[size=large]Design[/size]
The Sony NWZ-A810 is just plain sexy. The elegant black casing is accented with chrome along the edges for a sleek look. It is quite small, but don’t let the diminutive size fool you. This player is built solid. Absolutely nothing about this player feels cheap. The unit houses a 2” QVGA screen that is typically portrait orientated. This is especially useful for long lists of artists/ songs since it will display more lines of text. The A810 automatically plays your movies in landscape mode however. The controls utilize a 4 way directional pad with a center play button plus an option and back button located beneath the screen. The controls are extremely well designed. Not only are they intuitive, but also you can access almost any other screen with less then three clicks. Sony decided to also include the most overlooked and underestimated feature on any DAP; a dedicated volume rocker. It is located conveniently on the right edge. The hold button is somewhat awkwardly located on the back. The 3.5mm headphone jack and proprietary USB connection are located on the bottom edge. Sony even added an automatic door for the USB connection to eliminate any dust or dirt from ruining the connection.
[size=large]Features [/size]
The Sony NWZ-A810 contains only a simple list of features that you will find in most DAPs. It supports music, video, and pictures, but the codecs are limited (MP3, WMA, AAC-LC, Linear PCM, MPEG 4, M4V, Jpeg). The lack of Lossless codecs and gapless support could turn-off a lot of audiophile purists. The A810 does support DRM protected media though and can be used with online subscription services like Napster and Rhapsody. The A810 can be connected to your PC in either MSC or MTP mode, meaning that it can be used as a USB flash drive or synced through WMP, Winamp, Media Monkey, etc. Sony also provided their own Media Manager software in the package. modes work well, and the A810 can simply be disconnected by removing the USB cable; no computer operations necessary. Transfer speeds were average for both modes, but were quite slow using Napster. The unit refreshes the music library when disconnect, but only when there has been a file added or removed. The update is very fast. One of the major downfalls of the A810 is that the USB connection is proprietary meaning you cannot use a standard USB cable. Although this means you may have to carry around the cable, or pay extra if you lose it, it also allows after market accessories to control the unit. Sony has already release a cradle with several extra features.
[size=large]Performance [/size]
The Sony NWZ-A810 is the best sounding DAP I have ever tested. The soundstage is wide and clear. The signature is warm, but not overwhelmed by bass. I have experience no hiss with A810, which is extremely important for those who listen at low volumes. The lack of gapless playback on the A810 is very disappointing. Sony has included several sound enhancements; Custom EQ, Clear Bass, VPT surround, DSEE, Clear Stereo, and Dynamic Normalizer. The custom EQ has only 5 bands with +/- 3 dB at each tone. With the A810 sounding as good as it does though, the EQ is only needed to offset the downfalls in your headphones.
The A810 turns on instantaneously. Press play and blink it is already playing. The transitions between screens are also lightning fast. There is a slight delay when scrolling through a long list of album art, but it may only seems like a delay since everything else is so fast. Sony Has rated the battery life of the A810 at 33 hours for audio and 8 hours for video. I have used it to burn in some of my newer headphones and it lasted through three nights of pink noise.
The screen of the A810 is extremely crisp and detailed. The frame rate is a full 30 frames per second. I have not played many movies on it, but it seems to be more then sufficient for occasionally watching short shows. I would not expect many users to be watching full length movies on a 2" screen, but it will play them nonetheless.
[size=large]Summary [/size]
The good: Design, build quality, intuitive controls, volume rocker, and of course sound quality.
The bad: No lossless support, no FM radio, no OTG playlists, max 8gb
The bottom line: The Sony NWZ-A810 is easily the easiest to use and best sounding flash DAP I have ever tested.
Sony NWZ-A818 8gb
Sony NWZ-A816 4gb
The Sony NWZ-A810 is just plain sexy. The elegant black casing is accented with chrome along the edges for a sleek look. It is quite small, but don’t let the diminutive size fool you. This player is built solid. Absolutely nothing about this player feels cheap. The unit houses a 2” QVGA screen that is typically portrait orientated. This is especially useful for long lists of artists/ songs since it will display more lines of text. The A810 automatically plays your movies in landscape mode however. The controls utilize a 4 way directional pad with a center play button plus an option and back button located beneath the screen. The controls are extremely well designed. Not only are they intuitive, but also you can access almost any other screen with less then three clicks. Sony decided to also include the most overlooked and underestimated feature on any DAP; a dedicated volume rocker. It is located conveniently on the right edge. The hold button is somewhat awkwardly located on the back. The 3.5mm headphone jack and proprietary USB connection are located on the bottom edge. Sony even added an automatic door for the USB connection to eliminate any dust or dirt from ruining the connection.
[size=large]Features [/size]
The Sony NWZ-A810 contains only a simple list of features that you will find in most DAPs. It supports music, video, and pictures, but the codecs are limited (MP3, WMA, AAC-LC, Linear PCM, MPEG 4, M4V, Jpeg). The lack of Lossless codecs and gapless support could turn-off a lot of audiophile purists. The A810 does support DRM protected media though and can be used with online subscription services like Napster and Rhapsody. The A810 can be connected to your PC in either MSC or MTP mode, meaning that it can be used as a USB flash drive or synced through WMP, Winamp, Media Monkey, etc. Sony also provided their own Media Manager software in the package. modes work well, and the A810 can simply be disconnected by removing the USB cable; no computer operations necessary. Transfer speeds were average for both modes, but were quite slow using Napster. The unit refreshes the music library when disconnect, but only when there has been a file added or removed. The update is very fast. One of the major downfalls of the A810 is that the USB connection is proprietary meaning you cannot use a standard USB cable. Although this means you may have to carry around the cable, or pay extra if you lose it, it also allows after market accessories to control the unit. Sony has already release a cradle with several extra features.
[size=large]Performance [/size]
The Sony NWZ-A810 is the best sounding DAP I have ever tested. The soundstage is wide and clear. The signature is warm, but not overwhelmed by bass. I have experience no hiss with A810, which is extremely important for those who listen at low volumes. The lack of gapless playback on the A810 is very disappointing. Sony has included several sound enhancements; Custom EQ, Clear Bass, VPT surround, DSEE, Clear Stereo, and Dynamic Normalizer. The custom EQ has only 5 bands with +/- 3 dB at each tone. With the A810 sounding as good as it does though, the EQ is only needed to offset the downfalls in your headphones.
The A810 turns on instantaneously. Press play and blink it is already playing. The transitions between screens are also lightning fast. There is a slight delay when scrolling through a long list of album art, but it may only seems like a delay since everything else is so fast. Sony Has rated the battery life of the A810 at 33 hours for audio and 8 hours for video. I have used it to burn in some of my newer headphones and it lasted through three nights of pink noise.
The screen of the A810 is extremely crisp and detailed. The frame rate is a full 30 frames per second. I have not played many movies on it, but it seems to be more then sufficient for occasionally watching short shows. I would not expect many users to be watching full length movies on a 2" screen, but it will play them nonetheless.
[size=large]Summary [/size]
The good: Design, build quality, intuitive controls, volume rocker, and of course sound quality.
The bad: No lossless support, no FM radio, no OTG playlists, max 8gb
The bottom line: The Sony NWZ-A810 is easily the easiest to use and best sounding flash DAP I have ever tested.
Sony NWZ-A818 8gb
Sony NWZ-A816 4gb