[groupama3]

It is difficult to recommend it. Having purchased Sony DAPs for years the A105 has been my last. I'll keep it for sure but it'll become outdated eventually when security updates cease. Besides, honestly speaking, my Samsung phone doesn't sound much different to my ageing ears.

Same for me, but what trumps it over any phone are the physically playback control buttons, so much handier, as I never liked in line remotes on earphones or anything so the buttons are so handy

 

[rga02]

That is with provisio that Sony is actually still persuing the niche, small form factor DAP market. I mean they stopped updating their Portable Headphone Amplifier series (maybe due to the rise of DAP market, not sure) a while ago and they have their extremely expensive full size DAP series that's in the multiple thousands of dollars for people without price constraints, so I am not sure if they will continue in this niche market.

I'm sure they will continue with the small DAPs as the A55 and 105 continues to sell well in Japan.

 

[pinkbecca]

I'm sure they will continue with the small DAPs as the A55 and 105 continues to sell well in Japan.

it used to be one model a year, now its 4 years since the A100 was released, I really need an updated version with better cpu and battery, it would be the best.

 

[rga02]

it used to be one model a year, now its 4 years since the A100 was released, I really need an updated version with better cpu and battery, it would be the best.

Yeah, the A105 is in desperate need of an upgrade. Hopefully soon.

Also, at the same time, it is kind of good that Sony isn't doing yearly updates anymore. Better to just pump out one quality product now and then than flood the market like many of these Chifi companies are doing.

 

[tradyblix]

I'm sure they will continue with the small DAPs as the A55 and 105 continues to sell well in Japan.

Let's hope so. It's been a while, and we are starting a recession

 

[fish1050]

Yeah, the A105 is in desperate need of an upgrade. Hopefully soon.

Also, at the same time, it is kind of good that Sony isn't doing yearly updates anymore. Better to just pump out one quality product now and then than flood the market like many of these Chifi companies are doing.

Well Sony has a problem in that in order to make the improvements needed, ie bigger battery, more RAM they would need to make the units bigger and raise the price as well to make it a competitive DAP. Right now it is underpowered and offers only on par or worse battery life than the competition. In Canada it sells for $480 an improved model could be $550+ CDN. I for one would not pay that price, I won't even pay $480 for it in its current configuration. If you raise the price to much you start closing the price gap on the ZX507.

In this price range I think Sony is better off offering a beefed up A55 Pro or A65 and then they could look at jacking up the price on the A105. Sony needs to have a DAP in the $300 price range and the A55 variants would offer better bang for the buck.

 

[Gamerlingual]

Well Sony has a problem in that in order to make the improvements needed, ie bigger battery, more RAM they would need to make the units bigger and raise the price as well to make it a competitive DAP. Right now it is underpowered and offers only on par or worse battery life than the competition. In Canada it sells for $480 an improved model could be $550+ CDN. I for one would not pay that price, I won't even pay $480 for it in its current configuration. If you raise the price to much you start closing the price gap on the ZX507.

In this price range I think Sony is better off offering a beefed up A55 Pro or A65 and then they could look at jacking up the price on the A105. Sony needs to have a DAP in the $300 price range and the A55 variants would offer better bang for the buck.

Based on my experiences, i completely disagree with all the assessments. A55 for less than $200 USD and the battery has lasted hours in plugged mode. At least 31 on one charge. The Sony OS is smoother than any Android interface, especially vs the Android screen on the NW-WM1Z M2

 

[fish1050]

Based on my experiences, i completely disagree with all the assessments. A55 for less than $200 USD and the battery has lasted hours in plugged mode. At least 31 on one charge. The Sony OS is smoother than any Android interface, especially vs the Android screen on the NW-WM1Z M2

Wow it actually sounds like you agree with me! The A105 needs more RAM and a better battery to be usable and compete and make as you say the OS smoother. Those changes will make the A105 more expensive. While the A55 is fine it is 4 years old and could use some updates. Keep in mind my numbers are for me as I live in Canada not the US or Europe so I pay more. If Sony were to come out with an A55 pro with the same power as the ZX300 50 mW vs 35 mW, for the current A55. USB-C in place of the WMPort, a slightly bigger screen and for example change the OS to show a 5 digit track count instead of the current 4.

