Product Comparison: Sony NW-A35 vs Fiio X3-III

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Best Pick

Sony NW-A35 16GB (viridian Blue)

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Fiio X3-III High Resolution Music Player (3rd Generation)

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General Specifications

Brand

Sony

Fiio

Model

NW-A35 LM

X3-III

About the Product

Enjoy endless playlists of your favorite tunes with the latest Walkman®. With High-Resolution Audio and a striking design, the NW-A30 Series looks as good as it sounds.

Styled in black, the FiiO X3 Mark III is a high-resolution portable audio player with a host of ancillary functions and features. For instance, it can double as an asynchronous USB DAC capable of handling 192 kHz/24-bit PCM files. The player is also Bluetooth 4.1 enabled, though not at the expense of fidelity. Three separate PCBs have been utilized in the construction of this mobile player: one for the digital section, one for analog amplification, and another for Bluetooth.

Origin

China

Key Specs

Memory

16 GB

0 GB

Display

Yes

Integrated Speaker(s)

What customers say about "Key Specs"

Sony NW-A35 16GB (viridian Blue)

Unlike the ipod classic at least this MP3 player can have the memory expanded via micro sd card.
There is 16GB of memory plus a micro SD slot (SD card not supplied) should you need more.
It has a touch screen, with buttons down the side for adjusting the volume.
Album artwork is displayed correctly. No horizontal or vertical clipping of the image that occurs with other DAPs.
Any music album cover art is displayed in color. Album artwork is displayed correctly.
A- 16GB is minuscule for internal memory. Luckily, it accepts SD cards when your music exceeds that amount.

Fiio X3-III High Resolution Music Player (3rd Generation)

I really like the Fiio, easy to use, perhaps not quiet as intuitive as the iPod but the benefits outweigh the negatives by miles.
Currently using a 128gb MicroSD along side it. I find the battery lasts me a day or 2 with normal use at work or gym. It does get warm while charging or putting lots of files on it, but not any warm levels to be worried about.
The sound is incredible, capacity is no issue, and now discovering high res audio is a whole new adventure! No hesitation in recommending, made the right (and a personally important) decision
The sound quality is excellent. It uses a micro USB connection which makes it very easy to charge with my phone charger and I have plenty of spare cables. It comes with two protective cases and screen protectors. Battery life is good and the bluetooth works okay.
Wonderful sound quality - and yes, even as someone who isn't an audiophile, I can clearly hear nuances in music that I missed before.

Size & Weight

Color

Blue

Black

Height

3.8 in.

4.5 in.

Width

2.2 in.

2.3 in.

Depth

0.4 in.

0.5 in.

Weight

3.52 oz.

4.5 oz.

What customers say about "Size & Weight"

Sony NW-A35 16GB (viridian Blue)

The light weight, size and Bluetooth capability of the NW-A35 is ideal for being on the move; and the price is targeted at individuals not wanting to break their wallets.
The size is right; just a bit larger and a bit heavier.
I love the look, size, weight, sound and feel of it, and it has a lovely clear display.
Size is nice and small, Good build quality.
This offering from Sony is very compact and lightweight.
Due to its small size and sleek material I highly advise you consider a silicone glove or some type of cover to protect it from potential drops.

Fiio X3-III High Resolution Music Player (3rd Generation)

First, the size is perfect! It's slim and lightweight so if you are carrying around this and a phone, it's not a burden.
The X3 looks amazing, feels amazing in the hand and sounds amazing.
The build quality is excellent, it feels solid and a quality piece of kit.
It's a weighty big ugly LUMP, with little of the refinement of the IPOD.

Features

Supported Audio Formats

AAC, MP3, DSD, FLAC, WAV, APE, WMA (Non-DRM)

Protected AAC, AAC, MP3, WAV, WMA, APE, FLAC, DSD, PCM, Lossy Files

Memory Card Slot

Yes

Input(s)

3.5mm Jack

Usability

3.1" Touchscreen

Voice Recorder

Video Playback

Bluetooth Enabled

Yes

Extras

NFC

2 x PCM5242 DAC Chips

What customers say about "Features"

Sony NW-A35 16GB (viridian Blue)

The audio quality is excellent as I am using 192 kbps and 320 kbps mp3 and fla files. Also, the player came with a few songs in fla format, that were totally awesome (they were instrumental and vocal, eh).
The sound seems to be very good on the formats I have tried - 24-bit Flac is best of course, but 320kps MP3 is also good, and even some of the old 192kbps MP3 aren't too bad.
Invest in the high end memory card when purchasing this product and you have a great playback device that will store most collectors catalogues.
Memory expandable by mini sd card, excellent music player can-not fault in any way 2 13 hour flights, 2 weeks on the beach sun beds charged 3 times and still on last charge.
Through a portable speaker it really comes to life even using the Bluetooth feature, also brilliant through a hifi.
The only very small issue is that it's quite touch sensitive so when I scroll down to connect the Bluetooth headphones it quite often takes me to a page I didn't want.

Fiio X3-III High Resolution Music Player (3rd Generation)

You can add larger cards, use different cards or replace damaged ones.
Very easy to get up and running, simply copy your i tunes music folder and paste it onto a memory card, ho hassles at all.
Bluetooth takes 15 seconds to initialize, it works without delay after this.
The user interface is truly awful and ruins the player for me personally. I'll give you some examples. If, like me you have a large and full SD card full of different music it is an absolute chore to scroll through the library.
The software is kind of difficult Togo around it and the Bluetooth does not work too good.

Accessories

Included With Unit

USB cable

Power

Battery Life

22 hours

11 hours

Battery Life

Sony NW-A35

Fiio X3-III

What customers say about "Power"

Sony NW-A35 16GB (viridian Blue)

Battery life is claimed at 30 hours for 128 kb/s lossy tracks, and the player supports high-res FLAC and DSD, albeit with shorter battery life.
This is the first player I have found which I can actually use as a replacement for my iPod classic - if you are looking for a high-capacity player with excellent sound, good battery life and gapless playback, this is easily the best thing on the market.
Very happy with the hardware on this - neat little unit, light, battery life seems to be excellent.
Very easy to use, nice user interface and the battery life is amazing.
Battery Life seems much better than my phone.

Fiio X3-III High Resolution Music Player (3rd Generation)

Battery life!! I can not say how impressed I am with battery life of this device. I never feel rushed to charge it. I listen roughly 5 solid hours a day, low gain, volume ~30 on an iem and charge it once every two weeks.
I find the battery lasts me a day or 2 with normal use at work or gym. It does get warm while charging or putting lots of files on it, but not any warm levels to be worried about.
Battery life is good and the bluetooth works okay.
Battery doesn't last long. There are no belt-cases or similar on the market yet, so I cant use it at the gym unless stuffed in a pocket.

Warranty / Certifications

Manufacturer Warranty

1 year(s)

Certifications