Sony has announced three new Walkman portable music players, all running Android, with the flagship NW-WM1ZM3 wrapped in a gold-plated oxygen-free copper chassis and priced at $5,899. The two cheaper models are the $1,899.99 NW-ZX900 and the $2,999.99 NW-WM1AM3, according to The Verge.
A $5,900 media player cased in gold is squarely a luxury flex rather than a mainstream music gadget, but it shows Sony is still betting on the high-end audiophile niche. The three Walkmans share Sony's audio processing features, while the two pricier models add upgraded wiring and power circuitry meant to cut noise further.
Sony Walkman lineup and prices
The new range starts at $1,899.99 for the NW-ZX900 and climbs to $5,899 for the gold-plated NW-WM1ZM3, with the NW-WM1AM3 sitting in between at $2,999.99. According to The Verge, the WM1AM3 is nearly identical to the WM1ZM3 except for its non-gold shell.
All three players use Sony's DSD Remastering Engine, which the company says upsamples standard PCM audio to an 11.2MHz DSD stream for a more analog-like sound. They also carry gold-plating on the rear chassis, a design meant to reduce interference and lower noise.
- NW-WM1ZM3: $5,899 — full gold-plated oxygen-free copper (OFC) chassis
- NW-WM1AM3: $2,999.99 — nearly identical to the WM1ZM3, but without the gold shell
- NW-ZX900: $1,899.99 — entry model in the new lineup
- All three run Android and include Sony's DSD Remastering Engine, which upsamples standard PCM audio to an 11.2MHz DSD stream
