Sony’s new premium Walkmans arrive in November with luxury prices

Sony has dressed its new premium Walkmans in serious materials and given them prices to match. The October 15 announcement sets a November arrival for the NW-WM1ZM3 at €4,999 / £4,299 and the NW-WM1AM3 at €2,499 / £2,099. Those are Sony Europe’s suggested prices, not Canadian or US quotes. I was going to make a casual little wish list. It now needs a chair and a moment.

All right, fancy thing. What’s inside?

Bigger screens and an expensive materials list

Both players get a 5.5-inch display. The gold-coloured WM1ZM3 has a gold-plated oxygen-free copper main chassis. The WM1AM3 pairs an aluminium-alloy main chassis with a gold-plated copper rear section. Sony also describes revised power circuitry and an updated S-Master HX digital amplifier. The materials are certainly taking this seriously.

Sony says the DSD Remastering Engine now processes Wi-Fi streams as well as downloaded music. That gives you a processing option; it doesn’t independently prove every recording will sound better. We haven’t listened to either player. The gold one is doing a very convincing jewellery impression, but we do still need to hear the music.

A quick pause before the playlist.

The battery figure has specific conditions

The battery claim is up to 35 hours of 128kbps MP3 playback, using Sony’s own music-player app and a balanced connection. Those are the manufacturer’s test conditions. Your files, settings and streaming habits can change the result, so keep the conditions attached to the number.

For an audition, take the tracks you know by heart and the headphones you actually use. Compare at a comfortable, matched volume. Try finding an album and changing the output settings, then see how it feels in a pocket. A dedicated listening ritual sounds lovely; a player you find awkward to carry will have trouble joining it.

DeviceCritique’s take

Would a separate player make your music time nicer enough to carry a second device? That’s the question to answer before falling for the shiny chassis. Our Sony INZONE update separates another new look from what changes, and our audio coverage follows more listening news. We’re quite fond of the idea of giving an album your full attention. We’re just making the expensive little rectangle audition for the part.

Hero image: Sony. Official image source.