Sony NW-A306

[What Hi-Fi?]

Sony’s hi-res A306 Walkman player is affordable, good to use and nice to listen to, but there are some issues that don’t let us enjoy its full potential.

Sony NW-A306 : Read more

 

[mlknez]

I am very confused. What does this give me that my 2020 LG V60 phone doesn't? Or for that matter, my 2017 LG V20?

 

[Navanski]

I am very confused. What does this give me that my 2020 LG V60 phone doesn't? Or for that matter, my 2017 LG V20?

As an owner of an LG V30, I would say absolutely nothing.
Watch out though because that Snapdragon 8 series processor might be just too quick for you. If that's the case then the Sony (unknown processor) might be an alternative.
You could even use the LG as a phone. Whatever will they think of next!!

 

[Rodolfo]

As the owner of 3 V series phones, I'd say one huge difference is in battery life: the Vs don't compete with this player, nor would they with most any other player, even if music-listening is/was all you do/did with your V. For portable devices, few features are more important than battery life, and when I'm enjoying my music, I don't want to be monitoring how long I have left. The article ignores specs, but I'd guess that the Sony DAP has a power output advantage that would allow/enable it to drive more impressive headphones, etc. more effectively. The author(s) only refer to testing the Sony with a single set of low-impedance Grado headphones.

The Sony and the LG Vs are importantly comparable in offering SD card slots to store your hi-res files, which all DAPS offer for huge usability reasons. Yet, the article author(s?) spent three paragraphs bemoaning the limited built-in memory, and thus the limited space to store music, trivializing the SD card slot feature, noting that "this is an additional cost". I'm guessing authors and editors are iphone or pixelphone users who aren't used to thinking of the enabling capacity of SD card slots. This winds up being the only "usability" issue they write about, but which affects their verdict.

 

[Navanski]

As the owner of 3 V series phones, I'd say one huge difference is in battery life: the Vs don't compete with this player, nor would they with most any other player, even if music-listening is/was all you do/did with your V. For portable devices, few features are more important than battery life, and when I'm enjoying my music, I don't want to be monitoring how long I have left. The article ignores specs, but I'd guess that the Sony DAP has a power output advantage that would allow/enable it to drive more impressive headphones, etc. more effectively. The author(s) only refer to testing the Sony with a single set of low-impedance Grado headphones.

The Sony and the LG Vs are importantly comparable in offering SD card slots to store your hi-res files, which all DAPS offer for huge usability reasons. Yet, the article author(s?) spent three paragraphs bemoaning the limited built-in memory, and thus the limited space to store music, trivializing the SD card slot feature, noting that "this is an additional cost". I'm guessing authors and editors are iphone or pixelphone users who aren't used to thinking of the enabling capacity of SD card slots. This winds up being the only "usability" issue they write about, but which affects their verdict.

Agreed.
Also not mentioned is the Sony's capabilities with album art. The predecessors of the NW306 were notoriously picky when it came to displaying album art. That, and the, to my ears, harsh treble, was the reason for me returning my NW55 and opting for a FiiO.

 

[Gnik_Nus]

I am very confused. What does this give me that my 2020 LG V60 phone doesn't? Or for that matter, my 2017 LG V20?

It gives you a smaller form factor and Sony probably didn’t know you had an LG V20. Lol. By the way, not everyone has an LG V20 already. Those LG’s are now aging phones and if you are mainly using them for music playback, then that means you are probably also carrying a modern smartphone for other needs. Two cumbersome devices. Yep, that makes a lot of sense.
Your point would have been better conveyed if you had asked what does this offer you that a modern smartphone doesn’t offer. The answer is, very little. Most people use their phones for music playback, and are presumably very happy with that, given that the Portable media player market now only caters to an increasingly shrinking market.

