[Vamp898]

Does anyone know the easiest/best way of importing one of the non capped versions into UK? Amazon Jp won’t ship to UK. Is it accessory jack?

Keep in mind, that you won't have any warranty, like at all, when you import from Japan. There have been several people that were already hit by that issue.

Sony Support is only in Japanese and requires an Japanese Adresse, Name and mobile phone number.

So if you don't speak Japanese, there will be pretty much zero chance to get it fixed if anything goes wrong

As my Japanese WM1ZM2 had an issues with the relays, I noticed how complicated to almost impossible it is to get it fixed for an foreigner.

If my girlfriend would not be an Japanese citizen, I would have an expensive brick now.

So even though I love Sony products, consider this twice

 

[Tommyuk77]

Final E4000

How about full size headphones?

 

[Vamp898]

How about full size headphones?

That's an simple answer, it's almost cheating.

There is absolutely no way around the MDR-1AM2

 

[Dimitry188]

Can anyone recommended me the headphone for this Walkman?
Listening all genre

Look at Yanyin Canon.

 

[Dimitry188]

How about full size headphones?

I'am afraid that this player is not powerful enough for using with full size headphones.

 

[cliffjnr]

I'am afraid that this player is not powerful enough for using with full size headphones.

funny that cos my grados work absolutely fine

 

[NickleCo]

Can anyone give me some insight to the a306 compared to say the older zx507? For the past decade (roughly) I've been used to carrying bricks for daps. Bricks without any sort of streaming. But lately I've been using my a105 more (funny how I've it for years but only recently got around to using it) mainly because of its streaming capabilities and portability. I don't mind much for how it sounds compared to my other sources out of convenience. I have also tried out the a306 yesterday and fell in love with how nice the screen was on it and its form factor is basically the same with the a105 but one thing irked me from buying it and it's the lack of 4.4. It was also a rather big issue with me coming to terms on the a105 since my better sounding gears are in 4.4 format and only a couple of them are in 3.5mm. Now my question would be, is it better to go with the slightly older a507 compared to the newer improved a306 and still have zero access to balanced out but with the benefit of having better creature comforts.

Currently i have the option of buying a used zx507 from a friend of mine for just $280 or buy a brand new a306 for $400. I'd like to stay with sony as much as I can since I've been a firm believer of their products ever since the a17.

edit: I tried the zx707 a while back but was disappointed by how muchy everything sounded on it. It could have bee my expectations being to high for how much it costs but frankly it was not my cup of tea. Funny how im fine with the a105 but not that.

 

[ducnsh]

Can anyone give me some insight to the a306 compared to say the older zx507? For the past decade (roughly) I've been used to carrying bricks for daps. Bricks without any sort of streaming. But lately I've been using my a105 more (funny how I've it for years but only recently got around to using it) mainly because of its streaming capabilities and portability. I don't mind much for how it sounds compared to my other sources out of convenience. I have also tried out the a306 yesterday and fell in love with how nice the screen was on it and its form factor is basically the same with the a105 but one thing irked me from buying it and it's the lack of 4.4. It was also a rather big issue with me coming to terms on the a105 since my better sounding gears are in 4.4 format and only a couple of them are in 3.5mm. Now my question would be, is it better to go with the slightly older a507 compared to the newer improved a306 and still have zero access to balanced out but with the benefit of having better creature comforts.

Currently i have the option of buying a used zx507 from a friend of mine for just $280 or buy a brand new a306 for $400. I'd like to stay with sony as much as I can since I've been a firm believer of their products ever since the a17.

edit: I tried the zx707 a while back but was disappointed by how muchy everything sounded on it. It could have bee my expectations being to high for how much it costs but frankly it was not my cup of tea. Funny how im fine with the a105 but not that.

I auditioned both in the Sony store for 30 minutes, to utilize the maximum capabilities of zx507, I used 4.4 so the comparison will be between 4.4 of zx507 and 3.5 of A306. Obviously, 4.4 on zx507 has more power but for IEMs, 3.5 on A306 is sufficient. About the sound, I felt that A306 is faster and more transparent, the other aspects are similar between them, really hard to distinguish. The very big plus of A306 is its form factor, and the design, used zx507 now is around $250-$300, it is cheaper than a brand-new A306 but if I were you, I will buy A306

 

[NickleCo]

I auditioned both in the Sony store for 30 minutes, to utilize the maximum capabilities of zx507, I used 4.4 so the comparison will be between 4.4 of zx507 and 3.5 of A306. Obviously, 4.4 on zx507 has more power but for IEMs, 3.5 on A306 is sufficient. About the sound, I felt that A306 is faster and more transparent, the other aspects are similar between them, really hard to distinguish. The very big plus of A306 is its form factor, and the design, used zx507 now is around $250-$300, it is cheaper than a brand-new A306 but if I were you, I will buy A306

