Sony Walkman is back: meet the new audiophile grade MP3 players
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Rekindling the legacy, the Sony Walkman has arrived in two models (NW-WM1AM2 and NW-WM1ZM2) with Hi-Res Audio, DSD, LDAC, and MQA support. Aimed at audiophiles in need of a standalone MP3 player, both support modern streaming services and formats, and the more costly NW-WM1ZM2 has been designed using copper and gold parts for optimal audio fidelity.
Introducing the new Sony Walkman audiophile music players
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- Sony Walkman NW-WM1AM2 Front View
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- Sony Walkman NW-WM1AM2 Side Angle
This Sony Walkman series follows on from the NW-WM1A and NW-WMZ, introduced over 10 years ago. Design and feature-wise, not much has changed at all, save for the fact that the new NW-WM1AM2 is equipped with 128 GB of storage space, while the NW-WM1ZM2 has 256 GB. However, both of these new models have microSD support, allowing expandable storage if required. What sets the two models apart is the materials used in the manufacturing of the casing. While the NW-WM1AM2 is made from aluminium, the NW-WM1ZM2 is built from the same oxygen-free copper used in Sony’s high-grade audio cables. The copper has then been finished with a 99.99% pure gold coating, to further enhance the audio quality.
The Sony Walkman® WM1ZM2 in all its splendor.
This unique casing that houses the NW-WM1ZM2 comes with a hefty price tag though, reaching far beyond the realms of necessity, even for a playback device. While the basic Sony Walkman NW-WM1AM2 starts at €1,399, the flagship NW-WM1ZM2 will set you back a whopping €3,699. Apart from supporting all major streaming platforms, both models come equipped with a 5-inch, 1,280 x 720-pixel display to navigate the heavily-skinned version of Android 11 installed. Supported formats include 384 kHz/32-bit PCM audio, 11.2 MHz DSD, DSEE Ultimate, and the MQA format used by Tidal, which should cater to the demands of most audiophiles and there is also LDAC support for pairing Bluetooth headphones.
Both of these new Sony Walkman models are expected to start shipping in April this year, but the date of preorders is yet to be announced.
More about Sony and its Walkman series
- The Sony Walkman NW-WM1AM2 and NW-WM1ZM2
- More for audiophiles
- Everything Sony
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6 responses to “Sony Walkman is back: meet the new audiophile grade MP3 players”
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What en heavens name is the term MP3 doing in this article?
MP3 is a lossy codec.
I predict this will go the way of the Pono.
At that price there are phones you could buy with expandable storage. Even an old phone like lg v20 with a good dac is great and waayyyy less money. This is niche product that competes with phones that can do the same and more for less. Pass.
It’s aimed at Audiophiles.
Sony told some lies in past ads about there being a difference between CD quality and Hi-Res that humans can hear. This is why Sony and useless Hi-Res fails. (That and the Nyquist-Shannon Theorem.)
Anyone who can’t hear the difference between cd and hi-res needs to see a doctor or give up. Hight sample rates have nothing to do with audible sound frequencies