Sony NWZ-A845

I've been following What HiFi reviews for some time on various products, and I tend to agree that they do seem biased towards Apple. Especially when describing sound quality between the iPhone 4s and new iPhone 5. Someone did a 'scientific' test and reported the 4s to be substantially better in sound quality, which I saw as a fair review and comparison, link here; http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/02/iphone-vs-rivals-audio-tests/

I also have the NWZ-A845 and think its a great looking and wonderful sounding music player, agreed with the other guy about watching videos on something with this size screen, I bought mine based on quality of music  (despite having to convert from lossless to 320kbps AAC to get music on it!) and I like the effects it has, such as the dsp and 'matrix' settings for playback and it sounds good with the EU volume cap workaround in using a portable amp (I have a Fiio E6).

It really reads FLAC files???? I want a portable FLAC reader, any sugestions?

The audio quality of this Sony is in a different league in comparison with the Nano, which sounds brash and has no musical refinement whatsoever. [edited by mods to remove unfounded, libellous allegations]

jasthom69,

If you really believe that, maybe a quick check of how much Apple advertising we carry might disabuse you.

Superb review, thanx team.

I have to agree with jasthom69. Ihave a pair of ultimate ears superfi 5 pros which sound superb on the sony NWZ-A845, i also have a ipod touch and it doesn't come close to the sound quality of sonys offering. Have got some ultimate ears superfi 10 pros but these are a bit more lightweight on the sony due to there lower db. Get top earbuds and the sony will shine!

Something's missing here though:

When comparing to Apple's iPod, it ought to be mentioned that the iPod is platform independent, while the Sony NWZ-A845 seems to be Windows only.

How can you possibly give this 5 Stars when it fails in the most important area for any MP3 player ie. sound quality?

I know of nobody who regularly uses the video player feature of these machines; the screens are too small.

When reviewing surely features should be weighted in terms of importance with Sound Quality at the top and the silly video gimmick at the bottom.

I have the Sony NWZ-A829 - Terrific machine, excellent sound quality...Never used the video..

I felt compelled to register and speak up after reading this review. I agree with Billman. How can you give five stars to a device (that's primary purpose is to play music) on the merit of it's gimmicky, secondary features? When I read reviews on MP3 players, all I want to know is how good the device sounds. I'm averse to Apple, I admit, but I'm beginning to wonder if your views are biased towards the 'i' devices. Several other reviews of the A845 praise it on the strength of it's sound quality. My faith in your write ups is beginning to falter seriously. Also, I wish companies would stop trying to cram in all these extras into there devices. Give me a quality portable music player. If I want to watch video, take pictures, have a pedometer, I'll use a device made for the job thank you. If I'm happy with average sound, or want a multi-purpose device, I'm simply going to use my BlackBerry or whatever other smart phone I'm already carrying!

I bought my UE tripleFi 10 Pro's to improve my Iphone 3G listening experience and was shocked as to how much they showed up the Iphone lack of audio quality even with well recorded ALAC tracks.

I couldn't believe that I'd spent £250 on the TripleFi's and ended up with a bitterly dissapointing experience.

I tried them on both latest gen Ipod classic and Nano and found some improvement.

After reading some good intial reviews at the release of the NWZ-A845 I went and trailed them, wow simply stunning. I bought it there and then.

Everyone who has listened to it agrees is blows away the Apple products.

I would recommend buying a high end set of earphones as the Sony supplied pair are OK but don't impress.

I'd have to agree with martinistripes that What HiFi reviews appear to be Apple biased maybe Apple $$$$ help their ratings.