Features:

  • Truly authentic sound with Hi-Res Audio , Maximum Power Output - 35 mW + 35 mW
  • S-Master HX digital amplifier for pure sound quality
  • DSEE H upscaling restores quality to compressed files
  • Easy Bluetooth connectivity with NFC One-touch
  • Ambient Sound Mode to keep you aware of your surroundings at all times.
  • You can enjoy up to 45 hours of music play back
  • 16GB of memory built in
  • In the box: Walkman (1), USB cable (1), Startup Guide, Instruction Manual
Finally, a good sounding portable walkman!

This Sony Hi-Res Walkman is better than my IPOD in terms of sound quality. And it has nothing to do with compressed audio files. LOL. There is a more open soundstage and clarity to the instruments and voices that is not present with my Ipod. The software that is used to add files to the Walkman is not bad, but it's not I-Tunes either. I found it to be a little quirky at first, but I soon got the hang of it to add or remove music to the device. Do yourself a favor and buy a Micro SD storage card to add extra storage, 16GB is all you get. And with the potential to save higher bitrate files, you will soon need it if you have a lot of music in your library. The battery lasts a decent amount of time and you can place the unit in a standby mode when you are not listening. If you like good sounding music or you are an audiophile on a budget, then the player is a recommended buy. If you only want to play your MP3's, then there are cheaper options out there that won't sound as good as the Sony. Good luck!

SenseMe is Awesome ...and its free w/ the Sony Walkman!

I have tested a handful of portable audio players and smart phones, and have selected this Sony Walkman and love this player more than others for several reasons. I had some concerns about this player (and others) that I was researching yet felt like I was taking a chance getting this one. There is a single feature that no one mentioned and Sony didn't even advertise that I absolutely love and feel its worth purchasing this player for that single feature (read below). Things I was considering when I purchased this player: 1) Was concerned that it was under-powered (a few reviewers mentioned that this player had about the same power as a smartphone (referring to the power to drive a pair of over the ear headphones). This concerned me as my smartphone (a Galaxy S9 cant adequately power my Acoustic Research Mx40's). 2) Was concerned about getting music onto this device (a few reviewers mentioned having a difficult time loading CD's onto the player. Pros: 1) Size and Quality of the device are superb. It fits perfectly in your hand, buttons are easy to reach and depress w/ one hand, rounded edges make for holding very comfortable. The weight is perfect, feels like a quality piece of equipment. Photos don't really do this justice, its smaller than you expect but the quality is much better than I was anticipating. 2) Screen is beautiful, easy to read and has controls to adjust contrast. 3) UI, here is one that had some negative reviews from other users. I feel the UI is intuitive and very easy to use. Its simple but works effectively. 4) Sound quality, -superb. I have a few DAP's and have tested all including a few smartphones. This Walkman hands down has the best sound. There are quite a few controls to adjust the sound as well, and I notice that each album I play lends itself a bit better to various fine tune sound adjustments. Its easy to adjust once you start to get the hang of it. 5) Features, has all the basics (shuffle, playlists, random, continuous play, plays a ton of file formats, bluetooth, FM radio -which is a nice touch, and one really special feature (SenseMe). -more on SenseMe below. 6) Awesome desktop application (for PC and/or Mac) -works great and easy to use. Create playlists, import your CD collection (uses Gracenote to gather album info) and sync to your Walkman device. What this is, is a purpose built audio player. Negatives: 1) ..this is more of a wish, but wish there was a bit more customization allowed. But I suppose Sony realizes this could slow performance and/or cause problems (I look to Fiio which allows a lot of customization and ability to download app's to their device, yet it causes issues and crashes). ---- SenseMe!! This is the feature that no one talks about nor I had heard nothing about. I feel is worth discussing as it is an awesome feature. This feature really comes to life after you import music to your Walkman via the desktop application. You need to go through the import process, either import purchased digital files or import CD's ...but don't drag and drop to your SD card, reason being is when you import your music using the desktop application all kinds of song information is included which is used in the SenseMe feature on your Walkman. SenseMe is a smart playlist feature. It auto-creates playlists based on your music collection. More SenseMe playlists channels are created based on the amount of music you have in your collection. I currently have about a dozen SenseMe playlists, they are labelled "energetic", "lounge", "morning", "day", "midnight", etc... each has a unique set of songs that match some algorithm Sony has created to group songs that have similar "feel" together. I did a little research online and the software behind this feature is fairly substantial, as a result SenseMe does a great job pairing songs you'd not consider to create pleasing playlists. I actually love this feature and feel that between the desktop application and the SenseMe app that is included on the Sony Walkman this is worth purchasing over other players simply for these features. There are many great sounding DAP's out there, the Walkman rises above the others because of its simplicity, the thought out desktop software, and this SenseMe application.

