I'm kinda late to this discussion, but I've only had my NW-A306 for a couple of weeks. That said, I never considered the 32GB (18GB usable at delivery) as useful for anything but additional downloaded software, internally generated files, housekeeping, etc. Even before the player arrived I picked up a 256GB microSDXC card to start me off. I added a "Music" folder, copied a bunch of FLAC files from my desktop computer. I stuck it into the A306, started it up, and after a scan of the card after booting up, it was good to go. The extra folders look like what supports all the operations/options of the NW-A306 -- added when I booted the player the first time the card was on board (and it recognized the existing "Music" folder and did not add a "MUSIC" or "Music(2)" folder). I've never detected any slowness reading from the card, nor did I expect to. My first experience with a card in a Sony player was with my NWZ-A17 (now nine years old) which also had a microSD slot. It handled internal and card memory separately at first, but a firmware update unified the file sources. I do all my ripping on the desktop computer and will organize the files in a folder there that I'll copy to the music folder on the microSDXC card as needed. I think the 32GB internal should be left alone.
Something to mention: Memory Cards have a number of codes that indicate the read/write speed of the memory card. I recently replaced the memory card in my A55, going from 128gb to 256gb. Although the new card had twice the memory it loaded faster that the old card. This is because the new card has a faster read/write speed. It led me to do some research on memory cards and discovered what the codes on the card mean (there are a number of TH-cam videos on this topic). Concerning memory cards, if your player is like mine you have to format the memory card in the player. This will add a number of standard folders on the card, such as Music and Learning. One thing I discovered is that music and playlists have to be put into the Music folder. If you put the playlists into any other folder it won't appear on the player (the playlist is on the player but the player won't see it).
Audio: MP3, WMA, FLAC, WAV, AIF, AIFF, AFC, AIFC, DSF, DFF, APE, and MQA Video: MP4, M4A, and 3GP. Note: While AAC versus MP3 sound capabilities don't vary considerably, AAC has the upper hand at lower bit rates. If you're working with bit rates lower than 128 kbps, you'll notice the difference. MP3 files will sound a little muddy and slurry while the AAC files maintain their brighter and clearer sound
So I was right, you do need to have your files in the main Music folder. Did you try with an album folder outside the Music folder? Could you access it?
The NW-A306 adds a bunch of files on its own but yes one of them is music. I may expeiment later and put my own music folder and see if it can find the music files, I would guess the NW-A306 would just overwrite it as one "music" folder and add all those other folders.
@TUXX REVIEWS when I used my old card I didn't get all the extraneous folders. I just crated a master folder called Music, and moved all my pre-existing music into that. The 306 ran its database check and read my card fine. All the other folders look like standard android ones and can be deleted if you don't want them.
Sorry about that - Heres the Amazon link to memory card amzn.to/3U17mnE I typically buy fancier memory cards but wanted to experiement on this on (#1 on amazon and currently 25% off) . For now this card is doing fantastic, speedy and no issues. Let me know what you think
Great info; thank you for that. I got a question. If listening to the hi-rez files using the NW-A306 Bluetooth option with high-quality Bluetooth headphones, is it still better than listening to the same setup using your phone, such as high-end Samsung phones? Thank you.
You know I would normally say only use a hardwired connection for HD audio but using the newest Sony 1005 series I think there is avanatages to using blutooth. I hate myself for thinking that but you should listen to the NW-A306 and see
It has more to do with video than audio but There are five ratings for the Video Speed Class: V6 (Video Speed Class 6): minimum write speed of 6MB/s. V10 (Video Speed Class 10): minimum write speed of 10MB/s. V30 (Video Speed Class 30): minimum write speed of 30MB/s. V60 (Video Speed Class 60): minimum write speed of 60MB/s. - SO long story short V60 is better and I would buy that if your budget allows - Why not buy the best? But V30 is ok too.
Im sorry I really dont recall (I have over a dozen daps). I typically have the dap format it to whatever it chooses. Please note the sony will add file folders
I love my new A-306...2 issues... first even though all my music is in microsd it's not finding it when I search it using the A-306... also the files/tracks are not arranged lower to highest numerically, please help...
interesting questions. Did you have the NW-A306 format the microsd card before adding music on it? Sony has certian folders it needs. As far as tracks lowest to highest, are you talking alphabetical order is not happening or its mixing up the order of songs in one folder for one cd.
