The high popularity of devices capable of reproducing high fidelity sound has been established for a long time. When some music lovers listened to their favorite music on such an exclusive and expensive equipment, it was like for the first time. The only problem is that such equipment was stationary, which means that it was possible to listen to its sound only in the place where it was installed. And this is not very convenient. And time is often simply not enough.
The Japanese company Sony took this issue into account and recently released just what they have been waiting for - a portable device that reproduces high-resolution sound at an affordable price.
Appearance - not the main thing
As for the appearance of the player, there were no new discoveries. It looks pretty strict and has several colors. According to many, the Sony NWZ-A15 bm looks better than the rest. Its body is metal, however, the back cover is still made of plastic.
Buttons are only physical. They are made in the form of a rhombus with a round key in the middle. Under the screen, the diagonal of which is 2.2 inches, there are two more buttons - Option and Back. By the way, the display has a low resolution, but this is not so important, because first of all the Sony NWZ-A15 player is needed for high-quality listening to music.
On the left side is a slider that blocks device control, and an opening for a memory card. Below is a standard headphone input and a charging connector common to Walkman devices.
It is worth noting the high build quality of the Sony NWZ-A15. All parts sit tight, do not creak and do not hang out. A plug protrudes slightly from the case on the hole for the memory card. But this is an insignificant flaw.
Picking problems
Given the modest dimensions of the device - 10.9 × 4.4 × 0.9 cm, a small box was needed for it. Manufacturers decided not to pamper the people, so the kit includes only the Sony NWZ-A15 player itself, an instruction manual and a cable for charging and downloading multimedia files.
You should not look for either headphones or a memory card. Even there is no power supply, so energy recovery from the outlet is ruled out. Although such an accessory can be purchased separately.
Easy menu and controls
A few seconds after starting the player, an interface appears. It is much simpler than models on Android OS. The top panel shows the playback status, time icon and battery level.
Below is a menu of 12 items. In addition to various functions, which will be mentioned later, there are folders for music, photos and videos. The need for the latter two is a big question, given the small screen, its low resolution and the lack of a camera in the Sony NWZ-A15. But maybe this will seem useful to someone.
The player itself is able to sort songs by genre, artist and album. You can also create playlists and bookmark your favorite tracks. There are no tricks to manage, because it is simple and convenient.
Useful features
Of course, before listing the functionality of the device, it is worth mentioning the presence of Bluetooth and NFC with support for the aptX codec. They are able to provide wireless sound transmission.
S-Master HX technology is responsible for the frequencies and bitrate of music. Many formats are supported, including FLAC. The internal memory in Sony NWZ-A15 16Gb, only a little less will be available. Although, if you wish, you can buy an additional memory card, it's not for nothing that a slot for it is provided.
The main advantage of the player is Hi-Res audio. The sound is played so high-quality that you can hear all the smallest nuances and details in the music.
There is also the dsee HX feature, which greatly improves sound quality with very low sound quality. However, when it is turned on, do not use other effects, as well as the equalizer.
Basic Sound Tuning Tools
In continuation of the topic related to sound settings, it is worth mentioning ClearAudio + technology. This is another purely "Sonia" technology that allows you to make the sound more detailed.
There are more traditional tools. These include VRT and equalizer. The first mode is responsible for the
effect of being in a particular place (concert hall, room, club, studio). And in the equalizer, you can either put one of the predefined modes or make your own settings.
Of the interesting things, there were still dynamic normalization involved in equalizing the volume, and the DCP mode, which is responsible for accelerating or slowing down the music being played.
Software
In addition to musical functions, there are other programs. For example, the ability to display the words of songs being listened to, albeit not in all formats. Files are viewed through the folder, even if their format is not supported. The signal can be transmitted via Bluetooth, which means that you can try to connect the car radio.
Further Sony NWZ-A15 can play videos in several formats. And for someone it will be a big plus to have a radio.
And, of course, do not forget about the NFC-module, with which the device quickly connects to various accessories, such as a headset, speakers, headphones, etc.
Sound quality
The sound level produced by the Japanese unit is definitely high. Not a single modern smartphone is capable of this. When playing a song, you can hear every sound track and every instrument that participated in recording a song.
The volume margin is quite large. But it depends not only on the capabilities of the device. It also matters how well the album is digitized and other factors. Therefore, somewhere in the volume will be enough, but somewhere will not be enough. To avoid such problems, a decent digitization can be done independently.
The fact that the MP3 player goes on sale without headphones means that they will have to be purchased. It is only important that the accessory be of high quality, otherwise it will be difficult to feel the fullness and depth of sound.
In general, the developers awarded their A-series device with amazing sound. Both an amateur and a true connoisseur of music will instantly fall in love with him.
A few words about the minuses of the device
Oddly enough, but there are moments that may not like the Sony NWZ-A15. Reviews on thematic forums often talk about the developers ’unsuccessful decision to use the non-standard Walkman connector. Due to the uniqueness of the charger, you always have to carry it with you.
A little unusual device works with a memory card. If you select it while it is not in the slot, the player will start asking you to insert it. At the same time, it will not switch to the internal memory.
It also happens that the player turns on when you click on any of the buttons. Although for this a special Option key is provided, which must be held for several seconds. And this can happen even in Hold mode, when the device is completely locked.
But, despite this, such minor problems are unlikely to spoil the pleasant impression of listening to your favorite musical compositions.
Offline work
The claimed battery life of the player is impressive. At least, the developers promise 50 hours of listening to music in MP3 format and 30 hours in Hi-Res mode. And, importantly, judging by many reviews, the way it is.
Moreover, in the device settings you can activate a special function that prevents the device from charging to the maximum. This significantly increases the battery life. An interesting and very useful solution. Moreover, it takes 4 hours to fully charge the player, and this is a rather long period.
Something is difficult to say about the time the device worked in the mode of viewing videos and photos. Not many users will do this on a 2-inch low-resolution screen. If only as an experiment. One thing is for sure - you can hardly get pleasure from it.
Price for quality sound
Even with a large number of advantages, the MP3 player is offered at an affordable price. Given the difficult economic situation in the country, the metal case, high-quality sound, wide functionality and characteristics of the Sony NWZ-A15, its price is not considered high.
Only this situation arises - this model will primarily appeal to those who understand what HD sound is and wants to listen to it. For the rest, the device risks going unnoticed, and a cheaper and simpler model can take its place in your pocket. And there are a lot of such options on the market right now.
What is the result?
We can conclude that the efforts of the developers were not in vain. Even taking into account the fact that a lot of devices claiming to play high-quality sound have already been released, many of them are very losing in price.
The Sony NWZ-A15 case is made of metal, which means it is quite capable of protecting it from external physical influences. Moreover, a cover for the player is not provided, at least in the kit it will definitely not be. And nothing that in its appearance is not a highlight. After all, the device does not need to be worn around the neck or put on a finger. His place is in his pocket, and there his appearance is not so important.
The most important thing to note is really high-quality sound and a lot of tools for setting it up. So the player performs its main function perfectly. And do not blame Sony for the small display and low-quality image. For these purposes, other devices have long been invented. And here it is just like a nice bonus.