Customer Ratings & Reviews

Sony used to attach a sticker to their electronics simply saying "IT'S A SONY" and people automatically understood that the phrase stood for exceptional quality. Sony's new NW-A306 is no exception. The design is attractive, with a "water wave" designed back, making it "scratch resistant" and easier to hold. It's an Android device, so you will go through some steps not unlike setting up a new tablet or phone. Sony also has a program for your computer called "Music Center for PC" which assists with adding music to your portable player. Internal storage is modest with a 32gb internal storage, some of which is taken up by the Android operating system. However, the player has a slot for a micro SD card (I installed a 256gb card but you can go much higher) which allows for a rather sizable music library to be stored on the device. Since it's Android, music can easily be streamed from a number of music services using apps downloaded to the player from the Google Play Store, as long as the device is connected to wi-fi. On the home screen, there is an EQ adjustment and other sound adjustments you can use for tailoring the sound to your individual taste, however I used an option called ClearAudio+ which applies advanced digital signal processing in a single step operation (flipping the switch to "ON") in which case you don't need to mess with the EQ to get a stellar sound. Speaking of sounds, your ears are in for a real treat when you play music with this hi-resolution music player. I was amazed listening to music on this Sony player, because I heard subtle details of songs that previously, I could never decipher listening to these same songs on my phone or tablet, and that's only using mid-level headphones, not exactly top-of-the-line ones. I can only imagine how this music will sound listening on top-quality headphones that can truly do this amazing player justice. Even so, the sound quality was crisp and you can really notice the separation of different elements of a song. I prefer listening to electronic dance music, and minor things like background sounds a musician would include in a track become very noticeable. It's almost like experiencing these songs for the first time again! You don't have to be an "audiophile" to appreciate the sound quality produced by this player. Yes it really makes a difference to how your music sounds. Of course it does, because after all, IT'S A SONY!

I purchased my Sony NW-A306 at my local BestBuy about six months ago. I upgraded from the NW-A105, which was a good player but had disappointing battery life. The player has 32 GB of internal memory, half of which is used for the Android 12 operating system (which can be upgraded to Android 13 when firmware upgrades are performed). Micro SD cards can expand the memory up to 2 TB. At the moment, I'm using a Samsung 512 GB Micro SD card, which has over 250 GB of music on it. Sound quality is incredible with the right IEM or earbuds. Of course, you can playback HD music files or CD-quality FLAC files. You can also pair Bluetooth earbuds. For the best sound quality on Bluetooth, I recommend earbuds that use the LDAC codec. Remember that this is an Android device, so you can download apps using the Google Store app. I downloaded Spotify to listen to music streaming via Wi-Fi. One thing that I didn't like was that the Android interphase included a Google search bar on the top portion of the screen. Since the bar couldn't be removed or moved, selecting wallpaper images was difficult. I'm an Apple user, and I wasn't familiar with the Android infrastructure. I learned that you can download a launcher app (like Nova Launcher), which changes the UI and lets you customize the look of the Walkman. This is fantastic! Now I have the Walkman set the way I want to use the DAP, and it looks amazing! So, if you want high-quality sound in a very customizable little device, then this is the device for you!

The device is very nice, and sound is great, very clean, much better than my iphone. The device is very light and compact east to carry. The only negative thing about it is that it maybe slow at times, android becomes problematic at times. Maybe it should have a faster processor. If sound quality is what you are looking for, this device is for you. Just keep the android functions to a minimum.

I've been wanting something I could use as a dedicated music player to avoid being on my smartphone so much. Did some research for a month or two and decided to give this Walkman a try, especially after I got the notification that it was fifty dollars off. I wanted to go with a brand I knew was reputable, although i've seen some good reviews for smaller Eastern brands, and I did consider them here and there. I like the expandable storage, that its physical size is no bigger than an iPod classic, having a 3.5mm jack, and all of the HiRes compatibility I need, as well as bluetooth codecs. The awesome surprise, but in no way a deal breaker, was the cassette tape screen that shows up when using the Sony Music player app. An awesome nostalgia kick, seeing a moving cassette tape with the artist and song names just like the old Walkman cassette players. Very cool touch. The most convenient feature for me is having the physical control buttons to rewind, skip, play/pause, and volume control. It is so convenient, being able to press a button and skip to the next song without having to turn on the screen and unlock the device each time. As long as you have a decent set of headphones or in ear monitors, the sound quality is great when playing high-resolution music files. I'm not an audiophile by any means. I just enjoy and can tell the difference between HiRes/lossless audio and lossy formats such as mp3 or the like. I definitely recommend getting a good-sized micro SD card. 32GB goes quick when dealing with HiRes audio files. It can handle up to 2TB. Also, make sure you get a card that has a higher write speed. Something with at least a 90mbps write speed. It helps when moving files to the card while it's in the Walkman. Overall, I'm very happy with the purchase. Though I have no disappointments, I'm hesitant to leave a five-star review because I have nothing to compare it to other than my smartphone. So far, so good!

