The Sony Walkman NWZ-A17SLV gives me the option of taking my HD flac files on the go. Paired with Sony XB80BS Extra Bass Sports Wireless In-Ear Headphones or HG1 Hi-Res Portable Wireless Speaker, I get hi-res quality from my library of 24-bit 96/192mHz audio tracks. Built-in 64GB storage is sufficient for Redbook (16-bit 44.1mHz) uploads; Optional 256GB microSD card stores a considerable collection of larger 24-bit files.

Finally, an alternative to the IPod. It has great sound and it is easy to download my music on it.

This is a great MP3 player and I think it surpasses Ipod in a lot of ways. As other reviewers have said: it does make you feel like you're in the studio with the musicians. I actually heard strings and extra detail in songs that I didn't hear before. I really enjoyed the SensMe feature where the player categorizes the tracks by mood like relaxing, night time, upbeat, dance, extreme, ect. I'm glad they kept the equalizer presets and customization settings in the new Walkmans, I enjoy messing with it sometimes. I have Hyperacusis, which is a "heightened sensitivity to sound, with aversive or pained reactions to normal environmental sounds". There is some kind of amplification or pitch output in the player which bothers my ears a little and then minor pain after moderate to long term use, note: this has nothing to do with the volume. I've tried different settings in the player to minimize the frequency or the pitch, but I couldn't find a solution. I think the Hi-Res feature of the player is the cause of the problem for me. Anyone with different hearing sensitivities of Hyperacusis might want to pass up this MP3 player and get the Walkman NW-E390. It doesn't have SensMe and it's not Hi-Res. I hope this helps with people with Hyperacusis and for those that don't, get this player! Audiophiles and music lovers will really enjoy the Walkman NWZ-A17SLV.

I bought this player for the battery life, memory, and sound quality. My old player is also a Sony and I had great luck with it for many years. The battery life is living up to the specifications (I've used it all week on a single charge). The player feels solid versus many of the cheap plastic players you find now. The music sounds good and the display is excellent when you view photos. Unfortunately the player doesn't allow zoom of photos. A few things worth noting. I have used Media Player to rip music in the past. When I transfer music to the player with Media Player it does not transfer the cover art correctly for this player. I loaded Media Go which is what the user manual recommends and the cover art does work correctly with Media Go. Note Media Go seems much slower in transferring memory to the player. Another quirk with the player is that you have to choose whether the computer will see the player memory or the SD card in settings on the player (i.e. can't see both). You will want to leave it set to player memory until after you get any content from the player (Player and Media Go installs for the computer) transferred to your computer.

Until apple comes out with something larger than 128 GB’s... I’m sticking with this. Slot for 125 GB sim and an additional 64 gigs built in... you do the math. Sounds great and has tons of options for manipulating and optimizing sound quality.