Sony made a $5,900 gold-plated Walkman MP3 player
This render with a transparent background is the closest we’ll ever come to touching one of these things. | Image: Sony Sony has announced a trio of new Walkman portable media players that start at an already absurd $1,899.99 for the NW-ZX900 and climb all the way up to $5,899 for the gold-plated NW-WM1ZM3. Sandwiched in between is the $2,999.99 Walkman NW-WM1AM3, which is nearly identical to the WM1ZM3, just minus…
Key points
- Sony announced three new Walkman MP3 players priced from $1,899.99 to $5,899.
- The top model NW-WM1ZM3 has a gold-plated oxygen-free copper chassis.
- All models include Sony's DSD Remastering Engine and gold-plated rear chassis.
Sony has announced three new Walkman portable media players. Prices start at $1,899.99 for the NW-ZX900 and reach $5,899 for the gold-plated NW-WM1ZM3. The middle model, the NW-WM1AM3, costs $2,999.99 and is nearly identical to the WM1ZM3 but without the gold shell.
All three devices target the audiophile market. Each features Sony's DSD Remastering Engine, which upsamples standard PCM audio to an 11.2MHz DSD stream that Sony claims delivers a more analog-like sound. They also have gold-plating on the rear chassis to reduce interference and lower noise.
Higher-end models add copper wiring
The higher-end 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 ones to limit potential interference.
What sets the WM1ZM3 apart is that its entire chassis is made of OFC and then gold-plated. Sony has released gold media players before; the previous model, the NW-WM1ZM2, is on sale now for $2,599.99.
A veritable steal.
— The Verge