@@TUXXREVIEWS Great. I'm interested in hearing what works for you. Really disappointed that I can't get MP3Tag to work on this. If only Windows would recognize the player as a drive, this probably wouldn't be a problem. Can't seem to figure out how to make that happen though... Maybe it's just not possible.
This may help although I don't have the same player as you (I have a Sony Walkman NW-A55). I use MediaMonkey 4 (MM4) to manage the music on my player. If I need to edit the tags for songs on my player I: (1) change them in MM4, and (2) sync my player. The songs with the updated tags will be displayed on my player with one exception: Album Art. I've found that if I change a song's album art I have to delete the file on my player and then resync it with MM4 to reload the song with the new album art (just updating the album art in MediaMonkey alone won't update the album art for the song). I hope this helps.
I tried it out and got this message: "The media transfer process on WALKMAN - 512GB SD appears to be frozen. If the issue doesn't resolve on its own within a few minutes, please disconnect the device and reboot it. If the problem recurs, please use Wi-Fi Sync instead." From what I've read on Head-Fi and Reddit the player seems to have trouble in general with all pc music managers (even the Sony one lol), so I guess this was to be expected. Wish I had known this before buying, but it is what it is. Thanks for trying to help though :]
Hi there, I put in a 1tb sandisk sd card, I tried multiple ways to put on songs and does it things like they'll copy over and then disappear, won't copy over, says they are copyrighted. Won't delete. Then they will delete and reappear again, on pc win 10 and the dap itself. I have tried formatting it in the dap and it picks it but won't let me put anymore songs on it. Can you help please?
Open Walkman--> click tree dots--> click Settings--> scroll to Database-->click rebuild Database first time you use your card or do a massive import onto player. Anytime you drop music afterward, not using Sony music application, click Update database. This keeps the player in sync with current files.
I have this Walkman and Sony xm5 headphones, Do I need a DAC for an audiophile kinda music experience, if yes then suggest one because I’m not finding one with both 3.5mm input and output
It could be for the additional storage (some players don't have the ability to add storage space) and the space to play better-quality MP3 files. I purchased my player (Sony Walkman NW-A55) not for playing hi-res files but for the additional storage and the ability to play Red Book FLAC files (that is good enough for me). I got tired of having a 16gb player and having to swap out songs on a regular basis. Now that I've put a 256gb card in my player I've got all of the space I need for my music. BTW, that was one of the reasons that I purchased an iPod Classic, at that time it had the largest capacity.
I'm kinda late to this discussion, but I've only had my NW-A306 for a couple of weeks.
That said, I never considered the 32GB (18GB usable at delivery) as useful for anything but additional downloaded software, internally generated files, housekeeping, etc. Even before the player arrived I picked up a 256GB microSDXC card to start me off. I added a "Music" folder, copied a bunch of FLAC files from my desktop computer. I stuck it into the A306, started it up, and after a scan of the card after booting up, it was good to go. The extra folders look like what supports all the operations/options of the NW-A306 -- added when I booted the player the first time the card was on board (and it recognized the existing "Music" folder and did not add a "MUSIC" or "Music(2)" folder).
I've never detected any slowness reading from the card, nor did I expect to. My first experience with a card in a Sony player was with my NWZ-A17 (now nine years old) which also had a microSD slot. It handled internal and card memory separately at first, but a firmware update unified the file sources.
I do all my ripping on the desktop computer and will organize the files in a folder there that I'll copy to the music folder on the microSDXC card as needed. I think the 32GB internal should be left alone.
I would delete aS much apps as possible, keep it music not random andriod apps that take up space or use battery etc.
Something to mention: Memory Cards have a number of codes that indicate the read/write speed of the memory card. I recently replaced the memory card in my A55, going from 128gb to 256gb. Although the new card had twice the memory it loaded faster that the old card. This is because the new card has a faster read/write speed. It led me to do some research on memory cards and discovered what the codes on the card mean (there are a number of TH-cam videos on this topic).
