Sony walkman A-10 review
PACKAGING :
so simple .. just the player,cable and some manuals . very straightforward unboxing and logical.
design and build quality :
-the player looks gorgeous ,stylish,slim,light and(looks) sturdy ...
-the front facing is aluminum and rear is plastic .. my only gripe on the build there is a small gap between the metal and plastic side which contain the volume buttons and hold button ...
it is nothing to worry about ..just not the usual of sony flawless finishing .
SO, what makes that one so special and different from the other previous walkmans ?
1- First non android one that has S-master HX amplifier circuit that has more power and cleaner signal
2- using of the quality Sanyo POSCAPs .. for cleaner sound and more stable power supply
3-using thickened power cables .
4-thickened power supply section .
5- Aluminum frame structure and chassis that hold its components .
6- the expandable memory slot
7- used a solder that is Lead FREE
Usability & Ui :
Usability :
the best so far ... only can be beaten by another walkman with touch screen and hardware control buttons !!
with the screen closed .. one single click to play/ pause .. volumes up and down ... forward an backward tracks ... and in playing screen you can shuffle between the albums instantly by the up and down buttons.
the blind control in your pocket with all controls is very easy and fast with the big marked play button and volume buttons ... always sony is the best in that aspect with all devices i had before except the walkman F because the lack of hardware buttons!
UI :
in few wards .. simple,fast,bug free .. not the most beautiful and customization ui in the world ( android and ios of course the best ) but it is the most straight forward,easy and dedicated for playing music.
other features :
1-Bluetooth (APTX supported )for better bluetooth transmission and better quality sound & also supports file transfer and data exchange between the walkman and othe mobiles or any bluetooth enabled device .
2-NFC
3-can play podcast .
4-FM radio
5-actually this thing can play videos !!
don't now who in 2015 with those gigantic mobile phones screens will watch any thing on that screen but it is there if needed and always will not hurt
*****micro sd slot*****
The most important feature that separates that one from the previous line is : the micro sd slot that accepts memory to 128gb ....
in my case 64 gb almost full and scanned it in about minute or minute and half max
some important steps you can forget when dealing with memory card in that player :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
you must read the manual for them because i am lazy to rewrite them again while already exists!!
Battery life :
the official announcement is : 50 hours with mp3 128kb & 30 with hi-res files .......
-my experience : with variety of files : some flac 24/96 - wave 16/44 - flac 16/44 - AAC - mp3 320 and full volume with sound enhancements always on it gives me from 30 to 35 hours till the battery starts blinking !! .... that was unimaginably good .
***SOUND***
Actually i don't know how to start that section of my impressions so there are some points i want to clear ..
1-I had before & listened to - in the digital era - some walkmans ,some ipods , some creative players then ipods with amps .. and the last one i got was the Fiio X3 .
2-i am an equalizer user .. i love equalizer and sound enhancements not always , not with all genera .. but i use them frequently
3- i am an iem user mainly because i want my music to be with me everywhere : sitting in the house ..walking..running ..waiting friends in the cafe.. even when going to bathroom !
4-this impressions with relatively the new player not burned in like my fiio x3 .. yes i belive in burning in .. and i belive that any electronic device contains caps (specially quality ones )need to run for a period to give its optimal performance even if the difference is small and not noticable some times .
5- all my listening done by SHURE se-535 as i don't have quality iems other than those .
(A)SOUND ENHANCEMENTS :
a) equalizer : powerful and effective ... Clear bass can really deliver
b) DSEE HX :adds smoothness to the treble region .. small difference but noticeable and some times is very welcome .
c) Clear Audio+ : the best enhancement in the player ... actually i can leave it on most of the time .. it adds hefty low end and sparkling treble ... without washing out the details or distorting the sound .. may sound artificial to some but for me it is perfect.
d) VPT surround : adds reverb to the sound i love only the studio effect .
e)Down sampling : it is for converting the hi-res files to normal ones !! why would any body do that??!! ... to use the sound enhancements with those files as the enhancements not working with high-res materials .
NOTE : sound enhancements and equalizers and clear bass in the android walkman almost useless ... the non- android original sony FW ALWAYS the best .