This is a reasonably priced music player which you can use for streaming music, playing your own media files, and it takes up very little space in a jacket or trouser pocket. I also got WhatsApp on it, and use it to browse the internet as I play music on it. Offline music playback provides ample battery life which saves most people from draining their mobile phone battery, and it looks way cooler and slicker than those ugly LG’s. For okayish sounds you are carrying a whole lot of phone, so most peopepnint he market for a music player would probably prefer something funky like this. You can slip this in a shirt pocket. I use mine with the NW-A100’s 50th Anniversary case. Not only does the player sound really good, it is so much fun to use and I have lost count how many people told me it is really cool.
Also, some people always carry enough things with them when they go out, so a small device like this is probably better to carry than a V20. If you are not using the V20 as your main phone, it is utterly pointless to carry one in 2024, in addition to your main phone.
I had one in the past and to me, it did5 sound any different from a typical iPhone. Most people won’t be able to distinguish any supposed sound improvements the LG V20 offers over their phone, and even if they did, they would happily do without it, and obviously did otherwise everyone would have a V20, won’t they?
All those dumb audiophile arguments about carrying a DAP with a powerful DAC miss the whole point of listening to music for fun and almost any modern drive gives you good playback. Most people don’t want nor need a music studio playing in their headphones so when it comes to a portable music device, whether it is your LG or this Sony Walkman, the market is very small anyway. I use mine because I like a small Android device which gives me access to Apple Music, all my offline music and also allows me to occasionally use the internet and watch movies on this tiny screen. It is easy to use one handed, it takes a SD card and allow me to mange all my music outside of my phone which I only use to make calls, read emails and use the camera.

There is nothing cooler than using something this small for things most people use way bigger and more expensive devices for. If you don’t find that appealing, you won’t buy it. That is fine. Not everyone is the same and neither are their needs.
Sony has a great history in making music products and I like to have this device which gives me continuity with their great history in Thai product category. I have used Sony Walkman cassette players, portable CD players, Minidisc recorders, iPods, and now this. Is it the best? It doesn’t have to be, it plays music, it sounds good and it also allows you to use streaming apps, use other apps, and it is a great little toy. I love it .

 

[Gnik_Nus]

As an owner of an LG V30, I would say absolutely nothing.
Watch out though because that Snapdragon 8 series processor might be just too quick for you. If that's the case then the Sony (unknown processor) might be an alternative.
You could even use the LG as a phone. Whatever will they think of next!!

This is obviously smaller than a phone. That might be one reason people would want this, and you don’t need a lightening fast processor on this Sony player because the one it has is more than ample for its primary use. This is pocketable. The V20 is old so unlikely that many people would want to use that as their main phone so if they are also using another device as their phone, that is too fairly big devices that probably make anyone doing so look like a dork, especially when the LG offers significant audio playback improvements to the average phone anyway.

 

[Gnik_Nus]

Sony’s hi-res A306 Walkman player is affordable, good to use and nice to listen to, but there are some issues that don’t let us enjoy its full potential.

Sony NW-A306 : Read more

That is not true for everyone. Some people will be happy with the player as it is. There is nothing wrong with it. You want something specific to your taste and liking. That does not mean everyone wants the same thing as you. It plays music, it sounds good. That is what most people will care about. The few who not pick are a minority and they never seem to be happy with anything anyway.

 

[Gnik_Nus]

As the owner of 3 V series phones, I'd say one huge difference is in battery life: the Vs don't compete with this player, nor would they with most any other player, even if music-listening is/was all you do/did with your V. For portable devices, few features are more important than battery life, and when I'm enjoying my music, I don't want to be monitoring how long I have left. The article ignores specs, but I'd guess that the Sony DAP has a power output advantage that would allow/enable it to drive more impressive headphones, etc. more effectively. The author(s) only refer to testing the Sony with a single set of low-impedance Grado headphones.

The Sony and the LG Vs are importantly comparable in offering SD card slots to store your hi-res files, which all DAPS offer for huge usability reasons. Yet, the article author(s?) spent three paragraphs bemoaning the limited built-in memory, and thus the limited space to store music, trivializing the SD card slot feature, noting that "this is an additional cost". I'm guessing authors and editors are iphone or pixelphone users who aren't used to thinking of the enabling capacity of SD card slots. This winds up being the only "usability" issue they write about, but which affects their verdict.

