So you disable 'Auto Power Off' ?
Correct, my "Auto power off" (on Device Settings) is set to "Off".
I have not found a setting to just disable the auto update of the database, either (and my unit is a ZX300A, set to japanese region so as the manage playlists better). If one is found (or if anybody points me to the right one - maybe it's named as something not obviously related?), it'd probably be a better workaround. But, in my own real life usage, I really don't see much downside in just leaving the player on standby, tbh