Concerning memory cards, if your player is like mine you have to format the memory card in the player. This will add a number of standard folders on the card, such as Music and Learning. One thing I discovered is that music and playlists have to be put into the Music folder. If you put the playlists into any other folder it won't appear on the player (the playlist is on the player but the player won't see it).
cheers to the owl in the background, hoot hoot!
:D its a dove - choo choo
Pigeons
forgot to ask, does the stock player recognize .ogg or .opus files? have you by chance tried these formats?
Audio: MP3, WMA, FLAC, WAV, AIF, AIFF, AFC, AIFC, DSF, DFF, APE, and MQA Video: MP4, M4A, and 3GP. Note: While AAC versus MP3 sound capabilities don't vary considerably, AAC has the upper hand at lower bit rates. If you're working with bit rates lower than 128 kbps, you'll notice the difference. MP3 files will sound a little muddy and slurry while the AAC files maintain their brighter and clearer sound
Netscape navigator?
So I was right, you do need to have your files in the main Music folder. Did you try with an album folder outside the Music folder? Could you access it?
The NW-A306 adds a bunch of files on its own but yes one of them is music. I may expeiment later and put my own music folder and see if it can find the music files, I would guess the NW-A306 would just overwrite it as one "music" folder and add all those other folders.
@TUXX REVIEWS when I used my old card I didn't get all the extraneous folders. I just crated a master folder called Music, and moved all my pre-existing music into that. The 306 ran its database check and read my card fine. All the other folders look like standard android ones and can be deleted if you don't want them.
Do you use the sony music center to transfer files?
no. I did back in the days of PSP.
Where the link to the external sd care? Just curious about the specs. 😊
Sorry about that - Heres the Amazon link to memory card amzn.to/3U17mnE I typically buy fancier memory cards but wanted to experiement on this on (#1 on amazon and currently 25% off) . For now this card is doing fantastic, speedy and no issues. Let me know what you think
Does the NW-A306 support folders?
in my music folder I have folders for bands
I get the same message too even with an extra sd card installed. I would expect an intelligent storage manager to suggest options but no.
Great info; thank you for that.
I got a question. If listening to the hi-rez files using the NW-A306 Bluetooth option with high-quality Bluetooth headphones, is it still better than listening to the same setup using your phone, such as high-end Samsung phones?
Thank you.
You know I would normally say only use a hardwired connection for HD audio but using the newest Sony 1005 series I think there is avanatages to using blutooth. I hate myself for thinking that but you should listen to the NW-A306 and see
@@TUXXREVIEWS una pregunta , cuantas GB admite la memoria expandible del walkman A306 ?
@@felervega6839 Utilizo un 256 en este
Hello, will a 512GB V30 differ much from a 512GB V60? Does it make a big difference?
It has more to do with video than audio but There are five ratings for the Video Speed Class: V6 (Video Speed Class 6): minimum write speed of 6MB/s. V10 (Video Speed Class 10): minimum write speed of 10MB/s. V30 (Video Speed Class 30): minimum write speed of 30MB/s. V60 (Video Speed Class 60): minimum write speed of 60MB/s. - SO long story short V60 is better and I would buy that if your budget allows - Why not buy the best? But V30 is ok too.
nice video just a quick question as this is running android 12 have you experienced and lag to crashes when using the player?
NO lag, No crashes but slow but up - simular to cell phone boot up.
What was the sd card format? FAT32,NTFS or exFat?
Im sorry I really dont recall (I have over a dozen daps). I typically have the dap format it to whatever it chooses. Please note the sony will add file folders
I love my new A-306...2 issues... first even though all my music is in microsd it's not finding it when I search it using the A-306... also the files/tracks are not arranged lower to highest numerically, please help...
interesting questions. Did you have the NW-A306 format the microsd card before adding music on it? Sony has certian folders it needs. As far as tracks lowest to highest, are you talking alphabetical order is not happening or its mixing up the order of songs in one folder for one cd.
@@TUXXREVIEWS I guess I should format whilst in A306? the tracks are arranged Trk# highest to lowest instead of vice versa....