The Ultimate Travel HD Music Player

Match up this player with a 400gb micro sd card and you have the ultimate travel music player. Play HD audio from this small, light, and well built player. What you would expect from Sony.

Great if your looking for this type of device

Wow, please ignore the bad reviews on Amazon, these people don’t have a clue of what they’re talking about. This is a great player with great sound, if you’re like me and own your music. Personally, I don’t have any use for a subscription service that is a waste of money since you have nothing to show for the money spent on it as soon as you cancel it. Anyway when deciding on whether or not to buy this the negative reviews had me a bit worried but luckily I bought it anyway. I’d like to address most of the low score reviews. Impossible to sort music? Not really, sounds like somebody is stealing music, all my ripped music is perfectly sorted. This doesn’t come with headphones, learn to read. The “Music Center” app has run flawlessly for me so far but there’s no reason to use it, just drag and drop your music to the device. It’s simple to do and the “Music Center” app is a waste if you just want to transfer music. The volume can be controlled with the Bluetooth speaker, you have to turn on “Enhanced Mode” in settings / Bluetooth / Audio Device Connection Settings. A little reading would have fixed this issue. No cover art? Your image is using progressive quality, you either need to fix it or download new art. I easily fixed them with TagScanner. The Bluetooth connection issues might be with your car, I haven’t had connection issues with any of my devices, including 2 cars.

Works great though playlists are tricky

Excellent sound quality. Works as a DAC for my computer. Proprietary USB cable. Can charge while listening. Has option to only charge to 90% to extend battery life. You don't have to use their recommended software. Playlists are tricky though. I use a micro-SD card. Had to use Windows Media Player to create m3u format playlist. When I tried VLC, it didn't work. VLC saves playlists with absolute paths (uses drive letter ex. C:\). Windows Media Player uses relative paths (without drive letters). This Sony only works with relative path m3u playlists (and of course it's own format if you use their software). Also, have to put the playlist in the root of the MUSIC folder. I tried creating a playlists folder, but it doesn't understand the (..\) notation to go back and up a directory. The playlist has to be in a folder above where the music is at. I have a folder for FLAC music, and a folder for 320k MP3s, and a folder for Regular mp3s. Once I created the playlist in Windows Media Player and saved it to the player, it worked great. I was able to add to the playlist using the player. Just make sure you're dragging from the player itself into the "now playing" section of Windows Media Player when it's connected. The music should already be on your player to create the playlist. Don't create a playlist using music that's on your other drives, because the Walkman won't understand the reference to another drive. Also, I'm using 300 ohm high-impedence $1000 headphones. I have to crank it to 90/120 to get good volume. There's still room for growth, but if you like it really loud, you may need another DAC.

Sony Does it AGAIN with a Player that Nearly Anyone Who Likes Music Needs to Look Into

