[bcarr112281]

I just got off the phone with an actual Sony employee (not a third party). Apparently, the views and activity on my Sony Community Forum post was noticed and they wanted to discuss my experience with the forum. Among other things, I mentioned the lack of followup to my questions and the "boilerplate" response from the moderator (who is apparently a third party - not a Sony employee). I won't bore you with the details, but I tried to give useful feedback.

The good news is that he seemed genuinely interested in the A306 issue and its impact on owners (as well as Sony's reputation) and promised to follow up by next week at the latest as to the actual status.

Yes, the audio performance issue certainly seems widespread; I’m seeing complaints on Reddit and elsewhere.

 

[bcarr112281]

It's a great device, if it's working 100%, but having a capped one I can't recommend going that route. Even the noncapped one doest drive HD series properly, just not enough juice. It really can't even drive my mieze classics 99 properly. I mean it's listenable but they sound better with more juice.

The uncapped Sony doesn't drive them properly? Isn't the Meze 99 considered easy to drive?

 

[goody]

Yes, the audio performance issue certainly seems widespread; I’m seeing complaints on Reddit and elsewhere.

What about the japanese forums i was reading the reviews on amazon japan (translated) no mention of the Bass issue

 

[Monerjoner]

My A306 should arrive any hour now. Excited and filled with fear at the same time

EDIT:
I just unpacked it and will let it charge for a bit now. First impression was definitely: wow this is smaller than expected, pleasant surprise. Just as light and thinner than the Shanling M1 too, feels lovely. Impressed so far

Where did you get yours from please?

 

[Ryokan]

I'd like to try one of these but am put off in case I get one from abroad with an issue, but if I buy one here it'll be the capped version

 

[Lyzar]

Where did you get yours from please?

I got mine from amazon.de, capped version. Imho goes plenty loud for use with IEMs and my HD599, but I could see it struggle with something like an 80 Ohm headphone (unless one uses an USB-C DAC/AMP). No bass issue on my unit, but haven't heard much about the European Version in general.

I'd like to try one of these but am put off in case I get one from abroad with an issue, but if I buy one here it'll be the capped version

Depending on what you use it with I think the capped thing is a non issue. Do you plan to use full-sized headphones or iems?

Mine just reached 15% of its first charge. 20 hours of mixed wired/Bluetooth/WiFi usage. Pretty pleased. My Shanling would have died three to four times in that amount of time.

 

[rlw6534]

What about the japanese forums i was reading the reviews on amazon japan (translated) no mention of the Bass issue

@Vamp898

Have you seen any mention of this issue on Japanese forums?

 

[Monerjoner]

I'd like to try one of these but am put off in case I get one from abroad with an issue, but if I buy one here it'll be the capped version

Absolutely my feelings at the moment as I sent back

I got mine from amazon.de, capped version. Imho goes plenty loud for use with IEMs and my HD599, but I could see it struggle with something like an 80 Ohm headphone (unless one uses an USB-C DAC/AMP). No bass issue on my unit, but haven't heard much about the European Version in general.

Depending on what you use it with I think the capped thing is a non issue. Do you plan to use full-sized headphones or iems?

Mine just reached 15% of its first charge. 20 hours of mixed wired/Bluetooth/WiFi usage. Pretty pleased. My Shanling would have died three to four times in that amount of time.

I think my concerns are the negative comments about the volume restricted settings and the lack of high gain. I've been spoilt with my Japanese version of my current NWA 105. Great DAP terrible battery.
Thanks for taking the time to respond. Enjoy your Dap
Regards Graham

 

[Ryokan]

I got mine from amazon.de, capped version. Imho goes plenty loud for use with IEMs and my HD599, but I could see it struggle with something like an 80 Ohm headphone (unless one uses an USB-C DAC/AMP). No bass issue on my unit, but haven't heard much about the European Version in general.

Depending on what you use it with I think the capped thing is a non issue. Do you plan to use full-sized headphones or iems?

Mine just reached 15% of its first charge. 20 hours of mixed wired/Bluetooth/WiFi usage. Pretty pleased. My Shanling would have died three to four times in that amount of time.

Only iem's. Which model Shanling do/did you own and how does the Sony compare for sound (overall)?

 

[Lyzar]

Only iem's. Which model Shanling do/did you own and how does the Sony compare for sound (overall)?

I own a shanling M1. Keep in mind that one only has 35mW @ 32 Ohm so not that crazy high power, but still more than the A306.
With all of my IEMs (Tin HiFi T2, Fender FXA2, Moondrop Aria, Sennheiser IE200) the Sony sounds cleaner IMHO. I also think the stereo image seems wider and more distinct. Bluetooth on the Sony seems more stable.
With the build in Walkman App I listen to most of my IEMs between 30-45 for Volume, which compares nicely to my Shanling M1 Levels on low gain. Strangely Spotify is quieter and I push the volume to 50-60. I only got the Volume warning once when exceeding 50 so far. Pressed ok and it happily went higher.
I have only used it in Direct so far (so no EQ or other enhancements), but do plan to dedicate a day per setting soon, just to get a feel.

Battery wise my Shanling is old and it's battery probably worn (5 years old). It only gets 5-6 hours of active listening. The Sony lasted almost 21 hours on its first charge. That is, as mentioned before, with mixed wired/Bluetooth/WiFi usage. Also I expect it to be even higher once I stop looking at the screen so often lol (almost 2 hours screen time).
A couple of things the Shanling gets better IMHO:
- volume wheel is more intuitive and better to reach blind
- buttons feel like they have less of a delay (only slightly tho)
- obviously more output power (I only use mine in Low Gain and it still drives my HD599s nicely), with no cap at all

Biggest seller for the Sony imho is that I can listen to Spotify/Podcasts without needing to either download the Podcasts from my pc or without connecting my Phone to the Shanling via bluetooth. On the go Spotify is way more than enough for me (especially when using Bluetooth headphones/buds anyway).

Just my opinion about this little thing. I think it obviously depends on what you want and where you think you might upgrade to

 

[Tiax]

I only got the Volume warning once when exceeding 50 so far. Pressed ok and it happily went higher.

Seeing it every time would definitely bother me, and that was one of the reasons i got my A306 from Japan.
No warnings, no volume cap, no bass issues, just the way i like it

 

[Lyzar]

Seeing it every time would definitely bother me, and that was one of the reasons i got my A306 from Japan.
No warnings, no volume cap, no bass issues, just the way i like it

Yeah every time would annoy me too, but it happend once so far. And I actually found myself using the A306 with my HD599 more than with my IEMs so far. Granted I have not left the house since I got the A306 (which is an anomaly), which means open back is fine lol.
But yeah I wish no cap would be an option, but I prefer easy access to repairs

 

[bcarr112281]

What about the japanese forums i was reading the reviews on amazon japan (translated) no mention of the Bass issue

@Vamp898

Have you seen any mention of this issue on Japanese forums?

No, but I'm only familiar with Amazon Japan. I'll keep an eye on it.

 

[goody]

Can anyone suggest any 3rd party cases for the A306 ? thinking of ordering the A105 case looks like it might fit

 

[psikey]

Can anyone suggest any 3rd party cases for the A306 ? thinking of ordering the A105 case looks like it might fit

What type you after? Flip, TPU, Leather (pleather) ? https://www.amazon.co.uk/MITER-CASE...3?keywords=NW-A306+case&qid=1678018684&sr=8-3

Think A300 series is just 0.8mm thicker, Buttons/ports in same locations and screen same size

I had one of like this on my WM1AM2 and it was great, and screen protector

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Protective...1?keywords=NW-A306+case&qid=1678018786&sr=8-1