I have lived with this device for about 3 months since the 2024 Christmas holiday season and I can truly say that this device is the evolution and yes arguably the best entry level introduction to those of you who are considering upgrading from you old MP3 player, an iPod or simply want to separate your music from your smartphone, tablet or computer tasks. I have read reviews of this device that complains that the Andriod system on this phone is subpar in it performance and not very good. I TOTALLY disagree with these comments. Here’s why 1) The device will more than likely come shipped with Android 1 2 and yes in this version of Android the device is a bit pokey in its interface response. There are several software update for this device including an update to Android 14 that makes the Android experience far more usable and responsive. 2) About downloading apps from the Google Play Store and the formatting of text and images not being usuable on the smalle screen of the device. These comments from others is a bunch of nonsense. Change the display size and text and that resolves the issue. 3) People expressing concerns about other Google apps like Mail, Notifications, Drive etc. having no purpose on a music player. These comments, also from others, is also a bunch of nonsense. I set-up a separate Google account for this player and all of the music management tasks including downloading music and audio content apps are linked to the Sony Walkman. I save links to music resources in Google Keeps, I take screen shot of song while in Discovery Mode in Pandora and I even will use Shazam when I am out-and-about and I hear a song I want to know the name of (yes the device has a microphone function). 3) Some have said the screen size is too small to do anything useful on it. Again this is a bunch of nonsense. I use the swipe function on the Google Keyboard with practically 99.9% accuracy. 4) I chose to download both my VPN app and a Malware tool for the player. Why? I am not always using my own WiFi network to stream music and I occasionally will link and share audio resources over the internet with others. These tools provide a layer of protection for the device files, file sharing and downloads. I watch to make sure that the VPN has loaded before i start toggling through my audio app and file resources. 5) About the sound quality. The sound is beyond exceptional. It is balanced and not boomy. The digital amplifier is quite good. However there is one caveat: Do not expect this player’s amplifier to be able to push out heavy volume through the headphone jack. This player shine with bluetooth sound output and this is where you will be enveloped in beautiful sound. I use the headphone jack with a 3.5 audio output cable to my Bose Acoustic Wave Music System II and I also use it with my Bose Sound Link Mini II Bluetooth speaker. Both imputs sound great. I live in an apartment and I don’t need to shake and crack the walls with thundering sound. For reference i also have an HK stereo system in my car that I connect to via Bluetooth and again this player is a joy to use. 5) About Battery Life. I generally get through more than entire workday day of audio content usability with a full charge. Keep in mind my VPN, Malware app, as wells as other apps are always running in the background which is my preferred workflow so the more apps you are running the more your battery life will deplete. Also set the display to time-out and turn off with fewer minutes or use the power button to toggle the screen off when you are not using the screen to move through audio content. When the screen is off you can use the function buttons on the side of the device to move back, forward, and pause through content. You don’t need to use the screen to navigate through audio content playlists. 6) This is a well thought out audio play because included on the right side of the player is a full suite of function button ( 7 in total ). How Sony managed to put 7 function buttons on the side of this device this small is an epic engineering feet in and of itself. 7) There is also a lanyard loop connector next to the audio output jack. 8) Have a bit of patience with the Sony Music Center software. It takes some getting use but once you have your music transferred to you device you should be in good shape. Sony has two other flagship models in this DAP lineup but this one I think is the most portable, affordable and most value driven for consumers looking for an introduction to DAP. I purchased a case, a screen protector, a lanyard loop, and a 1 TB sd card. I listen mostly to YouTube and Apple Music content. When I want to listen to my Jazz music library which is quite good and extensive, I run the Walkman App on the player. I have a lot of devices, gadgets and digital experience technology. A mix bag of brands and functions. Honestly, this little player has exceeded what I expected from it. I use it EVERDAY. If you are an audio content enthusiast i highly recommend this player and you don’t necessarily have to use HI-RES audio content to enjoy this player. If you are fortunate to find HiRES content to play on this device using DSD, you will be in a for huge audio treat. Depending upon your expectations, this little audio player is an epic feat of engineering and replaces listening to audio content on other devices.

