Sony NW-ZX707 Hi-Res 64 GB Android Walkman

I had dabbled with entry level DAPs previously (FiiO X1 and M5 and a terrible one from Hifiman that stopped working when I accidentally put it through the washing machine), so this is my first higher-end model. I love it. It's so good. I have my key music apps - DS Audio, Tidal and Bandcamp - installed. I've never used Android before, and I'm surprised how responsive the apps are. Much faster than on my iPhone. I noticed an improvement in the audio straight away. The EQ works across all of the apps, which is something that the iPhone didn't do. The only thing I wish you could do is wake up the device by tapping the screen. I'm ecstatic with the purchase. It's exactly what I wanted.

Costly Signature Sound

I liked the product. But the sound output, when connected to my denon amplifier, is not what I had expected. I have to set the volume in the sony to maximum and set the sound of the amplifier to 70 atleast. Another thing which I observed is the operation is laggy, which shouldn't heve been the case given the OS is Android 12. There's no word on the software updates, if there will be any. Display should have been 1080p given the screen size of 5 inches and the high price of Rs.70k. Listening to audio over headphone is a treat though.

Excellent DAP player with superior sound quality

Very happy with this purchase. The hardware quality is excellent. The sound quality, battery life and screen are all very good. The Android OS could use some improvements as it isn’t quite as responsive as on my phone. I have used it so far with 4 different headphones all with great results. Added a 512GB microSD card for extra storage.

Expected it to be much better

I expected better performance from Sony after all the hype in the media about this walkman. Sounds good but there are many features which are not as good as it could have been for this price range. Wifi connectivity really sucks....considering this is a streaming device, this should have been its strong point .. turns out that this is its weakest point...have to literally coax the device to connect....with this much effort I could have connected more easily with my adversary neighbour. Bluetooth... hmmm less said the better. just six feet.....after which .. knock knock..who's there?? Android version seems ancient...takes eons to start...smartlock for on body and trusted places never works...highgain is not upto the mark.. I dont know if I am going deaf... this one ... MoreI expected better performance from Sony after all the hype in the media about this walkman. Sounds good but there are many features which are not as good as it could have been for this price range. Wifi connectivity really sucks....considering this is a streaming device, this should have been its strong point .. turns out that this is its weakest point...have to literally coax the device to connect....with this much effort I could have connected more easily with my adversary neighbour. Bluetooth... hmmm less said the better. just six feet.....after which .. knock knock..who's there?? Android version seems ancient...takes eons to start...smartlock for on body and trusted places never works...highgain is not upto the mark.. I dont know if I am going deaf... this one sounds ok above 80%...tried both streaming and onboard music.... Well I dont want to end up crying on the agony aunt.... Thought of skipping this review... just a friendly reminder from Raghav ( my name sake) prodded me to write this... Didnt return it .... not because I didnt want to but felt too self conscious... all the communications from Headphone zone almost are like from well wisher... so friendly, personal and touching.. feel like that pug... so why hurt someone with a return request.... like catholic marriage grin and hear it.... next time I am sure to contact someone at your place for guidance before making such buys...Thanks team HZ ... these things sell because of your unique friendly marketing approach.. Sony Should be thanking you.... Good luck friends... Warm regards,Raghavan Krishnan

Great Quality Player

I owned the ZX-507 previously & this is a big improvement. It has a new solid heavy feel & a larger screen. Not light or for the gym - that would be the A306. For playing music, Sony players are the best, far better than compared to the Astell & Kern I had previously. Even streaming music sounds better with the upscaling & interface is faster.VolumeA few comments were posted about the volume, but I haven't experienced any issues. I know that the AVLS volume limiter is a checkbox in the settings, but I turned that off. I powered the MDR-Z7M2 70MM headphones but I had to turn volume to 90%, so it works better with the 40mm (or bluetooth headphone)BatteryI ate through the battery & saw that it was that I had Youtube Music & the screen on. Bluetooth only consumed ... MoreI owned the ZX-507 previously & this is a big improvement. It has a new solid heavy feel & a larger screen. Not light or for the gym - that would be the A306. For playing music, Sony players are the best, far better than compared to the Astell & Kern I had previously. Even streaming music sounds better with the upscaling & interface is faster.VolumeA few comments were posted about the volume, but I haven't experienced any issues. I know that the AVLS volume limiter is a checkbox in the settings, but I turned that off. I powered the MDR-Z7M2 70MM headphones but I had to turn volume to 90%, so it works better with the 40mm (or bluetooth headphone)BatteryI ate through the battery & saw that it was that I had Youtube Music & the screen on. Bluetooth only consumed 1% so that was efficient. You won't get 20 hours unless wifi & screen are off.

NW-ZX707 . A True Good Player

Sound that is warm, smooth and contains a lot of information・High-resolution vocals that are easy to hear The design is reminiscent of Sony's flagship model "NW-WM1AM2" and gives a stylish and cool impression. The gold frame of the earphone jack and the "WALKMAN" logo on the back of the black case look great. Personally, I think that a design that satisfies the owner's desire is an important point when choosing a player. When talking about the "NW-ZX707", it is light enough to be carried around. Contrary to this luxurious and solid appearance, it is light and easy to carry. This is a very nice point for those who want to enjoy music at home or on the go, and for those who use it as a daily companion. As for the sound, I was impressed with the clear sound, like a ... MoreSound that is warm, smooth and contains a lot of information・High-resolution vocals that are easy to hear The design is reminiscent of Sony's flagship model "NW-WM1AM2" and gives a stylish and cool impression. The gold frame of the earphone jack and the "WALKMAN" logo on the back of the black case look great. Personally, I think that a design that satisfies the owner's desire is an important point when choosing a player. When talking about the "NW-ZX707", it is light enough to be carried around. Contrary to this luxurious and solid appearance, it is light and easy to carry. This is a very nice point for those who want to enjoy music at home or on the go, and for those who use it as a daily companion. As for the sound, I was impressed with the clear sound, like a cloudless blue sky. The speed of the sound is clear, the sense of separation is good, and the expression is very polite. I felt that the details of the expression of each note, the volume of the midrange, and the high resolution have increased. As for the low range, the reverberation and reverberation are good, and the sound has high resolution. The sound pressure is not in the strong category, but it is a pleasant sound that you can listen to clearly while feeling the sound that is not too strong. As for the midrange, it features an overwhelming sense of realism and a clear vocal without distortion. I felt the distance between the vocals was quite close. Breathing and lip sounds are also carefully expressed, allowing you to enjoy a realistic sound. Thanks to the high degree of separation, it was easy to hear each word.

