[gjc10212]

What is the best micro sd card to use with 306?

 

[psikey]

What is the best micro sd card to use with 306?

Any modern one with reasonable speed for the initial bulk transfer of files. Don't let some members convince you to spend 3x the price on premium/industrial cards.

Genuine Sandisk & Samsung ones generally fine.

 

[UselessInf0]

What is the best micro sd card to use with 306?

I used this 1TB card Silicon Power 1TB Micro SD Card U3 with no issues when I had my A306.

 

[Livingformusic]

How does this compare with the dx170? Which is a better dap overall? I have been debating which should I get also which would be a better pair with mangird xenns top.? Thank you!

Hi NiVrA,


I just got my A306 (Japan region model, with 35mW of max output per channel) few days ago, and gave it a brief listen with Legend X (with copper cable and 4.4 balanced to 3.5 single ended adapter). No EQ was used, and direct source mode was turned on (and also hi-res streaming turned on).

From first impressions of listening to some slow jazz vocals and classical music on Tidal, there is a decent amount of air and stage to give vocals and instruments room to be positioned and presented decently across the front and from the back of the stage. Height is slightly lacking, and also does not have as much headroom as mid-range daps do (such as DX170). Depth is about average with enough reach, texture and decay from low end. But, I find myself having to raise the volume up more (between 70 and 90, out of 120) than I usually do with other daps to get more feel and presence of sub-bass and impact.
Volume range is more than enough for listening to music outside in environments with fairly loud background noise, and I found it to sound noticeably louder than my iPhone 13 Pro Max (when compared side by side, with Lightning dongle and copper cable in 3.5 single ended).

Midrange is a bit lean bodied, yet smooth with enough body and detail (for casual listening). There is this sense of warmth and ease in the way vocals and instruments are presented without feeling much fatigue (even after two hours of listening) for most tracks. Depending on how the song was recorded, some tracks came off sounding more spacious with more airy feel.


In dac mode (when connected by usb to pc), I also found some documentaries and shows to give a similar feel and sense of air and widened space with good reach across the stage and to the sides. This quality reminded me a bit of the WM1AM2 in some ways (going by memory, from the time I had the WM1AM2 for about a week), but with a noticeable step down in resolution and some lack of body & texture in low end and refinement in midrange for the A306.

Treble (from mid highs to upper mid highs) is fairly smooth and a bit more relaxed while presenting just enough details at the surface without any piercing sharpness.



For the DX170 on the other hand, it is noticeably more dynamic with more low end impact, with more speed and refinement in separation & imaging (in 4.4 balanced and high gain). Going from memory, presentation on DX170 is not as musical as A306, with a more neutral kind of sound with slightly sharper transients. There is also a bit more width & depth in stage, as well as more dynamic range and headroom. The DX170 also has a higher power output, which is more than enough to drive iems, and about enough to drive some headphones (with low impedance, and also upwards to 70-80 ohms).

For user interface and usage, I found the A306 to be more consistent and responsive in navigating through and playing tracks on Tidal, and also accessing and playing tracks from the Walkman app, as well as switching from app to app, and changing the volume more easily and smoothly. Startup time is roughly the same (about 50 seconds~), but for navigation and use of music playback apps, and also switching to dac mode (when connected to a pc by usb cable), the A306 is noticeably quicker. Also, the A306 is easier to carry around and for listening to music conveniently on the go, due to its more compact size.





Due to the smaller form factor and smoother refined user interface, longer battery life, with a touch of musicality and an overall more ‘enjoyable’ presentation in sound & feel, the A306 is now my go to for listening on the go (and also at work). My DX170 will be up for sale in the classifieds shortly.


Hope this helps.

 

[ductue89]

The shop owner offer me to trade in my A306 with bass issue and upgrade to the ZX707. Does the 707 really worth twice the money ?

 

[abitdeef]

The shop owner offer me to trade in my A306 with bass issue and upgrade to the ZX707. Does the 707 really worth twice the money ?

