[Mmet]

OK, thanks, I suspected the nw-a306 wasn’t physically wired to handle the inline microphone / remote control.
But does it mean that I can find a mmcx cable with a 3.5 mm TRRS jack that can take advantage of this Sony’s way of wiring - to make it balanced ? - would it make the sound better then with the Shure IEM ?

Yes you can benefit from that wiring and get a cable with separate grounds .. it is not balanced .. they are just separate grounds ... Some here claim that they detected a difference and a bit wider sound stage that's it .. it is what it is i suppose
BTW .. i have the same iem as yours how does it sound with A306 ?
Bass ? .. clarity ? .. layering and sound stage ?

 

[Richy d]

I bought the TPU case with tempered glass screen protector combo and it’s a great cheap way to get all-over protection:

Soft Clear TPU Protective Shell Skin Case Cover for Sony Walkman NW-A300 Series NW-A306 NW-A307 (Clear case and Glass) https://a.co/d/aqHeFyh

$14 and the fit is perfect.

 

[Richy d]

Amazon delivered what was obviously a used one to me the box was torn from opening the screen was covered in finger prints and the rubber bung was missing from the usb port.
I am returning it in the meantime I thought I would give it a try to see if I would order a replacement or not.
I had held off buying a case for it Incase I didn't like it.
I have now ordered a replacement and a case.
Using it with my ifi gryphon and uapp
sounded really good much better than with my phone and it's size makes it much more practical.
For the case I ordered the mitre case in black I have the same case for the gryphon just need to find the best way to stack them anyone have any recommendations.
The new one arrives tomorrow and I will add more later.

 

[cliffjnr]

anyone know where i can buy the Sony silicone case, delivered to the uk?

 

[milesjunkie]

Works like a charm, great if you need a bit more power. I've tried a crapload of dongles wired and BT and they all work flawless with a306. One thing I've discovered is even with 400 dollar dongles I still prefer the sound out of the a306. Always at first they sound 'better' but once I get used to them and properly volume matched I go back to straight a306.

This would probably not be the case if I had something demanding to drive, as the dongles all have more power. And strangely the cheap ifi go link was one of the best sounding to me. But in the end it's not worth the plugging and unplugging for a slightly (maybe) different sound. Just my 2 cents, and I've really tried alot in the last couple of months lol. It was fun.

But short answer is yes everything worked great with a306 unless I was using hiby music USB exclusive mode, that could be an android fault, with Sony's framework involved.

So quite the testimate to this tiny dap, at least to my ears.

Um forgot to add that battery life will go down faster of course with a wired dongle. Going to try the new cayin RU7 and that will be my last for a while I think

Curious how the RU7 sounds with the 306? I’m considering this combination.

 

[stylus75]

For those that owned the previous A series WM A105, is there much of a difference in sound signature at all?

 

[Monerjoner]

For those that owned the previous A series WM A105, is there much of a difference in sound signature at all?

Do you mean the NWA105?

 

[goody]

Hey guys i have not been on here in a while any new developments ...@psikey how are you enjoying your sony dap i am still loving mine

 

[Erik75]

I bought the A306 because I was fed up with the iPhone lightning dongle: when it’s a bit cold any slight motion would disconnect the wired headphones.
Other than that, I was rather pleased with the sound quality of Apple Music on the iPhone with the Shure SE535. I listen to classical music only in lossless or high-res lossless.

I am now in the process of moving to the Sony A306 - I have also changed the stock Shure cable (which had an inline microphone) to a Tripowin C8 cable without mic.
I find the sound much cleaner, more transparent and more precise.
On the iPhone the sound could sometimes appear more impressive at first but in fact I think it’s just the bass that was more emphasized.
With the Sony, instrument separation and sound stage sound very good to me.
But sorry I’m not an audiophile nor a sound engineer so I’m not sure if it’s objective … plus I’m comparing to an iPhone with it’s dongle’s DAC so …

By the way, I tried playing my DSD files with the stock walkman app. It seems to work only with 2 channel files but not with 5.0 / 5.1 files.
Do you know of any good android player that can play 5.1 files ? I tried the Onkyo player but it doesn’t take advantage of the Sony’s hardware capability, it converts the dsf file to only 48Khz PCM.
Roon ARC is even worse, it cannot download files to the extra SD card, plus it converts everything to 44.1KHz.

 

[Monerjoner]

Hey guys i have not been on here in a while any new developments ...@psikey how are you enjoying your sony dap i am still loving mine

Fantastic DAP especially as I had the previous NWA 105 model, this is definitely an upgrade

 

[stylus75]

Nevermind

 

[stylus75]

Do you mean the NWA105?

Yes

 

[psikey]

Hey guys i have not been on here in a while any new developments ...@psikey how are you enjoying your sony dap i am still loving mine

Yep, still having and enjoying but recently got a Fiio BTR7 and that sounds amazing too. Using that a lot over LDAC BT with my regular mobile.

 

[Richy d]

Can anyone help me with this.
I downloaded music from quobuz onto an SD card and they will not play over usb to my ifi gryphon but they are playing over Bluetooth.
I've looked through the settings and I can't see anything relevant to usb out settings.
Am I missing something obvious.
Just to add when using usb they're playing in quobuz but I am not getting any sound from the gryphon

 

[Benesyed]

Yep, still having and enjoying but recently got a Fiio BTR7 and that sounds amazing too. Using that a lot over LDAC BT with my regular mobile.

Do you hear a big difference between LDAC and aptx adaptive? I havent been really able to at all. I thought about getting a blue tooth rig but my phones battery life is such trash i almost never use it for music ha