Terrible

I wonder how it's possible to make every possible mistake when you are powerful corporation that made players for years.It uses Android and I have nothing installed or running, only music app is used and yet everything is sluggish, 0.5 to 1 sec after you touch the action happens.Terrible UI of the player designed by accountant it seems.The physical buttons - how could you fail that? Buttons are all same and lined up, so you can't really tell which is which. You have to turn player buttons up and adjust the angle so the light falls on buttons so you can see their labels.When you turn on/off the equaliser you have a sound drop! That's how terrible it is! It's like nobody tested or tried to use it as a player.It's like they made this player to test all the ... MoreI wonder how it's possible to make every possible mistake when you are powerful corporation that made players for years.It uses Android and I have nothing installed or running, only music app is used and yet everything is sluggish, 0.5 to 1 sec after you touch the action happens.Terrible UI of the player designed by accountant it seems.The physical buttons - how could you fail that? Buttons are all same and lined up, so you can't really tell which is which. You have to turn player buttons up and adjust the angle so the light falls on buttons so you can see their labels.When you turn on/off the equaliser you have a sound drop! That's how terrible it is! It's like nobody tested or tried to use it as a player.It's like they made this player to test all the bad ideas.

Volume Issue, otherwise great device

The volume limitation is pretty infuriating for such an otherwise great device. Not that i like very loud music-i do not. But in some cases i do want just a bit more volume than i can get here so i think the limit is set too low. I would recommend getting a different version instead of this one, or a completely different device instead. However, after listening for a week or so, i find i really do like the sound, smooth user experience, and options that come in the music player app, and i have decided to keep it even though its completely unusable with some of my headphones-especially my open back hd560s's. i would say its probably made only for use with in-ear monitors (it really does sound great with my Shure SE535's) and only if you use in reasonably quiet ... MoreThe volume limitation is pretty infuriating for such an otherwise great device. Not that i like very loud music-i do not. But in some cases i do want just a bit more volume than i can get here so i think the limit is set too low. I would recommend getting a different version instead of this one, or a completely different device instead. However, after listening for a week or so, i find i really do like the sound, smooth user experience, and options that come in the music player app, and i have decided to keep it even though its completely unusable with some of my headphones-especially my open back hd560s's. i would say its probably made only for use with in-ear monitors (it really does sound great with my Shure SE535's) and only if you use in reasonably quiet environments. Stupid limitations from Sony for such an expensive device, especially when other players don't have these limitations, but hopefully they will send out a software update sometime to address it.side note, read the manual as sony didnt help when i contacted them to ask if there were any settings that could help increase volume. i found 2 that did help a little. 1 setting in the menu lets you change the db level from -3 to 0, and another allows you to adjust the device so that music played through sources other than the sony music player will not be lowered-that will at elast bring your tidal or apple music up to the same level. i can't imagine why anyone would ever use that setting on this player with the volume issues, but its set lower from factory and needs to be adjusted.

Walkman Nostalgia done right

Portable DAP that also works as a USB DAC. Great physical controls reminiscent of the Sony Walkman of old, even has a tape UI for when you are feeling nostalgic. Since this is an Android based player, apps like Spotify, Tidal or Apple Music work for streaming your favorite Lossless tracks. I would use this as a a DAP only and not try to use it as a media consumption device. Sure YouTube is preloaded on it, but I'm sure any modern phone will have better colors/brightness and screen. If you are concerned that the UI is slow, don't be. Just turn off the animations in your settings and you are good to go. This is the Japanese version of the ZX700. That means high gain output is included. I have used this with Sony Link Bud S, Sony MDR V6 and Sony IER M9s and the music ... MorePortable DAP that also works as a USB DAC. Great physical controls reminiscent of the Sony Walkman of old, even has a tape UI for when you are feeling nostalgic. Since this is an Android based player, apps like Spotify, Tidal or Apple Music work for streaming your favorite Lossless tracks. I would use this as a a DAP only and not try to use it as a media consumption device. Sure YouTube is preloaded on it, but I'm sure any modern phone will have better colors/brightness and screen. If you are concerned that the UI is slow, don't be. Just turn off the animations in your settings and you are good to go. This is the Japanese version of the ZX700. That means high gain output is included. I have used this with Sony Link Bud S, Sony MDR V6 and Sony IER M9s and the music comes out clear, nuanced and beautiful.

Wanted a quality music player , Got wannabe phone.

I purchased this because of the great experience I had with the sony NWA 45 player. The ZX707 is not what I expected. The android operating system is not geared towards high quality music, but instead wants to give you your Email, messages, connections to your phone, news, ect. The interface with the XD card is cumbersome at best. Compatibility is an issue with my vehicle which is only 4 years old you can not plug the usb into the Silverado my link system it will not communicate. At this price point I expected better.