Sony Machined Its $5,899 Flagship Walkman From Gold-Plated Copper

While many people don’t know this, Sony has never stopped making the Walkman. The same company that crammed a cassette deck into your pocket back in 1979 has spent the past decade building seriously high-end digital audio players for the wired headphone faithful. And that wired faithful is quickly growing stronger than it’s ever been.

Now, for the first time since 2022, the premium end of that lineup is getting a full refresh in the form of the flagship NW-WM1ZM3, the mid-tier NW-WM1AM3, and the entry-level NW-ZX900.

Milled From Gold-Plated Copper

Let’s start with the headliner, because it’s a doozy. The NW-WM1ZM3’s main chassis is machined from 99.99% pure (4N) oxygen-free copper and then gold-plated. And this generation extends the copper treatment to the rear chassis, which was aluminum on the outgoing model. Even the screws get a low-resistance gold plating exclusive to this model, and it’s all done in service of a more stable ground connection.

Inside, you’ll find thick KIMBER KABLE wiring borrowed from Sony’s DMP-Z1 desktop rig, dual solid high-polymer capacitors, and hand-soldered oxygen-free copper wiring. The S-Master HX digital amp gains a new look-ahead noise shaper, while the DSD Remastering Engine (which resamples everything into an 11.2MHz DSD stream), now works over Wi-Fi streaming instead of just local files.

Nearly a Pound and a Half of Intentional Heft

All that copper adds up to 670 grams (or just shy of 1.5 pounds), which is a huge jump over the outgoing model’s 490. And that’s no accident. Sony maintains the added mass translates directly into richer, deeper bass.

Elsewhere, the ZM3 picks up a larger 5.5-inch Full HD touchscreen, Android 16, and 256GB of storage with microSD expansion. Battery life is rated at 35 hours, but interestingly enough, that figure comes from playing 128kbps MP3s. That’s the one format no ZM3 owner would ever willingly queue up. You can also expect 31 hours while streaming.

Two (Slightly) Saner Walkmans

Can’t stomach a $5,899 MP3 player? The NW-WM1AM3 runs the same internal recipe with an aluminum-alloy main chassis (the gold-plated copper rear carries over), 128GB of storage, and a far more manageable 425-gram curb weight for $2,999.99.

Then there’s the NW-ZX900, the new $1,899.99 entry point. It makes do with a 5-inch screen and fewer boutique components. But, it actually posts the best battery figures of the trio at 40 hours of playback. All three run streaming apps and pack both 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm outputs.

Spec Sheet

Pricing & Availability

All three Walkmans are up for pre-order now through Sony, B&H, and Crutchfield, with shipping reportedly kicking off November 27. The NW-ZX900 starts the lineup at $1,899.99, the NW-WM1AM3 lands at $2,999.99, and the gold-plated NW-WM1ZM3 tops out at $5,899. Head over to Sony’s website to stake your claim.

Recap

Sony Walkman NW-WM1ZM3

Sony crowns its refreshed Walkman lineup with the NW-WM1ZM3, a $5,899 flagship machined from gold-plated copper that weighs nearly a pound and a half.

Learn More: Sony