I mean Sony has done away with all their other Linux based DAP's so why not put some of that better tech from those DAP's into a souped up A55 Pro or A65 and offer a real alternative to the android based A105 which has taken a beating because of the poor battery life and lack of power. MrWalkman's firmware makes a big difference in sound quality from the stock A55 firmware and gives you some cool features found on WM1Z. But how many A55 owners are comfortable installing third party firmware. I am using MrWalkman's firmware on my A55 and it sounds significantly better than the A105, with the same power and much better battery life.

So why can't Sony do what MrWalkman did and offer their own improved A55 Pro taking some of the sound and tech improvements from the other higher end Linux based DAP's. I know several people who passed on the A105 once they heard my A55 with MrWalkman's firmware. Given how popular and well received the A55 has been the last 4 years there is clearly still a demand for a Sony non-android DAP. It appears now that the A55 will only be manufactured for the Asian market. It has been discontinued here for awhile now. Sony has lost some sales for the A105 thanks to the MrWalkman firmware which only works on the Sony Linux based DAP's. Also since Sony no longer has their Mora streaming service they aren't hurting themselves by offering a new Linux based model. Why give up sales to the people like me that hate android based DAP's.

 

[Gamerlingual]

Wow it actually sounds like you agree with me! The A105 needs more RAM and a better battery to be usable and compete and make as you say the OS smoother. Those changes will make the A105 more expensive. While the A55 is fine it is 4 years old and could use some updates. Keep in mind my numbers are for me as I live in Canada not the US or Europe so I pay more. If Sony were to come out with an A55 pro with the same power as the ZX300 50 mW vs 35 mW, for the current A55. USB-C in place of the WMPort, a slightly bigger screen and for example change the OS to show a 5 digit track count instead of the current 4.

I mean Sony has done away with all their other Linux based DAP's so why not put some of that better tech from those DAP's into a souped up A55 Pro or A65 and offer a real alternative to the android based A105. Right now you can get some of those features with the MrWalkman firmware and yes noticeably better sound quality for quite a bit less. But how many A55 owners are comfortable installing third party firmware. I am using MrWalkman's firmware on my A55 and sounds significantly better than the A105.

So why can't Sony do what MrWalkman did and offer their own improved A55 Pro taking some of the sound and tech improvements from the other higher end Linux based DAP's. I know several people who passed on the A105 once they heard my A55 with MrWalkman's firmware. Given how popular and well received the A55 has been the last 4 years there is clearly still a demand for a Sony non-android DAP. It appears now that the A55 will only be manufactured for the Asian market. It has been discontinued here for awhile now. Sony has lost some sales for the A105 thanks to the MrWalkman firmware which only works on the Sony Linux based DAP's. Also since Sony no longer has their Mora streaming service they aren't hurting themselves by offering a new Linux based model. Why give up sales to the people like me that hate android based DAP's.

A55 doesn’t need updates and the A105 doesn’t need to be pricier

 

[fish1050]

A55 doesn’t need updates and the A105 doesn’t need to be pricier

No one says you have to buy one but the 4 year old A55 does need some updates. Not to mention eventually it will age out and you need to replace it if is no longer available to buy here and eventually anywhere. The updates aren't huge but it is sluggish when scrolling through tracks. Every other DAP now including Sony's latest have gone to USB-C over WMPort which is something I want. I have plenty of USB-C cables but only 1 WMPort cable.

Some of us are willing to pay a little more for these refinements and I am sure that current A55 owners would consider upgrading if for no other reason than the age of the A55 and getting older every day. Sorry but the A105 will have to get more expensive to add a larger battery. The overwhelming biggest complaint about the A105 is the atrocious battery life. Only a bigger battery can rectify that issue and Sony won't do that for free especially if the unit needs to be larger to fit a larger battery. I am still not ruling out Sony abandoning android on the next A105 upgrade and sticking to android on the 507x and up. Sony had android DAP's before then dropped android and only recently went back to producing android DAP's. So clearly they are not afraid to change course if it makes sense financially which is all that really matters to Sony in the end. No more streaming service could be the catalyst to Linux based replacement for the A105 or at least as an alternative.

