[Bepli]

To me it is too soon to say 4.4mm will take over the balanced output standard. I mean, there are 2 DAP on the market that make use of it, with 2 more known to be coming. And there are dozens of 2.5mm Balanced DAP, from low end to high end. If Sony wants to turn the table here, they really have to have an aggressive pricing here.

For me its pretty obvs that it will take over, since two major companies already jumped on it. One being one of the best known for high end headphones. Also aggressive pricing is not something that will make the connection big. There are 7 euro balanced headphones for 2.5mm but it isnt really succesfull, but if sony and sennheiser push it with more good products and more availability it will be a success !

 

[benchan2]

For me its pretty obvs that it will take over, since two major companies already jumped on it. One being one of the best known for high end headphones. Also aggressive pricing is not something that will make the connection big. There are 7 euro balanced headphones for 2.5mm but it isnt really succesfull, but if sony and sennheiser push it with more good products and more availability it will be a success !

Maybe that is true, unless Sennheiser decide to hop back to XLR standard and focus on home system . And I think customers always welcome things to be cheaper, and SE-CH5BL would be a good attempt.

 

[imparanoic]

Better be Walkman if you want any decent battery life.

apparently, according to leaked instructions manual, lower battery life compare to nw-zx100 ( which i am using now) , did sony reduce the battery life for slimmer profile?

 

[benchan2]

ZX300 and AR-M200 gonna be more affordable 4.4mm balanced out DAP, really can't wait to try both of them (but first I have to get a 4.4mm cable).

 

[Bepli]

apparently, according to leaked instructions manual, lower battery life compare to nw-zx100 ( which i am using now) , did sony reduce the battery life for slimmer profile?

One reason could be a smaller battery, but I think the output power will be higher (or atleast I hope it will be higher).
New things are:
-updated design
-new OS
-USB DAC Mode
-MQA support
-4.4 mm balanced
-new PC Software

 

[Bepli]

ZX300 and AR-M200 gonna be more affordable 4.4mm balanced out DAP, really can't wait to try both of them (but first I have to get a 4.4mm cable).

I think the AR-M200 really looks bad compared to the Sony one

 

[benchan2]

What make you say so? They both look compact enough to me, there is little I know more than that.

 

[Bepli]

What make you say so? They both look compact enough to me, there is little I know more than that.

The AR-M200 just does not look modern to me, it lookes like 20 years old. The Sony ZX300 looks pretty modern to me

 

[Roland P]

I wonder why Sony's own walkman-os doesn't support dlna. It's not an Android exclusive feature.

 

[Sven2015]

Just add a Micro-SD and you're good. I don't care about less memory. Battery life is somewhat disappointing, but we do get a slimmer device which is convenient.
It does make sense to make the NW-ZX300 less good compared to the NW-A1 than the NW-ZX100 was to the ZX-2. After all the ZX100 cannibalised on the sales of ZX2.

Perhaps the NW-ZX300 will sit more logically in the middle between A40 and NW-A1. The ZX100 leaned more to the top.
Balanced output , slimmer design and better screen (and maybe more output power and updated components) already make the ZX300 more compelling than ZX100 to consider it as a truly PORTABLE Media Player.

I just hope it'll come with apt-x.

Less internal memory without a second SD slot isn't good! I hope for a second SD slot, otherwise the 300 is a backstep. Today I prefer a min. internal memory of 128 - 256 GB, not less!
Current models with less memory or one SD slot are rubbish! I love my 100 but the next player must have more memory (min. 256 GB internal + 1 SD slot) or (64 GB internal + 2 SD slots).

 

[Bepli]

Less internal memory without a second SD slot isn't good! I hope for a second SD slot, otherwise the 300 is a backstep. Today I prefer a min. internal memory of 128 - 256 GB, not less!
Current models with less memory or one SD slot are rubbish! I love my 100 but the next player must have more memory (min. 256 GB internal + 1 SD slot) or (64 GB internal + 2 SD slots).

No second sd card slot, look in the manuels, they are final.

 

[Sven2015]

I cannot understand this kind of restriction. We have 2017 and not 2007. We have Hi-Res files and not MP3 anymore. I need a min. of 512 GB, not 8 or 64.... and I use normal FLAC files...

 

[nanaholic]

Touch screen confirmed is it? The ZX series walkman usually have a dpad of some sort. Going to hold off on any walkman now until I know they have podcast/bookmark support. My a35 would be the perfect device with that option, so it sticks a bit if it will be on the new models.

Neither the ZX1 or ZX2 had a dpad and was mainly touchscreen driven with side buttons, in fact the ZX100 was the odd duck out back on release where it lacked a touchscreen and only had button controls.

 

[nanaholic]

One reason could be a smaller battery, but I think the output power will be higher (or atleast I hope it will be higher).

Most likely it will share the new S-Master chip in the A30 and WM1 series, which means at least 4 times the output power in SE (15mW per channel of the old in ZX series vs 60mW in the new). Just that alone is enough to contribute to the reduced battery life.

 

[Bepli]

Most likely it will share the new S-Master chip in the A30 and WM1 series, which means at least 4 times the output power in SE (15mW per channel of the old in ZX series vs 60mW in the new). Just that alone is enough to contribute to the reduced battery life.

Jep. I think output power is more important than long battery life, I rater take a player that only plays 4 hours and can power everything than a player that plays 30 or more hours and already struggles to power some low impedance headphones