We play Lubomyr Melnyk’s Pockets Of Light, and it diligently unravels the dynamics to ensure the long passage of piano playing sounds rightfully captivating rather than repetitive. The NW-A55L confidently bops along to the grooves that underpin D’Angelo and The Vanguard’s Ain’t That Easy, driving the bassline with impetus while giving the rest of the track its fair share in the spotlight. It has a next-level maturity when it comes to delivering clarity, cleanliness and weight, and its well-timed sprightliness and more than a hint of dynamics save it from mimicking the often flat presentation you get from a phone’s output. If you’re looking for a sonic upgrade over your phone, the Sony will offer it across the board. However, as we discover by connecting the Sennheiser Momentum earbuds and Grado SR325e on-ears to its 3.5mm headphone jack, as well as connecting wirelessly to the Technics EAH-AZ70W, a pair of Sony headphones is far from necessary in order to enjoy the Walkman. The same functions, apart from the ambient sound mode, are also available with the MDR-NW750N earbuds. Connect the IER-NW500N earbuds, and noise-cancelling (to block out external sounds), an ambient sound mode (to allow external sounds in) and Sony’s Clear Phase processing can be activated. The NW-A55L offers features only unlocked by two specific pairs of Sony headphones.
Next to the homescreen logo is another to turn the player purely into a USB DAC, so it can act as a sound-enhancing middle-man between your music source and headphones. You can choose between Sony’s proprietary LDAC Bluetooth codec (which is claimed to allow transmission up to 24-bit/96kHz) or the more common aptX HD (with a maximum 24-bit/48kHz transmission). Headlining the player’s home screen is a logo for activating this feature, and if you dive into the intuitive settings, you’ll find the option to pair with and transmit music to Bluetooth headphones or speakers, too.
You can get round the former omission thanks to the NW-A55L’s Bluetooth receiver, which allows you to pair a laptop or phone and play its music content through the Walkman, benefiting from its likely superior DAC and processing.
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