It was part of a high-res line-up that also included two pairs of headphones and a headphone amp to be unveiled at IFA 2014 in Berlin, with all of these new products expected to hit European shelves as early next month.
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We start with the Walkman NWZ-A15 – to give its full name – and a "pocket-sized player" that features Sony's proprietary S-Master HX digital amplifier, which processes masses of data while keeping noise and distortion to a minimum.
It comes with 16GB of internal memory that can be increased via a microSD memory card slot – just in case you have an extensive library. Meanwhile, it also features a 2.2in TFT colour LCD display and its battery can last up to 50 hours.
Other technologies found under its aluminium die-cast exterior include DSEE HX, which upscales the quality of compressed sound sources, and a high-grade POSCAP capacitor that is used as the charge pump for the S-Master HX amplifier.
MORE: Sony NWZ-ZX1 review
Next up is the MDR-Z7 headphones, which include a 70mm HD driver unit that covers the ear fully and can reproduce high frequencies up to 100kHz, as well as an aluminium-coated Liquid Crystal Polymer.
The cable has a four-wire structure that uses separated ground cables to cut out crosstalk between left and right channels, while supporting the balanced audio output. OFC cable strands have been used to reduce signal transmission loss.
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The PHA-3AC headphone amplifier is able to convert high-resolution audio signals (PCM 384kHz/32-bit and DSD) from a digital output and then send them to headphones such as the MDR-Z7.
And designed for use home or on the go, the MDR-1ADAC headphones incorporate their own digital-to-analogue converter able to handle high-res signals. They can be used with a wide range of devices – including Xperia and Apple devices.
