Tag Archives: Audio player

Google Play Music Is Dead : How To Download Your Music?

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Google Play Music is officially dead across the world, and you have until December 2020 to migrate your music library and playlists to YouTube Music.

Find out how to download your music library and playlists from Google Play Music before they are deleted forever!

 

Google Play Music Is Dead : Whaaaaat???

On 4 April 2020, Google dropped the bombshell – they announced that they were replacing Google Play Music play with YouTube Music by December 2020.

They would kill off Google Play Music starting September 2020 in New Zealand and South Africa, and October 2020 for the rest of the world.

Users will no longer be allowed to stream from, or use the Google Play Music app from that point onwards. They will only be allowed to transfer their music libraries to YouTube Music.

Even that migration offer is limited to December 2020, after which the Google Play Music libraries will be deleted and will no longer be available to download or transfer to YouTube Music.

 

Google Play Music Is Dead : Download Your Music Now!

Google offers the option to migrate your Google Play Music libraries and playlists to YouTube Music, but you may not want to do that for these reasons :

  • 128 kbps quality limit for free subscriptions
  • you can’t upload your own music through the app, only using an Internet browser
  • offline playback of your own music requires you to upload and then download the same music

Before deciding what to do next, the first thing you should do is download your music library.

You have until the end of December 2020 to download your music, so do it now!

  1. Open Google Play Music.
  2. Tap on Manage Your Data.
  3. Tap on Download your music library.

  1. Leave Google Play Music checked.
  2. Select to export once.
  3. Select the more common .zip file format, or the .tgz alternative
  4. Select the maximum file size you prefer – 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, 10 GB or 50 GB.
    Google will split your files into multiple compressed files based on the maximum size you selected.
    Newer operating systems (Windows 10, macOS) can support files larger than 4 GB.

  1. Tap Create export and let Google archive and compress your music library.
  2. You will receive an email with a download link when it’s done.

 

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The Sony ZX300 Walkman Hi-Res Audio Player Revealed!

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To pair with their new 1000X series noise cancelling headphones, Sony introduced the new Sony ZX300 Walkman Hi-Res Audio player. What’s new about it? Let’s find out!

 

Introducing The Sony ZX300 Walkman

The new Sony ZX300 Walkman offers Hi-Res Audio with S-Master HX digital amplifier, newly soldered with high quality sound lead-free solder balls. Thanks to the capability of both 11.2 MHz DSD native playback and 384 kHz / 32-bit PCM playback, you can enjoy your music as the artist intended. The Sony ZX300 also offers balanced standard connection with fully-discrete left and right channels for less noise and clearer sound.

Premium Listening Experience

The Sony ZX300 incorporates an aluminium chassis for less resistance, as well as FTCAP (Conductive Polymer Aluminium Solid Capacitors) and the new film capacitor for more transparent vocals and solid bass notes. OFC cables have been used for wiring the internal amplifier to the headphone jack which results in powerful sound quality by low resistance value and signal transmission without loss.

For powerful bass and less noise, the double layer capacitor is the main battery power source in this Walkman. Two crystal oscillators are also utilised to deliver you high quality audio with improved SN ratio and large volume of music data.

Separating audio and power/digital block on the circuit board, the SN ratio has been improved by minimising noise. The high quality audio resistor has been used as the LC filter for the headphone output to reduce magnetic distortion which results in expansive, high transparent sound quality.

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You can also enjoy listening to music from your PC with the USB-DAC function which allows you to stream sound directly from your existing devices through this Walkman for a better sound experience. The ZX300 also supports MQA files as well for another way to enjoy Hi-Res Audio.

Premium Construction & Features

Its aluminium chassis has a matte finish, with a matte glass screen that feels premium. It has up to 30 hours of battery life and 64 GB memory built in, plus support for an microSD card.

You can connect your wireless headphones via Bluetooth or NFC. It not only supports LDAC, the Sony ZX300 will also be compatible with Qualcomm aptX HD audio.

 

The Sony ZX300 Walkman Price & Availability

The Sony ZX300 Walkman is available right now at a recommended retail price of RM 2,599 / ~US$ 619.

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The Sony Signature Series Audio Technology Explained

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At the recently-held Sony Sound Stage 2016 event, Sony took the opportunity to introduce their new Sony Signature Series premium audio products. They even brought in Sony’s Chief Sound Architect, Koji Nageno, to explain the technologies behind the Sony Signature Series models.