Love my sony walkman a place where i keep all my music hope they keep coming out with them in the future !

The Sony NW-A306 Walkman is a standout portable music player that combines high-resolution audio capabilities with a sleek, user-friendly design. Whether you're an audiophile or someone who appreciates quality sound, this device offers an impressive listening experience.

I didn't expect this kind of sound from an MP3 player But with the equalizer and all the other settings it has To enhance and process The Bluetooth signal and audio It makes My ears excited and I have heard things I have never heard before And I was skeptical But hearing it myself has made me a believer And I feel it's definitely worth the price.

Love the way this sounds, works even better with Flac files and hi-res earphones and headphones. The tunabilty and overall sound from this is on another level, way better than any phone in 2023. Highly recommend this to anyone looking to get into hi res music and wants an affordable hi res player.

It’s the perfect size, easy to drop in your pocket & lite weight. I was able to import CD’s & my iTunes music library. The volume is fine for me,

The interface is completely customizable, and I am just absolutely in love with the digital cassette player screen. The digital cassette itself isn't customizable, but it is lovely to see a modern day song be displayed as a simple cassette. However, the reason I am giving this an average rating is because it is just too small for a walkman. What I mean is that, for a music player carrying the name of Walkman, it should not be smaller than an average smart phone. I ended up getting a thick ptotection cas e, and screen protector for it, just so it can feel a bit more bulky in my hands or my pocket. Also the fact that it cost $300 just felt wrong. Other than that, I love my mini digital Walkman.

If you are looking for a small & portable music player with good battery life, the Sony NW A306 would top the charts. I've tried it with Sennheiser's IE600 and Meze Audio's Advar IEMs. The sound stage, instrument separation and the quality of vocals is pretty good. Sony's recent software updates have fixed the audio cap issues to an extent. I had to keep the volume at 100-105/120 with the IEM's. I loaded my audio library of Flac and WAV files onto a Samsung SD card (512gb) and I had no issues. Pros: 1. Small and Portable (about size of your four fingers) 2. Pretty decent battery life (around 25hrs) - USB C charging 3. In-built Walkman player Plays pretty much all standard audio file types 4. Streaming apps capable (tried Spotify, Qobuz) Cons - 1. Android is not the latest 2. UI is not laggy but it's not super responsive either 3. It struggles with bigger headphones that require more power 4. Lot of bloatware (most of the apps can be deleted or disabled) 5. Limited inbuilt memory (32GB) 6. Plastic housing feels cheap but build quality is good

If you are used to using an iPod, don't get the much less expensive Sony NW-E394 player. It will be like getting a plastic toy. This Sony player is definitely the least expensive one to get. The sound is good. It connected easily by Bluetooth to both my Sony AV receiver and my Marshall Monitor II A.N.C. headphones. The Sony software you install on your PC is easy to use, and great at quickly finding all the songs on your PC. The player itself has physical volume, FF and RW buttons, like the iPod Classic, so you don't have to look at the screen all the time. Talking about the screen, it's too bad Sony made this like an Android cell phone, with Google there to sign into and such. I refuse to sign in. I unfortunately did create a sign-in code, which apparently cannot be deleted. Why oh why can't companies made an affordable quality MP3 player that is only dedicated to playing music and nothing else? I don't need to connect to Google or the internet or anything else while listening to music!

