Sony has a lossless player that’ll cost you an arm and a leg. Does it sing?
Sony’s new Walkman plays lossless music files, streams music via WiFi and runs on Android. It’s also priced for audio perfection.
The NW-ZX2 Walkman is a ringgit shy of five grand. Yes, you read that right. At RM4,999, the NW-ZX2 is strictly for the Bollinger-drinking audiophiles with deep pockets.
Of course, it’s not the most expensive player on the market – for instance, Astell & Kern’s AK240 costs US$2,499 (RM9,000).
But here’s the thing – lossless music players don’t have the cool factor of the latest smartphone. Carrying it around isn’t going to make you the life of a party.
The NW-ZX2 plays high resolution audio files up to 24bit/192kHz, which comes close to the sound quality that musicians and engineers work with in the studio.
It handles a variety of files, including FLAC, AIFF, WAV, ALAC, DSD and MP3 formats. FLAC has proven to be one of the popular lossless formats because it takes up less space than CDA or WAV.
However, it’s still very large and typically 10x bigger than MP3 files. The FLAC file size can range from 10MB to 300MB depending on the sampling rate and the song length.
As the NW-ZX2 has 128GB of internal storage, FLAC lovers will be able to store more than 400 songs. If you need more space there’s a microSD slot that will allow you to double the storage space.
Solid build
The NW-ZX2 is a chunky device that weighs more than two smartphones and is going to put a bulge in your pockets. It has an aluminium body, leather back for easier grip, 4in touchscreen and 3.5mm gold-plated jack.
The player boasts a large-capacity battery that is rated for 30 hours of playback for 24bit high resolution formats, as long as you keep the screen off.
It runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean which is a little dated – we had no problems installing apps on the device but it could become a problem in the future if apps stop supporting it.
The 4in touchscreen is fine for watching videos on YouTube and surfing the Net but you are probably not going to use the built-in WiFi for that.
It’s better used to access streaming services like Spotify and Deezer, and, if we had it, the lossless music streaming service Tidal. However, if you leave WiFi and the screen on, the battery will drain out in about four hours. To get it to full power, it takes six hours of charging.
Not for the masses
For evaluating music playback, we compared the NW-ZX2 to its little (and cheaper) brother – the NMW-A17 and an iPhone 6. We used Sony’s MDR-1A headphones for this review.
The differences between the iPhone 6 and the NW-ZX2 were noticeable. We didn’t notice this before but when compared with the NW-ZX2, the music from the iPhone seemed to have an unnatural and unclean sheen.
The NW-ZX2 seemed to set the music free, revealing the space around the instruments. A few audiophiles claimed they heard details on their favourite recordings that they never heard before.
Comparing the NW-ZX2 with the RM999 NMW-A17 was a little harder. The differences were more subtle and weren’t easily heard by the untrained ear in a blind test.
It was a different story for certain audiophiles. They said the NW-ZX2 exhibited a better grip on the music and it was clearer and more transparent. The strings on Mozart symphonies had more breathing space while the reverb on Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean was more distinct.
However, perhaps a more expensive set of headphones could have brought out the details. The Sony MDR-1A costs RM999 but there are headsets that are priced at thousands of ringgit, like the Sennheiser HD800 or the Grado PS1000, if you really want to break the bank.
When we hooked up the NW-ZX2 through a separate system consisting of an Audiolab 8000A amplifier and a set of Mission M70 bookshelf speakers, the difference between the NW-ZX2 and the NW-A17 were significant.
The soundstage just opened up with the NW-ZX2. It was as if the sonic veil had been lifted – the backing vocals became clearer and more distinct, for instance. For the uninitiated, a soundstage is a virtual, imagined stage where you can pick out individual instruments.
Conclusion
The NW-ZX2 is a serious piece of audio equipment, which would be welcome in an audiophile’s home. However, in order to bring out the best of the NW-ZX2, you may need to invest in high-end headphones and perhaps even a headphone amplifier.
Should Sony want to sell it to the MP3 fans, the device would have to be priced cheaper and made more hip. Perhaps it could get someone like Katy Perry to endorse it.
Pros: You can hear the difference; there’s better separation between the instruments within the soundstage.
Cons: Pricey; you will also have to invest in high-end headphones.
NW-ZX2 WALKMAN
(Sony)
Portable music player
DISPLAY: 4in FWVGA (854 x 480 pixels)
SUPPORTED FORMATS: AAC, AIFF, ALAC, DSD, FLAC, HE-AAC, Linear PCM, MP3, WMA, AVC (H.264/AVC), MPEG4, WMV9
CONNECTIVITY: NFC, Bluetooth, WiFi
MEMORY: 128GB
EXPANSION SLOT: MicroSD card
BATTERY LIFE: 30 hours for high resolution audio, 60 hours for MP3
DIMENSIONS (W x H x D): 65.1 x 132.2 x 18.5mm
WEIGHT: 235g
WEBSITE: www.sony.com.my
PRICE: RM4,999
RATING: ?????
Review unit courtesy of Sony Malaysia Sdn Bhd, 1-300-88-1233
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