64GB Sony NWZ-A17 High res lossless audio bluetooth Walkman - $279.99

Its a *VERY* good MP3 player, but keep in mind that high-res audio is a complete scam. Redbook audio is already beyond human hearing capabilities, and even if we *could* hear beyond those levels, you would need a perfectly silent room with amazingly detailed headphones(More-so than the HD800's or Stax's). So a portable player obviously wouldnt be a good choice.

So if you want a standalone player to playback flac or whatever, this is great... But dont fall into the 'high res audio' hole and blow extra cash on purchasing the newer remasters of your audio. If all your music is encoded at 320kbs or less, than you might not want to pay the premium and get a different stand-alone player.
I'm still rocking a sansa fuze(non +) with a fiio e5 amp connected with a LOD. 10 years and its still kicking(though battery life isnt great. Another big selling point for the a-15/17[60+ hours of MP3])

Buy this... Or I can sell you my old 64GB Zune for $20. Same thing. :P

this, or any other mp3 players below 40$, will sound exactly the same in a car

i cant justify 300 for this due to lack of android.

i still want to see if i will enjoy flac/lossless more, but ill wait till this goes to around 150.

fengfenglee wrote: ↑this, or any other mp3 players below 40$, will sound exactly the same in a car

Right. Because all mp3 players have the same quality DACs.

I'll bet that my Android smartphone running Viper would sound comparable to this and perhaps even better.

I was thinking about getting this last year but the lack of line-out and sound card function push me to get the x3.

SickBeast wrote: ↑I'll bet that my Android smartphone running Viper would sound comparable to this and perhaps even better.

Depends what phone you got. If its an Apple, its not even in the same universe as Sony devices for sound quality. Sony is still the best phones IMO for music playback. My Z ultra sounds really good, I dont even use any external amps or apps. I had PowerAmp2.0 on my Nexus 5 but that phones music playback was garbage.

This A17 player sounds night and day better than my Z ultra, and the Z ultra sounds pretty awesome already. With the exact same settings, same EQ, the A17 puts out noticably more volume, mids, bass and better clarity. And this is for MP3s, I havent even tested this player with FLACS yet.

Mayosandwich wrote: ↑Right. Because all mp3 players have the same quality DACs.

beats headphones are the best too

aside from whether this is worth big bucks, the price sucks! it's a $20 discount from Sony's price of $299:

http://store.sony.ca/64-gb-hi-res-walkm ... P3-Players

not even worth a spot in the hot deals section.

Mayosandwich wrote: ↑Depends what phone you got. If its an Apple, its not even in the same universe as Sony devices for sound quality. Sony is still the best phones IMO for music playback. My Z ultra sounds really good, I dont even use any external amps or apps. I had PowerAmp2.0 on my Nexus 5 but that phones music playback was garbage.

This A17 player sounds night and day better than my Z ultra, and the Z ultra sounds pretty awesome already. With the exact same settings, same EQ, the A17 puts out noticably more volume, mids, bass and better clarity. And this is for MP3s, I havent even tested this player with FLACS yet.

Do you even know what viper is or what it does? Bluetooth negates the quality of the phone's audio output.

I'm still rocking an iPod Video, the best iPod Apple ever released. I know Sony makes the best MP3 players on the market but this is a little pricey for me. Someday...

Why would you listen to hi quality audio through bluetooth anyway. Take the 3.5mm output and good iems or low impedance headphones with this DAP. I own an x5 only because i could put 2x 128gb and blast off my pro900. Also, I don't think software could trump dedicated hardware capabilities, but could be wrong.

SickBeast wrote: ↑Do you even know what viper is or what it does? Bluetooth negates the quality of the phone's audio output.

Why would someone buy this to use through BT? It still sounds really good through BT but I bought this to run it wired in my car and it sounds pretty amazing. I didnt even know my speakers were capable putting out this level of sound. This allows me to have the absolute best sound coming out of my speakers without having to rip apart the dash, buy an overpriced dash kit, double din and install. Its still worth it to me, I will put a 128GB SD card in it and that gives me a 192GB lossless audio player for under $300. There is no standalone DAP that can match this players sound quality at this price.

Sure you can use your phone, but for some people, there is still purpose for dedicated players with physical buttons. Going to the gym, excersizing with a massive smartphone with a touch interface to navigate through your music is a major pain in the ass. Same with using it in your car.

Mayosandwich wrote: ↑Why would someone buy this to use through BT? It still sounds really good through BT but I bought this to run it wired in my car and it sounds pretty amazing. I didnt even know my speakers were capable putting out this level of sound. This allows me to have the absolute best sound coming out of my speakers without having to rip apart the dash, buy an overpriced dash kit, double din and install. Its still worth it to me, there is no standalone DAP that can match this players sound quality at this price.

My point is that there is no point in buying it at all. A well encoded MP3 will sound as good as a lossless source. With this player you're paying more for something that requires massive file sizes for an incredibly minuscule improvement in sound quality. I use Viper4Android on my LG G3 and it sounds amazing with my bluetooth headphones. I can pretty much guarantee you that most people would prefer what Viper does versus whatever clarity this Sony player adds to music. Try Viper if you have an android phone, trust me.

I think you don't get what's different about this Sony. No amount of software optimizations can match or even approximate the cleaner, better sound of a DAC. It's not better because it plays lossless audio, almost anything will play that. It's got better quality hardware, plain and simple. Some people even use external amps with their iPods for cleaner sound (so this is somewhat comparable to that).

You need to be a proper audiophile for this thing more or less.

SickBeast wrote: ↑My point is that there is no point in buying it at all. A well encoded MP3 will sound as good as a lossless source. With this player you're paying more for something that requires massive file sizes for an incredibly minuscule improvement in sound quality. I use Viper4Android on my LG G3 and it sounds amazing with my bluetooth headphones. I can pretty much guarantee you that most people would prefer what Viper does versus whatever clarity this Sony player adds to music. Try Viper if you have an android phone, trust me.

SickBeast wrote: ↑Do you even know what viper is or what it does? Bluetooth negates the quality of the phone's audio output.

OP is running it through wired AUX on his car.... The device support bluetooth but he is not using BT.

thesearchfordean wrote: ↑You need to be a proper audiophile for this thing more or less.

You have my support. Nice device, good taste!

Sadly, not many people on this forum understand Frequency Response, Total Harmonic Distortion or Dynamic Range. Mainstream consumer's understanding of sound processing technology stays at boosting EQ on some software player.

It is not about loss-less VS MP3, it is just better made hardware that sends better analogue signal to your headphone.

billy_z wrote: ↑You have my support. Nice device, good taste!

Sadly, not many people on this forum understand Frequency Response, Total Harmonic Distortion or Dynamic Range. Mainstream consumer's understanding of sound processing technology stays at boosting EQ on some software player.

It is not about loss-less VS MP3, it is just better made hardware that sends better analogue signal to your headphone.

LOL clearly you don't really know RFD. There are piles of people who understand sound fidelity, far more competent than myself...

I can appreciate the sound quality reproduction on this device, however what I can't understand (like most people here) is why you would ever pay this much for a device that is supposed to be mobile but requires a non-mobile headphone set to appreciate the audio reproduction. I don't want to lug around my Sennheiser 598s at the gym while I proceed to destroy them.

A Tesla can drive 130MPH, but speed limits only allow 60kph...

Come up with a $40 mobile Bluetooth earbud that takes advantage of this thing then we'll be on the same page.