![]() There are other benefits: if you’re out and about without your phone charger, playing music through a portable music player isn’t going to drain your phone’s battery. Basic models are often far more robust than a phone – there’s no expensive screen to break – and certain models even add waterproofing, which is perfect for year-round training. If you’re a fitness aficionado and don’t want to take your phone into the gym, or just want something super-lightweight that you can chuck in a pocket, or clip onto your clothes while going out for a run, an MP3 player is a better choice. READ NEXT: Best USB turntables How to buy the best MP3 player for you Can’t I just use my smartphone instead? Best for high-res audio: Sony Walkman NW-A105 | Buy now.Best for ease of use: SanDisk Clip Jam | Buy now.Best for Apple fans: Apple iPod Touch (2019) | Buy now.Best budget option: Oakcastle MP100 8GB | Buy now.Best for workouts: Sony Walkman NW-WS413 | Buy now.Best for swimming: AfterShokz Xtrainerz | Buy now.If you’re not sure where to start, read on, and if you just want the best budget and high-end options, you’ll find our favourites below. ![]() In this list, you’ll find our pick of the best MP3 players and portable music players you can buy, and we’ll also go through some of the things you need to consider before purchasing. And then, of course, the iPod family is still going strong. Today’s portable music players are a versatile bunch, with some squeezing hundreds of albums into postage-stamp-sized devices, and others boasting the very latest in audiophile-quality, hi-res audio technology. ![]() We’ll make sure to update you on how the NW-A306 performs in actual use when we get it into our test labs for review, so make sure to keep checking back with What Hi-Fi?.Just as video killed the radio star, you might think that the smartphone was responsible for the demise of the MP3 player. Though given the player’s price, it’s surprising that this is the only obvious shortcoming we’ve spotted so far. To make matters worse, only 18GB of this is listed as being “usable”.Ĭonsidering how quickly we managed to fill the SR25 MKII, which features 64GB of onboard storage, this could be an issue for people that like to have large hi-res music libraries downloaded locally. Specifically that according to Sony’s spec sheet the NW-A306 will only feature 32GB of storage. Charging is via the USB-C connection, and a cable is helpfully provided in the box.ĭoes it all sound great? We think so, but there is a catch. The final upgrade relates to its battery life, with the NW-A306 claiming to offer up to 36 hours of 44.1kHz FLAC playback and up to 32 hours of 96kHz FLAC high-resolution audio playback, which should be more than enough to get you through a long-haul flight. Sony claims it has improved its algorithms to let the player offer more acoustic subtleties and dynamic range when playing CD-quality 16-bit/44kHz tracks, even with lossless codecs. There’s also Bluetooth and wi-fi support, plus improved DSEE Ultimate upscaling tech for those that want to cut the cord. Combined with Sony’s S-Master HX digital amp and native DSD (Direct Stream Digital codec) support, Sony claims this will let the NW-A306 offer significantly better audio, with less distortion and noise, than most flagship smartphones.įor serious listeners there’s also a 3.5mm input for wired headphones - check our best wired headphones guide for our curated picks of the top performers we’ve tested. Running off Google’s Android 12 OS, the device is full of features normally only seen on much more expensive portables.įor starters, its circuitry uses a reflow solder containing gold. It has been quite some time since we’ve seen a hi-res player from such a big brand cost so little and we’ll be very curious to see how the NW-A306 performs against its more expensive rivals when we get it in for testing.
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