While Sony has been making MP3 Walkman for years, the NW-A306 is brand new. This is my first portable music player since the original iPod shuffle. All music since then has gone through my phone. Why use a Hi-Res digital music player instead of your cell phone? Keep reading to find out. Interface: The NW-A306 uses Android, so if you are familiar with any new version of Android, you know what to expect. After going through the normal privacy settings, I went one step further by basically turning all other features not related to music. This means no email, texts, alerts, notifications, etc. My phone already does this, so I am treating this device like a dedicated music player. Android runs slow on this device. There are delays when pushing buttons, and they are noticeable. The hardware inside is about pumping out Hi-res music, not providing the fastest user experience. You are going to have to be patient when setting this up and getting music started. However, I found that once I start an album, I do not interact with it again for as long as the album plays. Yes, it is slow, but that does not matter to me when it is playing music. There are physical buttons on the right side of the device, including dedicated volume buttons, skip forward and skip back buttons, pause/play button, hold lock button, and a power button. This means you do not have to interact with the interface to skip a song—just click skip. On the bottom, you will find a standard audio jack, USB Type-C for charging and connecting to PCs, and a MicroSD slot. There is also a circle with a bar in it, and I assume that is for a wrist strap even though it does not come with one. Overall, it has a clean appearance and easy to use buttons while the screen is small and the interface is slow. Software: Sony preloads a few programs which can be activated on the home screen. This includes a music interface button, an equalizer and sound adjustment button, and headphones button (which I have not explored yet, so I do not know what this does). Sony’s music button allows you to play songs you have downloaded and transferred to a MicroSD card. The equalizer button gives you plenty of ways to adjust music and add different algorithms to your music. Since I have not used a MicroSD card yet, I have not used the Walkman music interface button, but the menus look clean and easy to use. I did download Amazon’s Music Player app from the Google Play Store. This is where I have most of my music today. Once I logged in to my Amazon account, I changed the app settings to download, stream, and play HD and Ultra HD music. I played songs by streaming them and by playing the ones I downloaded in order to compare sound and device function. Both methods played the song the same and worked as intended. This is not a review of the Amazon Music Player app, but I can say it has its own problems. The app glitches between menus, and sometimes songs stutter when asking the app to do too much. I also found a problem when I pause a song by pressing the physical pause button on the right side and then start the song again. Right now, I have no way of knowing if this is an Amazon App flaw or a device flaw, but when I pause the song from within the app’s menu, the same thing happens. This tells me that the App is probably at fault. Since this can access the Google Play store, you can download Spotify, Tidal, or any other streaming music service. Tidal works great, and I am listening to MQA songs. It does not suffer from the same problems as Amazon's music player. Battery: Battery use totally depends on what you are doing (which I guess is true for most devices today). When I first got it, I had to go through all the Android settings, download the app I wanted, and test all kinds of music, both streaming and downloaded. I watched the battery drop the entire time. In a few hours, it dropped well over 50% of the battery, but I had the screen on the entire time and was testing everything I could. Now that I use it normally, the battery far exceeds my expectations. It drops about 2% per outing when the songs are played from the download button in the Amazon App. I have not charged it in days, and I am at 48% right now (I started at 85%). If I use it the same way every day, it should last several more days. Battery use is also affected by the kinds of songs you play. Streaming an UltraHD song will drain the battery much faster than playing a downloaded HD song. In other words, your battery results will differ based on use, but so far, I am happy with the battery life. Sound: Ok, you have read everything to this point, and all you want to know is about the sound. Is this little thing worth the price? The answer is a definitive yes…only if you are using UltraHD music. The NW-A306 has a built in DAC (digital analog converter) specifically designed to output Hi-res audio. Yes, it works! Yes, I can hear a difference! Yes, it is better than my cell phone! For example, an UltraHD song from Amazon is coded at 24-bit/96KHz or higher. However, the device itself (OnePlus 10 Pro) can only output 24-bit/48KHz, so some of the sound quality is lost. Not on the NW-A306! It is outputting at the full 24-bit/96KHz, and some songs are even higher. None of this will matter to you unless you are using quality headphones. I am using Sennheiser HD558, which are an over-ear, open backed headphones. They are old, but still provide superior quality. Since the NW-A306 has an audio jack, I plug my headphones directly into the device. If you have any new modern phone, most of them did away with the audio jack, so you either need a dongle hanging out of your phone or you are using wireless headphones. In my opinion, wired headphones are superior to wireless. To further test this, I used the NW-A306 wirelessly with my Sony WH-1000XM2, which are very good over-ear, closed back, noise cancelling headphones. The Sennheiser’s are superior in every way. When an UltraHD song is played through a quality DAC, you can hear the difference. I tested multiple songs, and the quality is there. You hear people say that the song “opens up,” but what does that mean? When listening to music through the NW-A306 in UltraHD, you can hear the individual guitars, including when one enters the song and the other fades out or into another chord. You can actually hear the different sounds drums make based on which ones are being struck. I can hear a symbol get hit and grabbed to stop it vs. getting struck and letting it continue to vibrate. There are layers to the song I did not know existed, and your ears cannot pick up those subtle differences when listening to songs on the radio, in your car, or just playing on normal home speakers from a normal playing device. But if you put your music on a player like this with the right kind of headphones, the difference is amazing! The best test I can recommend is to play the song Africa by Toto through your phone’s speakers. Then, play the UltraHD version from your NW-A306 using wired headphones. You will absolutely hear a difference. Note: I saw a few reviews talk about the volume control. When you turn it on, the volume is set at 50, which is barely audible. I pumped the volume up to 90, and I was thinking that it would max out at 100. I was afraid that it would not be loud enough when it is in noisy areas. However, I noticed that the max volume is 120, not 100, and anything close to 100 is loud enough for me. If you were worried the NW-A306 would not get loud enough, I had no problem finding a perfectly comfortable sound level. I play most songs between 90 and 92 out of 120. Why buy this? The NW-A306 is not designed for everyone. For most people, playing songs from their phone via Bluetooth headphones or earbuds is good enough. Personally, I started taking much longer walks as a form of exercise. In order to use my phone, I had to add a small DAC to the USB Type-C port on my phone, and then plug in my wired Sennheisers. Between the size of the phone, the DAC that looks like a tail, and the cord for the headphones, it was nearly impossible to fit everything in my pocket. One wrong bump and something would get disconnected. I found the NW-A306 because I wanted a dedicated music player with the ability to play Hi-res sound. The NW-A306 does this perfectly. If I am at home, I use my computer speakers that have a THX DAC. I have surround sound speakers from my main TV via a dedicated receiver. When I am in my car, I use SiriusXM. When I am exercising, I use the NW-A306. It provides fantastic sound, a long battery life, and ease of use in a small package. It matches the Sennheiser soundstage perfectly, and I am getting every bit of the song’s data out of it. If you are looking for something that just plays Hi-res music, I would recommend you consider the Sony NW-A306.