Do you need the extra screen size, or the balanced output? If no I'd say no.

 

[ductue89]

Do you need the extra screen size, or the balanced output? If no I'd say no.

Most of my iem and earbud has balanced input cable, the difference between balanced and SE output worth it?
Since i also got the bass issue on my A306 and we still dont know whether sony are able to fix the problem, the trade in option is very temping to me.

 

[abitdeef]

Most of my iem and earbud has balanced input cable, the difference between balanced and SE output worth it?
Since i also got the bass issue on my A306 and we still dont know whether sony are able to fix the problem, the trade in option is very temping to me.

I haven't heard the 707, you could go and try one out, before you commit. To me it wouldn't be worth it, but of course it's up to you. Sony said they will be fixing the bass issue in a firmware update btw. I've got no reason to believe they won't, they've been good about addressing issues in the past. I'd trust Sony before I'd trust anyone on here saying ' they think' it's a hardware issue.

Still only you can decide, I have seen some Japanese customers say the 707 wasn't a big enough jump in sound quality for the price. So as I said, if you've got something that needs a bit more juice or you want a bigger screen, well there you go.

 

[Livingformusic]

The shop owner offer me to trade in my A306 with bass issue and upgrade to the ZX707. Does the 707 really worth twice the money ?

Hi ductue89,

If you have the Japan model of A306, I think it’s mostly fine for listening to music on the go.

I feel the ZX707 has gone for a slightly different approach in its presentation of sound than what Sony has done for the A306 and WM1AM2.

On the ZX707 (Japan region model, with high gain), the sound is slightly more up close on the stage, but spread out a bit more with noticeably less height and depth than WM1AM2 (yet slightly more depth than A306), which gives the impression of a more wide perspective of instruments and vocals on/across the stage. There is also some energetic forwardness in the way strings and wind instruments sound with noticeably less weight, less warmth and not as much dense body (when compared to WM1AM2 and DX170). However, it feels about the same in note weight with A306, but done in a way with more crisp energy and cleaner separation & layering.

For size, ergonomics and user interface, the ZX707 holds a good middle ground in its overall form factor with pleasant feel and quality finish, ergonomic design of rubber textured grip along its back contoured side and some refinement in its aesthetics. Startup time is fairly quick, in under 30 seconds (after removing some apps and disabling some background processes), and has a more snappy response when switching between apps and going through tracks on Tidal.

Front side view: Sony NW-ZX707 (Japan, left) & Sony NW-A306 (Japan, right).



Back side view: NW-ZX707 (Japan, left) & NW-A306 (Japan, right).



Left: NW-ZX707 (Japan model: high gain, 230 mW max output per channel, with 4.4 balanced).
Right: NW-A306 (Japan model: no gain setting, 35mW max output per channel, with 3.5 4-pole balanced ouput - also compatible with 3.5 single-ended).


At its price point, it’s hard to say if the ZX707 is really worth the extra spend, as it has its own qualities (in presentation, tonality and performance) that you would have to hear and get a feel for. But, for where ZX707 sits in my iem & dap collection, I still need to give it more time and do some side by side listening/comparisons with A306.

For my use case, I feel the A306 is a strong contender at its price point with easy portability and convenient listening when going out & about, and shares some similar unique/musical qualities with WM1AM2.

 

[ductue89]

Hi ductue89,

If you have the Japan model of A306, I think it’s mostly fine for listening to music on the go.

I feel the ZX707 has gone for a slightly different approach in its presentation of sound than what Sony has done for the A306 and WM1AM2.

On the ZX707 (Japan region model, with high gain), the sound is slightly more up close on the stage, but spread out a bit more with noticeably less height and depth than WM1AM2 (yet slightly more depth than A306), which gives the impression of a more wide perspective of instruments and vocals on/across the stage. There is also some energetic forwardness in the way strings and wind instruments sound with noticeably less weight, less warmth and not as much dense body (when compared to WM1AM2 and DX170). However, it feels about the same in note weight with A306, but done in a way with more crisp energy and cleaner separation & layering.

