ost people solved the portable music problem fifteen years ago by pulling a rectangular slab out of their pocket and tapping a streaming app. Sony, however, believes there is still a robust market of affluent traditionalists who prefer their digital audio wrapped in precious metals and priced like an imported sedan. The company has announced a trio of new Walkman portable media players, starting at an already steep $1,899.99 for the NW-ZX900 and climbing to a staggering $5,899 for the gold-plated NW-WM1ZM3. If you have ever wanted to spend luxury-car money on a dedicated device that plays digital files, your moment has arrived.
Sandwiched in the middle of this lineup is the $2,999.99 Walkman NW-WM1AM3. According to Sony's specifications, this mid-tier player is internally nearly identical to its more expensive sibling, lacking only the extravagant gold exterior shell. All three devices feature Sony’s proprietary Direct Stream Digital Remastering Engine, which upsamples standard audio files into an 11.2MHz stream. As Sony claims, this process delivers a warmer, more analog-like sound signature.
To justify the eye-watering price tags, the higher-end NW-WM1ZM3 and NW-WM1AM3 incorporate hand-soldered oxygen-free copper wiring and upgraded power circuitry designed to lower electrical noise floors even further. A milled copper block physically isolates the digital circuits from the analog components to prevent interference.
What sets the top-tier WM1ZM3 apart is that the entire chassis is carved from oxygen-free copper and then heavily gold-plated.
That solid metal block and precious metal coating add serious physical weight and a massive financial premium, but they change very little about the actual listening experience for anyone whose ears cannot detect microscopic electrical fluctuations. This is not the first time Sony has targeted the ultra-wealthy audiophile niche with gilded hardware. Buyers can still find the previous-generation NW-WM1ZM2 heavily discounted on the secondary market if they prefer a slightly older status symbol.
In our view, unless you measure your audio gear's value by the gram of precious metal rather than the gigabytes of storage, these players represent an exercise in pure luxury branding. An old iPod bought off eBay will serve your morning commute just as well, leaving you with enough cash left over to buy actual music.