Sony’s gold-plated Walkman costs US$5,900, right down to the screws

The flagship NW-WM1ZM3 is distinguished by an oxygen-free copper body finished in gold plating. — Picture from Sony  

First Published: Monday, 19 Oct 2026 2:47 PM MYT

NEW YORK, Oct 19 — Sony is targeting music purists with a new generation of Walkman players, led by a gold-plated flagship costing US$5,900 (about RM24,100) as the company seeks to serve listeners willing to pay a premium for portable high-fidelity audio.

Bloomberg reported that the three new models, unveiled on October 15, are priced between US$1,900 and US$5,900. 

Sony said the range is designed to offer the “finest portable sound experience”, with preorders open but shipping dates yet to be announced.

The flagship NW-WM1ZM3 is distinguished by an oxygen-free copper body finished in gold plating. 

Even its screws receive gold-plated treatment, which Sony says creates a “stable ground connection that delivers powerful bass, an expansive soundstage and smooth, extended high frequencies”.

The other options are less lavish but still firmly premium. 

The NW-WM1AM3 costs US$3,000 and combines an aluminium-alloy enclosure with a gold-plated rear chassis, while the NW-ZX900 is priced at US$1,900.

For buyers weighing up the cost, Sony has upgraded the software and hardware across the lineup. The two more expensive players have 5.5-inch, 1080p displays, while the NW-ZX900 has a five-inch screen with the same resolution — up from 720p on its predecessor.

Sound processing is another selling point. Sony’s improved DSD Remastering Engine is intended to give digital music a warmer, more analogue quality, while artificial intelligence can identify genres in compressed audio files and enhance high frequencies and quieter details.

All three devices run Android. 

The NW-ZX900 receives the biggest software jump, moving to Android 16 from Android 12 on the previous model.

Battery life varies by model, although Sony’s estimates use 128-kilobit-per-second MP3 files rather than higher-quality audio. 

The NW-WM1ZM3 and NW-WM1AM3 are rated for up to 31 hours of streaming or 35 hours of playback from stored files. The NW-ZX900 is rated for 35 hours of streaming and 40 hours of local playback.

The high price also comes with an extra consideration: listeners will need capable headphones to appreciate the fine details these players are designed to reproduce. 

Sony faces competition from specialist brands such as Astell & Kern and Chinese manufacturers whose high-fidelity players are available at significantly lower prices.

The Walkman name remains an important part of Sony’s consumer-electronics heritage, but these models serve a specialised audience rather than the mass market. 

The company has continued to develop products for audio enthusiasts, including a US$250 spatial-audio microphone for smartphones introduced earlier this month to capture immersive sound in video recordings.

Sony’s audio ambitions also extend into gaming. 

After acquiring boutique headphone maker Audeze in 2023, the company introduced new gaming headphones in September featuring the maker’s planar magnetic driver technology. 

The acquisition has so far primarily benefited Sony’s PlayStation division.