Sony NWZ-A826

The Sony NWZ-A826 succeeds the NWZ-A81* series.  Taking advantage of the true success of the latter, Sony launches this version with various improvements.  The new player is lighter and now equipped with a minimum memory of 4 GB (versus 2 GB for the previous series) and 16 GB (versus a former 8 GB) for the largest version.  Next, the screen gained 0.4 inches to attain a diagonal size of 2.4 inches.  Finally, there is now Bluetooth capability.  So has Sony come close to making the perfect portable player?

Ergonomics:  The Sony NWZ-A826 curiously resembles a mobile phone and the look has everything of a Sony-Ericsson product.  It is sober, efficient and quite simply elegant.  However, once in hand we sadly lose this illusion of luxury.  The brushed aluminum touch of its predecessor is replaced by light plastic.  Only the bottom of the face keeps the metal design, which otherwise (and unfortunately) has a glossy finish that will inevitably attract finger smudges.  We say ‘’inevitable’’ because Sony does not include a carry pouch for this high end player. Another small detail is that the USB port is no longer protected as it was with the NWZ-A81*.

We were actually expecting a much more luxurious version than the previous model but this isn’t the case.  Nevertheless, it is very stylish and much more attractive than the previous series.  Buttons are solid and finishing touches are exemplary.  In terms of the interface, it has neither evolved nor become outdated and it’s still as pleasant.  Navigation is very intuitive and we particularly appreciated having complete information on the tracks we were listening to (album, genre, and artist) and direct access to these folders.  Also, for those who like to classify their music by genre, you can navigate through this category’s folders.

Audio quality:  The first good news involves the headphones included with the A826.  Like on the NWZ-A81* series, they are the in-ear MDR-EX082.  So you can skip over the often obligatory step of replacing this accessory.  (However, for purists or those that want to fully benefit from the NWZ-A826, we suggest taking a look at our headphone survey.)  In short, audio quality is excellent, although there is a slight ‘’blowing’’ that could bother audiophiles that like to wear intra-ear earbuds.  In fact, the audio characteristics strongly remind us of those of the NWZ-A81*: basses are a bit dry and highs and high mediums are slightly underrepresented.  Nonetheless, it’s certainly amongst those players that are the current best on the market.

Video:  Given that the screen has now attained a reasonable diagonal size, video use is now a veritable sales argument for this series. However, it’s actually the only downside of the NWZ-A826.  For transferring video, you have to use the included software, Media Manager.  In its free version (a paid Pro version opens up more possibilities in transfer and makes your video files compatible), we were unable to transfer a single one of our videos: a DivX encoded in 320*128 pixels.  Otherwise, on the image itself there were two major problems: the screen is glossy (you can see yourself) and viewing angles are narrow (colors turn black, yellow, or violet depending on the angle of the player).  In the end, all of these disadvantages confine the NWZ-A826 to more occasional video use.