Sony NW-A55/L Walkman NW-A55 Hi-Res 16GB MP3 Player, Moonlight Blue, Moonlit Blue

I've had my device for over a week and could not be happier!Stating this up front to temper my review for anyone else that reads this; I would not classify myself as an audiophile, but I do listen to music for many hours during my day and have some nice IEM earbuds (SIMGOT EN700 Pro) that can bring out the differences in the quality of the music format & player capabilities. More of a music lover that appreciates being able to hear their music in the best quality possible without getting into the world of 4 figure equipment. And I can say this device is bringing out a level of detail & depth to tracks that I have owned for years that I never heard before.For the price of what this player is, this is the perfect balance between cost to the level of what you get, with enough customization available for tuning, setting playlist and/or bookmarks... most of the things you would want in an audio player. And the battery life is FANTASTIC! This Sony player is still on their in-house developed firmware (which is the reason for the proprietary cable, which has been in place for their legacy operating system), but with the inclusion of NFC, Bluetooth, micro SD expansion, and FM radio (when wired headphones plugged in, as this is also the antenna), this device is the perfect combination of old & new to get the most out of the player.I've loaded in everything from MP3s I've had for decades, to acquiring some super high sample rate tracks from specialty websites (HDTracks) to really see what this player and headphones can do. On the lossy files, this player is clearly giving the tracks extra tuning & polish that I have not experienced on other devices, even including LG phones, which have their own on-board DAC that tend to give great audio. But then adding onto the A55 some 192kHz 24bit tracks onto the player and my gosh... every little detail that is being produced by the instruments and every sound from the artists are clear & make their way through. Tones that tend to get washed out or muddied like bass guitar on certain tracks come right through.I considered this device over the A105, which I have heard has some improved controls for the EQ, some additonal uses (wifi capable for streaming audio), but that all comes at the cost of having Android, meaning needing to secure the device, and loss of battery life. Given streaming audio isn't the highest quality in the first place, and I bought this to be able to play for long periods without having to worry about recharging, this player won out and I couldn't be more pleased.Every device has it's pros & cons, which I'll lay out below. Some things I think are more good to know than true cons from my perspective, so I will list them separately. Hope this provides useful for others, as you look to make a similar purchase.Pros:- Exceptional battery life- Physical buttons for look-free volume/track control- Clear & detailed color screen- Bare-bones operating system (Simple & easy to navigate)- Decent audio controls & options available for the price- Lots of output/connection optionsThings to know:- Connection cable is proprietary (again, due to operating system & Japan device ecosystem)- Software for transferring on PC is limited- Charging LED in upper corner for when the screen is off (nice little detail they left in)Cons:- Legacy firmware means no streaming (Spotify, Stitcher, etc.) apps available at all- Only standard 3.5mm jack for this player (similar devices in the market have balanced port for similar price)

Not sure why I see so many bad reviews on here. I think this Sony player is great, significantly better than Classic iPods in my opinion. I've already bought 2 of them and may buy another in the future. I have mine loaded with a 256 GB memory card and loaded all my music onto it. What I REALLY like over the Classic iPod is that this is completely drag-and-drop with Windows explorer -- no proprietary software needed!!! Just get your music's metadata entered right, and it works flawlessly! Works with MP3, AAC/M4A, and who knows how many other formats, including lossless formats. Gapless playback works flawlessly, as long as your music was properly encoded to begin with. It even gives you an option of sorting by Artist OR Album Artist categories. Wired sound quality is excellent. The Bluetooth play works great with my aptX-HD receiver -- sounds just like the source CD! Works well within about a 30 foot radius, which is plenty. I also tested SBC Bluetooth mode and it sounds great too. So far, the battery life is excellent, compared to Classic iPods. And since they have no moving parts, heavy vibration never causes any skips. I highly recommend this player to anybody with a large music collection who wants something simple, functional, and with high sound quality and build quality. Did I mention again that it's simple drag-and-drop operation??Pros:-Excellent battery life-Sound quality - both wired and Bluetooth-Gapless playback (if you encoded the files properly!)-High capacity - works at least up to 256 GB cards, and probably higher-Works with lots of file formats, including gapless MP3, M4A, and lossless types-Simplicity - no proprietary software needed!-Lots of EQ adjustments, if you're into thatCons:-Physical buttons are a bit small. I wish at least the play/pause button was bigger.-Proprietary cable connector (Why do so many companies continue to do this??)-Initial database build on 1st data load takes a very long time, but seems to only happen once. Subsequent data adjustments/rebuilds are much faster. Wants to rebuild database every time it's turned completely "off" (holding the power button+screen acknowledge), so I normally just put it in standby/off (power button single tap) when not using.-Interface takes some getting used to, but OK once you learn it.