Sony M-Series Review (NWZ-M504)

It has been just a little over a year since I purchased the M-Series and I will admit I have not used it as much as I thought I would. There are 2 reasons why, first shortly after I bought the M-Series, my A15 arrived and second, 8GB is just not enough space for my needs. Now this does not mean the M-Series is not worth purchasing, so read on to see if the M-Series is worth your money.

Sony spins of the Walkman brand into a seperate company

Looks like Sony has spun off the Walkman brand into a separate company not to long ago.  A similar decision was taken for Vaio before that was sold off, but hopefully this will not be the case for the Walkman brand and Sony keeps it, at least for the near future.  

The new Sony Walkman A27 is available on Amazon.com for $499.99. The price is a lot more expensive than the previous A17 ($299.99), so not really sure why Sony jacked up the price. The only new additions are NC and headphones from what was described in the press release.

Size Comparison: Sony ZX100 vs Sony A20

Here is a real world size comparison between the new ZX100 and A20.  The new ZX is not that much bigger and not much thinner and compact when compared to the ZX1.  When comparing the ZX2 to ZX100, the difference is minimal, ZX2: 6.5 x 13.1 x 1.8 cm vs ZX100: 5.4 x 12 x 1.5 cm.  Price is 699 Euros for the ZX100, so rather steep, but not as horrible as the ZX2.

Sony introduces new 'h.ear on' and 'h.ear in NC' Headphones

Sony’s “h.ear on” headband type headphones ooze style as they combine a bold single finish design with a comfortable fit. Hi-Res Audio compatibility and accurate bass responses are complemented by the 40mm HD driver unit that reproduces sounds of up to 60 kHz, while lightweight CCAW voice coils yield high-linearity responses in high-pitched sounds. Aiming to provide the best sound experience, the diaphragms have been titanium-coated to minimize unwanted vibrations resulting in crystal clear sound. This is the ultimate listening experience. Should you want to take you headphones on the move with you, their foldable mechanism and a detachable, cross-talk reducing cable in matching colour allow for the “h.ear on” to be securely packed in the handy supplied carrying pouch.

Sony Updates A-Series Walkman (NWZ-20)

 

Carrying on the standard set by the Walkman NWZ-A15, new Walkman NW-A25HN/NW-A27HN features everything you have come to expect from a Hi-Res Audio powerhouse plus even more. With the dedicated Hi-Res Audio compatible Digital Noise Cancelling headphones made for the Hi-Res Walkman, it means you are left to enjoy your music away from the distractions of the outside. With advancements to Sony’s S-Master HX™ full digital amplifier, music is played with more delicate and dynamic sound than ever before. Meanwhile, Sony’s unique upscaling technology DSEE HX™ enhances compressed music files like MP3s making them near-Hi-Res Audio quality.

Sony introduces new ZX100 Walkman

In pursuit of its aim of providing the highest quality sound possible, Sony is introducing the new NW-ZX100HN Walkman®, equipped with a new High-Resolution Audio compatible digital noise cancelling function.

Sony IFA 2015 Press Conference (Live at 16:15 CET)

IFA officially starts today, well press days, and Sony will be holding their press conference at 16:15-17:00 CET today.  The live stream will appear at this link, but I will add the stream to this post once it is available.  Here are the times for various time zones.

Sony NW-ZX100 leaked, sort of

The shots are rather poor but it gives a good general idea of what to expect, basically a thinner device by the looks of it and probably a non-touch screen.  So perhaps instead of replacing the ZX2, the ZX100 will slot under it, but above the A20.

NW-A25 and A26 Pass through E-Postel

Just like the A27 and ZX100 which passed through E-Postel back in the middle of June, the other variants of the new A-Series have also finally passed through E-Postel.  Unlike before where only the A15 passed through E-Postel, perhaps this time around Sony may decide to sell the larger capacity versions in other countries.  Although this may not be the case, so we will have to wait and see what happens at IFA this year.

Metal Gear Solid Phantom Pain Special Edition Walkams Released in Japan

To coincide with the release of Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain, Sony Japan has released a special edition of the ZX2 and A16 Walkman.  The ZX2 will priced at 140,000 Yen (1020 Euros) and the A-Series at 28,000 Yen (around 200 Euros).  Both features special engraving from The Phantom Pain game and come pre-loaded with the full soundtrack in High Definition.  In addition special wallpapers are also provided.  Apart from the fact the ZX2 is priced in the region of ridiculous like the regular model, I feel the A-Series is a much better purchase for the average Walkman fan who does not have a grand to shell out on another device.

New Blog Design

Hello everyone, I have not been posting for a while since I was a bit busy with things outside of the blog but I have more free time now.  As everyone has noticed I have switched up the blog design again.  The previous design was okay was not to my satisfaction, so after a lot of searching and testing for a new design I have settled upon this one for now.  I am happy with the look but there are still some issue, mainly with the images either not being sized correctly or are cut off.  I want to fix the image issue by next week, if not, then I will live with it.

Sony NW-A27 and NW-ZX100 Walkmans pass through Korea's RRA

It Seems both the NW-A27 and NW-ZX100 passed through Korea's certification agency. This means the new Walkmans should be available in South Korea this fall. Pricing of the new A-Series should be similar to the current one, as for the ZX100, at this moment there is very little information known about it.

