Sony NW-ZX300 REVIEW

 

 

INTRO

I knew about The Walkman before I knew about the ipod.

 

Somewhere along the way the teacher (Sony), became the student of Apple. The ipod was simple and snappy and small. Sony was all over the map with new ideas every year and proprietary devices, systems and connectors. The must have made more money from folks trying to enjoy and integrate their devices with non Sony than they ever made of the devices themselves.

It was tiring and often not good.

 

However for every for every 5 FAILS there were some wins. The Sony EX1000 is considered by many to be the apex form of the single dynamic driver IEM design. I like mine so much I spent more decorating it than the item itself.

 

I also found the MA-900 t be to my liking enough to do the same for them.

 

 

I had not realized that Sony had dug their way back into my life until they were there. They had not broken back into the player realm though.

 

It was hot garbage. It favored Sony’s own file type…of course. I would rather learn a new version of Android than walk through that mess.

 

Then somebody tapped me on the virtual shoulder and thought i should have another look and I did..

 

 

 

 

Like an ipod on steroids with a nice weight and size. build quality supreme.

 

 

Navigation style

 

 

 

The interface is a series of panels that sit around the main screen that you can reach by swiping up/down/left/right. If you are in direct mode it’s that simple. ipod like in it’s ease.

If you switch direct off you get another level of DSP options including a nice 10 band EQ with another couple of options to satisfy the tweaker that lives in most gear geeks.

 

 

 

 

Dude..how the FFffUUUUuuuuUUU does it sound?

 

Sounds a tad south of Neutral. I hate Neutral. Has a tint of warmth and body to the music. Sounds real. Vocals and guitars sound clear and have good texture and transients. The note has a full life from the moment a bass guitar string is pulled until the harmonic extension has died away. This captures that perfectly.

 

Music will usually be whatever your earphones or headphones are tuned for. Good music players really should not be notable …just kinda get the fu out of the way and maybe leave a small sonic reminder they are there. The Sony NW ZX300 leaves a nice residue of musicality that is well received by the ex1000 or Unique Melody ME.1 (planar) or the 64 Audio U12 (Balanced Armature) or the NCM “Bella” (Hybrid).

 

 

Review of Sony NW ZX300 Video form

 

 

You are being pic bombed

 

 

 

 

 

Balanced output is where this thing shines the brightest. Believing in balanced benefits aside the power output is better and thus dynamics improve. There is always that.

 

 

 

 

I listened to this to come to this conclusion

 

 

Specs

NW-ZX300 – Key Features:

• Large TFT 3.1″ / 7.8 cm WVGA [800 x 480 Pixels] Display,
• Touch-Sensitive LED Backlight Color Display,
• 30/26 h – Standard MP3/High-Res Music Playback,
• Body:
  • Solid single part CNC processed Stable Aluminium Body
  • Benefits: Best Shielding and Noice canceling Results,
• S-Master HX™ – The Best Sound quality is Guaranteed By Design widely Implemented the “True Digital Paths”.
• High-Resolution, Hi-RES:
  • Direct Stream Digital – DSD 11.2MHz,
• Standard MP3 – Up to 320 kbps, VBR Support,
• FLAC,
• WAVE,
• WMA,
• APE *.ape/ Up to 24 bit/max 192 kHz,
• DSEE HX™ For Restoring The Sound Quality of Lossy Compression Files,
• CXD-3778GF – Digital Amplifier,
• Connectivity:
  • Bluetooth v.4.2 with A2DP and AVRCP,
  • NFC,
  • USB – V2.0,
  • 22-pin WM PORT Socket,
• 10 Band equalizer,
• Dual Peak Meters Graphical Presentation,
• Spectrum Analyzer,
• Audio Output:
  • Balanced Audio Jack – Diameter 4.4mm:
    • Power Output: 2 x 200mW,
  • Stereo Minijack – Diameter 3.5mm:
    • Power Output: 2 x 50mW / 16 OHMs,
• Rechargeable battery Powering:
• Charging Time:
  • Approximately 5h.
• High-Quality Components: FTCAP and Film Capacitors,
• Storage Space:
  • Internal 64GB,
  • The Storage Volume is Expandable with MicroSD Card.
• Dimensions:
  • 57.7 x 120.4 x 14.9 mm,
  • 2.28 x 4.75 x 0.59-inch,
• Weight:
  • 157 g,
  • 5.54 oz.

 

 

 

Sony has come a long way.

They seem to by luck or …nah…by luck, to have nailed it.

This is what they have done

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walkman

 

 

Just reading that makes me remember why it took so long to return. Like they were trying to keep me away and kill their own market…and now they are on their way back to taking what was theirs. Do they even realize that? Who cares. This unit is awesome. This review is about that and it is in fact excellent.

 

Get it in Asia

http://www.accessoryjack.com/sony-nw-zx300-walkman-with-high-resolution-audio-black.html

 

 

Get it in America

https://www.amazon.com/NW-ZX300-Hi-Res-Walkman-Digital-Player/dp/B0756XZJ9Q