Sony NW-A306 32GB MP3 Player, Blue

Was finding using Music Streaming services a bit of a pain and didn’t like having to devote a lot of memory on the mobile to store music. Longed for the days of the old iPod. It was so much simpler, you chose the song you wanted, downloaded it to your iPod and it was yours - no monthly subscription. Thought it would never be possible until we found the Walkman A306. It’s complicated at first, as the instructions are hard to follow and understand but once you master these using the device becomes intuitive. Once you’ve added your music collection to the memory card it’s really easy to create different playlists. The sound quality is also good. Really enjoying using it.

Excellent far better than my old nw45 which I had for over 10yrs

I bought this a few weeks ago to use on long flights having previously owned an A100 Walkman.

To be honest, I didn't think that unit could be bettered, but I was wrong, this newer iteration is simply superb.

With an increased battery life - long enough to allow me to play hi-res files for an 8-hour flight and still have charge left, an improved interface and a new 'feel', this player will be a trusted companion for many trips to come, and not only for flights but also relaxing on the beach or by the pool!

I have added a micro SD card to increase the native 32 gb storage capacity so that I can take a wide selection of hi-res tunes with me.

Works brilliantly with B&W wired headphones as well as my Sony wireless in-ears.

Just superb!

Looking for an ipod altrernative. This is superior in every way, especially managing music. No more iTunes ridiculus complexity

Love my tiny mighty mp3 / dac player ,sounds superb with wired or blue tooth ear pods / ear phones. Blue tooth to my hifi is brilliant.

Great value.

It’s just what I needed for listening to good quality music on

I bought this 2 Months ago and I'm really pleased with the sound quality even a 320 Mp3 sounds really good when played through Sony Headphones attached by cable I've not used Bluetooth so far so can't comment. The device is nice and small but you will need an Micro sd card as the internal storage isn't that big as the android system takes up a fair chunk of internal memory, the English Version is volume capped so if your using over ear headphones you may struggle to get to the volume your after the Japanese version isn't restricted. Check this out on YouTube for more information, I'm filling it with cd quality Flac files which to be honest the mp3 files sound that good that i can't really tell the difference. The player shows the quality of the source music on the music player screen which is a nice touch and the Tape player screen saver although a gimmick is a nice touch. I'm using a 512gb Micro Sd card which needs to be formatted by the player before you start putting music onto it. There is an app for Sony Headphones which displayes LDAC if it's connected correctly and the player has several ways to alter the sound if you wish but I haven't used these as I'm really happy with the sound straight from the box, hope this helps and enjoy...

I switched up from a non streaming NW that I've been using for the last 4 years. The 300 is much more useable as a daily player with usb c and WiFi most of the music I listen to now is on Tidal so I'm getting much more use out of it than the old one and able to charge it if needed if I'm in the office.

Sound quality is very good I sometimes plug my dragonfly in to give it a bit more power but generally compared to my Xperia 10 vi it's much nicer.

Negative points are sometimes when you get a splash page off WiFi to log in it can be a bit clunky and the volume is limited which I was able to get around thanks to Mr Walkman mods on the old one. I wish I could enable swipe gestures rather than have to use the silly android 3 button system like my phone. Otherwise can't really go wrong!

Oh and that tape player from local flac files is so cool I would have it just for that!!

Just coming up to a month of use. Long battery life, nice and small form factor and great Android familiarity. My Sony WMX1000 headphones loves it. Happy with my 1 TB Sdcard so lots of tracks. Hooks up to my WiFi without issue. It's a straight forward quality experience.

I previously had an iPod Touch and was very pleased with that until after 13 years it finally died in that it would run out of juice after 60 to 90 minutes after a full charge. I was looking for a suitable replacement without having to spend lots of money and saw several good reviews for the NW-A306. To be honest, at first I was put off by comments that the bass lacked a lot, but it seems that a firmware update issued before I bought mine has corrected that. I have found that the sound is good, paired with either wired or Bluetooth earphones. My iPod was set up with iTunes on my Windows 11 PC and that synced really well and was a doddle to operate. This is where the Sony falls down hugely though, as the Sony 'Music Center for PC' program which is meant to function with this Walkman is frankly worse than useless. It crashes frequently, doesn't import the album artwork (iTunes did with never the slightest problem), and it seems so buggy that I haven't even tried to sync anything with the Walkman. I know iTunes has its detractors, but it looks superb and functions excellently compared to 'Music Center for PC'. On advice I have gleaned from the internet, I am now using the previous Sony program instead, 'Media Go', and that has worked well so far at least. It's been discontinued by Sony for a while so doesn't get any updates now, but at least it works. Shame on Sony for producing such good hardware and such awful software to support it.

Anyway, enough of that frustration, this is meant to be reviewing the NW-A306, and I can't fault that. Yes, it's Android and so you get various bits you don't really need if all you want is a music player, but for the most part that's easily sorted. Happy to recommend the player, just be aware that you'll be unable to use the current Sony software with it.