(B) THE sound quality impressions ( without enhancements ) :
1- HISS :
first of all i am not a hissy guy and i don't bother with the hissing .. simply it don't disturb me but i can confirm that there is very very small amount of hiss with that player with shure se535 ... my ipod touch hiss more !!
it is in the same league with fiio x3 and may be quieter too.
*in comparison to F806 : that walkman is the most noisy thing i put my shures in .. hissing and making noises as hell !!
*with E013 & E375 : those players are hissing so much too not in the A-10 league !
*sansa clip + : slightly more hissy than the A-10 .
NOTE : hissing increase with the equalizer and VPT surrounds ON .
UPDATE 6-4-2015 ****
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
2-sound signature :
its sound signature is hard to describe ! it is not warm like the x3 .. not bright like the F806 ... and not boring and dead like ipod .... may be it could be described as "on the fun side of neutrality" .. or " ipod's sound done right "
neutral with nice bass .. and more lively treble ... very smooth ... due to its relative neutrality the details are more apparent than the X3 .......
also X3 has more attacking and obvious treble than A-10 ( high gain ) .. on ( low gain ) no much difference but slight smoothness on the walkman.
the A-10 is better in mid-range and vocals .. its more forward sig. than x3 which has slightly recessed mids covered with the bigger bass attacks
as for the treble : they are smooth and very detailed not like my previous F806 which had metallic and piercing treble due to its relatively high amp noise that characterize th S-MASTER MX generation walkmans .
for bass : fiio x3 has the most enjoyable bass attack then the A-10 with its neutral sound then comes the F806 with the least bass of them.
for clarity: F806 & A-10 are in the same league and may be there is an edge to the F806 .... then X3.
LOUDNESS : A-10 is the loudest walkman i tried .. but comparing to other players it is only suitable to iems and very easy to drive portable headphones.
conclusion & fast points :
* what is good :
1-superb sound ... it is the best sounding non-android walkman.
2- size ,slimness,style and build quality.
3- finally walkman with micro sd card slot
4- The sound enhancements
5- superb battery life
6- great usability and blind control.
* what is not good :
1- weak output power
2- not the sony standard quality finish
............................................
wow !! that was big !
.. never imagined that i can write that much!! specially this is my first review !! ... but i kept in mind people like me ..who don't have the chance to try before buy .. and depends only on reviews .. tried to be honest as possible and transfer my experience as it is ... feel free to ask
PACKAGING :
so simple .. just the player,cable and some manuals . very straightforward unboxing and logical.
design and build quality :
-the player looks gorgeous ,stylish,slim,light and(looks) sturdy ...
-the front facing is aluminum and rear is plastic .. my only gripe on the build there is a small gap between the metal and plastic side which contain the volume buttons and hold button ...
it is nothing to worry about ..just not the usual of sony flawless finishing .
SO, what makes that one so special and different from the other previous walkmans ?
1- First non android one that has S-master HX amplifier circuit that has more power and cleaner signal
2- using of the quality Sanyo POSCAPs .. for cleaner sound and more stable power supply
3-using thickened power cables .
4-thickened power supply section .
5- Aluminum frame structure and chassis that hold its components .
6- the expandable memory slot
7- used a solder that is Lead FREE
Usability & Ui :
Usability :
the best so far ... only can be beaten by another walkman with touch screen and hardware control buttons !!
with the screen closed .. one single click to play/ pause .. volumes up and down ... forward an backward tracks ... and in playing screen you can shuffle between the albums instantly by the up and down buttons.
the blind control in your pocket with all controls is very easy and fast with the big marked play button and volume buttons ... always sony is the best in that aspect with all devices i had before except the walkman F because the lack of hardware buttons!
UI :
in few wards .. simple,fast,bug free .. not the most beautiful and customization ui in the world ( android and ios of course the best ) but it is the most straight forward,easy and dedicated for playing music.
other features :
1-Bluetooth (APTX supported )for better bluetooth transmission and better quality sound & also supports file transfer and data exchange between the walkman and othe mobiles or any bluetooth enabled device .
2-NFC
3-can play podcast .
4-FM radio
5-actually this thing can play videos !!
don't now who in 2015 with those gigantic mobile phones screens will watch any thing on that screen but it is there if needed and always will not hurt
*****micro sd slot*****
The most important feature that separates that one from the previous line is : the micro sd slot that accepts memory to 128gb ....
in my case 64 gb almost full and scanned it in about minute or minute and half max
some important steps you can forget when dealing with memory card in that player :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
you must read the manual for them because i am lazy to rewrite them again while already exists!!
