Sony NW-A306 32GB Walkman Hi-Res Portable Digital Music Player with Android 12.0, 3.6" Touch Screen, S-Master Hx, DSEE-Hx, Wi-Fi & Bluetooth and USB Type-C - Black

First thing first. The quality of sound reproduction is exactly what one expects from Sony- crystal clear & pure with a nice DAC and EQ and a lot many other sound improving capabilities . This player was a nightmare initially to understand it's functions, especially the necessity of providing a full-fledged bunch of mobile Android apps. The biggest drawback is the inbuilt memory, which at 32 gb barely adequate for Android apps . It could have been made atleast 128/64 gb. However, slot for external SD card upto 1 TB is a big saving grace. A slightly bigger battery for longer playback would have also added an extra attraction at this price point. However, the quality of reproduction of music more than compensate these shortcomings. Earlier I rated it 4*, which I must revise to 5 after a few months of use - reason being it's musicality from my own FLAC / MP3 Stored music as well as high fidelity Amazon prime music. I have not listened to lossless music from Tidal or any other such platforms. Although, a bit expensive by Indian standard, for serious music lovers in India, I would recommend that instead of spending good money on high powered amplifier, CD player, record player, passive speakers etc. (which incidentally I have already done), better by a set of nice quality Active speakers and this Sony walkman player and your ears will feel blessed, because even most of expensive mobiles do not have DACs Good enough to bring the real thing out of streamed music.

Awesome product

As a music enthusiast after I purchased Sony WH1000XM4 headphones I was looking for some enchantment to my music listening hardware. On headphonezone website I came across the category DAP(Digital Audio Player). That facinated me I selected this Sony walkman because of its brand, price affordibility among all DAPs and other features like Android which can givs lot of options to listen lossless music on apple music and other music streaming apps like Amazon music, Spotify etc. Also it has Hi Res, Hi res wireless for LDAC format, xmaster, Dsee etc which all claimed to enhance the music quality even for streaming music or low bitrate music files. But after purchase below are my disappointmenting experience with this device: 1. Even on jio fiber wifi the music keeps stucking while using music streaming apps 2. The UI is laggy(The response is not instant like in mobile) 3. No music quality enhancement whatsoever. I subscribed to apple music for HiRes lossless music, I purchased Poweramp music player app pro version to use LDAC files on the device, I had the good Sony headphone but all these was not able to make me happier while listening to my music. In short my music listening experience was same or rather worse compared to that on an Android mobile. So what's the point in spending 27k and having an extra piece of hardware for music listening. So I returned it. The only feature I liked in this device is the notalgic cassette graphics while using its inbuilt music player app.

Lags a little even with memory card installed, but worth the purchase and price, Excellent and I would personally recommend it.

Its a little master for sound

Pros- 1.Only Build quality is good. Cons- 1. Its 10 band equaliser is not so effective. 2. Only 5 Preset equaliser are given. 3. Its flagship features like DC PHASE LINEARIZER, DYNAMIC NORMALIZER, DSEE ULTIMATE & VINYL PROCESSOR couldn't make a noticeable difference in audio. 4. Its metalic body is slippery, no protective case and screen guard is provided by the company. So if u plan to buy it, ready to spend additional 3k to 4k on this. 5. Internal memory is only 32 gb and its maximum portion is used by system, so u need to buy a seperate memory card which is an additional expense. 6. Earphone's r not provided with it, and purchase a high res earphone's is a costly affair. 7. No onboard audio dsp or surround sound processor is provided to enhance audio quality. Conclusion - It is a high-res audio format player only, its sound is not so impressive as i expect from it. I purchased it in a hope that its sound quality make me happy but it disappoint me.

This is worth it if you take into consideration the fact that these audio players sell beyond the most expensive phones. If you compare it directly with a phone it is very underwhelming with a weak processor... Slow and sluggish is what you'd expect at this price. If you want a smooth experience. This is not it. Pros: 1. Build is sturdy , size is small , so you don't even feel it in your pocket. 2. The Dac is same with it's higher priced Sony that goes at more than Rs 60k 3. Android. You can install Spotify and listen to YouTube if you want..Also a quick Google search comes in handy at times. Cons: 1. Android. For people who want smooth experience, android makes it sluggish and slow since they don't put a powerful soc here. So, you have to bear with that.

I bought this to play backing tracks to which there are few options out there. Sound quality is superb, the device itself is very sturdy and fits in the palm. Buttons are tacky and easy to navigate without looking by feel. Although I haven't dropped it, the casing and screen feels premium as to exect from Sony. An overall good device for a 5 star rating.