 

The Sony Signature Series

The Sony Signature Series was created, partly to showcase Sony’s engineering excellence in audio, and partly to celebrate their 70th anniversary. Combining High Resolution Audio capability with the very best Sony analogy and digital audio technologies, Sony designed the Sony Signature Series products to deliver the ultimate in sound quality.

The first four Sony Signature Series devices to be introduced are the Sony MDR-Z1R headphones, the Sony NW-WM1Z and NW-WM1A Walkman audio players, and the Sony TA-ZH1ES headphone amplifier. All Signature Series models are based on the newly standardised φ4.4mm balanced connection.

Sony MDR-Z1R Headphones

The MDR-Z1R headphones boast 70mm HD drivers that have a wide frequency range with up to 120kHz playback in High Resolution Audio. Its equalised opening and resonance-free housing further ensures faithful reproduction of High Resolution Audio sources.

It is fitted with genuine leather ear pads, a lightweight beta titanium headband, and a stainless steel wire mesh housing protector. This is no doubt, an exquisite product that exudes luxury in every component.

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Sony NW-WM1Z & NW-WM1A Walkman Hi-Res Audio Players

Both Hi-Res Audio players support the DSD Native format (11.2 MHz), and the new Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE HX) technology that upscales lower bit rate files to near Hi-Res Audio quality. They also add a newly-developed FT CAP to the amplifier, allowing for 4x higher power output to the headphones.

The higher-end NW-WM1Z comes with a gold-plated oxygen-free copper chassis, while the NW-WM1A comes with a sleek aluminium chassis.

Sony TA-ZH1ES Headphone Amplifier

The Sony TA-ZH1ES headphone amplifier supports Hi-Res Audio up to 22.4 MHz (DSD) and 768 GHz, 32-bit (PCM), and comes with the D.A. Hybrid Amplifier Circuit – a combination of the S-Master HX digital amplifier and an analog amplifier. It also features the new DSEE HX and DSD Remastering Engine, which converts lower bit rate files to near Hi-Res Audio quality.

 

The Sony Signature Series Audio Technology Explained

If you are into the technical details of how Sony achieved the new level of digital audio performance with the new Sony Signature Series models, Koji Nageno, Sony’s Chief Sound Architect, explains it all.

 

The Sony Signature Series Prices & Availability

The Sony Signature Series models and accessories are now available here in Malaysia. Their recommended retail prices are as follows :

  • Sony MDR-Z1R Headphones – RM 7,099 / ~US$ 1,775
  • Sony NW-WM1Z Walkman – RM 9,999 / ~US$ 2,500
  • Sony NW-WM1A Walkman – RM 4,999 / ~US$ 1,250
  • Sony TA-ZH1ES headphone amplifier – RM 8,999 / ~US$ 2,250

 

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The Sony Sound Stage 2016 Showcase

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At the Sony Sound Stage 2016 event held on October 6, Sony showed off their latest h.ear series, Extra Bass series and Active series audio players and headphones. Let’s take a look!

 

The Sony Sound Stage 2016 Showcase

The Sony Sound Stage 2016 kicked off with a showcase of Sony’s h.ear series, Extra Bass series and Active series audio players and headphones.

Then they gave us a quick tour of some of their new headphones. Check it out!

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The Sony Walkman NW-A30 Series

The audio player that was seen powering the headphones in the showcase was the Sony Walkman NW-A35, from the new Sony Walkman NW-A30 series.

The Sony Walkman NW-A30 audio players support DSD formats, and boast five Panasonic POSCAP capacitors which helps its S-Master HX digital amplifier to cut distortion and noise across a wide range of frequencies. They also have two clock oscillators that switch to provide optimal modulation for the sampling frequencies of different content.

The Sony Walkman NW-A30 series audio players are compact and weigh only 98 g. Even so, they have enough battery life to support up to 45 hours of MP3 playback, or 30 hours of Hi-Res Audio playback. They are also easy to connect wirelessly, thanks to their Bluetooth and NFC capabilities.

With an improved 3.1″ touch screen, the Sony Walkman NW-A30 series is available with 16 GB (NW-A35) or 32 GB (NW-A36HN) of internal storage, that is expandable via a microSD card. In addition, the Sony NW-A36HN is paired with a pair of Hi-Res Audio digital noise-cancelling in-ear headphones.

The new Walkman NW-A30 series will be available from November 2016 onwards at all Sony Stores and authorised Sony Centres in five colours – Viridian Blue, Cinnabar Red, Charcoal Black, Lime Yellow and Bordeaux Pink. The A35 is priced at RM 899 / ~US$225, while the A36HN is priced at RM 1,099 / ~US$ 275.

 

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