New Model “NW-A300” Series of “Streaming Walkman”
New model “NW-A300 series” of “Streaming Walkman” released on January 27th. You can now use the sound quality upscaling “DSEE Ultimate” even with third-party apps such as Amazon Music and Apple Music, and when connecting wirelessly with LDAC. “If the streaming service I usually listen to can also have high sound quality …”, the author, who had completely stopped carrying a DAP, actually used it, and once once more realized the strengths of a “music playback machine”.
I’ve been carrying the Walkman “NW-ZX100” for many years, but when Apple Music started distributing spatial audio, I joined the music subscription for the first time. I mightn’t resist that convenience, and now I’m completely a smartphone + completely wireless person, and I no longer take my Walkman or wired earphones outside.
However, if you use a streaming service on your smartphone, you will still be worried regarding the battery draining. Also, although the problem can be avoided by downloading the songs in advance, the increase in traffic due to streaming is also a point of concern. Therefore, I thought that I might enjoy streaming services with higher sound quality than smartphones while suppressing the battery consumption of smartphones by making good use of the new Walkman.
The main body color is gray, blue, and black.The back has a wavy shape.
The NW-A300 series is the successor to the conventional NW-A100 series. In addition to improving battery life, which was often requested by previous model users, the minimum storage capacity has been changed from 32GB. “NW-A306” with a storage capacity of 32GB and “NW-A307” with 64GB are available, and the actual selling price is around 46,000 yen and around 57,000 yen, respectively. Three colors are available: gray, blue and black.
“DSEE Ultimate” can be used with all apps and wireless connection with LDAC
The biggest feature is that “DSEE Ultimate”, which upscales compressed sound sources and CD sound sources to the equivalent of high resolution, supports all apps such as streaming apps. Previously, it was only available when using a wired connection and using the “W. Music App”, but the new model supports all apps. DSEE Ultimate itself also supports lossless sound sources, and can expand 44.1kHz/16bit music up to a maximum of 192kHz/32bit equivalent.
In addition, DSEE Ultimate can be used even when using the LDAC codec of Bluetooth. With this, for example, if you use earphones / headphones that support LDAC, such as Sony’s completely wireless earphone “WF-1000XM4”, you can wirelessly upscale songs distributed on Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, etc. with DSEE Ultimate. can be enjoyed. In addition, when connecting to Bluetooth with LDAC, playback at a maximum of 96 kHz / 24 bit is possible.
Other features include an aluminum cutting chassis for the housing. It contributes to lower resistance and improved sound quality in the low range, while at the same time realizing high rigidity. In addition, the technology of the flagship model “WM1AM2” is also introduced, and high-quality sound is achieved by adopting high-quality solder with gold attached.
The size is the same as a business card holder. Good compatibility with LDAC complete wireless
Size comparison with “NW-ZX100” (right) used by the author
The one I tried this time was NW-A306 with a capacity of 32GB, and the housing color was gray. For me, this is the first Walkman since the NW-ZX100, and since the ZX100 did not support touch operations, when I got the NW-A306, I mightn’t hide my surprise at its thinness, lightness, and smallness.
The housing is almost the same size as a business card holder
The external dimensions are regarding 55.7 x 11.8 x 98.2 mm (width x depth x height), which is almost the same size as a business card holder. It weighs regarding 113g, so you can easily slip it into your trousers or jacket pocket, and you can spend a stress-free time with your smartphone.
When entering characters, you may feel that the screen is a little narrow
The case has a satin-like texture and the wavy shape of the back fits comfortably in the hand, giving it a good hold. The screen size is 3.6 inches, which is considerably smaller than the iPhone 13 Pro that I use as my main, and I sometimes felt the screen was narrow when entering characters or searching with Apple Music, but once I got used to it, especially No problem. I almost never felt caught in the operation of the home screen or the behavior of the application.
“High resolution streaming” is available in the “Sound” item of the setting app
First, pairing the WF-1000XM4, which supports LDAC, assuming use with a smartphone. At this time, if the wireless playback quality of “Connected devices” → “Connection settings” → “Bluetooth” in the settings is set to “LDAC sound quality priority” or “LDAC connection priority (automatic)”, or “Sound Let’s check whether “High resolution streaming” in the item is turned on.
For WF-1000XM4, if you change the connection quality from the app “Sony | Headphones Connect”, it will switch to LDAC
Also, in the case of WF-1000XM4, if you switch “Bluetooth connection quality” in the application “Sony | Headphones Connect” from “Connection priority” to “Sound quality priority”, it will switch to LDAC connection. It should be easy to understand because “LDAC” is displayed at the top of the app.
Furthermore, in the case of Apple Music, you can select the audio quality from high sound quality (AAC 256kbps), lossless (ALAC maximum 48kHz/24bit), and high resolution lossless (ALAC maximum 192kHz/24bit) in the settings within the app. Let’s check it out. This time, both Wi-Fi streaming and download are set to high resolution lossless.
