Geek Review: (Ridiculously Expensive) Sony Signature Series Walkman NW-WM1Z

We hesitate to call this the most extra (unnecessary or pointless) Walkman ever. But it’s pretty dang opulent.

Sony recently released the NW-WM1Z Premium Walkman, and it’s….something, alright. There are hardware meant for a singular purpose, and then there is this. Made of gold-plated, oxygen-free copper, this music player, which delivers High-Res audio, retails for a staggering S$3,999.

Remember when Apple launched their Apple Watch, and also sold a gold version that did the exact same thing, but at 10 times the price? This is Sony’s attempt at it. Is the product worth the price? In this case, we think it’s more the price that makes the product.

This Walkman tells you it’s the real deal right away with its flashy gold colour, and weighs a hefty 455g in your hand. You could probably knock someone out with it. Build-wise, it looks like something that belongs in the pocket of Star-Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy. Maybe some might like the solid weight of it, but it’s not something you’d want to carry around for long periods.

The detailing of the buttons the sides are pretty cool, and the ring designs around the headphone jacks give it a nice sophisticated touch. The textured feel of the Hold switch is another cool touch in the design. Overall, it looks like a proper, respectable mp3 player with a flashy gold coating.

Who are we kidding – it looks and feels like a gold bar, which is cool if you want to feel like a real member of the bourgeoisie.

According to Sony, this design is meant to produce high-resolution audio, with “unique natural, acoustic sound”. The updates to the circuitry, cable design and materials all come together to bring the sound quality to a new level. You know how Monster tries to sell gold plated HDMI cables for a few hundred dollars? Sony has taken that to a whole new level.

The curious bit about this player is that it is made to play high-res audio files, but with tracks of 96kHz or 192kHz at 24-bit, you will be averaging 100MB a song and that will easily fill up the built-in 256GB capacity. If you run out of space, you will have to plug in a micro SD card.

A product this expensive had better deliver on the sound quality, and there is no doubt that it does. On regular earphones, the audio from this player is noticeably fuller than what you get on your typical music player. The bass is more prominent, as with all Sony products.

We tested the Walkman with some Fallout Boy tracks from American Beauty/American Psycho which we ripped from the CD: the sound is crystal clear; each breath, each strum of a guitar, is made incredibly sharp and delivered into your ears. Sony comparing the sound to listening to it live in a studio is pretty fair.

We switched back and forth between playing the same tracks from a laptop and the Walkman: it’s truly impressive how much clearer the music sounded, how full the bass, and how crisp the trebles. Even with our less high-end earphones, there was a noticeable difference in sound quality. In general, the music is definitely a touch more immersive than a your typical mp3 player.

We loathe to call it this, but this music player also comes with Bluetooth, so you can also connect it to wireless speakers and headphones if you wish. But apparently, Sony says it works best with the Sony MDR-Z1R headphones, which will set you back another hefty S$2599. If you’re one to splurge for high quality audio, this may be as good as it gets.

But while we completely understand the appeal of high-end audio products, in this case, the question is, is it really worth it?

As for the display, it’s a little laggy, and rather basic. It’s not bad, of course, but for this price, we’re looking for this product to wow us in every aspect. But since this is Sony’s own technology, it’s not spectacular.

In general, the Sony Premium Walkman is a premium product that delivers on what Sony promises. The audio is admittedly of high quality, and overall, the design is nice enough. This is Sony pulling out all the stops, and it shows.

But honestly, would you really spend that much on a Walkman? It’s a cool, flashy product, but there are High-Res audio products that start from $1,000 and even if we’re stretching it, the technology improvements and the flashy design aren’t worth the extra few thousand dollars you’ll have to spend.

We had fun trying this product out, but you probably won’t see us forking out our galleons for it.