[WilcoRoger]

   
FWIW, the FiiO L5 cable works just fine with my NW-A35.

 
It sure does - but then you're using the A3x's DAC and your amp. Hre the question is how to connect it to a DAC to bypass the internal one. For that one can use the NWM10 by sony (at least it works for the A2x)

 

[fish1050]

   
It sure does - but then you're using the A3x's DAC and your amp. Hre the question is how to connect it to a DAC to bypass the internal one. For that one can use the NWM10 by sony (at least it works for the A2x)

Glad to hear the L5 still works but I never liked the fact I had to unplug it every time I need to charge my A17 or add tracks.  My L5 broke after 3 months from constantly being plugged and unplugged.  I decided to cut my losses and have been double amping for years now and very happy with the sound I hear.  
 
Due to the cable swapping and the low LO voltage on the A series I still don't consider the Sony DAP's good for LO.  The one question I have about the WM cable from Sony is whether it still kills the battery life?.  On the A10/20 series using this cable puts the unit in data transfer mode and caps the battery life at 8 hours.  I think I read in the WM DAP forum that Sony has fixed this issue but I have not heard anything about the A30 series.

 

[Lavakugel]

  I prefer A35 to X1-II. X3-II is more like a competitor to A35.

Whats the sound difference between fiio x3 2nd and a30/35?

 

[iano]

https://smile.amazon.com/Custom-Walkman-Digital-WM-Port-Degrees/dp/B00YWEHSQY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1487520207&sr=8-3&keywords=sony+wm-port+cable
 
I have been using this cable for quite some time on ZX100, and currently on an A35 with zero issues - I do use it with an Oppo HA2, and the listing says that's what it is designed for, I assume primarily for the orientation of the cable endings rather than any other specific technical aspect. I have read others (on amazon.com) that have used this cable with other DAC/AMPs. The plugging and unplugging can be a hassle with any of these cables, I tend to leave it plugged in for some time (I hsve mutiple DAP's so I can use a different one when needed). Also,  I do not use the combo on the go very much, so the slightly bulky aspect (which is true) does not bother me specifically so much as it might others.

 
I bought it but it doesn't work for me. There is a forum member that use it with his Z1 I think and it works with his Mojo but with my A35 it doesn't. Maybe with future firmware update it will but for now it doesn't.

 

[hay2014]

  Whats the sound difference between fiio x3 2nd and a30/35?

 
I have both.  The fiio X3ii I would say is generally warmer sounding and really smooth. The Sony A35, to my ears, sounds much cleaner and more punchy, with a hint of warmth, but nowhere near as warm as the Fiio.  The Sony also has really great mids.  The X3 perhaps has the slightly better bass, but the A35 bass is still great.
 
Both are good players, but if I had to choose one over the other, I would go the Sony for it's clarity and punchy signature.

 

[davtse]

Just got the A35 in the mail on monday. had the A15 before this and was thoroughly disappointed especially when compared to the cowon plenue D. IMHO sony has hit a homerun with the A30 series especially at this price point.
 
For those who ask for comparisons between the cowon plenue D and the A30, i would say that it really depends on the type of IEM that you're pairing the player with. I think the sony excels more with dynamic driver based IEMs, or hybrids. the plenue D sounds fantastic when used with my BA-based customs, but when it comes to the dynamic/hybrid ones, it falls short somehow. Cowon seems to have a bigger overall sound stage but the Sony sounds more natural. Bigger does not always equal better in my books.
 
A much earlier review compared both players on flat, with no EQs applied. Cowon used to have the edge when it came to EQing, especially with mach3bass and BBE. Sony has gone back to basics by removing the clearbass option it used to have. you now have an additional EQ band to tweak when it comes to sub-bass(60hz). EQ allows for +/- 10 levels, although i'm not sure if this is in decibels. adjustments are VERY noticeable. There are a few other EQ settings you can play with but I've found that I needed to play with the EQ bands and DC phase lineariser to get the sound I like.
 
DC Phase lineariser is supposed to make your bass sound more its from an analog amp. not sure quite how it works but I like it lol.
 
User interface is extremely intuitive. you can access almost any setting you need by a few up/down/left/right swipes when in now playing mode. I didnt need a user menu to get myself started or used to the player.

 

[goody]

Has anyone managed to get the podcast and audiobook function working thats if there are any...

 

[Vitor Valeri]

  Just got the A35 in the mail on monday. had the A15 before this and was thoroughly disappointed especially when compared to the cowon plenue D. IMHO sony has hit a homerun with the A30 series especially at this price point.
 
For those who ask for comparisons between the cowon plenue D and the A30, i would say that it really depends on the type of IEM that you're pairing the player with. I think the sony excels more with dynamic driver based IEMs, or hybrids. the plenue D sounds fantastic when used with my BA-based customs, but when it comes to the dynamic/hybrid ones, it falls short somehow. Cowon seems to have a bigger overall sound stage but the Sony sounds more natural. Bigger does not always equal better in my books.
 
