[Jotaro]

Unfortunately some of us have a more limited budget for toys like DAP's. If I don't want to overspend on the A105 that may not have enough power I sure as heck won't for the even more over priced (4 to 5x more) for the ZX507 for more power and same features. Quite frankly the M9 has more power than the ZX507 SE and I don't want to have to buy new balanced headphones to get enough power out of it. Thankfully I have self control and use common sense when buying gear. The M9 was a Black Friday deal, and I wouldn't pass that great deal up to maybe be able to demo a possibly inadequate A105 at some unknown point in the future. Pretty sad that a huge company like Sony can't seem to sell or market their DAP's here as well as a tiny company like Fiio does. Fiio has like 40 dealers in Canada and I can barely find one or two that carry Sony DAP's and they don't carry the A series. If Sony DAP's are so much better why don't they sell more of them here?

Duh fiio is glitchy as hell!!

 

[djselbeck]

I also have the Fiio, X5, BTR3, M5 and every single player is plagued by bugs in the software.It is a real pity, because I like their spirit and products but I am fed up after the many bugs of the M5.

I was considering the BTR5 and A105 and now ordered the A105 and will keep it if there is no noise on my Fiio FA7 headphones with low volumes.

 

[linxeye]

Recovery should be a graphic interface. Fastboot might be usb only.

I failed to trigger any of those wether i start from a device that is off (plugging USB instantly starts it) or from an already on unit.

 

[djselbeck]

I try when I get my device. From the bootloader source code it should work some how. Or with "adb reboot bootloader" with USB debugging enabled on the device

 

[xenoVa]

It seems like Sony WM1A, Sony ZX507 and Fiio M11 Pro are the best options around their price points.

 

[abitdeef]

I had a look into the kernel source code provided by Sony. The good thing is, it looks like it contains the complete source code for the CXD3778GF s-master chip. So in theory modifications might be possible. It exposes several gain values to set and volume knobs internally. The interessting thing now would be, if the bootloader is unlockable. The source code of the bootloader itself is also opensource, it uses u-boot. However, I did not receive my nw-a105 yet, so I can not poke into it deeper.

If the bootloader is unlockable, I am very certain, that volume limitations of EU models can be removed.

People would love having the volume limiter taken off.

 

[abitdeef]

I also have the Fiio, X5, BTR3, M5 and every single player is plagued by bugs in the software.It is a real pity, because I like their spirit and products but I am fed up after the many bugs of the M5.

I was considering the BTR5 and A105 and now ordered the A105 and will keep it if there is no noise on my Fiio FA7 headphones with low volumes.

You shouldn't hear any noise on those fiio's if me and psikey can't hear noise on ours. It's a very clean dap with a low noise floor. Well he might be able to hear a tiny bit but they're 8 ohm.

 

[psikey]

Tiniest amount of hiss with my premium cable using my SE846's but you need to be in an isolation tank to hear it and really concentrating in a totally silent section of music. In other words, no issue.

 

[tradyblix]

I confirmed that it can connect to my TA-ZH1ES and my PHA-3 via a usb c to usb micro b cable. The Walkman app even recognizes them and asks if you want to use them.

I had no issues outputting hi res audio from the walkman app to both devices and confirmed via the Tazzy's input monitor LCD it was 24/96 using one of the hi res files I had.

Unfortunately none of the streaming apps seem to support USB C audio out. It also disables all the DSP stuff if you use usb out.

Still cool I can use it at least with the walkman app this way as a transport.

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

For those with Sony WH-1000XM3 and Sony ZX500/A100:

Instead of using LDAC Sound Quality connection mode, you can also experiment with AAC + DSEE HX as connection mode. See for yourself if you prefer the sound of Sony's DSEE HX upsampling inside your headphones.

1) Ensure you have Sony Headphone Connect App installed, launch App and set:
Sound Quality Mode > Priority on Sound Quality

2) Go to ZX500/A100 Settings > Connected Devices > Conenction Preferences > Bluetooth > Wireless Playback Quality > AAC
Once you have set to AAC, disconnect and reconnect the Bluetooth headphones

3) Go back to Sony Headphone Connect app, under DSEE HX > Auto (Note: You cannot have Equalizer or Surround VPT enabled along with DSEE HX)

4) Scroll up to top of the Sony Headphone Connect(near the battery %), there should be indicated as: AAC DSEE HX

That's it.

To revert back to LDAC mode:

Go to ZX500/A100 Settings > Connected Devices > Conenction Preferences > Bluetooth > Wireless Playback Quality > LDAC-Sound Quality Pref.
Once you have set to LDAC, disconnect and reconnect the Bluetooth headphones

 

[zerus]

I'm thinking of upgrading from my FiiO M6 to the new A-105 Walkman because the M6 can be very slow and sluggish during streaming. But I'm afraid it will not drive my Tin Hifi P1 with enough power (restricted EU model). I almost have to max out the M6 when I want the P1 to get real loud and that one has 110 mW (according to specs).

Has anyone tried the Tin Hifi P1 with the NW-A105?

 

[Andricop]

Hi,

Did you installed and tried Apple Music on the NW-A100 ?
Thanks

 

[vodanhkhack]

Is it a
Sony .... 20 th Anniversary Walkman ?

 

[Damz87]

I confirmed that it can connect to my TA-ZH1ES and my PHA-3 via a usb c to usb micro b cable. The Walkman app even recognizes them and asks if you want to use them.

I had no issues outputting hi res audio from the walkman app to both devices and confirmed via the Tazzy's input monitor LCD it was 24/96 using one of the hi res files I had.

Unfortunately none of the streaming apps seem to support USB C audio out. It also disables all the DSP stuff if you use usb out.

Still cool I can use it at least with the walkman app this way as a transport.

Thanks for this info. I was planning to replace my iPod Touch with an A100 to use for Tidal streaming with my PHA-2A or FiiO Q5S, but I’ll have to reconsider it now. Hoping Tidal eventually gets USB-C out support on A100.

 

[Unlawful]

The bootloader is certainly unlockable, there's an OEM unlock switch under Developer settings. Though having said that, I haven't delved into that yet in anticipation of any further software updates. I'd be more than happy to test any modifications @djselbeck .

I am able to use USB-C audio out with my BTR3 and Poweramp. It drains an absolutely insane amount of battery though, roughly 1% per minute while playing 44.1 Khz FLACs. I am more and more inclined to return it and get a Fiio purely on the grounds of the bigger batteries in them.