I've been purchasing Sony portable music players all the way back to the mid-1990's when people had not yet become familiar with the concept of an "MP3" file. As is often the case, Sony was out of the gates so early with a new technology (in this case, "psychoacoustic encoding" of music which they deployed in their proprietary "ATRAC" format), that when they deployed the innovation, fell to the temptation to keep the format proprietary. Sony's ATRAC codec therefore subsequently lost out to the open source MP3 format, even though MP3 files could not begin to approach the sound quality of ATRAC-encoded files. So, as was the case in the earlier the Beta-Max vs. VHS video format war, Sony won the battle (better audio quality) but lost the war (no one wanted to use a proprietary format). In a predictable replay of the video format war of the 1980's, where everyone ended up using VHS instead of Beta-Max for video recording, Sony lost the audio format war of the 2000's, and everyone went to the MP3 audio format. The final result is still seen today, where everyone walks around with music on their PHONES, rather than on Sony's Walkmans. It's not been all bad, however. All the major companies moved to duplicate Sony's early work in psychoacoustic recording (Microsoft, for example, deploying the lossless WMA codec, Apple deploying the lossless ALAC codec, and the open-source movement deploying the FLAC codec), and now we have a wide array of high-quality formats to use. Even the humble MP3 retains a place in today's environment, particularly in podcasting and other voice recordings (and higher bitrate MP3 files can, admittedly, sound pretty good with music, although nothing like the lossless formats). Coupled with that is that the majority of cell phones today carry within them some pretty decent hardware for music reproduction, and you've got an embarrassment of riches when it comes to playing back digital music. Nevertheless, I've still purchased nearly every variant of Sony digital portable music player Sony developed over these decades, and even put up with the oft-maligned Sony "SonicStage" software because of the sound quality of the ATRAC-encoded files and so I could experience the gorgeous, innovative devices Sony has continued to put out (although, admittedly, to Sony it must have felt like maintaining ATRAC and SonicStage during this period probably felt like throwing leaves into an oncoming wind). I have not regretted doing so, because the sound quality and the mechanical innovations on these Sony devices have been both fun and technologically impressive, generally always the best available from any manufacturer. I won't list all the models here, but there have been plenty of them, believe me. Well, it is now 2018, and we've moved into "High Resolution" sound, or "Hi-Res" for short, and now we can purchase Hi-Res streams online. ("Hi-Res" refers to digital music that had been encoded to a minimum of 96kHz at 24bits, far beyond that of the CD-ROM standard of 44kHz/16-bit sound specified by Sony [Japan] and Philips [the Netherlands] in the early 1980's; often, Hi-Res can go all the way to 192kHz/24-bits.) Hi-Res is remarkably better than even the best CD-ROMs can produce, leaving lush, silky smooth sound, and where the recording technology falls so far into the background that all you are left with is the sound itself. And so Sony and Philips, replaying their Dutch/Japanese collaboration of the 1970's, have been at the forefront of documenting and specifying Hi-Res, and Sony, too, has additionally been producing for a number of years now a range of players capable of pounding out Hi-Res music from portable and home players that were previously not even possible, even from the most expensive sound units. So, this new Sony NW-A45 player (in series with the A46 and A47 models which are the same except for larger built-in memory, and not for direct U.S. sale) is not the first of Sony's Hi-Res players, but it IS a new entry in the sense that it combines Hi-Res file compatibility with special electronic hardware, including a high-quality digital/audio converter, or "DAC," that allows the sound to be reproduced to its highest levels, and a touchscreen interface much like the Apple devices, but with a bevy of mechanical switches (THANK YOU!) on the side for basic functions. So, what can I tell you about the Sony NW-A45? Well, let's start with some basics. This device is visually stunning. I have mine in the blue/grey color, which just oozes a gorgeous look, but you can also get this in greyish black if that's your cup of tea, and the greyish black actually looks nicer in person than it does in the product photos. Next, this thing is mechanically SOLID. And I mean it. It's not overly heavy, but when you pick it up, it feels like a solid piece of metal, with no squeaks, rattles, mismatched pieces, and so on. It feels like it was carved out of a single piece of material. The device's surface has a somewhat matte finish to it which not only adds to its visual appeal but makes it feel very good in the hand. The unit's physical dimensions, too, are just right, making the unit large enough to get a good grip, but not so big as to be cumbersome. Someone got this *just* right. The 3.1" screen, rated at 800 x 480 pixels or WVGA specification, is simply beautiful. To be honest, I was not expecting the screen to look this good, but the display is so clear and colorful that it far surpasses other players I've had. (The display is a TFT color display with a white LED-backlight, and, of course, a capacitive touchscreen so that you can manipulate the device by touch.) Wow, I have to say I was thoroughly surprised at just how clear this screen is. Beyond that, the touch functionality works just great, with few missed presses and plenty of real estate for the various, and MANY, functions of the device. Now, onto what is the most important aspect of the player: How does it sound? Well, let me say that this thing is just incredible in its sound reproduction. I used to own a $1,000 Sony Digital Walkman a year or two ago, and this little device basically-—and shockingly-—meets it in sound quality. Maybe not 100%, but so close that most of us could never hear the difference at all. (I am using mine with a set of Bose SoundSport Bluetooth headphones and Sony's own MDR-NW750N headphones; when you use Sony's MDR-NW750N headphones, the player magically adds ACTIVE noise reduction.) It's truly an achievement on Sony's part to be able to create such a device with this type of