Verdict
A solid portable euphony histrion , but the Sony NW - A306 ca n’t quite turn tail the impression that it could have been better . Its pocketable sizing is appreciated and the audio execution is unspoiled , but there are time where it tries to be too much like a smartphone .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
It ’s been 35 years since the Sony Walkman TPS - L2 , which changed portable listening forever , and the NW - A306 is one of the in vogue additions to the Walkman ’s long lineage .
A bunch has changed since theiPhoneemerged , though if you ’re a music lover you ’ll always want a dedicated instrumentalist that is n’t compromised in the ways a smartphone is .
While the Walkman is n’t as popular as it was , it still has muckle to offer , though theinfluence of smartphonesseems to have put the NW - A306 into an clumsy position .
Design
Sony draw the NW - A306 as compact and , even compared to the very portableAstell & Kern SR35 , the Sony is little still with a depth of 11.8 mm , a height of 98.4 mm and weigh 113 g. It could well mistake into your pocket along with whatever else is in there .
The esthetic matches theNW - A55LI review back in 2020 with buttons located on the right - hand side – slightly belittled for someone with digits as self-aggrandizing as mine , but easy enough to find . Feedback could be slightly good , and so could the reactivity of presses . Hold the power button and that bring up a screen of choice for either turning it off , re-start or adopt screenshots .
The backside of the unit has a wavelike undulation design , which gives it a grippier control surface to hold onto , while the covert is 3.6 - inches in size with a 720p resolution . The display is mundane : detail , raciness and colours are fine , but wo n’t snap up your attending . Build quality is ascertain , as you ’d expect from Sony .
The screen also patronise touch motion , so like an Android smartphone , you may swipe left to right ; hook down to see notifications or swipe up to see the library of apps on the gimmick , and even drag and drop icons . In a gracious nod to its past , you’re able to go into the fare and set the screensaver to an range of the TPS - L2 .
There ’s the one 3.5 millimetre socket , plus aUSB - Cinput , and microSD one-armed bandit . There are only two coloring to opt from in black and downhearted , which is disappointing . From a sustainability linear perspective no plastics are included in the promotional material .
Features
The Sony NW - A306 supports Android 13 and its execution can be grating at times . It ’s as if it tries too punishing to represent like a smartphone .
Logging into my Google account , I ’m inundate with notifications once the A306 is power up . It becomes rather unhinge after a while .
And the musician is none too intuitive or responsive in dismiss notice . Trying to click the screen up to see the ‘ clear all ’ is surprisingly tricky , but most of all , the interface can be very slow .
There ’s slowdown with clit presses and swipe across the screen with telling stutter . Powering up the NW - A306 and waiting for the whorl screen takes around 40 seconds , and laden an app to play euphony feels like it takes an age as well on top of that too .
There ’s entree to Google Play fund and other Google apps , but like with theFiiO players , I enquire how useful it is to have those apps in the first place ? I ’m not fit to practice Gmail on the Sony NW - A306 over my smartphone .
you’re able to download all the medicine apps you need likeDeezer , Tidal , Apple Music , Spotify , Amazon Music , andQobuz . you’re able to also download the Booking.com app if you visualize that too . This is another aspect where the Google desegregation feels excessive for this special equipment .
Indian file playback includes DSD , MP3 , FLAC , AAC , Apple Lossless , AIFF , APE , WMV , WMA , andMQA ; though there ’s a limit , as the Sony could n’t play a 24 - bit WMA single file . Bluetooth 5.0support covers SBC , AAC , aptX HD andLDACstreaming . You also get Sony’s360 Reality Audioplayback with compatible service .
Storage is just 32 GB ( 18 GB in reality ) . That does n’t leave much if you ’ve amaze bad file . This can be bypassed with a microSD , and the NW - A306 accepts up to 2 TB but the wit has to be formatted with the role player before it can be used . That ’s annoying if you ’ve acquire a calling card full of music quick to go .
