Sony has announced three new Walkman portable media players, led by the gold-plated NW-WM1ZM3, which costs $5,899. The lineup starts at $1,899.99 for the NW-ZX900, while the nearly identical NW-WM1AM3 sits between them at $2,999.99. These are aimed at audiophiles, a market where apparently even the price of admission should have its own listening room.
The difference between the two pricier models is, in part, an unusually literal one: the NW-WM1ZM3 has a chassis made entirely from oxygen-free copper, then plated in gold. The NW-WM1AM3 lacks that gold outer shell. Both higher-end players also have hand-soldered oxygen-free copper wiring and upgraded power circuitry, which Sony says are intended to reduce noise. A milled copper block separates digital and analog circuits to limit potential interference.
All three players have gold plating on the rear chassis, which Sony says is also meant to reduce interference and lower noise. They share the company’s DSD Remastering Engine, which converts standard PCM audio into an 11.2MHz DSD stream. Sony claims that process produces a more “analog-like” sound. That is the company’s pitch, not an independent finding about what listeners will hear; the announcement offers no listening tests or other evidence that the price difference translates into a clearly audible improvement.
There is real engineering detail here, not just a precious-metal costume. Sony describes changes to the wiring, power circuitry, and physical separation of components. But listing materials and design choices does not, by itself, demonstrate how much they improve playback, or whether the benefit is worth thousands of dollars. At these prices, buyers are being asked to take Sony’s design rationale seriously—and to have a very accommodating relationship with their bank accounts.
The new gold model also isn’t Sony’s first attempt to make a Walkman feel like a luxury object. Its previous NW-WM1ZM2 is currently available for $2,599.99, according to The Verge. That makes the older player look like a bargain only in the peculiar sense that it costs $3,299 less than the new one. An old iPod bought on eBay, as The Verge notes, remains a more modest way to carry music.
Sony’s premium Walkmans are aimed at listeners willing to pay for specialized hardware and the promise of lower noise. The company has laid out what distinguishes the models, but it has not established in the supplied announcement how those distinctions sound in practice. The gold-plated flagship may be engineered with care. At $5,899, it also has to compete with a question more stubborn than electrical interference: how much audible improvement can a music player actually buy?
Sources: Glitch Please! and The Verge — https://www.theverge.com/tech/1012200/sony-made-a-5900-gold-plated-walkman-mp3-player — Reporting by Terrence O’Brien; source for the product lineup, pricing, and Sony’s described audio features.
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