Battery life :
the official announcement is : 50 hours with mp3 128kb & 30 with hi-res files .......
-my experience : with variety of files : some flac 24/96 - wave 16/44 - flac 16/44 - AAC - mp3 320 and full volume with sound enhancements always on it gives me from 30 to 35 hours till the battery starts blinking !! .... that was unimaginably good .
***SOUND***
Actually i don't know how to start that section of my impressions so there are some points i want to clear ..
1-I had before & listened to - in the digital era - some walkmans ,some ipods , some creative players then ipods with amps .. and the last one i got was the Fiio X3 .
2-i am an equalizer user .. i love equalizer and sound enhancements not always , not with all genera .. but i use them frequently
3- i am an iem user mainly because i want my music to be with me everywhere : sitting in the house ..walking..running ..waiting friends in the cafe.. even when going to bathroom !
4-this impressions with relatively the new player not burned in like my fiio x3 .. yes i belive in burning in .. and i belive that any electronic device contains caps (specially quality ones )need to run for a period to give its optimal performance even if the difference is small and not noticable some times .
5- all my listening done by SHURE se-535 as i don't have quality iems other than those .
(A)SOUND ENHANCEMENTS :
a) equalizer : powerful and effective ... Clear bass can really deliver
b) DSEE HX :adds smoothness to the treble region .. small difference but noticeable and some times is very welcome .
c) Clear Audio+ : the best enhancement in the player ... actually i can leave it on most of the time .. it adds hefty low end and sparkling treble ... without washing out the details or distorting the sound .. may sound artificial to some but for me it is perfect.
d) VPT surround : adds reverb to the sound i love only the studio effect .
e)Down sampling : it is for converting the hi-res files to normal ones !! why would any body do that??!! ... to use the sound enhancements with those files as the enhancements not working with high-res materials .
NOTE : sound enhancements and equalizers and clear bass in the android walkman almost useless ... the non- android original sony FW ALWAYS the best .
(B) THE sound quality impressions ( without enhancements ) :
1- HISS :
first of all i am not a hissy guy and i don't bother with the hissing .. simply it don't disturb me but i can confirm that there is very very small amount of hiss with that player with shure se535 ... my ipod touch hiss more !!
it is in the same league with fiio x3 and may be quieter too.
*in comparison to F806 : that walkman is the most noisy thing i put my shures in .. hissing and making noises as hell !!
*with E013 & E375 : those players are hissing so much too not in the A-10 league !
*sansa clip + : slightly more hissy than the A-10 .
NOTE : hissing increase with the equalizer and VPT surrounds ON .
UPDATE 6-4-2015 ****
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
2-sound signature :
its sound signature is hard to describe ! it is not warm like the x3 .. not bright like the F806 ... and not boring and dead like ipod .... may be it could be described as "on the fun side of neutrality" .. or " ipod's sound done right "
neutral with nice bass .. and more lively treble ... very smooth ... due to its relative neutrality the details are more apparent than the X3 .......
also X3 has more attacking and obvious treble than A-10 ( high gain ) .. on ( low gain ) no much difference but slight smoothness on the walkman.
the A-10 is better in mid-range and vocals .. its more forward sig. than x3 which has slightly recessed mids covered with the bigger bass attacks
as for the treble : they are smooth and very detailed not like my previous F806 which had metallic and piercing treble due to its relatively high amp noise that characterize th S-MASTER MX generation walkmans .
for bass : fiio x3 has the most enjoyable bass attack then the A-10 with its neutral sound then comes the F806 with the least bass of them.
for clarity: F806 & A-10 are in the same league and may be there is an edge to the F806 .... then X3.
LOUDNESS : A-10 is the loudest walkman i tried .. but comparing to other players it is only suitable to iems and very easy to drive portable headphones.
conclusion & fast points :
* what is good :
1-superb sound ... it is the best sounding non-android walkman.
2- size ,slimness,style and build quality.
3- finally walkman with micro sd card slot
4- The sound enhancements
5- superb battery life
6- great usability and blind control.
* what is not good :
1- weak output power
2- not the sony standard quality finish
............................................
wow !! that was big !