Sony money box

[HiWire]

Sony announced a new MP3 player (or DAP): https://musicphotolife.com/2022/05/sony-wm1zm2-review-digital-audio-player-walkman/

It's breathtakingly expensive, that's for sure. I was thinking of getting the Mojo 2, so if this thing sounds better, maybe it's better to have everything in a Sony money box.

Also available in gold if you're so money: https://www.sony.ca/en/electronics/walkman/nw-wm1zm2

In other news, the new Sony money cans may not be as good as the old money cans – ain't nothing like old money: https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/sony-wh-1000xm5

Edited June 14, 2022 by HiWire

[Grahame]

Indeed:

https://www.engadget.com/sony-3700-walkman-mp3-players-200619566.html

[blessingx]

For any of you getting the gold model may I suggest an accessory? 
 

[HiWire]

Reasonable pricing by Astell&Kern standards...

[Hopstretch]

Quote

99.99% Oxygen-Free Copper Chassis (increased from 99.96%) – enhanced acoustic clarity

And if you can't hear that, you should hang up the cans for good cloth ears.

[Craig Sawyers]

Well, expensive though that Sony device is, it undoubtedly is a thing of beauty.

[johnwmclean]

Kimber Kable won me over

[HiWire]

Three times the price... the review from Singapore mentions how slow the Android interface works.

You'd think Sony would have figured this stuff out by 2022. Their previous DAP products have been a hodgepodge.

I looked at the much less expensive and positively reviewed Sony NW-A55(L) out of morbid curiosity, but it's hard to find and somewhat antiquated at this point.

I'll stick with my phone and ancient iPod Shuffle from 2009 for a while longer. They work quite well and without the hassle of Sony software.

There is also the question of what to do when the internal batteries die. I've returned quite a few iPhones to Apple for battery replacement and the Sony path is much less clear.

Edited June 14, 2022 by HiWire

[Aspirant Audiophile]

On 6/14/2022 at 9:29 PM, HiWire said:

Three times the price... the review from Singapore mentions how slow the Android interface works.

You'd think Sony would have figured this stuff out by 2022. Their previous DAP products have been a hodgepodge.

I looked at the much less expensive and positively reviewed Sony NW-A55(L) out of morbid curiosity, but it's hard to find and somewhat antiquated at this point.

I'll stick with my phone and ancient iPod Shuffle from 2009 for a while longer. They work quite well and without the hassle of Sony software.

There is also the question of what to do when the internal batteries die. I've returned quite a few iPhones to Apple for battery replacement and the Sony path is much less clear.

Is there even a point to getting a DAP, given that the cost of a 'good' one is (at least) the price of a higher-end smartphone, and given that a DAP's OS will be obsolete very quickly in comparison with a phone that receives regular updates? I can maybe understand it if I'm lugging around a $2k set of IEMs, but otherwise I don't see a lot of convenience in buying a brick running on an old OS. Besides, is SQ really going to be a great leap forward versus getting a 'good noise-filtering dongle-DAC/headphone jack connector' (surely there is a more concise name: 'thingy'?) and downloading hi-res files onto the phone? 

[grawk]

does anyone not use $2k iems?

 

[Aspirant Audiophile]

34 minutes ago, grawk said:

does anyone not use $2k iems?

 

See how you've publicly shamed me? DO YOU SEE??

[HiWire]

Sony announces less money boxes:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/01/new-sony-walkman-music-players-feature-stunning-good-looks-android-12/

I guess they don't expect to sell many of these things... my main concern is on the feasibility of battery replacement, which is not discussed.

My 3rd-generation iPod Shuffle is still working on its original battery, which is not bad for a device from 2009.

Edited January 15, 2023 by HiWire

[purk]

Actually these Sony portable DAPs do sound really good.  If you own easy to drive phones or IEMs, I think you will be mightily impressed.  I sold my Pico Power once I bought my Sony NW-WM1A which was released back around 2017 or so.  Its 4.4 balanced output is also powerful enough at 250 mw at 16 ohm to drive a 300 ohm Sennheiser.  To many the old WM1A is neck to neck sound wise if not better than the Mojo Gen 1 and you don't need a digital transport.

You don't need to buy the latest Sony money box.  A used ZX507 can be purchased for around $300 to 350 now and they sound considerably than any iPods or iPhones.  The battery is easily replaceable as long as you are handy with soldering iron and wiling to DIY.  The flagship WM1ZM2 Walkman is crazily expensive at $3600 or so but it does sound excellent when I auditioned it.  Of course, don't expect Mini Dynalo level performance but it isn't that far off either as long as you are not driving difficult orthos.  I do actually have the less expensive model, the WM1AM2 and I highly recommended it.

