The interface is peppy, smooth, well organized, and the text and album art are crisp and clear. It's a pleasure to use and navigate. When navigating the menus, a small icon gets you back to the playing song with one click.
I usually prefer the ClearAudio mode when using headphones. I also connect the headphone out to the main stereo where I prefer to use a flat output response. However, there are a lot of audio processing options which are quite effective for when I feel like changing the output profile. They can be used in combinations too.
In my opinion, the sound quality is excellent. Even connecting the headphone out into my main receiver, it sounds really nice. The only problem with using headphone out is that even when turning the player volume up to 95/120, I still have to turn up the amp on the receiver a lot.
I wish the player had a line out jack for connecting to the stereo, or better yet, spdif digital output so it could act as a digital transport to the DAC built into the Denon receiver.
Sounds so good that I've been replacing all my mp3s with flac--you can clearly hear the difference even compared to 320 kbps mp3s. This is the first player I've used that supports flac. I have put a 256 GB micro SD card in the player, and have no problems at all.
The player will act as a USB input DAC which is quite nice for the computer. I use it when listening to music on the computer, but I don't use it when watching videos as there is a sound delay. Maybe this is a configuration problem on my end.
I appreciate LDAC support for bluetooth. Too bad my integrated receiver only does SBC, so I can't use the player's LDAC, but it had no problems connecting and playing SBC, but SBC is too compressed.
The player works seamlessly with the sony media center for pc. It doesn't seem to play well with windows media player since it isn't recognized as an audio device.
The build quality is excellent. It feels solid and well built. The first day I had it, I accidentally dropped it 3-feet onto the tile with no problem. I then bought a silicone skin for it in case that happens again.
The battery life is truly excellent, and the battery charger saver option provides the potential to maximize battery life over the long term by not allowing the battery to charge to over 90% capacity or something like that.
I would definitely buy this player again, but wish it had a digital output option.
The device packs a lot into a small form factor -- quite amazing actually.
Size is just right--not too big or too small. Price is excellent for this high quality player.
| Brand Name | Sony |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 3.49 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 0.43 x 2.19 x 3.83 inches |
| Item model number | NW-A55 L |
| Batteries | 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included) |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Connectivity Technology | Bluetooth, USB |
| Wireless Comm Standard | Bluetooth |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Model number | NW-A55 L |
