Can you use an external DAC with it? I have seen the A15 for a good price if you can I would be very tempted so that I can have a dedicated DAP instead of relying on my phone (also a Sony so has the same Walkman enhancements but would like to go standalone).
Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org
dannybgoode
Mmet
yes you can use an external DAC with it ... but with the original digital cable :
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-WMC-NWH10-Conversion-Cable-Output/dp/B00FF086HE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427916482&sr=8-1&keywords=Sony+WMC-NWH10
or if you will use Sony PHA-3 or PHA-3A .. don't worry about the cable it is included in the package
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-WMC-NWH10-Conversion-Cable-Output/dp/B00FF086HE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427916482&sr=8-1&keywords=Sony+WMC-NWH10
or if you will use Sony PHA-3 or PHA-3A .. don't worry about the cable it is included in the package
dannybgoode
Great stuff - thanks for getting back to me. I have the iDSD Nano and will be using it with that. Don't like keep having to plug and unplug from my phone all the time - would much rather a bespoke player...
castleofargh
only a DAC that isn't USB powered will work I believe.
Mmet cool review, you drink a little too much at the marketing fountain for my personal tastes, but there is no harm done mentioning those stuff.
now what I find strange is you saying "it is in the same league with fiio x3 and may be quieter too." the X3 had one of the cleanest background in any DAPs I owned or tried, while the A10 hisses a little more than the 2other sony walkmans I own(and I wouldn't call them silent).
Mmet cool review, you drink a little too much at the marketing fountain for my personal tastes, but there is no harm done mentioning those stuff.
now what I find strange is you saying "it is in the same league with fiio x3 and may be quieter too." the X3 had one of the cleanest background in any DAPs I owned or tried, while the A10 hisses a little more than the 2other sony walkmans I own(and I wouldn't call them silent).
Mmet
it is quit really 
.... quieter player i have with the X3 ... the older sony's hisses a lot ...
i test hissing by elevating the vol. to 30 when not playing .... then playing a song and pause then elevate the vol. again to 30 .. nothing !!
how do you test the hissing ?
.... quieter player i have with the X3 ... the older sony's hisses a lot ...i test hissing by elevating the vol. to 30 when not playing .... then playing a song and pause then elevate the vol. again to 30 .. nothing !!
how do you test the hissing ?
castleofargh
at usual normal volume setting, with a long calm passage on a track, or with a track where I lower the music way way low in audacity. and I also do another check at minimum volume level with any song(volume 1, not zero!). to check if it's a noise that changes with the volume setting or if it's a background component noise that stays the same.
when the player is maxed out some noise may come from the DAP being pushed too much so it's not a realistic situation IMO. and you never know what the DAP does when you pause, on some the output can simply be cut so it's 100% clean of everything ^_^.
but that's a good question, I had never thought about how other people check for noise, can explain why some disagree with me sometimes.
when the player is maxed out some noise may come from the DAP being pushed too much so it's not a realistic situation IMO. and you never know what the DAP does when you pause, on some the output can simply be cut so it's 100% clean of everything ^_^.
but that's a good question, I had never thought about how other people check for noise, can explain why some disagree with me sometimes.
Mmet
even if we checked the noise with the same method .. there is no harm from disagreeing with each other .. we have different hearing capabilities .. different tastes ... i will try testing with silence track i think that will be more accurate method
dannybgoode
@CoA - Luckily my dac is battery powered (ifi iDSD Nano). Picking one up today so will give it a thorough run through and see what I think.
Mmet
after playing with silence track ... playing some very good attention .. i managed to detect a small amount of hiss ... very small as i said before ... don't affected by increasing or decreasing the sound withSE-535
castleofargh
yup that's the one. for that kind of noise as it's a fixed voltage value, it can only get loud if the IEM is super sensitive, so in most cases people can't even notice it. but I knew the se535 was up to the task, they're a pretty extreme case of sensitive. that's why the 530(pretty much the same sensi) has been a reference for me to know if a source had a perfectly clear background for years. when a guy with a 530 told me he couldn't get any hiss, I would go and buy that device ^_^.
Mmet
believe me ... even with the se535 it was hard to detect it ... and requires a very quite environment
Mmet
i will update this review after about 200 hours of playback with the final sound quality review
dannybgoode
@Mmet - thank you for the link to the USB audio out cable. My god those are tricky to find and in the end I have ordered via that amazon.com seller (who I note is based in Japan) as I simply cannot find one in the UK.
They are that hard to find that anyone would think Sony wanted you to buy one of their amps in order to get hold of the cable...
They are that hard to find that anyone would think Sony wanted you to buy one of their amps in order to get hold of the cable...
sbregudal
A few questions:
- When is it connected to a PC, is it treated simply like an USB mass storage device? Or does it need specific software to transfer files?
- It doesn't play Ogg Vorbis files, does it?
- Is the battery replaceable?
- When is it connected to a PC, is it treated simply like an USB mass storage device? Or does it need specific software to transfer files?
- It doesn't play Ogg Vorbis files, does it?
- Is the battery replaceable?
sbregudal
About the external USB DAC support.
From what I read (I don't own an A10), you can use a Sony WMC-NWH10 adaptor to connect an A10 to an external USB DAC, if the last one is self powered and if it recognises a DAC in absence of power on USB (the A10 doesn't supply power on USB, just data - see here), but also if the DAC is powered through USB and an end of an Y cable is used to provide power to the DAC though a power supply (power pack, AC adaptor, PC USB port, etc - this could also bypass the limit of those DACs that cannot recognise DACs in absence of power on USB, but I cannot test it - see here).
From what I read (I don't own an A10), you can use a Sony WMC-NWH10 adaptor to connect an A10 to an external USB DAC, if the last one is self powered and if it recognises a DAC in absence of power on USB (the A10 doesn't supply power on USB, just data - see here), but also if the DAC is powered through USB and an end of an Y cable is used to provide power to the DAC though a power supply (power pack, AC adaptor, PC USB port, etc - this could also bypass the limit of those DACs that cannot recognise DACs in absence of power on USB, but I cannot test it - see here).
Mmet
- just drag & drop ... the only ting is you should define your mass storage ( from the player settings ) which one : the internal storage or the memory card should be detectable on your computer " it shows only one storage per connection ...
- no it doesn't :
AUDIO PLAYBACK
AAC (Non-DRM), AIFF, ALAC, FLAC, HE-AAC, Linear PCM, MP3, WMA (Non-DRM)
- no it is not replaceable ... but you shouldn't worry about it the walkman's batteries are fantastic and it lasts for a long time of use
- no it doesn't :
AUDIO PLAYBACK
AAC (Non-DRM), AIFF, ALAC, FLAC, HE-AAC, Linear PCM, MP3, WMA (Non-DRM)
- no it is not replaceable ... but you shouldn't worry about it the walkman's batteries are fantastic and it lasts for a long time of use
Mmet
you are most welcome 
... about the battery..yes it is not replaceable by the normal customer
... about the battery..yes it is not replaceable by the normal customer 