 

[tradyblix]

The last security update was November 2021… I think we have arrived at the ceased stage unfortunately.

Yeah, Android 9 itself is unsupported since March 22, 2022.

4.06 is the latest firmware. we got a pretty got set of updates there from 2019 to 2021, I was happy with the support.

Don't forget to update your apps if you're not used to Android devices. I ran with buggy old apps with issues for a while because I was new to android when I got this, being an iOS user before folding phones came out. (Play store > "updates" > update all apps. )

 

[tradyblix]

No one says you have to buy one but the 4 year old A55 does need some updates. Not to mention eventually it will age out and you need to replace it if is no longer available to buy here and eventually anywhere. The updates aren't huge but it is sluggish when scrolling through tracks. Every other DAP now including Sony's latest have gone to USB-C over WMPort which is something I want. I have plenty of USB-C cables but only 1 WMPort cable.

Some of us are willing to pay a little more for these refinements and I am sure that current A55 owners would consider upgrading if for no other reason than the age of the A55 and getting older every day. Sorry but the A105 will have to get more expensive to add a larger battery. The overwhelming biggest complaint about the A105 is the atrocious battery life. Only a bigger battery can rectify that issue and Sony won't do that for free especially if the unit needs to be larger to fit a larger battery. I am still not ruling out Sony abandoning android on the next A105 upgrade and sticking to android on the 507x and up. Sony had android DAP's before then dropped android and only recently went back to producing android DAP's. So clearly they are not afraid to change course if it makes sense financially which is all that really matters to Sony in the end. No more streaming service could be the catalyst to Linux based replacement for the A105 or at least as an alternative.

Yeah.. you're probably not gonna get it man. Devices are throw-away today. They'll come out with something better in the price range.

These devices are all limited to their non-replacable battery lifespan anyway which is probably betwen 500 to 1000 cycles. So yaeh, they're designed to have around a 5 year lifespan. Once the batteries go, it's time to move on.

That's something you need to factor into the cost of ownership, sadly.

 

[Gamerlingual]

Yeah.. you're probably not gonna get it man. Devices are throw-away today. They'll come out with something better in the price range.

These devices are all limited to their non-replacable battery lifespan anyway which is probably betwen 500 to 1000 cycles. So yaeh, they're designed to have around a 5 year lifespan. Once the batteries go, it's time to move on.

That's something you need to factor into the cost of ownership, sadly.

Once I get the basic apps that I need installed, I’m pretty much set. Plus, there’s ways to get the updated files if you can navigate the customization of Android. I don’t feel it’s limited. You can work around it

 

[tradyblix]

Once I get the basic apps that I need installed, I’m pretty much set. Plus, there’s ways to get the updated files if you can navigate the customization of Android. I don’t feel it’s limited. You can work around it

I think you misunderstood, the battery will be the limiting factor on the lifespan of the device.

It's a custom android setup too, so I have no idea what would happen if you tried it get it upgraded to 12 or whatever. It would probably break stuff.

 

[fish1050]

Yeah.. you're probably not gonna get it man. Devices are throw-away today. They'll come out with something better in the price range.

These devices are all limited to their non-replacable battery lifespan anyway which is probably betwen 500 to 1000 cycles. So yaeh, they're designed to have around a 5 year lifespan. Once the batteries go, it's time to move on.

That's something you need to factor into the cost of ownership, sadly.

Oh I do but once you get above say the $300 price range expectations change for me. A device that I spend $500 on I would no longer consider throw away. This is why I cap my budget at $300 for a battery powered DAP. Technically you can replace the battery on the A55 as the batteries are sold on aliexpress.com. If my battery died or battery life got so bad as to be unusable I would probably take a shot on replacing the battery, if it doesn't work no great loss. Especially with Linux based DAP's seeming to be disappearing pretty quickly.