Sony Zx507 Review

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Stella Kreuter

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Aug 3, 2024, 5:11:07 PM8/3/24

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The Sony NW-ZX507 Walkman is amongst the two Digital Audio Players (DAPs) announced by the company at IFA 2019 as the firm marks the 40th Anniversary of Walkman. TPS-L2, the first Walkman was introduced on 1st July 1979 and soon became a design and engineering icon, changing the way people listen to music forever.

A mid-tier offering, the NW-ZX507 is equipped with a 4.4mm balanced headphone jack, coupled with native DSD and MQA playback. The two models announced at IFA 2019 also marks a return to the Android platform, introduced on 1st February 2015, the NW-ZX2 was the last Sony DAP on the Android platform some five years ago.

Encased in a high-quality anodised aluminium milled frame, the NW-ZX507 measures approximately 57.9mm x 122.6mm x 14.8mm, retaining the palm-sized dimensions of the NW-ZX300 with a rounded edge bottom which enhances the ergonomics and the overall feel of the device. The NW-ZX507 is only 7g heavier than the NW-ZX300, weighing in at just about 164g and sports a 3.6-inch touchscreen with an HD resolution (1280 x 720 pixels). The glossy touchscreen is vivid and responsive; I do, however, prefer a matte display; this, however, is not a big deal as the application of a matte screen protector would resolve it.

The NW-ZX507 retains the placement of the 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm single-ended headphone jacks at the top of the device, the buttons for power, volume control and playback operations on the right-hand side of the device together with the Hold switch as well as the location of the microSD card slot on the left-hand side. Do note; however, a microSD card tray mechanism has replaced the previous microSD card slot.

With the division of the Audio/Analogue block and the Power/Digital block, the critical digital components on the digital block such as the SoC are mounted on a copper milled block, designed to reduce resistance and facilitate more efficient electrical grounding. Looking at the Audio/Analogue block, the team implemented two types of capacitors, namely FT CAP (high polymer capacitor) for the 4.4mm balanced output and POSCAP (conductive polymer tantalum solid capacitor) for the 3.5mm single-ended output. Coupled with a pair of compact low-phase-noise crystal oscillators which ensures precision clock stability at sampling rates in multiples of 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz.

Hi Fran, yes, in fact, the Sony team has just shared with me that a new firmware is currently in beta, this firmware release will address the 48kHz/16-bit bottleneck and allow both music streaming and music playback apps to output at a resolution of 192kHz/24-bit on the NW-ZX507. It will be addressed soon.

Hi Andrew, unfortunately, not all media shares the same ideals of being the bridge to connect people from enthusiasts to manufacturers, and yes, you are right to point out, we are the only one that reported the update. Unfortunately, Sony will only publish the update after the release. In my last exchange with them, they were beta-testing it, and likely something came up during the testing. Let me reach out to them again and see if I can get more updates. You can be assured our sharing is accurate, and we are a media that is not funded by advertising or sponsorship. Every cent comes from our own pockets.

This is an excellent review and very good information as to the firmware updates to get high-res audio from streaming apps. As someone new to this and with no high-res music library, I am inclining into hi-res streaming services. I own the high end Sony Z1R headphones that I use with my computer. Will it make a difference of getting this Sony walkman over lets say over a high-end Sony smartphone just for streaming high-res music? Does any of the internals of this walkman make the audio from streaming services sound better than over a Sony smartphone?

Hi Dom, thank you for your kind words. Yes, there would be a difference having an NW-ZX507 over a high-end Sony smartphone even if its the current Flagship Xperia 1 II. Yes, as shared in the review, the Sony NW-ZX507 has a dedicated S-Master HX digital amplifier that converts the Digital signal to Analogue after amplification, not forgetting the design which separates the digital and analogue component of the device as well as the added capacitors. Not ignoring the lack of mobile interference, a dedicated Digital Audio Player would outperform any Smartphone. I hope this helps.

I mainly stream hifi music from Tidal and I currently use my iphoneX with a dragonfly cobalt.
Do you think this latest sony NW-ZX507 would be an upgrade to my current setup?
Also can one use the dragonfly cobalt on the ZX507 ? or would it not be much of an improvement compared to the internal Sony DAC ?

Hi Eduard, thank you for your kind words. You will find the stability of the OS a plus, SQ wise I prefer the ZX507. Do you stream music, if not, the WM1A is something to consider, if you are looking at SQ.