How do you edit the tags on music that's on the player? Seems like the files are encrypted.
I use a 3rd party software app - This is a interesting sugject. I will make a video on it soon.
@@TUXXREVIEWS Great. I'm interested in hearing what works for you. Really disappointed that I can't get MP3Tag to work on this. If only Windows would recognize the player as a drive, this probably wouldn't be a problem. Can't seem to figure out how to make that happen though... Maybe it's just not possible.
This may help although I don't have the same player as you (I have a Sony Walkman NW-A55). I use MediaMonkey 4 (MM4) to manage the music on my player. If I need to edit the tags for songs on my player I: (1) change them in MM4, and (2) sync my player. The songs with the updated tags will be displayed on my player with one exception: Album Art. I've found that if I change a song's album art I have to delete the file on my player and then resync it with MM4 to reload the song with the new album art (just updating the album art in MediaMonkey alone won't update the album art for the song).
I hope this helps.
I tried it out and got this message:
"The media transfer process on WALKMAN - 512GB SD appears to be frozen. If the issue doesn't resolve on its own within a few minutes, please disconnect the device and reboot it. If the problem recurs, please use Wi-Fi Sync instead."
From what I've read on Head-Fi and Reddit the player seems to have trouble in general with all pc music managers (even the Sony one lol), so I guess this was to be expected. Wish I had known this before buying, but it is what it is.
Thanks for trying to help though :]
Hi there,
I put in a 1tb sandisk sd card, I tried multiple ways to put on songs and does it things like they'll copy over and then disappear, won't copy over, says they are copyrighted. Won't delete. Then they will delete and reappear again, on pc win 10 and the dap itself. I have tried formatting it in the dap and it picks it but won't let me put anymore songs on it. Can you help please?
Hi, is this on the SONY NW-A306? Also where did the MP3s come from? Apple music or a streaming service?
@TUXXREVIEWS hi, yes nw-a306 jap version. Local files, my own cd rips.
Open Walkman--> click tree dots--> click Settings--> scroll to Database-->click rebuild Database first time you use your card or do a massive import onto player.
Anytime you drop music afterward, not using Sony music application, click Update database. This keeps the player in sync with current files.
Thanks man I didn't know that I have to format the sd card 👍
You must format the card in the player. It will put some folders and files on the card that it needs to function.
I have this Walkman and Sony xm5 headphones, Do I need a DAC for an audiophile kinda music experience, if yes then suggest one because I’m not finding one with both 3.5mm input and output
This device serves as a DAC.
@@dianamelamet thanks
Got mine yesterday!!!
Congrats! Its a really awesome player. I have the new sony phone coming in June to see how it stands up to sonys new flagship phone.
can apple music save music to the sd card?
Hey, how do I do that? Got a new SD card slotted in but dont know how to transfer it over to the sd card…
Damn, that's a nice car.
Thanks!
Hello everyone! With streaming services can users download songs or podcasts to the mini-card for offline listening? Thanks!
Yes, it should be possible. You have to set the storage option in each streaming app.
Thanks for replying.
Use A Micro SD Card 1TB SanDisk Extreme Pro or Micron 1.5 TB micro SD Card
Ill increase size as I fill this one up.
Yep. Amazon Basics? Really?
@@Gallery90it still worked
Are e gonna address the elephant in the room here? How the hell do you have Netscape Navigator in 2024???
lol - you caught that - Hack the planet!
@ gotta start with the Gibson first
Why buy a Hi Res player to play crappy MP3?
It sounds funny but I've seen people buy a A&K or flagship sony to just put junk files on it. It happens!
It could be for the additional storage (some players don't have the ability to add storage space) and the space to play better-quality MP3 files. I purchased my player (Sony Walkman NW-A55) not for playing hi-res files but for the additional storage and the ability to play Red Book FLAC files (that is good enough for me). I got tired of having a 16gb player and having to swap out songs on a regular basis. Now that I've put a 256gb card in my player I've got all of the space I need for my music.
BTW, that was one of the reasons that I purchased an iPod Classic, at that time it had the largest capacity.