Sony Announces Walkman (NWZ-A17) With High-Res Audio

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 8, 2014 | 3 comments
Sohrab Osati

Sony_Walkman_AWZ_A17

In the past year, Sony has been focusing on High-Resolution audio. For those unfamiliar, High-Res audio is part of a movement that involves artists, labels, and device makers that want to move beyond MP3 and provide better sounding music. In the battle for High-Resolution audio supremacy, Sony finds itself in a unique position by owning a record label and producing devices capable of playing back the higher quality files. One such device is the new Walkman NWZ-A17. Announced at IFA, the new Walkman A17 is the world’s smallest and lightest High-Resolution Audio digital music player that packs a 64GB drive that can deliver 50 hours of music playback.

Interested? Let’s talk details.

The Sony Walkman A17 is aimed at audiophiles but that doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyed by everyone. File format support for the sleek device include WAV, AIFF, ALAC, and FLAC while those with MP3, WMA files will pleasantly find their music upscaled to surpass CD resolution, nearing High Resolution quality, thanks to Sony’s DSEE HX technology. As mentioned, despite its thin profile with a brushed aluminum chassis, the Walkman A17 holds 64GB of internal memory. If that’s not enough, owners can expand it easily via a microSD slot or microSDXC card with capacities larger than 64GB. Audio playback is capped at 50 hours though you’ll find that number dips down to 30 hours when listening to High-Res audio. Sony has also incorporated their S-Master HX digital amplifier in order to reduces distortion and noise while reproducing wide frequency response for a clearer acoustic experience.

To help navigate all the features found, the A17 can be accessed via a 2.25-inch QVGA LCD display with some physical buttons. The A17 also makes connecting wireless headphones a breeze with Bluetooth and NFC built in. Finally, getting music into your A17 is also easy with drag and drop functionality that supports iTunes on Mac and Windows. The Sony Walkman NWZ-A17 goes on sale later this year for $299.

Discuss:

Is there still room for standalone players like the Walkman A17?

[Via Sony]