Gold screws promise better sound: Sony’s new Walkmans cost up to €5,000
Sony’s Signature line targets audiophiles and music lovers. Its latest portable music players now cost €2,500 and €5,000, respectively.
You’ll need to buy stylish accessories separately.
(Image: Sony)
Sony has unveiled new portable music players in its Signature luxury line. The Walkmans cost up to €5,000 and are set to go on sale in November. The digital media players are designed to deliver especially high-quality music and follow similarly expensive predecessors that have been on the market for four years. The new models have the rather unwieldy names NW-WM1ZM3, NW-WM1AM3 and NW-ZX900, although only the first two are available in Sony’s German store — for €5,000 and €2,500, respectively. Among other things, buyers get 256 GB or 128 GB of internal storage, a large display and varying amounts of gold-plated oxygen-free copper (OFC).
Only slight improvements to the specs
The WM series combines “Sony’s most advanced audio technologies” and is designed to deliver “uncompromising audio quality”. Sony says it reproduces artists’ original intent with “richly detailed, high-resolution sound”. The NW-WM1ZM3 also features gold-plated screws that are supposed to deliver especially good sound. Sony doesn’t explain exactly how that’s supposed to work. Sony also touts hand-soldered OFC wiring, “which delivers powerful bass, exceptional clarity and a wide, immersive soundstage”. The NW-WM1AM3, by contrast, has an aluminum main chassis, with only the back made of oxygen-free copper.
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According to Sony, the new Walkmans run Google’s Android 16. They play music from streaming and music apps as well as from users’ own collections. Headphones can connect via the headphone jack or Bluetooth. The players are controlled through a 5.5-inch display that now supports Full HD resolution. Battery life is expected to range from about 30 to 40 hours, depending on playback mode; a full charge takes 4 hours. Like their predecessors, the new models use Sony’s S-Master HX digital amplifier. Sony has now added two large polymer capacitors to the power supply instead of a single one.
(mho)
