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

I finally caved and picked up a Sony digital Walkman, and honestly, I don’t know why I waited so long. After years of fiddling with cheap little mp3 players that felt disposable, or watching my phone’s battery tank just from listening to music, this feels like a proper solution. The build quality is better than I expected — solid but still light enough to carry around without feeling like a brick in my pocket. The buttons are tactile and well-placed, and the touchscreen makes navigating my massive audiobook files super easy. Sound quality? Massive upgrade. Even with my regular headphones, there’s noticeably more depth: bass is cleaner, highs are crisp without being harsh. Pair it with a good set of headphones, and it’s night and day compared to streaming off a phone. Sony’s been at this for decades, and it really shows. Battery life is another big win. I can go days without charging, even with heavy use — something my phone could never dream of. Storage is also great if you’re willing to invest in a decently sized microSD card. It took me a bit to get the card formatted properly, but once it’s set up, everything runs smoothly. It’s not all perfect, of course. The interface feels a little dated compared to modern phones, and transferring big libraries takes some patience. And yeah, the price made me wince at first — but so far it feels worth every penny. Bottom line: If you’re someone who really listens to music and cares about sound (and not just convenience), a Sony Walkman is 100% worth it. It feels like going back to an era where the device was made purely for music — and that’s actually refreshing.

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 device It feels like I'm using an Android device with a Sony music player app.

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.

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.

This Walkman is really stylish and impressive The touch screen is easy to use The price is quite expensive compared to other Walkmans but it is more advanced and I do believe you get what you pay for...this should last a good few years It's has some weight to it as it's a quality player but it's not too heavy to have in your pocket for walking or when you are at the gym The Bluetooth connection seems to work well when pairing headphones The battery life is pretty good and last a good few hours for a few days before it needs recharging The storage capacity is reasonable but like always could be better The functions on the player are pretty good and it's alot more than just a Walkman...yo be honest I think Sony should have just made it a Walkman as alot of the other apps on it are just taking up unnecessary space that could be used for more music The sound quality is very good indeed, much better than many other brands

The volume is poor so you will need a portable amp, it takes awhile to start up and it fails as a mini me smartphone, the battery with flac lasts around 10 hours, but it sounds fantastic with that magic Sony non cloying warmth and will be my only Dap for a very long time. Beef Wellington sir? Yes please waiter.

I recently purchased the Sony Walkman NW-A306 and I couldn't be happier with my decision. The sound quality is truly exceptional, providing a rich and immersive listening experience that truly brings my music collection to life. One of the standout features of this device is its expandable storage options. I was able to easily install a 1TB micro SD card, allowing me to store my extensive collection of lossless audio files with ease. This was a major selling point for me, as I have a large collection of audio CD files that I wanted to transfer and listen to on-the-go. The design of the Walkman NW-A306 is sleek and modern, with a user-friendly interface that makes navigation a breeze. The battery life is also impressive, lasting for hours on end without needing a recharge. Overall, I am extremely satisfied with my purchase of the Sony Walkman NW-A306. It has exceeded my expectations in terms of sound quality, storage capacity, and overall performance. If you are in the market for a high-quality music player, I would highly recommend giving this device a try.

I'll start this review by saying I am by no means an audiophile, but I enjoy listening to high quality music, either through my full size Focal Radiance headphones, or Campfire Audio Holocene IEMs. So, this new DAP from Sony, I've had my eye on it since it was announced in January, and eventually ordered it last week. Upon delivery, I was really surprised at just how small this player is, I've previously owned a number of Astell Kern and Fiio DAPs, but the form factor of the Sony player is excellent, a portable DAP that actually is portable, so a very good start. I subscribe to Tidal's top tier service so downloaded the Tidal app, put a 512gb memory card into the player, left it overnight to download my playlists. Following day, switched the player on and started to listen, a few tweaks later, I had a sound that was excellent (to my ears..), the Holocene IEM's aren't the thickest sounding IEM's, but with the DSEE Ultimate switched on, I was getting an overall excellent sound, and for a while, I was unbelievably happy that this cheap (cheap in DAP terms..), small, very portable player was performing way above its price bracket - what could go wrong? Then I noticed the battery drain, a player that's advertised with upto 36 hours of battery, I was actually only getting around 3-4 hours playback when streaming master quality files from Tidal. I then recharged the player, and listened to offline/downloaded tracks, battery life increased to around 4-5 hours, so really not great as I need a portable player that gives me a minimum 10 hours battery life. A secondary issue then also became evident, the player really struggles with locating offline tracks from Tidal, that are saved to the memory card. I have downloaded around 100gb in offline audio files, but when I power down the player, and then power back up, when I go to listen to offline content, the files I've downloaded can't be located, I then need to go online and synchronise/re download all my files again - this has happened 3 times, and it makes the player totally useless as a portable player, as I will not always have access to wifi to synchronise/download whenever this happens. I'm sure this can be quickly fixed by a firmware update, but I'm heading off to India next week on a business trip so the player will not be coming with me as I'm going to continue to use my Qudelix 5K and my phone as a source as these work perfectly, and I don't want to be sitting on an airplane for 10 hours, with a DAP that won't play files as it can't locate where it saved the files. I really wanted this to be a great little player, no complaints from me on the sound, but battery and software problems mean this is just not a functional player for my needs therefore its being returned.