For size, ergonomics and user interface, the ZX707 holds a good middle ground in its overall form factor with pleasant feel and quality finish, ergonomic design of rubber textured grip along its back contoured side and some refinement in its aesthetics. Startup time is fairly quick, in under 30 seconds (after removing some apps and disabling some background processes), and has a more snappy response when switching between apps and going through tracks on Tidal.

Front side view: Sony NW-ZX707 (Japan, left) & Sony NW-A306 (Japan, right).



Back side view: NW-ZX707 (Japan, left) & NW-A306 (Japan, right).



Left: NW-ZX707 (Japan model: high gain, 230 mW max output per channel, with 4.4 balanced).
Right: NW-A306 (Japan model: no gain setting, 35mW max output per channel, with 3.5 4-pole balanced ouput - also compatible with 3.5 single-ended).


At its price point, it’s hard to say if the ZX707 is really worth the extra spend, as it has its own qualities (in presentation, tonality and performance) that you would have to hear and get a feel for. But, for where ZX707 sits in my iem & dap collection, I still need to give it more time and do some side by side listening/comparisons with A306.

For my use case, I feel the A306 is a strong contender at its price point with easy portability and convenient listening when going out & about, and shares some similar unique/musical qualities with WM1AM2.

Hi thank you for your comparison. I'll go to the shop and demo the 707 before i decide to upgrade or save the money for the sony m7 iem ^^.

 

[Benesyed]

In my mind the US version of the 707 is essentially pointless since the power out of the 4.4mm is capped. There really isnt any advantage to getting it over the 306.

Uncapped it is a nice intermediary for those who cant get the AM2 but want more power.

I plan to eventually replace my Hiby R6 with the A306 from Japan for use with IEMs on the go. I use my AM2 at home or for semi travel situations/at a work desk.

 

[psikey]

In my mind the US version of the 707 is essentially pointless since the power out of the 4.4mm is capped. There really isnt any advantage to getting it over the 306.

Uncapped it is a nice intermediary for those who cant get the AM2 but want more power.

I plan to eventually replace my Hiby R6 with the A306 from Japan for use with IEMs on the go. I use my AM2 at home or for semi travel situations/at a work desk.

I've gone from WM1ZM2 to WM1AM2 to A307



And no regrets !

I listen with my KEF LS50WII* speakers now at home instead, and A307 everywhere else (and in bed).

* Now they are worth £2800rrp !!

 

[EvilJesus]

The shop owner offer me to trade in my A306 with bass issue and upgrade to the ZX707. Does the 707 really worth twice the money ?

As some one who owns both, it all comes down to what your pairing them with. The 306 is great for average use. I bought it to replace the 105 that I use at the gym. Better battery life and a lot snapper UI. Don't think it's a major upgrade in audio performance. While the 707 is my replacement for the M11 ESS and is an all around upgrade in my opinion. The difference between the 306 and 707 with my Cascades and Mammoths is night and day. The sound stage, bass and overall audio performance of the 707 is better.

 

[abitdeef]

Night and day? Lol that sounds like the capped one I had with the bass problem. He's doing the best thing, he's going to try them himself. Not saying they don't sound better or different, but I've never had any night and day experiences in daps. Not with stuff relatively easy to drive. The closest was tube amps and r2r, but I wouldn't call them night and day just distinctly different sounding. But most daps sound similar to me unless ones got more power and the iems/cans need it. The capped one that was maybe defective, yes that sounded weak.

 

[Benesyed]

Night and day? Lol that sounds like the capped one I had with the bass problem. He's doing the best thing, he's going to try them himself. Not saying they don't sound better or different, but I've never had any night and day experiences in daps. Not with stuff relatively easy to drive. The closest was tube amps and r2r, but I wouldn't call them night and day just distinctly different sounding. But most daps sound similar to me unless ones got more power and the iems/cans need it. The capped one that was maybe defective, yes that sounded weak.

the power of cognitive bias!