I decided to make a comparison post breaking down the differences and similarities between the new NW-A300 and NW-A100. Some details are not listed here, but most of those are carried over from the A100. At the end of the post I have a small comparison of the A300 and A100 PCBs. While not that detailed as I want it to be, it is the best until a full teardown appears online, or at least the FCC one.
| NW-A300 | NW-A100 | |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions/Weight | ||
| Height | 98.4mm | 98.9mm |
| Width | 56.5mm | 55.2mm |
| Depth | 11.8mm | 11mm |
| Weight | 113 g | 103 g |
| Capacity | ||
| 16 GB | - | X |
| 32 GB | X | X |
| 64 GB | X | X |
| Android OS | 12.0 | 9.0 |
| Display | 3.6 in HD (1280x720) | |
| Touch Panel | Yes |
|
| WiFi | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4/5 GHz |
|
The size has generally remained the same, likewise for the touchscreen, 3.6in HD (1280x720) resolution. I suspect Sony is using the same LCD to save on costs. In the engineer interview, Sony said they did not want to use OLED since on average the screen would use more power, especially when displaying white images. While this is true, an OLED would have looked so good here.
The Android version has been upgraded to 12, and there is no longer a 16GB option. The fact it took this many years for Sony to drop the 16GB version is shocking, especially with how cheap memory has become.
| NW-A300 | NW-A100 | |
|---|---|---|
| Supported Formats |
MP3 (.mp3): 32 - 320kbps (VBR compatible) / 32, 44.1, 48kHz WMA (.wma): 32 - 192kbps (VBR compatible) / 44.1kHz FLAC (.flac): 16, 24bit / 8- 384kHz WAV (.wav): 16, 24, 32bit (Float/Integer) / 8-384kHz AAC (.mp4, .m4a, .3gp): 16-320kbps / 8-48kHz HE-AAC (.mp4, .m4a, .3gp): 32-144kbps / 8-48kHz Apple Lossless (.mp4, .m4a): 16, 24bit / 8-384kHz AIFF (.aif, .aiff, .afc, .aifc): 16, 24, 32bit/ 8-384kHz DSD (.dsf, .dff): 1bit / 2.8224, 5.6448, 11.2896MHz *2 APE (.ape): 8, 16, 24bit / 8-192kHz (Fast, Normal, High) MQA (.mqa.flac): Supported |
|
| Bluetooth | Version 5.0 SBC, AAC, LDAC, aptX, aptX HD |
|
| USB DAC function | Yes | No |
| NFC | No | Yes |
| Noise Cancellation | No | Yes |
| Digital Amplifier | S-Master HX | |
| DSEE | DSEE Ultimate | DSEE HX DSEE Ultimate |
| Equalizer | 20 Band |
10 Band |
| USB Charging | ~ 3.5 hours (100%) ~ 3 hours (~80%) |
~ 5.5 hours (100%) ~ 4.0 hours (~80%) |
| USB Port | Type-C (USB3.2 Gen1) | Type-C (USB2.0) |
| microSD support |
microSD microSDHC microSDXC |
|
While the format support remains the same, the NW-A300 does charge 2 hours faster to 100% and is now equipped with a faster USB Type-C port. The equalizer now allows for more precise customization and the player can now be used as a USB DAC. But Sony did remove the noise cancellation function and NFC. With the WH-1000XM5 and WF-1000XM4, the absent noise cancellation will not be a big deal. but for some users, the lack of NFC will be a letdown. Sony has been removing NFC from their wireless headsets over the past few years, so even if the player had NFC, the WH-1000XM5 for example does not. But maybe other companies might still offer NFC on their headsets so this is where it would be useful.
The Bluetooth version may be the same, the connectivity time has increased by a fair good amount, most likely down to the improved Bluetooth chip (Qualcomm WCN3950) which is integrated into the main SoC (QCS2290).
| NW-A300 | NW-A100 | |
|---|---|---|
| Battery Life | MP3 128kbps ~ 36 hours FLAC 96kHz/24bit ~ 32 hours FLAC 192kHz/24bit ~ 32 hours DSD 2.8224MHz/1bit ~ 28 hours DSD 5.6448MHz/1bit ~ 22 hours DSD 11.2896MHz/1bit ~ 14 hours |
MP3 128kbps ~ 26 hours FLAC 96kHz/24bit ~ 21 hours FLAC 192kHz/24bit ~ 16 hours DSD 2.8224MHz/1bit ~ 11 hours |
| Bluetooth Streaming |
SBC (connection priority) - MP3 128kbps ~ 21 hours LDAC (connection priority) ~ 11 hours FLAC 96kHz/ 24bit ~ 11 hours |
SBC (connection priority) - MP3 128kbps ~ 10 hours LDAC (connection priority) ~ 8 hours FLAC 96kHz/ 24bit ~ 8 hours |
| Headphone practical maximum output (JEITA 16Ω/mW) |
35mW + 35mW |
|
If there were to be only one complaint for the NW-A100, it was poor/mediocre battery life. Well Sony has listened and delivered vastly improved battery life all around. Even with the higher price of the new model, just for the battery life, this is worth it.