sound quality at this price point. Also of note is the unique Bluetooth technology employed in this player. Although the device connects to any Bluetooth headphone, the player uses Sony's new "LDAC" transmission codec, which transfers data across the Bluetooth connection at up to 990kbps, which is THREE TIMES the bandwidth of traditional Bluetooth players. This permits Hi-Res sound to be transmitted via Bluetooth (traditional Bluetooth does not support Hi-Res data sound streams; if you are using a set of Bluetooth headphones, Hi-Res sound must be downsampled by the player before it is streamed to the headphones). The sound this device rolls out is so amazing that you have to experience it with a true Hi-Res data stream and headphones, like the Bose SoundSports, to experience it. The device also has a series of software and hardware features to improve the sound of non-Hi-Res audio for all your non-HiRes files. I am truly impressed beyond all expectations, and I may remind you that this is coming from a person who has purchased nearly every music device Sony has ever put out. Running at about $200, this device is a STEAL. And I mean it. I still listen to music on my iPhone and my computer, but this device will be my device of choice going forward. Its sound quality, its build quality, its features (far too many to list here; see the Sony support site for NW-A45 to read them all, because they are wide-ranging and often unique), its functionality, its screen, and its physical appearance easily make this a SEVEN-Star item of Five, and I rarely say something like that about anything I review. If you like music, *RUN*, don't walk, to get this item. I will list some of the devices features here and things I like; I will try to add to this over time, as there are far too many to list on a first review. PLUSSES ++ Incredible sound quality; *absolutely* best-in-class ++ Plays virtually every sound codec known to man, including all the lossless codecs, including DSD and MQA, new high-quality formats not yet adopted by many (with the only exception being Microsoft's lossless WMA: the unit plays WMA and variable-bit WMA, but not lossless WMA, which must be some type of legal thing with Microsoft. Following in Sony's earlier footsteps on proprietary formats, Microsoft? A STUPID business decision on your part, if that is the real reason!) ++ Excellent build quality (feels like it was built in Japan, but is actually manufactured in Malasia. Trust me on this, I'm very sensitive to build quality, and don't make such statements lightly.) ++ Mechanical buttons on right side of the device (THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU) for basic operational functions ++ Full touch 3.1" 800x480 WVGA TFT screen that is not only stunning in appearance and clarity but works well with the touch function ++ Touchscreen supports basic gestures for "flicking" up, down, and left-right ++ Micro SDXC card slot to expand storage (and have you seen that the 400Gb SanDisk micro SDXC card is now out? 400Gb!!! You can carry nearly half a TERABYTE of solid-state-based digital music on this device if you wish!) ++ Excellent battery life rated at 30 hours of play, depending on the codec being used (and Sony is generally correct with these; assume easily about 25 hours, and your Bluetooth headphone's battery headphones will be out long before the player) ++ Sony-specific Bluetooth technology ("LDAC") TRIPLES the data stream rate over traditional Bluetooth up to 960kbps, supporting wireless transmission of Hi-Res audio (amazing) ++ Traditional 3.5" headphone jack so you can use most any wired headphone you wish (check the manual for any compatibility specifications) ++ When used with Sony's MDR-NW750N headphones, you get ACTIVE sound reduction that works amazingly well ++ A litany of sound control functions are supplied to customize and improve the sound of almost any type of audio file ++ Both Windows and Mac software available from Sony for this device, but you don't need them since this device supports drop-and-drag on both Macs and PCs ++ High-quality DAC that can actually be connected to your computer for improved sound when playing music from your computer (!) ++ Well laid-out screen interface that is actually remarkably intuitive ++ "Language Study" is supported (read the documentation on this: really cool if you are learning a language) ++ Ten bookmark lists now supported (previous Sony devices, even Hi-Res models, supported only five) ++ Can control when the touch interface is and is not active, very nice for when using this device under different conditions ++ While retaining the Sony-unique USB connector cable that so many people grouse about, you can get these anywhere now for five dollars, so it's not an issue like it used to be ++ Physically gorgeous, and the physical dimensions of the device make it naturally fit in the hand ++ Very nice implementation of a strap mount at the bottom of the unit that does not interfere with the shape of the unit ++ NFC (Near Field Communication) supplied for instant connection to other NFC-enabled devices ++ Firmware upgradeable from home (no need to mail the unit in for firmware upgrades!) ++ Want to go a step further? If you have headphones that are "AptX-capable" (do some Googling here), this unit will support AptX transfer of music if the right firmware is installed! MINUSES: -- Cannot replace the battery at end of its cycle life: must be sent in for replacement (true of many players and cell phones today, but unacceptable) -- Must charge using USB: no direct A/C charging is possible (although plugging the USB cable into a USB enhanced speed charger will shorten recharge time) -- The sheer number of available functions make for some pretty tight finger-touch points at places; not really a big deal, but you have to watch what you are doing to get the function you are wishing -- Cannot play Windows Medial LOSSLESS files (this may be a restriction Microsoft imposes so that other brands cannot replay their WMAL files, but I do not know that for certain) -- Battery life, while good, could be longer; 30 hours sounds like a lot, but it isn't. This would certainly add to the weight of the device -- Only a few colors available (although both the blue and the grey look fantastic) Note: More questions? Simply Google "Sony A45 Support," and you will see the Sony support page for this unit where you can download the entire 145-page manual, spec sheets, and help guides. I've tried, however, to touch on most of the high points here.