Edited March 16, 2023 by purk

[HiWire]

Yes, Sony has a very distinguished history of making great-sounding portable players (though not all of their products have been great).

I do find their flagship pricing excessive, but these are low-volume products in 2023 and the A306 is cheaper than most of the Astell&Kern players.

I'm still listening to my portable CD player, the Sony D-EJ2000. It drives Alessandro MS-1 headphones and Sennheiser Momentum earbuds without a problem.

My main issues with Sony flash players has been price, battery life/replacement, and software. There are a lot of complaints about short battery life on the players, as well as operating system clunkiness and stability. Sony tried to fix that by moving to Android OS, but it's a work in progress.

The NWZX707-B ($899.99) and NW-A306-B ($349.99) are now officially listed as available for pre-order on Sony's website. I hope they end up being quality products! We can expect to see official reviews when they become available. I doubt I will buy one myself, but I'll pick up the 707 if it is Sony's last player.

From a value perspective, it's much easier to continue using my Apple iPod Shuffle (4GB) or my old iPhone 5S (32GB) as a portable player. They have great battery life, the 5S has a headphone jack and Bluetooth for speakers, and their quality is decent for portable use in noisy environments.

Edited March 22, 2023 by HiWire

[purk]

Don’t buy the 2023 crops of North America Sony DAPs given that Sony has given in to the volume restriction laws similar to EU volume capped laws.  I believe this applies to the 2023 NA ZX707 and A306 models and newer.  The 4.4 mm balanced output drops from 230 mW on the ZX707 down to just under 3 mw.

I imported a non-volume capped ZX707 version  from Amazon.JP for about $150 in saving including a 4 days DHL express shipping fees for a total of $750.  Their current flagship, NW-WM1AM2 and 1ZM2 released back in 2021, are not affected however.

There is nothing wrong about releasing a successive models as long as it is an improvements from the old generations and Sony doesn’t do this on a yearly basis.  The ZX507 was released in 2018-19 and the ZX707 was released late of last year.  Their signature DAPs are updated every five years or so.  The first generation Signature DAPs came out around 2015-16 and the 1A/1Z MKII came out in 2021.

Please be open minded and give some of these new DAPS a try.  I think you guys will really enjoy them.  The sound quality is starting to approach a mid-end desktop equipment but in a portable form and that is great.

I really like my newly acquired ZX707 and I think it is the best one yet intern of price and performance ratio.  I do recommend if u have the budget.  If you don’t want to spend that much on a portable DAPs, check out used previous generation models.  A used ZX300s, and ZX507s are around $250 and $350 respectively.  I am not too concerned about the battery since I can DIY.  Also,  Sony often uses high quality Li-ion cell battery.  My 2004-ish Sony X1060 still hold a full charge.

Of course, the cassette display screen below on my WMA1M2 and ZX707 does looks pretty cool to me.

Edited March 21, 2023 by purk

[HiWire]

The players look great.

Do you like those protective cases and what kind of headphones do you hook up to them? It looks like a Kimber cable in the jack.

Edited March 22, 2023 by HiWire

[purk]

The cable is a Silver OCC from Ted Allen which I bought it used for around $120.  I use everything from my JH13pro, Sony IER-Z1R, Denon D9200, and even the HD800S.  I use 4.4 mm Pentaconn balanced.

[HiWire]

Darko's Sony 306 review... initial bass and noise problems fixed with a firmware update with additional battery drain at no extra charge... Sony vs. Gary Shanling:

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by HiWire

[swt61]

I like Darko Audio reviews. Down to Earth reviews without any sense of self grandeur. 

[robm321]

^ me too.

[HiWire]

The Sony Walkman article was #1 at Ars Technica this year:

https://arstechnica.com/staff/2023/12/the-20-most-read-stories-of-2023/

I didn't end up getting one as I felt the ergonomic issues, price, and battery life didn't quite gel, according to some reviewers.

There have been several updates to each Walkman (there is a 156-page thread covering the NW-A707 at Head-Fi, 255 pages for the NW-A300 to date), but the prices remain high and people are still complaining about the volume limits on non-Japanese units.

Edited December 25, 2023 by HiWire

[HiWire]

A slight update on the Sony Walkman DAP, the formerly Japan-only NW-A307. Difficult to find, barely discussed.

Android still seems to be a weakness described in other online A307 reviews... mediocre battery life and performance and that compromised user interface from the small display:

 

Edited May 28 by HiWire