A much earlier review compared both players on flat, with no EQs applied. Cowon used to have the edge when it came to EQing, especially with mach3bass and BBE. Sony has gone back to basics by removing the clearbass option it used to have. you now have an additional EQ band to tweak when it comes to sub-bass(60hz). EQ allows for +/- 10 levels, although i'm not sure if this is in decibels. adjustments are VERY noticeable. There are a few other EQ settings you can play with but I've found that I needed to play with the EQ bands and DC phase lineariser to get the sound I like.
 
DC Phase lineariser is supposed to make your bass sound more its from an analog amp. not sure quite how it works but I like it lol.
 
User interface is extremely intuitive. you can access almost any setting you need by a few up/down/left/right swipes when in now playing mode. I didnt need a user menu to get myself started or used to the player.

 
Interesting your story. I really found the Cowon Plenue D fantastic with my CIEM JH5 PRO. But I disagree on one point, I found it different from the natural sound, I found Cowon with a more natural sound.
 
Here my comparison between the two players: http://www.head-fi.org/t/832786/comparison-cowon-plenue-d-vs-sony-nw-a35
 
I was little time with the Sony A30 (3 days). Maybe it needed more analysis, but that's what I felt when I compared both players side by side.

 

[davidcotton]

Has anyone managed to get the podcast and audiobook function working thats if there are any...

Afraid not, and that is what I am most irritated by! Everything else just works (well aside from not having a clock on display apart the settings!). Looks like android will win for my next purchase after all..

 

[larzy]

I previously owned an A15, but found the volume too low (I assume it's the EU volume limitation). Is the volume just as low on the A35? And in that case, would the FIIO X3 2nd gen be a better option? I'm aware that there are some hacks for the Sony players.

 

[Bepli]

  I have a 128gb Sandisk card in my A35 and it works fine.
 
After a few days using the player I've noticed a couple of bugs:
 
- The back button does not always work when going from the tracks in an album back to the album list, sometimes it needs to be pressed up to three times.
- Albums by different artists but with the same title will be put into one album in the album view, and the album art of the first track will be displayed.
 
Other than that I've very happy with it.

Probably a tagging fail in your files. I got multiple albums with the same name and everything works fine!

 

[Bepli]

 
I previously owned an A15, but found the volume too low (I assume it's the EU volume limitation). Is the volume just as low on the A35? And in that case, would the FIIO X3 2nd gen be a better option? I'm aware that there are some hacks for the Sony players.

I cant really compare, but if look on Amazon many people out of the eu complain about low volume. I would recommend you to not buy Audiogear that could be effect by the limit in the eu, I bought mine from accessoryjack and it shipped really fast and it has no limit + I didnt really pay more than in the eu anyways

 

[davtse]

   
Interesting your story. I really found the Cowon Plenue D fantastic with my CIEM JH5 PRO. But I disagree on one point, I found it different from the natural sound, I found Cowon with a more natural sound.
 
Here my comparison between the two players: http://www.head-fi.org/t/832786/comparison-cowon-plenue-d-vs-sony-nw-a35
 
I was little time with the Sony A30 (3 days). Maybe it needed more analysis, but that's what I felt when I compared both players side by side.

 
That's why I think its really dependent on what IEM you test it with. Even on flat as you tested the players, the sony sounded better with my hybrid CIEMs. On the plenue D, bass-impact and sub-bass rumble was almost non-existant without EQ tweaking, and with tweaking alot of the detail is lost and it goes all over the place. It does sound fantastic with BAs, I would agree. Its been my mainstay player for a while when it was paired with my BA customs.

 

[Jonathan-Mac]

  I cant really compare, but if look on Amazon many people out of the eu complain about low volume. I would recommend you to not buy Audiogear that could be effect by the limit in the eu, I bought mine from accessoryjack and it shipped really fast and it has no limit + I didnt really pay more than in the eu anyways

 

 
I previously owned an A15, but found the volume too low (I assume it's the EU volume limitation). Is the volume just as low on the A35? And in that case, would the FIIO X3 2nd gen be a better option? I'm aware that there are some hacks for the Sony players.

 
The volume level of the A35 is very similar to the volume of my older A845, which is to say extremely low.  I hacked the volume level on the A35 on the first day and now it's fantastic, no volume problem at all.  The same hack can be applied to the A845, which I did, but the A845 has a weedy amp which simply isn't capable of higher volume and it made no difference.  In contrast, the amp in the A35 is much more powerful and the difference when you "let it off the leash" is huge.
 
The hack is quite easy to do and I would recommend it for everyone who buys an EU player, I think it's a better option than buying a non-EU player and having either no guarantee or a guarantee that requires expensive shipping back to Asia or the US.

 

[god-bluff]

When we eventually get off the sinking ship (EU) could we have the higher volume models in the UK please Sony???