Sony NW-A306

Sources split, and the split follows the load and the region. It played loud enough for What Hi-Fi? on a Grado SR325x, and owners find it fine on IEMs and easy headphones. Others needed nearly full volume on a Sennheiser IE 600 or IE 900, and ShortCircuit could not get an HD 800 S or an Abyss to a satisfying level. The volume limit reported on US, UK and EU units runs through the owner threads: 115 Head-Fi authors mention it, and buyers import Japanese units to avoid it.

Sources split on sensitive IEMs. Reviewers heard a quiet, clean background, including U-Audio on a Sony MDR-EX1000 and an owner on 64 Audio IEMs. Other owners report buzzing or static, typically in the left channel with sensitive IEMs while Wi-Fi is on, which stops when Wi-Fi is off. It is a specific, avoidable condition: turning Wi-Fi off is the usual answer.

Sources split three ways on a generally favourable base. Most call it clean, balanced and detailed. A substantial group agrees it is clean but finds it polite, lean or short of bass weight beside rivals such as the Shanling M3 Ultra. A few hear little gain over a phone. Some units shipped with a bass fault that made early impressions thin; Sony fixed it in firmware, so pre-April 2023 verdicts need reading with care.

Praised for what Android brings: any streaming app, broad file support up to 32-bit/384 kHz, LDAC, USB DAC mode and a 10-band EQ, and Darko also ran it as a Spotify, Roon and Plexamp endpoint on a hi-fi. The recurring complaints are the 18 GB of usable storage, the single 3.5 mm jack with no balanced output or gain switch, and no Bluetooth receiving or FM radio. Sony has moved it from Android 12 to 14.

“Access to wi-fi and the Google Play Store on the A306 does mean you can download any music app – Tidal, Apple Music, Qobuz – to stream your favourite tunes alongside your hi-res files.”

What Hi-Fi?

“the 18GB of internal storage on offer here is disappointingly measly.”

What Hi-Fi?

“32GBモデル(実使用可能領域は約18GB)では、かなり心もとない。”

AV Watch (the 32 GB model, with about 18 GB usable, feels quite inadequate)

Everyone likes the size, the grip and the physical buttons, and nearly everyone notices the lag. The split is over how much it matters. For some the slow boot and touch delay are a tolerable price, and owners say removing Google apps helps. For others a dedicated music player that takes up to a minute to start and lags on basic presses defeats the point. Battery opinion also splits: Sony's ratings broadly hold for local files in its own app, and life falls sharply when streaming over Wi-Fi.

Sources split, and it is largely press against owners. Reviewers rate the chassis highly and report no wear after weeks of use. Owners, over years, report units that behaved differently from one another: the launch bass fault on some units only, Bluetooth dropouts in a pocket, microSD trouble with Amazon Music and Spotify, and an occasional failure after an update. Some also point out that only the sides and front are metal, and that the battery isn't user-replaceable.

Sources split, and the launch price matters. Reviewers at $349 called it unusually affordable for a big-brand hi-res player, and it has few rivals this small. Critics counter that a phone with a dongle or a HiBy or FiiO player does more for the money, and that importing an unlimited Japanese unit adds cost and warranty risk. It now lists at about $400, and kakaku.com's lowest Japanese price sits well above the launch street price.