Sony is busting out new Walkmans. It's 2023, and Sony is busting out new Walkmans. In an era defined by streaming and the death of MP3s, the Itouch, and all that, the act of music-listening, in itself, can somewhat feel like a watered-down version of what it used to be. The audio quality just isn't there anymore. Spotify isn't exactly high resolution (Apple Music is actually better but that's for another conversation), as we all know. So a dedicated device does make sense for purists like us. The Walkman, at the very least, isn't going to fail us in that regard. That much we know, too.
Sony Electronics recently announced the release of the NW-A306 and the NW-ZX707 under the Walkman series earlier this month. More than being a throwback to the '80s, these bad boys are designed to elevate and personalize sound quality in our more modern world. Its sleek design and longer battery life are pretty great upgrades from their previous variants, too.
This isn't your dad's (or your old) Walkman, okay? The original philosophy is there, of course, minus the cultural revolution it had 40 years ago. These new Walkmans have that vintage charm to them (interestingly, it retains some of the physical buttons on the sides we used to see during the tape or compact disk (CD) eras), but are presented as an alternative to our phones. The NW-A306 and the NW-ZX707 make sense in the golden age of tech.
A look a the NW-A306 and the NW-ZX707
.png)
ALSO READ:
The Walkman at 40 Years Old: How Sony Changed Music Forever
The New Console Wars: How Sony And Microsoft Are Teaming Up To Take On Google
These things have Bluetooth for headphones, are Wi-Fi-capable, and get us a crisp screen to match. The NW-ZX707 features a five-inch display and the NW-A306 has a compact 3.6-inch one. We also get a speedy USB-C 3.2 Gen1 and a MicroSD slot for quick transfers, as well as a respectable 32GB and 64GB of storage space, respectively, for the NW-A306 and the NW-ZX707.
Oh, they have headphone jacks, too, which is a neat feature to this wireless-portless generation. The (alleged) battery life, on the other hand, sounds great on paper, as well. The NW-A306 should withstand up to 36 hours playback while the NW-ZX707 is capable of up to 25 hours playback.
They run on Android, so we can still download our apps and and streaming services and whatnot. Although we have to admit that this isn't how it's intended to be used. Sony is asking us to download the music ourselves and, yes, it sounds like a drag, but aren't we all on our computers like half our days? Both models use Edge-AI and a digital sound enhancement engine to compress digital music files smoothly.
In terms of sound, the NW-A306 and the NW-ZX707 have playback at up to 96KHz, which means it's twice the sample rate of the humble CD. The lossless codec audio is definitely something Sony can be proud of. It's not really rocket science, considering that Sony double-downed on the sound quality. In layman's terms, they're clear as hell, and should offer the kind of experience that any so-called audiophile will love.
The NW-A306 goes for P19,999 while the W-ZX707 is priced at P44,999. They'll be available in selected Sony authorized dealers nationwide beginning February 10, 2023.