The other thing is that most people who use the LG phones are probably using them to play music specifically so they are probably also carrying a separate phone. If not, they probably will actually as the LG hardware ages and they become less suitable to be used as their main phone.
This means carrying two large devices, and I doubt the average person would even notice any difference between the LG phones and their main smartphone. I mean, audiophiles are not actually audiophiles, they know no more about what constitutes good sound or decent music playback because like everyone else, they only talk about what they think sounds good. It doesn’t necessarily sound better. I have owned those LG phones because I also thought maybe they would sound better but my iPhone Mini sounds just as good with the same headphones and I can’t even tell a difference and neither can other people I asked to compare them. I think some people just assume because they have a supposedly better piece of tech, they can enjoy music more than the folks who just have a smartphone. Today, most streaming applications offer hi-res audio, and any mid-priced headphones will give you excellent playback. To think that something like an aging LG phone would give you superior sound quality is just placebo.
When it comes to personal media players, their only advantage now is that they help you save battery life and organise your music on a separate device from your phone. When it comes to sound quality it depends mostly on the headphones, and that would be different for everyone, depending on what kind of sound they prefer.
For the home stereo, as long as you have a decent source, the only thing that will matter is the quality of your speakers and maybe an amplifier that would allow you to tweak the sound to your preference.

 

[Navanski]

To think that something like an aging LG phone would give you superior sound quality is just placebo.
When it.......

Absolutely and definitely not.
I've used both devices using a variety of full sized headphones from AKG, Phillips, Grado, Sennheiser and Monoprice Monolith. Both dynamic and planar drivers. I've also used them with IEMs from Basso, Tinman, Trinity audio and OneMore.
To my ears, and I acknowledge that audio quality is somewhat subjective, the Sony produced a harsh, metallic, very digital sound in the top end. The LG is, in comparison, smoother, more analogue but without any loss of detail.
What on earth makes you think that an aging audio device can't be as good as a more recent device?

 

[Gnik_Nus]

Absolutely and definitely not.
I've used both devices using a variety of full sized headphones from AKG, Phillips, Grado, Sennheiser and Monoprice Monolith. Both dynamic and planar drivers. I've also used them with IEMs from Basso, Tinman, Trinity audio and OneMore.
To my ears, and I acknowledge that audio quality is somewhat subjective, the Sony produced a harsh, metallic, very digital sound in the top end. The LG is, in comparison, smoother, more analogue but without any loss of detail.
What on earth makes you think that an aging audio device can't be as good as a more recent device?

Firstly, I did not say that an aging audio device can sound better, and was talking specifically about the LG phone. Most modern smartphones are software based, and even if the audio playback is acceptable, in all other aspects the device will get outdated and present security risks for those who connect to the internet for streaming services.
I have also used the LG devices with several different headphones and I have noticed nothing that different or special, and I have also asked other people to compare them, and they didn't notice any appreciable difference either. At least not enough to go out and buy one.
At the point you made your original comment you hadn't even played the Sony device and you were already saying the LG is better, so clearly you had already made your mind up? You hadn't used the NW-A306 and were arguing that there is no point in anyone with an LG phone getting it.
The Sony is cheaper than a flagship phone so most people who will buy it probably won't use it beyond a few years and the devices will probably continue to get security updates in the period most people will use them for streaming.
Apart from vintage music formats, most modern digital music devices probably aren't even purchased for superior sound, and I personally don't think this Walkman sounds better than some of the phones I have used.
Some people might buy it because it allows them to manage and curate their music on a separate device, and saves them from using their phones battery. Maybe they don't want to spend so much as an A and K device, but still want a well known brand?
They might enjoy the legacy of Sony's music players, and the novelty of seeing the cassette animation. The vast majority of people with streaming subscriptions can probably already use their phones for pretty decent playback, and I have also used many different phones over the last few years, and practically all had gimmicks like Dolby Atmos, and sound specific features. I might not have liked some of the phones for one reason or another but the basic sound playback was good on almost all of them.
The problem with discussion like this is that some people think they have special hearing or are such music enthusiasts that only they can appreciate good sound. I make no such claims, and think many regular smartphones can produce sound most people will find more than acceptable, especially since most people stream music, and many services now offer lossless or high res audio by default. Most people also upgrade their phones within 2-3 years which also means that they don't have to worry about security vulnerabilities with their older phones. Apple phones and many Samsung devices provide many years of updates anyway, and by the time they don't, the phone has probably already been replaced or is past its useful life.