Listen to “First Love (2022 Mix)/Hikaru Utada” on Apple Music
While switching DSEE Ultimate on and off, listen to Utada Hikaru’s “First Love (2022 Mix)”, which is attracting attention once more in the Netflix drama. On Apple Music, both are distributed as 48kHz/24bit ALAC lossless sound sources.
When DSEE Ultimate is turned off, the high-frequency description of the piano that flows at the beginning is rough and gives the impression that it pierces the ears a little, but when DSEE Ultimate is turned on, the high-pitched corners are removed and the listening comfort is smooth. When DSEE Ultimate is turned on for the reverb part of the chorus, you can feel the breadth of the sound field that reverberates in a large hall, and at the same time, the bass that sinks in is rich.
In addition, I listened to “Shinjidai/Uta” (lossless), “Subtitle/Official HIGE DANdism” (lossless), and “Who is the flower? -From THE FIRST TAKE/STU48” (lossless). When I turned on DSEE Ultimate, I had the impression that the smoothness of the high frequencies and the sinking of the low frequencies increased.
If you want to enjoy higher sound quality, use wired earphones
If you use the NW-A300 series, you want to use wired earphones as well as completely wireless. I searched for wired earphones made by Sony in the price range of around 10,000 to 30,000 yen, which is easy to use in combination, but when I look at the direct sales site “Sony Store”, there are almost no wired earphones in that price range.
At around 10,000 yen, there is the “MDR-EX650AP” (Sony store price of 8,360 yen) that claims to be compatible with smartphones, but in terms of specifications, it is quite unsatisfactory in terms of specifications when combined with the NW-A300 series, which sells for around 46,000 yen. feel.
When it comes to the price range above that, it jumps up to “XBA-Z5″ (Sony store price 74,800 yen) at once, and this time there is a sense of overspec. “Wired earphones with specifications and prices that are easy to combine with Walkman’s entry model have disappeared from Sony’s lineup…” I felt the flow of the times.
By the way, the previous model had a model with wired earphones, but it was abolished in the NW-A300 series. At the same time, the noise canceling function of wired earphones is not installed.
Of course, wired earphones can also be used.Wired can enjoy music with higher sound quality
So, this time I tried using wired earphones such as Shure “SE215 Special Edition”, Fender “FXA2”, Ultimate Ears custom IEM “UE RR”. Compared to DSEE Ultimate on + LDAC completely wireless, wired listening is overwhelmingly better in terms of how the sound rises quickly, the low range sinks in, and the expressiveness of the sound field. The goodness of the complete wireless handling is attractive, but in terms of sound quality, I was once once more reminded that wired earphones are superior.
Just in case, when comparing the NW-A306 and the NW-ZX100 owned by the author with wired earphones, the sense of resolution has improved, and even in songs with more instruments, the NW-A306 can reproduce each tone. Easy to listen to. On the other hand, I felt that the NW-ZX100 was more subdued in the volume of the low range.
You can also use video apps such as YouTube.These apps can also enable DSEE Ultimate
You can also enjoy videos such as YouTube and Netflix with the NW-A300 series. Since the screen is small, the list of search results and registered channels is inferior to smartphones with larger screens, but personally, the screen size is enough to watch live games, product reviews, Vlog videos, etc. I was able to watch movies with subtitles without any problems. It’s nice to be able to use DSEE Ultimate even with these video apps.
By the way, Apple Music can play music even offline if you download the music to the terminal. If you download it before going out, you can enjoy music without relying on smartphone tethering on the go.
The evolution of DSEE Ultimate makes it a series that is easy to use even when completely wireless
The NW-A300 series allows you to enjoy music and videos with higher sound quality than your smartphone, despite its compact size that fits in the palm of your hand and a light weight of regarding 113g. There are no restrictions on the apps that can use DSEE Ultimate, and DSEE Ultimate can now be used with wireless earphones/headphones only when connected to LDAC, so even those who mainly use wireless earphones can benefit from it. became.
Complete wireless compatible with LDAC has also appeared not only from Sony but also from companies such as Anker, making it easier to prepare the environment than before. In combination with such a completely wireless, it seems that you can enjoy using it properly, such as completely wireless with noise canceling while traveling by train, etc., and wired earphones when taking a break at a cafe.
However, in that case, I would like the completely wireless side to support multi-points that can connect to a Walkman and a smartphone at the same time. With a multi-point model, you can respond to incoming calls and notifications on your smartphone while listening to music on your Walkman. Currently, I can’t wait for the update announced “this winter” for the WF-1000XM4, which does not support multipoint.
My personal concern is the storage capacity. As mentioned above, Apple Music has a function to download songs, but if you save them in high resolution lossless quality, the storage will quickly decrease. Although a microSD card can be used, the 32GB model (actual usable area is regarding 18GB) is quite unreliable when it comes to storing the high-resolution sound sources on hand.
A 64GB model (actually usable area is regarding 47GB) is also available, but in that case, the price will rise to around 57,000 yen, which is annoying. Still, the NW-A300 series was an attractive model that attracted me to the “suffering of spending money”, “If you can enjoy music with high sound quality …”.
