Sony announces $5,899 gold-plated Walkman and two other high-end players
Sony has announced three new Walkman portable media players, led by a gold-plated model priced at $5,899, according to The Verge.
The most expensive model is the NW-WM1ZM3, priced at $5,899. The Verge headline described it as a $5,900 gold-plated Walkman; the article listed the price as $5,899. The middle model, the NW-WM1AM3, costs $2,999.99 and is nearly identical to the WM1ZM3 except for the gold shell, which The Verge described as gaudy. The entry point is the NW-ZX900 at $1,899.99, a starting price The Verge also called absurd. All three are Walkman portable media players.
According to The Verge, all three include Sony's DSD Remastering Engine, which upsamples standard PCM audio to an 11.2MHz DSD stream. Sony claims this delivers a more analog-like sound, the report said. All three also have gold-plating on the rear chassis, which is meant to reduce interference and lower noise.
The NW-WM1ZM3 and NW-WM1AM3 add hand-soldered oxygen-free copper wiring and upgraded power circuitry to lower noise further. A milled OFC block isolates digital circuits from analog circuits to limit potential interference. The WM1ZM3 goes further: its entire chassis is made of OFC and then gold-plated, according to the report.
Sony has used gold in high-end media players before. The previous model, the NW-WM1ZM2, is on sale now for $2,599.99, The Verge reported. The article described that price as a relative steal and said an old iPod bought off eBay might still be a better bargain.
Editor's Summary
Sony has announced three new Walkman portable media players, led by the gold-plated NW-WM1ZM3 at $5,899. All three include Sony's DSD Remastering Engine and rear-chassis gold-plating, while the two higher-end models add OFC wiring and upgraded power circuitry. The launch continues Sony's pattern of offering very expensive audiophile-focused portable players.