Superior to Ipod and is Playlist friendly

After my ipod fell into my cup of coffee and tied (yeah, true story..), I decided that maybe this was the time to switch. The ipods are just as expensive and, to be real, I don't like Apple. After using this Walkman for over a month, I can say that it is far superior to the Ipod. It's heavier and seems more durable, it has a longer range, and (one of the best details) when I use bluetooth to my Doss speaker it allows me to control the volume on my speaker. This doesn't sound like much but with the ipod I could only control volume on the ipod...meaning that no matter how loud a speaker could go, I could only hit a certain volume. This walkman actually saved me money because I was convinved I needed to buy a Bose speaker so I could have music on in the backyard while I was doing yardwork and still be able to hear it. Well, problem solved. As for playlists you CAN make playlists on this thing. At first I was confused and seeing mixed info online. But I will tell you how to do it. Install the Music Center through Sony (it's also superior to Itunes) and create a playlist there. Then, simply sync it to your walkman. Easy as that. Highly recommend this.

Solid personal music player

Would be hard to justify the price for non audiophiles but this is the absolute best personal music player out there. Others such as the plenue d have issues with recognizing higher sd cards but I have used 512gb sds with the walkman issue free. Battery life is great and can be on standby for a very long time. It can function as a usb dac which is a very appreciated bonus and defiantly comes in handy more than I expected it to.

The reasonable Ipod replacement we needed

When my son's old Ipod Nano went, we needed to find a replacement. We did not want him using his phone because then he would just play games. We needed a device that would just play music and if possible audiobooks. We tried one of the Dansrue devices and it played fine and had decent sound quality but it lost all organizational capability when you use bluetooth for playback. We wanted the device to play via our wireless speaker. Shuffling the entire library of songs was not acceptable. The specs online did not reference what capabilities were when using bluetooth so I contacted Sony. They said it could play single songs, a playlist or an album and retains its organizational capabilities when using bluetooth playback. It was nice to see that the device does everything you would expect. It is build solidly and is fairly easy to navigate playback. I used the online guide to mount and set up the micro-sd card as that is not an intuitive setup. Bluetooth pairing was simple once we disconnected the prior device from the speaker. I downloaded and used the Sony Music Center software. Importing the library was easy but took a fair amount of time. I also ripped a few CDs I needed to add and downloaded some of the ones I had access to online. The online download from Amazon was extremely easy and the import from folder was much faster than ripping CDs. Many people have commented in their reviews that playlists created issues for them. With the Music Center software they were a piece of cake. I created the playlists in the software after all the music was in the library. Then I transferred the playlists to the device followed by other albums. Everything worked like a charm. All organized, all plays back however you decide to play back the music. Sony seems to have gotten it right with this player. While the onboard memory is relatively small, the micro-SD gives you a lot more options/room at a reasonable price. Some have said they have issues finding replacement cables. I just ordered a Sony WM-PORT cable to have a backup via Amazon. I am not sure if the Prime Day price will continue, but if it does this player is worth the money. Playback is high quality and my son is happy. He can have his background music again. We are happy because he won't be looking to play games on the device which he would have done with his smartphone or an ipod touch.

Thank You For Brining Quality Back

Thank you Sony for bringing something of quality back. I had the smaller NWZ Series E for many years before it started breaking down recently- very good unit I liked it a lot, it's successor was a piece of a garbage.... feather light, plastic'y, pixelated screen. This unit has some weight to it, it feels good in the hand while very easy to hold- not big nor small, it doesn't feel cheap like many others on the market. The display is very good, clean and easy to read, touch screen display. The menu is very intuitive and well thought out. I get about 42 hrs of playback on a single charge, mixed between the fm radio and mp3's. Audio quality...fantastic. Great audio processing, very clean and you have the ability to customize it a little to fit your listening style via profiles. Alongside that, a lot of options for sound customization. If you own the high definition files, those sound amazing, but come at a cost....space. Luckily you have expandable sd slot for the expandable space and migration.

Full Reviews