an iPod

[@derekdresser9214]

Had to stop watching when it was revealed that it had no speaker. I realize that it os primarily a headphone device but these days with tiny excellent sounding speakers it is inexcusable to not include one.

[@masterazlan6999]

4.4 bal out at least dap noobs...Peace!

[@Goodereadertech]

I guess we have to go back and study English

[@ravebrave8866]

the one who buys this is a kokula

[@guaiqueritech]

A what?

[@tintinquirit8732]

Sony makes shit today , chinese things are Better

[@Pleiades55]

GOAT 😂🤣

[@anthermarg55]

Eww they can do better than this i had a Sony Erickson w380 and fells more like a walkman than this ugly powerbank, less screen more speaker maybe even a mic? Miss opportunity

[@S.B__]

3.5mm?! What are we back in the 90s?! 4.4mm or nothing.

[@shanetravel]

why does this even exist?..

[@ROCKSTAR3291]

You'd be surprised how many people still want a Walkman music player, that's why Sony still make them after 45 years. These are not for the average consumer anyway, but audio enthusiasts love them.

[@shanetravel]

@@ROCKSTAR3291 ahh ok. I guess if that’s the case then yeah I get it.

[@ManomiiFox]

@@ROCKSTAR3291 aliexpress still has many selections.

[@lwoklidfr]

just like how sony made their xperia phone geared for photo enthusiasts Sony made this for music enthusiasts.

[@JonYeoAU]

Another reason is dedicated media buttons and probably a better audio chip