Sony NW-A306 Walkman – New DAP from the Sony Signature Series

Once again, Sony Corporation is promoting its ability to deliver music the way the artist intended, this time with the new Sony NW-A306 Walkman, the latest solution in personal audio devices, which the Japanese consumer electronics company is presenting as the latest solution in the Sony Signature Series. Quality is not a question of size, according to Sony Corporation’s reference to the compact dimensions of the new Sony NW-A306 Walkman, which is also said to feature an elegant design, but above all a particularly long battery life.

Sony NW-A306 Walkman – DAP based on Google Android

The new Sony NW-A306 Walkman presents itself as a DAP based on the Google Android operating system, which has the great advantage that the user can easily install and directly use various apps such as streaming services.

The Sony NW-A306 Walkman is based on Google Android 12, although the manufacturer does not give any details about which platform and which processor is used. They only reveal that the memory is equipped with 32 GBytes, of which 18 GBytes are available for various data. Of course, microSD cards are used for audio data, and USB-C is available for the data connection to a PC or Mac and for charging the battery.

WiFi for streaming and Hi-res Audio Wireless via Bluetooth

For the connection to the outside world, the new Sony NW-A306 Walkman also offers WiFi according to IEEE 802.11ac and Bluetooth. It is interesting to note that Sony Corporation relies on its own LDAC codec for the new Sony NW-A306 Walkman, which allows signal transmission with up to 24 bit and 96 kHz. Since it is a Bluetooth module from the specialist Qualcomm Inc., SBC, AAC, aptX and aptX HD are also supported.

Linear PCM, DSD and MQA

The new Sony NW-A306 Walkman is able to play back signals in Linear PCM with up to 32 bit and 384 kHz as well as DSD up to and including DSD256 and also understands content encoded in MQA.

Sony DSEE Ultimate

Of course, the new Sony NW-A306 Walkman also features the DSP-based signal processing Sony DSEE Ultimate, which is based on artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure that any losses in compressed audio data are compensated and all subtleties and the full dynamic range are reconstructed.

If desired, any data format can be converted to DSD, which, according to the manufacturer, should also lead to an increase in quality.

Sony DSEE Ultimate

Natürlich verfügt auch der neue Sony NW-A306 Walkman über die DSP-basierte Signalverarbeitung Sony DSEE Ultimate, die auf künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) basiert und dafür sorgen soll, dass etwaige Verluste in komprimierten Audiodaten kompensiert und alle Feinheiten sowie der volle Dynamikumfang rekonstruiert werden.

Auf Wunsch kann jedes Datenformat in DSD konvertiert werden, was laut Hersteller ebenfalls zu einer Qualitätssteigerung führen soll.

Long battery life

As already described, the new Sony NW-A306 Walkman is supposed to be characterised by a long battery life, whereby Sony Corporation is trying to make realistic statements in this regard.

The manufacturer says that playback of data in CD quality is possible for up to 36 hours, and playback of hi-res audio for up to 32 hours. Music streaming via WiFi and corresponding apps should be possible for around 26 hours.

Prices and availability

The new Sony NW-A306 Walkman should be available in specialist shops within the next few days. As described, customers can choose between black and blue. The recommended retail price is € 399,-.

Getting to the point

Enjoying music as intended by the artist – this motto has been the guiding principle of Sony Corporation for years, also in the field of personal audio devices such as the DAP. Accordingly, this also applies to the latest addition to the Sony WALKMAN Series, which is now available with the new Sony NW-A306 Walkman.