New ZX100 and A20 Walkamans Pass through E-Postel

The new ZX100 and A20 Walkmans passed through E-Postel last week, meaning we will definitely see these at IFA this year.  Not sure what updates the A-Series will bring but hopefully improved SD card control and integration.  As for the ZX100, with a name like this, it could mean it sits above the ZX2 but I have no information regarding this model yet.

Sony to introduce another Walkman at IFA along with new A-Series?

It appears Sony has another Walkman in the works, another ZX model, the ZX100.  Not much information on the FCC website except NFC and Bluetooth from the looks of it.  I cannot seem to find any information about capacity.

Sony Planning update to A-Series?

It seems a new Walkman has popped up on the FCC, the NW-A20, 3 models, A25, A26, A27.  These seem to mimic the current A-Series, A15, A16 and A17, so perhaps this is just a memory bump but it seems this is not the case.  The A25 is 16GB, A26 is 32GB and the A27 is 64GB.  External and internal images are due to be available on the FCC in early September, so perhaps an IFA debut again?  From the documents, not much is known, rear design seems identical to current device. 

LDAC Support for Sony A-Series (NWZ-A15/A17)

As mentioned back in early February, the LDAC update has made its way to Europe.  It seems the update has been available since early April (4/10/2015) so I apologize of not update the blog with the news. 

Sony A-Series Review (NWZ-A15)

Walkman fans have been wishing for Sony to add expandable storage to the Walkman for ages.  Ever since the A810 series, users were wondering why the lack of support for micro-sd.  This went on for several generations and varying series' of Walkmans.  Of course one of the main reasons was that Sony would be able to release higher capacity versions at inflated prices.  The arrival of the ZX1 ushered in an era of higher capacity for the Walkman, but it came with a much higher price.  Still there was no expandable storage on a device designed for high resolution audio files which take up a lot of space.

Sony Introduces 4 New Bluetooth headphones

Easy listening: it’s all yours with four new Bluetooth headphones from Sony

• MDR-1ABT: High quality wireless listening
• MDR-ZX770BN: Digital Noise Cancelling plus Bluetooth freedom
• MDR-ZX330BT: Balanced comfort for everyday listening with Bluetooth
• MDR-AS600BT: Splash-proof with Bluetooth for active sports

Looks like Sony finally released the new headphones that went through the FCC lately.  I only posted the 770s, but the MDR-1ABTs also went through the FCC but I decided not to post them.  I had a feeling LDAC support was coming, be it only on the high end MDR-1ABTs.

My A-Series Review is finally coming this weekend, so stay tuned.

Sony A-Series to receive LDAC support in Japan in April

Thanks to +Kherlen for bringing this to my attention.  For the moment, it seems to be only limited to the Japanese model.  As far as I know there are only a few products that support LDAC, apart from the new ZX2, there are also 2 wireless speakers, SRS-X55 and SRS-X33.

Sony to introduce new ZX770 headphones to replace 750s?

The design will be a bit different than the current 750s.  There will be 2 versions, one model with only bluetooth and the second model with bluetooth and Noise cancellation.

Here is the design from the PDF on the FCC, the swilling mechanism is now flush with the controls, which was not the case on the 750s.  I have no idea when these will debut, but the 750s where announced in March/April timeframe, so I feel these will be around the same time this year.  As with the previous model, NFC will be featured on both for easier connectivity to smartphones and walkmans.  The only question is, will these headphones have Hi-Res support or not?  This would mean either apt-X support or Sony's new proprietary LDAC.

Rest of photos from FCC after the break.

Is the Smart B-Trainer the future of the W-Series?

 

Shown as a concept at CES 2015, the device resembles a W-Series but with a more premium look.  Like the W-Series, it is waterproof but comes with a heart rate monitor, GPS radio and an accelerometer.  The B-Trainer does require a smartphone which syncs to the device to provide information like how far you have run, heart rate and calories burned.  

Sony unveils the new ZX2 for on-the-move music lovers

Audiophile listening: Sony introduces Walkman® NW-ZX2 with High-Resolution Audio

• Superb Hi-Res sound from Walkman® with S-Master HX™ and DSEE HX™
• Upgraded signal path and power supply stages with premium components
• LDAC for high quality wireless listening via Bluetooth®
• Long 60hr[1] battery life and 128GB (expandable) capacity to store your Hi-Res music collection
• Luxurious design with body sculpted from solid aluminium

Sony’s legendary Walkman® family gains a new flagship that’s specially made for serious music lovers. The High-Resolution Walkman® NW-ZX2 puts the exquisite musical refinement of Hi-Res Audio right in your pocket – taking you beyond CD quality for an unparalleled listening experience while you’re out and about.

New ZX2 leaked by the Verge? (Update)

So this is the supposed ZX2 which I mentioned a while back.  Looks like micro-SD card support will also tag along from the new A-Series.  I am glad it retains the physical controls.  The device hit the FCC last year in November and is expected to debut at CES 2015.  Question is, will it first hit Japan or North America?  The FCC filing was using NW and now NWZ.

Sony CES 2015 Preview

Sony released their CES 2015 teaser in late December, but there was no point in posting it since it offered nothing new.  As for speculating what is in the video, I'll just say this, the first product could be 2 things, a really thin TV (OLED or LCD) or a large tablet running android.  Here is the video to the press conference which will take place on January 5th, 5 pm Local time (PST)