The basic quality of audio files available on most streaming services now is so high, and the hardware so capable, that with decent headphones most people won't even notice any minor improvements you get with your old LG, and even if they did, the device is a phone and most people won't carry an old phone for music and a new one for other purposes. If someone is using the LG as their main phone at the time of writing, then it might make sense to continue using it as a music player, but for how long? Most people have given up carrying more than one device and even the compact digital camera market is dead. I remember the time when I used to carry Nintendo DS, an iPod, a compact camera, my phone and various accessories. Today hardly anyone does and it is not because phones are better but they do the basics, even gaming, and it meets most people's daily needs without them have to carry a bag full of extra gadgets or every packet stuffed with a cumbersome gadget. Will you carry two phones one day when your main phone will give you more than adequate sound quality? At least the Sony is small enough to be put in a shirt pocket, or in a jacket without becoming noticeable. With your chunky LG and your other phone, and maybe a powerbank and other things to carry, wouldn't one day you will say let's leave the LG at home? Would you say the same about the tiny Sony which can be put in a shirt or jacket pocket without it weighing you down?


The Sony is small enough and will play all your music files for many years to come and streaming services will also be available for years probably (I can still get Apple Music on my iPhone 4s, though not Hi-res). Many people would never use any web based service on an old device that no longer has security patches coming through. Some don't care so potentially both the LG and Sony devices could be used to stream for years, as long as the battery doesn't die. My iPhone 4s still has the original battery and it still works. I would love to use the camera because it is good and produces smaller files which are easier to save and archive, but I don't because I carry my main phone and my Walkman with me most of the time so I don't want a third device.
There are many, many practical considerations people have to make when they go out and take a device or two with them. Besides, let's be realistic, the LG is not going to be most people's first choice of a music player today. LG don't even make smartphones anymore and neither are the vast majority of people looking for a music player going to buy a vintage phone which in every other respect is outdated. The average consumer is not so interested in vintage stuff, for better or for worse.

People interested in buying the Sony will do is because it is newer, which gives you a full warranty and is not very expensive and anyone who buys it will know that it is an entry level audio player so their expectations would be in line with what they paid. There are many more costlier devices, but then it is a case of diminishing returns.
How many well known audio companies of old, with the legacy of Sony, are making a tiny Hi-res music player at the price point of the NW-A306? There are many cheap Chinese devices but do they have any resale value? Old Sony MP3 players can still fetch a respectable price. I remember buying one of my all time favourite X Series Sony Walkman around 2009. I wouldn't even mind owning one now. It doesn't even support Hi-res audio, and you can't replace the battery (which is why I sold mine all those years ago, knowing it will eventually die). The few I have seen in good condition still command high prices so Sony music players do tend to have some resale value as well, and they are still better known than the Fiio's and Hiby's, which may serve their purpose today but would not have any real value for collectors in the years to come because none of these companies have any real audio legacy or history. At least not at present. Some people might collect them, I don't know. I have a 2011 Sony A-Series player which doesn't do high res either but when I listed it on eBay it got so much interest, I ended up not selling it because I realised it was still useful so I plugged into my stereo at home with my favourite tunes. Sounds good to me!