The NW-A306 has good sound. I was surprised at how much Android logging-in is required to set it up, I was hoping for a non-streaming, SD-card based, offline, wilderness-capable product and hope to see one one day. On my android phone, Musicolet takes 50 minutes to scan my SD card but the same program on the NW-A306 takes about 8 hours, so if you are trying to be SD-card, mp3-based, it takes a long time to update (replace) the library file. As others have noted, the sound volume seems to be limited, and I was hoping for higher volume (seems to be a US-market PL problem). Nice small size. I hope to see a non-streaming option someday, and and longer battery life and maybe 5 or 6 times the memory (at 32 GB, it has 1/4 the memory of cheap 2021 android phones, which can essentially do the same job at 1/4 of the price).

I've only had this player for a few days, but i love it. I have had at least 15 other players and this is my favorite. It was a little slow when adding music from my windows computer. It took me all day to load my collection. I used a 512 GB sandisk sd card. After formatting it with the device, i added over 40,000 songs. About 1700 albums from about 1200 artists. I always hear about a 20,000 song limit. Not the case here. It's kind of like a cell phone. When u set it up, it asks for google account info. I skipped that part. U can use the play store to download apps. U can also stream music. My Edifier bluetooth earbuds connected easily. I also tried a couple wired headphones. The volume could b a little louder. There are equalizers to choose from. Also a few other sound enhancements. I only added mp3's. They sound great. I plan on adding some flacs to compare. I would highly recommend this player. A little pricey. I got on sale for $250.

Great product. I'm not really one who listens to music through my phone since i do so much other stuff with it. Was looking for something that I can throw in my pocket and go. Can stream through Spotify and other apps but it also allows me to click & drag songs from my computer. Small enough to fit in just about any pocket. Battery life is excellent. More than enough space. Highly recommend this to anyone who isn't into putting music on their phone.

Good quality device. Fairly easy to ise. Easy to set up playlists and recall songs and artists. I had some slight difficulty connecting blue tooth headphones, but eventually got it worked out. Sound quality is exceptional. Worth the higher price.

I love this portable mps player. You can even make playlists. Greatest part was i just took my sd card out of my old no brand name mp3 slid it in this new one and I was up and playing. Only thing i dont like is the wait time for it to boot up when turning on. Sound quality, weight, bluetooth connection are all awesome. I have not played with any of the internet features. it also hooked up with my vehicle in less than 15 seconds which is a buick.

This is by far, the best PAD Personal Audio Device I have ever purchased and owned. With the many capable features to download + store my personal music library of over 8,200 songs, or stream audio from YouTube or other streaming services, I carry a capable endless choice of audio + video selection on demand. Love the bluetooth playback pairing that allows me to enjoy either personally or with a group using headphones or speakers. The compact size + operation menu is perfect for on the go use. Operation menu and navagation is simple + very user friendly. Memory card slot allows storage capacity up to 1 terretite. Beautiful playback can be custom tailored to consumers preference. I would highly reccommend this product.