Sony unveils a new GOLD-PLATED Walkman – but it will set you back $3,200 

Sony has unveiled a new ‘gold-plated’ Walkman music player that comes with high quality lossless audio and an eye watering $3,200 price tag. 

The gold plated, oxygen-free copper chassis on the NW-WM1ZM2 is designed to improve the overall sound quality by reducing electrical noise and promote a more ‘nuanced sound’ that matches what came from a studio, according to Sony. 

There is a cheaper model, the NW-WM1AM2, still priced at a staggering $1,600, that comes with a strong aluminum alloy frame, also reducing electrical noise.

The two versions of the device are available from next month, according to Sony. 

As well as the expensive metal shell, they come with wi-fi compatibility, and can read mp3 files in high definition, lossless formats including Flac and Apple Lossless.

Unlike most high end smartphones, the devices come with a port for a 3.5mm headphone jack.

They also have a five-inch touchscreen and up to 256 GB of storage, which will come in handy as an Apple Lossless file is 5MB of storage per minute of music. 

Although that will still leave enough room for thousands of high definition songs.

Inside the chassis of the more expensive of the pair, Sony used high-end braided cables, to further improve the quality of the sound.

‘Made using advanced braiding techniques, the four wire-braided cables engineered with KIMBER KABLE® are handcrafted to seamlessly handle high power and deliver ultimate sound performance,’ the firm explained.  

This same cabling is used in the ultra-high-end DMP-Z1 portable music player from Sony, that costs about $10,000 and was released in 2018. 

The cable runs from the amplifier in the high end player to the balanced headphone jack. The lower-end model, the AMM2, has a simple low-resistance cable.

Sony says it built on decades of audio technology experience to create this device, including customized internal components. 

The first Walkman, released in 1979 and called the TPS-L2, was also made from aluminum, although later versions used plastic. It cost $150, which, adjusted for inflation, would be about $400 today. 

‘Building upon a wealth of experience in digital amp technology, our engineers developed the NW-WM1Z with detailed acoustics and natural sound qualities, resulting in a unique and truly pleasurable listening experience,’ Sony said.

‘Enjoy the subtlest nuances of studio-quality sound in higher than CD quality with High-Resolution Audio. 

‘Passion for music unites every component from signal to speaker, so it feels like the artist is performing right in front of you.’

It can play high-resolution audio files in the form of native Direct Stream Digital audio, which are sourced early in the production process, soon after mastering, to reduce the degrading from conversion and transfer over time.

According to Sony the device can play for 30 hours non-stop if playing the high-resolution audio, or you can add another three hours if you play lower-resolution MP3 files. 

This long-duration playback suggests a link to the past, as the first Walkman was released by Sony in 1979. It was originally inspired by co-founder Masaru Ibuka, who wanted to listen to music on long flights. 

Sony says a lot of the high-end sound, getting as close as possible to what was intended by the musicians and producers when in the studio, came from materials used in its construction – particularly the gold plating of the $3,200 model.

This chassis has oxygen-free copper, covered in pure gold-plating – and while it looks impressive, the effect is more than skin deep, according to Sony.  

“It realizes a stronger digital ground and higher rigidity, enabling clear, expansive sound, so you can experience each instrument as if it were performing live,’ the firm explained.