SONY NW-A30 SERIES
Sep 19, 2016 at 5:40 AM Post #121 of 2,453
  Bluetooth 4.2?
 
Where did you hear about Apt-X being dropped, the specs on the Sony Global site simply mentions Bluetooth NFC, not specific codecs supported.  I read an article that Sony is going to try to license LDAC to other manufacturers and Apt-X has finalized Apt-X HD with some products supporting it already announced. 
 
I just did some research and found some interesting stuff on the future of bluetooth.  Sony's new SRS-ZR5 supports the latest Bluetooth spec version 4.2.  This new spec has alot of updates to it.  including direct internet connection capability, greater security and higher transmission speeds. It appears that Apt-X is not part of the new specification.  Whether it has been dropped all together or has been renamed is unclear. I would imagine that the new spec would be backward compatible with Apt-X given how many Apt-X codec supported devices there are.
 
Specific bluetooth codecs supported by the A30 and WM models are not mentioned in the specifications.  It could mean that Sony will be releasing these new DAP's with Bluetooth 4.2 or perhaps at some point with a firmware update.  It should be interesting to see what this could mean for bluetooth going forward.

I don't think the NW-ZX2 supports Apt-X either, only LDAC (I used to own one, and should have tried it myself, but didn't get around to it.)
And support for Apt-X is missing from the descriptions of the latest lines of Walkman's, unlike the current line-up. Both my A15 and Z100 support Apt-X, which is one of the reasons I bought them.
 
Sep 19, 2016 at 7:41 AM Post #122 of 2,453
  I don't think the NW-ZX2 supports Apt-X either, only LDAC (I used to own one, and should have tried it myself, but didn't get around to it.)
And support for Apt-X is missing from the descriptions of the latest lines of Walkman's, unlike the current line-up. Both my A15 and Z100 support Apt-X, which is one of the reasons I bought them.

That is interesting about the ZX2, I did listen to it but never really investigated it much as it was out of my price range at the time.  I am guessing that the ZX-1 didn't support Apt-X either and it probably started being supported on the A10 series and ZX100.  
 
Sep 24, 2016 at 8:49 PM Post #123 of 2,453
 
From what I recall of the a15 series we got it in the uk around end of October beginning of November.  Whether that holds true this time who knows. 

 
Perhaps the UK had it later but in Poland the A-Series shipped in early october 2014, I received mine on October 10th with shipping for other mainland european countries in middle of october.  But when it arrived doesn't matter, the main issue is that unlike the A10/A20 which were listed on Sony EU sites almost immediately after IFA, the A30 is no where to be found on any Sony EU site and only seems to be listed on Sony Asia sites, Sony china and middle east.
 
From I've been told, the A30 might not ship in Europe until early 2017 at the earliest, hopefully this is not the case.
 
As for any new device to launch between now and end of the year, perhaps, but nothing on the fcc, so perhaps CES is where any new mid range device launches.
 
Sep 25, 2016 at 4:29 AM Post #124 of 2,453
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From I've been told, the A30 might not ship in Europe until early 2017 at the earliest, hopefully this is not the case.
 
As for any new device to launch between now and end of the year, perhaps, but nothing on the fcc, so perhaps CES is where any new mid range device launches.

Wouldn't surprise me.  All the focus seems to be on the flagship models which are the only ones listed on the uk site at this time as you so rightly point out.  Interested though I was in the a30 at this point I think I'm either going with the cayin now there is a uk supplier or one of either the hidiz or shanling models.
 
Sep 25, 2016 at 12:34 PM Post #126 of 2,453
  Looks like it'll be $350 Australian, would have been better at $299.
I have an A10 and A20 so it is harder to justify this for me.

Will wait for NW-A40, lol :p

I am on the fence about the A30 series as well, the extra power is nice but none of the other changes from my A17 have much appeal to me. Not a big fan of touchscreens and the better eq and DSD support do nothing for me.  So there will need to be a noticeable step up in sound quality to get me to pull the trigger.  There is a rumor in the WM series thread that Sony has finally fixed the issue with not being able to access both internal and sd card memory at the same time when connected to a PC.  Assuming that fix is on the A30 series that would be another plus.
 
Of course I would hope Sony would roll out the memory access fix in a firmware update for the A10 and A20 series.  Not holding my breath though
 
Sep 25, 2016 at 1:18 PM Post #127 of 2,453
ohh missed the bit about better EQ... afaik it's still six band?
 
Sep 25, 2016 at 1:39 PM Post #128 of 2,453
ohh missed the bit about better EQ... afaik it's still six band?

I am referring to the A30 series vs the A17 which I have, it only has a 5 band eq with fewer steps than the A30 and I believe the A20 series.  I don't use the eq either way so it makes no difference to me.
 
Sep 25, 2016 at 8:19 PM Post #129 of 2,453
  I am on the fence about the A30 series as well, the extra power is nice but none of the other changes from my A17 have much appeal to me. Not a big fan of touchscreens and the better eq and DSD support do nothing for me.  So there will need to be a noticeable step up in sound quality to get me to pull the trigger.  There is a rumor in the WM series thread that Sony has finally fixed the issue with not being able to access both internal and sd card memory at the same time when connected to a PC.  Assuming that fix is on the A30 series that would be another plus.
 
Of course I would hope Sony would roll out the memory access fix in a firmware update for the A10 and A20 series.  Not holding my breath though

They fixed it on the A20, probably A10 too. You just plug it in and press the play button to switch. Update the firmwares.
I don't use IEMs so I never have hiss and even my MDR-Z7s sound great straight or amped with my PHA-1.
 
 
Sep 26, 2016 at 3:44 AM Post #131 of 2,453
  They fixed it on the A20, probably A10 too. You just plug it in and press the play button to switch. Update the firmwares.
I don't use IEMs so I never have hiss and even my MDR-Z7s sound great straight or amped with my PHA-1.
 

Yeah I have the firmware with that fix, I mean when you connect the player to a computer the internal and microsd cards show up as two different drives.  So you could access both at the same time in MediaGo without having to use the DAP to switch between sources.  If that is the fix they are referring to in the WM DAP thread (swapping using the DAP) then not really a fix to me.  Especially since every other DAP I have tried shows both sources as two different drive letters.
 
Sep 27, 2016 at 6:02 PM Post #133 of 2,453
  ^ True but Walkman copies files at like 6/mbs while my USB SD card stick can copy files at 15/mbs. So I just do that :)

Yes that is true and I have done that as well but it would still be nice to have access to all my tracks at the same time without switching. I like keeping all the tracks from the same artist on the same memory source primarily for imported playlists.  When artists release new material I often have to move tracks from one memory source to another to clear space for the new tracks.  If both sources were available at the same time moving tracks between sources would be less tedious.
 
I may be nitpicking a little but I got use to having this ability on my other DAP's and I miss it sometimes.
 
Sep 28, 2016 at 1:26 PM Post #135 of 2,453
  Nitpicking for sure, lol.

My internal is only 16GB while my SD card is 128, I don't think I even store much internal. 

Well when you get 64 GB onboard you kind of want to use it but if I do end up getting the A30 series it will be the A35.  From what little is posted on the model numbers this may be the only one that does not come with the noise canceling earbuds which I have no interest in.  
 

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