To be frank, im also leaning towards the a306. Mainly because of the better processor, more updated sw, better feeling in hand (feels more solid), and can probably stuff it anywhere i want. What i felt with a306 vs the 707 from my memory is that, a306 has a more straightforward tuning compared to the analog like tonality 707 offered. Can say the same with my late wm1a vs my a105. While wm1a gave me a better sense of space, separation, and general tech but a105 just plain outright wins in terms of PRaT. With wm1a everything felt sluggish

 

[Livingformusic]

To be frank, im also leaning towards the a306. Mainly because of the better processor, more updated sw, better feeling in hand (feels more solid), and can probably stuff it anywhere i want. What i felt with a306 vs the 707 from my memory is that, a306 has a more straightforward tuning compared to the analog like tonality 707 offered. Can say the same with my late wm1a vs my a105. While wm1a gave me a better sense of space, separation, and general tech but a105 just plain outright wins in terms of PRaT. With wm1a everything felt sluggish

Hi NickleCo,

The A306 (uncapped Japanese version) is a solid compact-portable ‘all-rounder’ dap with a musical presentation and fairly smooth-spacious sound that immerses you with the music with a touch of airiness and slight bit of neutral warmth on the go.

While I enjoyed my A306 for a good while at work two months ago, there was a problem with the battery and mainboard where the battery would no longer charge nor turn back on (the orange light battery charge indicator would briefly turn on for few seconds and then fade away, each time the usb-c cable was plugged in).

With the remaining warranty on my unit, I was able to send back my A306 to FromJapan (purchased from a seller at Rakuten in Japan) for a repair. Despite the high shipping cost ($170~, which includes customs fees) paid from my end to have my unit shipped from the United States to Japan, the repair team in Japan offered to replace the faulty mainboard with a new mainboard at no cost. But, I don’t know if this issue also has something to do with the battery parts in my unit.

Currently, my A306 is still in repair, and I’ll post an update on this thread once things get sorted out more after the repair has been done.

Lastly, for the NW-ZX707 you mentioned, I feel the 707 is a bit ‘linear-forward’ in the way it presents the music with less denseness and not as spherical in stage nor as bodied in tonality as the WM1AM2 and A306 are. Of the three, I would still go for the A306 (uncapped Japanese version), as I feel it is similar enough in musicality and performance in stage, imaging and layering as the WM1AM2 at a much lower price point for listening on the go.

 

[Vamp898]

The A300 output impedance is less linear. So the ZX700 is more correct. So the more "analog" sound that some people describe here is just actually how music sounds.

After years of experience i can confirm that a lot of audiophiles actually hate how music sounds becaue music often sounds warm and has a lot of bass (because that sounds good), but audiphiles want everything to sound detailed and crystal clear (even if it sounds bad).

So always take it with a grain of salt when audiophile talk about "Neutral" oder "Linear".

 

[NickleCo]

The A300 output impedance is less linear. So the ZX700 is more correct. So the more "analog" sound that some people describe here is just actually how music sounds.

After years of experience i can confirm that a lot of audiophiles actually hate how music sounds becaue music often sounds warm and has a lot of bass (because that sounds good), but audiphiles want everything to sound detailed and crystal clear (even if it sounds bad).

So always take it with a grain of salt when audiophile talk about "Neutral" oder "Linear".

While there is some truth that majority of enthusiasts prefer a less warmer sound but for me its the warmth coupled with the lack of dynamism and oomph. I love warmth on a proper vinyl set up but cant really say the same for portable "warmth". There needs to be something to offset the thickness. Just my two-cents.

 

[Vamp898]

While there is some truth that majority of enthusiasts prefer a less warmer sound but for me its the warmth coupled with the lack of dynamism and oomph. I love warmth on a proper vinyl set up but cant really say the same for portable "warmth". There needs to be something to offset the thickness. Just my two-cents.

Welcome to the world of full digital amps which show how good your Earphones and Headphones really perform.

 

[NickleCo]

Welcome to the world of full digital amps which show how good your Earphones and Headphones really perform.

Im used to it. Been in the hobby for more than a decade lol. But what i would consider good warmth is something like the sp2000t or the cayin n8. Sadly both are bricks

 

[Vamp898]

Im used to it. Been in the hobby for more than a decade lol. But what i would consider good warmth is something like the sp2000t or the cayin n8. Sadly both are bricks

They sound too slow to me. I tested the SP2000 and SP2000T several times (also the new SP3000) and i liked the SP3000 most of them, but non of them came close to my Walkman experience.

If Sony would stop the production of all Walkmans once and for all and get out of the business, most likely my second choice would be the M11 Plus ESS.