I bought the NW-WM1A a few weeks ago and am delighted with it overall. Firstly, the build quality is exceptional - no visible screws, just high grade brushed metal and solid buttons with an excellent non-marking touchscreen. The leather back stops slippage on surfaces but is obviously not a good choice for vegetations. Synthetic leather would've been a better choice there. I'm not good with computers so was relieved to find the bundled Media Go software was genuinely easy to use. I've imported CDs, downloaded tracks from Hi-Res music stores and MP3s from Bandcamp too and it was all very simple to do. The User Interface is not as snappy as my iPhone 6+ but it has a certain charm in being unrushed! The options are intuitively laid-out and you have a choice during playback of Album cover art, spectrum analyser or analogue level meters. The EQ and other sound-enhancement options are comprehensive and effective. The ability to play so many file formats is great - even DSD downloads work faultlessly and an SD card slot really cokes in handy with these big files. The sound via the 3.5mm output driving my B&O H6 is the best I've ever heard them. I usually think headphones make the biggest difference to sound quality but here the WM1A delivers a definite boost. I suspect the amplifier quality has a lot to do with this. The music is big and precise, with good deep bass and uncoloured midrange for vocals. The highs seem to be perfectly balanced too. I've not yet been able to try the new Balanced 4.4mm output which promises more power output. I have a pair of Audeze LCD-3 here which should benefit from Balanced drive once I get the necesssry cable. Having said that the LCD-3 still sound great with the 3.5mm output. Complaints? Not many and mainly focused on accessories I'd like to see for the WM1A: There's no docking cradle available in the UK. The BCR-NWH10 works great but is available in Japan only. The digital output cable WMP-NWM10 is also deprived from UK customers. I'd really like to see these accessories released outside Japan to make the most of the WM1A. Also, as the new 4.4mm connector becomes more common, hopefully more Sony headphones and In Ear Monitors will be available with this connector. The range is currently only two models plus after-market cables which, again, are kept from UK customers. Hopefully it's just a matter of time for Sony to deliver here. So overall I'm very pleased with the WM1A. It's my first taste of true high-end portable music players and it does everything I want whilst sounding great and being of superb build quality. Recommended for people who love great sound and portable luxury. It's a real pleasure to carry around with you.

Bought this to replace my iPod Classic the difference in sound quality is night and day very easy to transfer my lossless tracks from iTunes to the Wm1a solid quality piece of kit, love it, my Etymotic er4p sounded great connected to my iPod. Connected to the wm1a they sound awesome, problem now is I will have to re rip all my CD,s to lossless to get the full benefit of this fantastic hi res Walkman.

There are good things about the 1A Walkman and a few bad. First the good. Great sounds and packed with features. A balanced connection. Well constructed. A screen that doesn't smudge. The bad. Well the worst for me is that the UK model has the high gain setting removed. Over ear headphones need a high gain setting to power them or you end up turning it up full for a normal sound level. I have faith that Sony will give us a Firmware update soon to reinstate it. No problem. The other is the 4.4mm balanced cable. I have a pair of Sony Z7 headphones with a 3.5mm dual balanced cable. Sony should give all registered Z7 owners a cable upgrade for free. I managed to get a 4.4mm adapter cable from Moon Audio for it. I had previously gotten a balanced Silver Dragon V3 for it. The Sony OS is good. Some of the settings could be more better explained. Like the Type A and B DC Phase Linearizer. What's different about them. When you use the balanced connection you get DSD which is great. We just need Sony to reinstate the high gain setting and give registered Z7 owners a 4.4mm balanced cable.