Walkman A45, the best value for money

[Sonyvores]

Even if "HD Audio" do exist for decades, the "Hi-Ras Audio" revolution started in 2014, today in 2018 everybody keeps mentionning about it when it's about audio. Despisse the fact that smartphone keeps getting smarter and powerfull, there is one thing they can't compete, it's the sound. Digital Audio Player et especially walkman audio quality are still far superior than smartphone. NW-A45 is Sony 4th attempt for Hi-Res Audio entry level DAP

Design

A40 Series is similar to A30, It packs a metal front and plastic back.Touch screen makes it easier to browser music library ans its response is a bit faster/smoother than A30. As usual, the NFC zone is on the back for easy paring with headphones, speakers etc...Right side presents main buttons such as play/pause/Skip/Volume and the hold button. Really convinient to control your walkman without the need to take it out from your messenger bag.
On th eleft side, you can find the Micro SD port et expend the 16Gb internal memory (compatible up to 256Go, I haven't tested out bigger cards)

The bottom carries the mini Jack , walkman port and the lanyard hole.

The Screen

 Its WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) definition displays nicely all your cover arts and fonts are also more precise. It's not HD quality but it's clear enough for the size and it's a big step up from A10/20 series

Features

NFC allows one-touch listenning for easy pariing. If you wanna go wireless, you can get the best audio quality thanks to LDAC et aptX-HD codec. (SDC is still available for backward compatibility with older devices) . Sony OS is similar to signature series, it's very simple and intuitive. You also get the digital volume ***** Audio file compatibility is very large! you can play mp3, wma, WAV, AAC, HE-AAC, FLAC, ALAC, AIFF, DSD (non native) and even MQA (Japanese model gets ATRAC too). Battery life is quite large, from 20h to 40h depending of the file formats (SD or HD). It's less than A10/20 series but it's due to the integrated touch screen. As always, there is an FM/AM radio function. Since it's a "hi-res audio" product, A35 carries the latest version of S-Master HX amp & DSEE HX (that will upscale audio files up 24bits/192kHz). To custom the sound to your taste there is a 6 band equalizer and other useless dsp and audio processions such as clear audio +.

Noise Cancelling

Special earbuds packed in the speci A45HN version are required for enjoying Noise Cancelling feature. NC can be custom quite precisely with a -15 to +15 steps level graduation . There is also 3 mode (plane/train/office and an automatic one. (AINC). Although earbuds of the A40 series looks similar to the ones from the A30 series, it carries the "ambient sound" feature from teh famus 1000X headphone series. Turning it on to hear ambient sound while listening to music & still being able topay attention to the sounds around you for safety.despite its small size, it's working pretty well. It's not as good as the 1000X series but onec you've tried it, you won't go back

DAC 

Really convenient to by pass the bad quality of sound cards from the computers, smartphone etc... you can use the walkman to enjoy the S-Master HX amp audio quality with all of your devices that have usb audio output. DAC compatibily et quite large from mp3 to DSD files 

Sound

Once you've plugged your favorite headphone you will be able to enjoy a quite balance tonal range sound. Treble are quiet brights, and basses quite full but not deep. Medium is warm and highlights voices.  Sound stage is quite large for the money. The gap is definitly there if you compare it to a smartphone...though the gap is not as large as I would have expected. 

For audiophiles: Sound quality is correct but not super precise and some details will be lost. Sound stage is not impressive.  It's overal just ok and FAR BEHIND from ZX and signature series. Despite all that, A45 still have something really interresting for its price. If the player can't read native DSD, it can output native DSD which makes it a really good "audio transport" to a portable or desktop DAC.

Final thoughts

With its 4th génération, Sony is bringing to us a smal DAP with a touch screen that is compatible with a wide range of audio formats Its decent audio quality and its DAC/Audio transport features make it a really good value for money.

For audiophile, it's not even an option, you better jump to ZX or signature series...unless you're looking for a smal form factor DAP you wanna pair up with your portable DAC then the A45 is a really good option to enjoy DSD files on the go!