In addition the Bluetooth streaming battery life also got a big boost. Of course all of these numbers for ideal conditions, so we will have to wait for users providing their real world numbers once the player is released.
 |
| Click for larger size |
Looking at the main chips, it appears as if they were flipped from one side to the other. The chips are not labelled, for that we will have to wait for a teardown, or more likely the FCC internal documents to see what is on the chips, if we are lucky. AV-Watch does have a photo of the PCB with the labelled chips, but the photo is too small to see any writing.
I feel I have the major chips labelled correctly, buy there are some unknown parts, like the yellow, green and blue enclosed areas.
I am uncertain what these areas are, my hunch is the yellow area could be for power management but I am only guessing. Here is a close up of this area. The photo from the Sony website does not have the chip labelled, so if anyone knows what this part of the PCB is doing, please leave a comment below.
 |
The green area I suspect might be related to the display. A lot of the traces from the components seem to end up at the connector for the display.
Finally the are at the top (blue rectangle), is near the wireless antenna so it might be components related to WiFi and Bluetooth. Although everything is under the metal cover, so no way in knowing what is present there.
If anyone knows what the yellow, green and blue regions do, please leave a comment below. Maybe I will make a video for to post and YouTube and see what people post there.
Turning to the back of the PCB, similar story, some differences and some similarities.
 |
| Click for larger size |
There is a mysterious copper foil piece on the back of the A300, I was not sure what this was, but on kakakumag.com, it says the following:
低域のどっしり感を向上させるため、基板に銅はくを貼り付けてグランドを強化しているのもポイント
Google translate to the rescue! From what I could make out, it seems that this copper foil improves the low range frequencies, but it also strengthens the ground. I do not know if this means to make the board more stiff or it is referring to the ground in terms of power. I suspect it is the former, but I again ask my Japanese readers to help with this translation in the comments below.
That should be everything I wanted to go over. If anyone has seen any interesting article about the new A300 from Japan which have some new information, please leave the links in the comments.
I will also have a comparison post for the NW-ZX700 which will also include a more in depth look.
Hi walkman blog, great post as always. Do you know if Sony has some headphones / earphones in the pipeline for this year? It's been awfully long since we've seen new stuff from them that wasn't wireless
ReplyDeleteas far as I know for now only new wireless models.
DeleteDoes this new version only come with a 3.5mm headphone jack?
ReplyDeleteyes, just like the previous model and all other A-series before that. If you want balanced output, you will need to drop a lot more money on the ZX line or WM1 line
DeleteAre we gone see new WF-1000XM5 any time soon? Also great article as always.
ReplyDeleteNot anytime soon, nothing has shown up on any certification websites. The current model showed up on the FCC in late march, so if it follows this pattern, it might be a while.
DeleteAndroid 12 and improved battery life is maybe not yet enough for me to make the jump 🤔
ReplyDeleteAny word on battery replaceability for either the 300 or the 700?
ReplyDeleteBattery is soldered to the boards in both models, so it will not be an easy replacement.
DeleteInteresting detail with the copper foil acting as ground. Never seen that before in a DAP.
ReplyDeleteAlso unusual to see a Sony PCB in blue. Thanks for the detailed write ups as always
I hope they improved the audio quality as the NW-A105 measures poorly. Here is the link. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/sony-nw-a105-digital-audio-player-review.12950/ A $10 Apple USB-C DAC performs much better. I guess it is for people who are into subjective audio reviews who are gullible enough to believe the marketing.
ReplyDeleteDoes it support analog play/pause/track microphone controls on the phones cable?
ReplyDeleteExcellent article from The Walkman Blog, lots of detail which is missing from other websites. I thought I'd leave a comment given my experience with my NW-A100 music player. This also acts as a warning to anyone thinking of buying one. After having owned one for not that long it had given an exemplary performance and to me was a thing of beauty.
ReplyDeleteI bought it because I'm a fan of Sony and wanted the quality, features, reliability and build quality that you'd expect of a Sony product.
After having looked after it with extreme care that borders on paranoia the screen suddenly developed a problem. On the home screen there is now a permanent magenta line which runs exactly through the middle of the microphone symbol of the Google search bar.
My music player has hardly been used and this unreliability is not what I'd associate with Sony. I know nothing is made to the standard they used to be but it's still a poor display of unreliability.
I would buy a NW-A300 but as it has the same screen and very similar hardware I can envisage the same thing happening. This is making me look at buying either one of the top end Sony music players or a Astell & Kern in the hope that they're made to a higher standard and offer better reliability.
i got the Chinese version. it does not have google play store.
ReplyDeleteMigrating to China might solve your problem 😂
Delete