Hi Sebastian, unfortunately, at this current time, Sony has not worked with Roon to make the ZX507 a certified Roon device, and attempts to install the Roon APK has confirmed that it does not work with the ZX507.

Hi Rocker, thanks for your kind words. The BT performance of the NW-ZX507 is well implemented. By default, Android 9 will select the best performing BT codec, however, it can also be specified and it will be reconnected as defined so I do not see any issues on that front.

Dear nvs, the volume cap is in place due to EU/UK regulatory requirements. If one does not desire the volume cap, one must purchase a non-EU/UK model of the ZX507. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can advise to assist you in removing the volume cap.

Hi Nvs, essentially it is the same, Sony is a company that is very compliant to regulatory requirements, as such the units sold in EU/UK will be equipped with a firmware that has the volume cap and if it can be removed just via a flashing of the firmware, it would put Sony in jeopardy with the regulators.

Hello Goh, thanks for all the precious info and the contribution. I have to chose one device and mainly listen to IEMs. Which of these devices should be my first and second choice sound wise? I am not into streaming just pure SQ. Sony ZX300, ZX507 or NW-ZX2? Again thanks for your help.

Dear Zee, thanks for your kind words. If you are not into streaming, I would suggest you have a look at the NW-WM1A. However, if the form factor is not something in your preference, then the ZX507, as SQ wise, definitely shines above the ZX300 and the now EOL NW-ZX2. I hope this helps.

Anyway, I decided to keep the NW-ZX507 and returned the 105, despite loving the small size and really enjoying that player. The 507 build is a lot better, feels weightier and more polished. The screen is the exact same, but the player itself is longer and feels nice holding in the hand.

The Sony NW-ZX507 is the latest Sony Digital Audio Player in their Walkman line that has spanned 40 years now. Of course, the digital versions are only more fairly recent, but to commemorate this event, Sony released the NW-A100 and NW-A500 series of Walkman with a fun Cassette Tape UI that can be activated while music is playing.

First off, the two share a lot of similarities. They have the same SOC, RAM, battery, and pretty much the same software sans a couple DSP tweaks. They also share the same screen size and from what I can tell, the same resolution. The ZX507, however, has a longer and thicker body, to allow for a balanced audio system architecture with the proprietary Sony capacitors and S-Master HX amps. With this, they also added the 4.4mm balanced jack to the top of the player which is quickly becoming a favorite connector of mine.

To this note, I do have most things disabled like syncing and do not use the player for social media or gaming. I use it purely as a music player with occasional streaming music and YouTube. Battery tends to drain faster with streaming services and screen-time as expected.

The DX160 may actually beat out the ZX507 in terms of a neutral presentation, albeit with an aggressive sound, however I find the ZX507 just a little more engaging, with slightly softer presentation, which is more enjoyable over-time, though to be honest, the DX160, in terms of pure sound qualities, is exceptional value for its price, and the ZX507 is double the cost.

This here. This is possibly the flaw. This thing is 200mw into 16 ohms. It is enough for the Zen, but honestly? I am not sure it could have driven the Audeze Euclid which demanded standard mode on the iDSD micro signature. I am not really keen on spending $800 on a single IEM DAP. Especially when the Qudelix has 240mw into 32 ohms (measured 210mw into 50ohms).

The reason I like a lot of headroom in amps is if you start pushing them, most amps become shouty and weird as you approach their limits. The zx507 definitely shows this on the Zen. If you push really loud volume, the sound becomes tinny and weird.

Sony, pay attention. This thing is underpowered. It should not be beaten by something the size of a nine volt battery. Ok? Got it? And, yes, this may trigger a return. I have a hard time justifying this price when it may very well only power one headphone for me and get beaten by a battery.

There is an odd dichotomy as it feels both harsher and softer. I think female vocals in some of my music, which are already pretty intense, are coming off just a touch harsher than normal. At the same time, everything else feels cozy and rounded off.

When I first plugged in my Zen, there was a buzz. Like bees zooming around my head. I think it was due to charging and some secondary interference. When I moved the unit, the buzzing would go away or become worse. So I think something environmental was effecting it. I have not heard any buzzing when running on battery.

Obviously, the deal breaker issues could kill it. If the battery starts behaving, then at least I know it works well for the Zen. It will get a bunch more time before I make any decisions. It is wonderful to have music off the phone.