Sony Walkman NW-WM1ZM3 & NW-WM1AM3

Sony has updated its two top-tier Walkman players. The NW-WM1ZM3 is $5,750 in the UK, $5,600 in the eurozone. The NW-WM1AM3 is $2,800, $2,800. Both carry a 5.5-inch touchscreen and a claimed 31-hour battery life, and both run Sony's DSD Remastering Engine, which processes digital files to push them toward a more analogue sound.

The difference between the two is the chassis. The ZM3 body is machined from oxygen-free copper and plated in gold, with a gold surface finish to match. The AM3 uses an aluminium-alloy main chassis, with gold-plated oxygen-free copper confined to the rear panel. Oxygen-free copper and gold plating exist to cut electrical noise, which is the entire argument for a dedicated player when a phone already streams everything.

Storage is 207GB onboard. Sony quotes playback figures using 128kbps mp3 files, which is an odd choice for a device aimed at people who care about fidelity, and it yields over 60,000 songs. Switch to lossless FLAC, the format anyone paying this much will actually use, and the real figure is closer to 10,000 songs. Streaming is built in as standard, so the storage argument matters less than it once did.

The interface pairs the touchscreen with physical transport and volume buttons, which is the right call for something meant to be operated by feel in a pocket. Build quality is reported as high across both models, with hand-soldering mentioned as part of the construction process.