Sony has unveiled a new “gold-plated” Walkman music player with high-quality lossless sound and a price tag of $3,200.
The gold-plated oxygen-free copper enclosure on the NW-WM1ZM2 is intended to improve overall sound quality by reducing electrical noise and delivering a more “nuanced sound” that Sony says is in line with what comes from the studio.
There’s a cheaper model, the NW-WM1AM2, which still costs a staggering $1,600 and comes with a solid aluminum alloy frame that also reduces electrical noise.
According to Sony, two versions of the device will be available from next month.
Sony has unveiled a new “gold-plated” Walkman music player with high-quality lossless sound and a price tag of $3,200.
The gold-plated oxygen-free copper enclosure on the NW-WM1ZM2 is designed to improve overall sound quality by reducing electrical noise and providing a more “nuanced sound” that matches what’s coming from the studio, according to Sony.
In addition to the expensive metal case, they support Wi-Fi and can read lossless high-definition mp3 files, including Flac and Apple Lossless.
Unlike most high-end smartphones, the devices come with a 3.5mm headphone jack.
They also have a 5-inch touchscreen and up to 256GB of storage, which comes in handy since an Apple Lossless file is 5MB of storage per minute of music.
This will still leave enough room for thousands of high-res songs, though.
Inside the case, the more expensive of the pair, Sony has used high-quality braided cables to further improve audio quality.
“Manufactured using advanced braiding techniques, the KIMBER KABLE®-designed 4-core braided cables are handcrafted to handle high power smoothly and deliver the highest sound quality,” the company explained.
The same cable is used in Sony’s state-of-the-art DMP-Z1 portable music player, which costs around $10,000 and was released in 2018.
The cable runs from the amplifier in the high end player to the balanced headphone jack. The junior model, AMM2, has a simple low-resistance cable.”
There is a cheaper model, the NW-WM1AM2, which still costs a staggering $1,600 and comes with a solid aluminum alloy frame that also reduces electrical noise.
They also have a 5-inch touchscreen and up to 256GB of storage, which comes in handy since an Apple Lossless file is 5MB of storage per minute of music.
Sony states that it has drawn on years of experience in audio technology to create this unit, including custom internal components.
The first Walkman, released in 1979 as the TPS-L2, was also made of aluminum, although later versions used plastic. It cost $150, which, adjusted for inflation, would be about $400 today.
“Based on a wealth of experience in digital amplifier technology, our engineers designed the NW-WM1Z with detailed acoustics and natural sound qualities, resulting in a unique and truly enjoyable listening experience,” Sony said.
SPECIFICATIONS
Battery: 30 hours HD, 33 hours MP3 playback
Memory: 256 GB expandable via micro SD slot
Formats: DSD Native (11.2 MHz), MP3, WAV, AIFF, WMA, AAC, HE-ACC, FLAC and ALAC.
Display: Fully responsive 4″ touchscreen and classic interface design
Measurements: height (4.89 inches), length (2.87 inches)
“Enjoy the finer nuances of studio-quality sound at higher than CD quality with High-Resolution Audio.
“Passion for music brings together all the components from the signal to the speaker, so it feels like the artist is performing right in front of you.”
It can play high-resolution audio files as original Direct Stream digital audio that arrives early in the production process, shortly after mastering, to reduce degradation in conversion and transmission over time.
According to Sony, the device can play music for up to 30 hours non-stop when playing high-resolution audio, or add another three hours when playing lower-resolution MP3 files.
This extended playback points to a link to the past, as the first Walkman was released by Sony in 1979 and was originally inspired by co-founder Masaru Ibuka, who wanted to listen to music on long flights.
Sony says the high level of sound, as close as possible to what the musicians and producers in the studio intended, was achieved thanks to the materials used in its construction, in particular the gold plating of the $3,200 model.
This case is made of oxygen-free copper plated with pure gold, and while it looks impressive, according to Sony, the effect is more than profound.
“It implements a stronger digital base and higher rigidity, delivering a clear, wide sound so you can feel each instrument as if it were being played live,” the company explained.