Sony Makes Suspicious Claims About Micro SDXC Cards

Published: February 21, 2015 9:02 PM /

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Sony recently announced a new line of 64 GB Micro SDXC cards which promise to reduce electrical noise affecting the analog audio output. These "Premium Sound" cards cost $160, which puts their price at over a hundred dollars more than regular 64 GB cards. Sony itself is unsure how popular they would be but stated, “we thought some among people who are committed to great sound quality would want it."

It didn't take long after this product was announced before heavy criticism was directed at Sony's claims about the product. The words "scam" and "snake oil" were used liberally. The consensus that emerged across tech sites and forums is that Sony's claims don't hold up. The card is supposed to reduce the electrical noise caused by the card when data is read from it. However as it has been pointed out in Reddit discussions the amount of noise generated by SDXC cards is so small that it can't be measured.

While this card seems to offer no benefit to an average user, someone pointed out that there may actually be some benefit in using this card in recording situations. If the signal is being amplified, then what was once an imperceptible level of electrical noise can potentially become noticeable. However even in this situation it's still questionable how much benefit this card will provide. There are electronic components which contribute far more to the overall noise than the SDXC card itself, so the benefits of this would probably be negligible without also dealing with the other sources of electrical noise.

When the product is finally released on the market some controlled tests regarding the card's noise reducing feature should finally put this matter to rest, but right now the product appears to offer very little, if any, tangible benefits.

Do you think this product is a scam by Sony, or are there some real benefits being provided by this product? Leave your comments below.

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I’m a technology reporter located near the Innovation District of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario.