Though smartphones can be used to listen to music, they can't compete with high-end music players. Toward the top of that list is Sony's NW-ZX707 Walkman.
Lots of audiophile bullshit pseudoscience words in this- at the end of the day, can I really hear a difference? If so, it’s probably worth it- but if this is just a version of the famous $1000 Denon Ethernet cable, then fuck off right?
It will sound better than streaming directly from your phone but it’s not worth it to most people. The cable conversation is a whole other subject. There are still audiophiles that claim that cables costing upwards of $1000 are worth it and sound better. It blows my mind.
Techmoan isn’t dropping nearly $1k on a Walkman. Maybe in 15 years when he can get it off ebay for like $100. He likes his oddball music players but he’s not gonna pay the Sony Tax for no reason.
Quite frankly, I prefer that, I’d rather see him do a video on an obscure tape format that existed in Nordic countries for two years in the 60s than a new device all sorts of outlets will review.
Absolutely. The only thing is that if he did review modern devices, his reviews would actually be trustworthy and not just some paid advert like so many other channels are.
There really IS a perceivable difference. When given the right hardware and audio, it is a whole nother world when it comes to clarity, definition, and everything in between.
However, it doesn’t have to be nearly this expensive. I don’t see any real reason for a lot of it to be the price it is just because it has “quality components”
Don’t get me wrong, with analog, the quality of the components are far more important than digital, but it is a logarithmic curve. You can only improve so much before the gains become diminished.
Just to be clear- it very well might be mind blowingly good I’m not passing judgement, I’m just saying that bilking “audiophiles” out of dollars for silly stuff happens every day. Gold plated hdmi cables filled with argon? Come on.
Having not used one of these walkmen yet I can’t say, I was just mentioning that the article had all the buzzwords of a $1000 1 foot gold Ethernet cable, that’s all!
You have a point with HDMI because that’s a digital cable.
Ethernet is also a digital cable.
Cable quality when it comes to digital doesn’t matter, but with analog it is far more sensitive to the quality of the materials used.
The walkmans are fine, I actually have an NW-A306 ($350). To be 100% clear, the other walkmans are PRETTY MUCH the same, you are mostly paying for a better build than anything. It’s a quality device but it isn’t like you really need anything better.
Your money is better spent on speakers or headphones over anything else. You can have the fastest car in the world but it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have tires that can handle it.
Yeah excellent points! I also dont have any problem with buying quality because you like quality- that’s a perfectly valid reason. It grinds my gears when companies make up stuff to trick people into thinking something is quality when it’s just marketing buzz and bs. Like plastic sunglasses for $300.
The Walkman looks sexy as hell, and I’d be all over it if that was my thing!
It DOES look pretty sexy, but honestly the vanity of it isn’t even my concern. For the specs it has, $350 is pretty reasonable. My biggest thing about it is the ability to drive higher resistance headphones and also having a separate device to listen to music on!
Sony is definitely one of those brands that has hype from brand name, but the NW-A306 is definitely a good value for the buy. That being said however, a smartphone with an external DAC would suit most people’s needs perfectly fine.
Lots of audiophile bullshit pseudoscience words in this- at the end of the day, can I really hear a difference? If so, it’s probably worth it- but if this is just a version of the famous $1000 Denon Ethernet cable, then fuck off right?
It will sound better than streaming directly from your phone but it’s not worth it to most people. The cable conversation is a whole other subject. There are still audiophiles that claim that cables costing upwards of $1000 are worth it and sound better. It blows my mind.
I would just wait for techmoan or crinacle to test it and explain what is what, probably some sort of a cash grab is the correct answer but… maybe?
Techmoan isn’t dropping nearly $1k on a Walkman. Maybe in 15 years when he can get it off ebay for like $100. He likes his oddball music players but he’s not gonna pay the Sony Tax for no reason.
Quite frankly, I prefer that, I’d rather see him do a video on an obscure tape format that existed in Nordic countries for two years in the 60s than a new device all sorts of outlets will review.
Absolutely. The only thing is that if he did review modern devices, his reviews would actually be trustworthy and not just some paid advert like so many other channels are.
Don’t get it twisted now
There really IS a perceivable difference. When given the right hardware and audio, it is a whole nother world when it comes to clarity, definition, and everything in between.
However, it doesn’t have to be nearly this expensive. I don’t see any real reason for a lot of it to be the price it is just because it has “quality components”
Don’t get me wrong, with analog, the quality of the components are far more important than digital, but it is a logarithmic curve. You can only improve so much before the gains become diminished.
Just to be clear- it very well might be mind blowingly good I’m not passing judgement, I’m just saying that bilking “audiophiles” out of dollars for silly stuff happens every day. Gold plated hdmi cables filled with argon? Come on.
Having not used one of these walkmen yet I can’t say, I was just mentioning that the article had all the buzzwords of a $1000 1 foot gold Ethernet cable, that’s all!
You have a point with HDMI because that’s a digital cable.
Ethernet is also a digital cable.
Cable quality when it comes to digital doesn’t matter, but with analog it is far more sensitive to the quality of the materials used.
The walkmans are fine, I actually have an NW-A306 ($350). To be 100% clear, the other walkmans are PRETTY MUCH the same, you are mostly paying for a better build than anything. It’s a quality device but it isn’t like you really need anything better.
Your money is better spent on speakers or headphones over anything else. You can have the fastest car in the world but it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have tires that can handle it.
Yeah excellent points! I also dont have any problem with buying quality because you like quality- that’s a perfectly valid reason. It grinds my gears when companies make up stuff to trick people into thinking something is quality when it’s just marketing buzz and bs. Like plastic sunglasses for $300.
The Walkman looks sexy as hell, and I’d be all over it if that was my thing!
It DOES look pretty sexy, but honestly the vanity of it isn’t even my concern. For the specs it has, $350 is pretty reasonable. My biggest thing about it is the ability to drive higher resistance headphones and also having a separate device to listen to music on!
Sony is definitely one of those brands that has hype from brand name, but the NW-A306 is definitely a good value for the buy. That being said however, a smartphone with an external DAC would suit most people’s needs perfectly fine.
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