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"If you think the music on your smartphone sounds pretty good, a lot of people think you\u2019re wrong. There\u2019s a movement to push forward \u201Chigh resolution\u201D music, which includes so much audio information, it makes the CD sound like a transistor radio.\nNeil Young gave the movement a huge boost this past spring with his PonoPlayer, which blew the doors of Kickstarter to the tune of $6 million. Now Sony, which has a history with high-res music, is getting in on the action.\nSee also: 35 Ways Musicians and Music Brands Are Using Twitter's Vine App\nSony\u2019s high-resolution NWZ-A17 Walkman costs $299, and is like a silver version of the old iPod nano made specifically for high-res music (that is, music sampled at rates up to 24-bit/192kHz). It works just like an old iPod, too, with a touch panel below the screen that you use to control it.\n\n\nSony's High-Res Walkman\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe PonoPlayer Gets a Nemesis\nSony is entering the high-res music space with the Walkman NWZ-A17, a digital media player made specifically for high-res music. Coming in November, it will cost $299.\n\nImage:  Christina Ascani/Mashable\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\niPod-Like Navigation\nThe screen on the high-res Walkman isn't touch-enabled. Instead, you navigate via the buttons, below.\n\nImage:  Christina Ascani/Mashable\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nControl Panel\nThe controls work well, and they have a beautiful brushed-aluminum finish.\n\nImage:  Christina Ascani/Mashable\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNano Scale\nThe 64GB player is about the same size as an iPod nano.\n\nImage:  Christina Ascani/Mashable\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNeed Good Headphones\nYou'll need a high-end pair of headphones, like these Sony over-the-ear cans, to get the most out of the high-res Walkman.\n\nImage:  Christina Ascani/Mashable\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nConnectors\nThe digital Walkman has a special headphone jack and a proprietary port for charging.\n\nImage:  Christina Ascani/Mashable\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIt\u2019s a little weird to use a device that doesn\u2019t have a touchscreen these days, but Sony\u2019s high-res Walkman isn\u2019t about apps or digital experiences. In fact, it doesn\u2019t connect to Wi-Fi at all, and you get music onto its 64GB of storage in the most basic way possible: drag and drop. It plays MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC, AIFF, WAV and ALAC formats.\nThe player has a Bluetooth connection for convenience, but you\u2019d be crazy to use it, since you\u2019d lose all the benefit of the high-res audio. No, you\u2019ll want to use this player with some high-end headphones, like something from Bose, JH Audio or Sony itself \u2014 whose top-tier cans are rated to play the dog-ear-splitting frequencies in high-res music.\nSony packs a special digital amplifier in the Walkman, the S-Master HX, which was made specifically for high-res music, said to be able to reproduce the wide frequency response in the tracks. The headphone connector is beefed up, too, with a four-wire oxygen-free cable structure, which uses separated ground cables to ensure that any crosstalk between the left and right channels is kept to a minimum.\nAs for where you get that music, the main place is currently a site called HD Tracks, but there are few others, too. And Sony says its player will be compatible with whatever store comes out of Neil Young\u2019s PonoPlayer.\nIs high-res music really worth the trouble of going back to the iPod model? Audiophiles would say yes, and Sony should win some of their good graces with its shiny new Walkman when it launches in November.\nHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2014/09/03/sony-high-res-walkman/>