Sony offer a few dissimilar figure on electric battery biography depend on the files you ’re play . 44.1Hz FLAC takes up 36 time of day and 96kHz FLAC file equals 32 hours , while streaming is said to take up 26 minute . Having play a mixture of FLAC and MP3 file for about two hours at 60 % mass , the Sony NW - A306 fell to 93 % , which would be around 33 hours in total . It ’s in the ballpark for what Sony ’s A306 can achieve .
Performance
There are two ways of draw near the Sony NW - A306 ’s audio performance . One with the ClearAudio+ filter on , and the other with it off . I ’ll start first with the EQ feature off .
Partnered with a duad ofAustrian Audio Hi - X65headphones , the Sony goes for a smooth , clear description on Four Non - Blondes What ’s travel On , with decent levels of item in describing the official document . With Benjamin Clementine ’s London , I wish the direction and clarity directed to his vocals , but the smoothness of the A306 ’s tone mean that cymbal crashes do n’t show with as much crispness .
It does n’t summon a particularly big bass voice performance with Kid Cudi ’s Often I Have These Dreams . It ’s a lead that could benefit from more might , slam , and bass extension that the NW - A306 ca n’t or is n’t interested in provide . eminent frequencies are n’t the brightest , but they do arrive through with clearness . Overall it add to a light , if slightly conservative , public presentation .
With ClearAudio+ disabled , the Sony go for a impersonal , delicate , and categorical public presentation . Bass sounds reserved , there ’s not much dynamism either on a small or larger scale , resembling flat basis rather than mountainous peak . In its default option mode the A306 is n’t adding much to the sign , but in doing so it lacks a little flavour and pomp .
flip-flop the ClearAudio+ EQ on and it generates a small more force and push with the low frequencies , although bass part still is n’t as big or as knock-down as I ’d like . It does vocalise bigger , larger and reaches a trivial further with ClearAudio+ on than without .
There ’s a warmer tonus with ClearAudio+ on and song have a bigger focus . Gregory Porter ’s vocals in Concorde have greater front , his singing infused with more DOE and there ’s more dynamism observable . There ’s a more confident common sense of reflexion than there was without ClearAudio+ on , and it makes for a more piquant listen .
Turning ClearAudio+ off and music is flat and lacks depth , but it does sound a little more outlined and clearer . The energy , expression , increase width of the soundstage and good sentience of depth with the ClearAudio+ filter on makes me wonder why it ’s not on by nonremittal . At the very least I ’d recommend shift between ClearAudio+ toggled on and off and seeing what you cogitate . To me , the benefits of having it on are peachy than leaving it off .
You could also utilize the Sony NW - A306 as a DAC to boost songs on your PC or Mac . While it ’s an improvement on plugging your headphones in straight off , when comparing Isfar Sarabski ’s Planet album in a WMV file on my laptop computer with a rain buckets version on Qobuz on the A306 , I was look to hear a performance jump but could n’t hear much of a divergence . Given one is a high quality file and the other is a current , I ’m not sure if that ’s a dear affair or not .
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Should you buy it?
Small , light to practice and relatively less expensive than option from the likes of FiiO and Astell & Kern , the becoming eyeglasses and performance make the Sony NW - A306 a good option .
Android oxygen brings widget in terms of access to music cyclosis apps , but the user interface on this player can be dull , and it takes up nearly half the computer memory outer space .
Final Thoughts
The flavor I ’m left with about the Sony NW - A306 is one of via media . There are times where it examine too much to be like a smartphone and that can make some rubbing with being a portable music musician .
Its audio operation is beneficial , but its default option mode offers solid clearness and item , while ClearAudio+ way features more energy and expression . It would be better if the Sony could harvest these two halves into one whole rather than choose between the two .
The Sony NW - A306 is a solid portable euphony player , but does n’t fulfil all of its potential . near twice the cost of the now discontinuedNW - A55L , it does n’t feel twice as good , but this is aportable euphony playerworth look at for those concerned in an entry - level role model .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every portable euphony participant we look back thoroughly over an prolonged period of time . We use diligence standard tests to liken features properly . We ’ll always recite you what we rule . We never , ever , admit money to go over a product .
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FAQs
The Sony NW - A306 defend SBC , AAC , aptX HD and LDAC Bluetooth streaming codecs .
