FIRST LOOK: Sony's New Walkman Range
Sony has brought the Walkman back in machined copper and gold, and it wants you to hear every note.
Your phone already plays every song ever recorded, so a new Sony Walkman that costs more than a decent second-hand car sounds slightly bonkers. And yet here it is: Sony's new Walkman range, a flagship covered in machined copper and gold plating, made for the pure love of how a song sounds.
The trio is the NW-WM1ZM3, the NW-WM1AM3 and the NW-ZX900, announced for Australia on 19th Oct 26.
Why on earth buy a music player?
Fair question. The honest answer is the same one people give for vinyl, mechanical watches and proper coffee: because it feels like you are doing the thing properly. A dedicated player does one job. No notifications, no group chat lighting up halfway through your favourite bridge, and a headphone output built for good headphones rather than squeezed in beside a camera.
It also helps that these are not the old-school, load-your-files-and-pray players. They run Android, so you can stream over Wi-Fi from the services you already use. The party trick is Sony's DSD upscaling, which smooths and fills out regular music, and it now works on streamed tracks too. Streaming used to be the awkward bit for players like this. Now it is the point.
The flagship: NW-WM1ZM3
This is the show-off. The body is machined from copper and plated in gold, right down to the screws, and it is heavy in a way that tells you it is not a toy. Sony says the metal is there to keep the electronics quiet and the sound clean. Whether your ears can pick that out is the great audiophile argument, and we will leave that fight to the forums. What is not up for debate is that it looks like jewellery.
The 5.5 inch screen can also pretend to be a cassette. Flick to the retro display and you get a little Sony tape, label and all. It is a very small joke, and a very good one.
The middle child and the sensible one
The NW-WM1AM3 keeps the big 5.5 inch screen but swaps the full copper body for aluminium with a gold-plated copper back. It is lighter and a lot easier on the wallet, which makes it the one most people would actually consider.
The NW-ZX900 is the pocket-friendlier option, with a 5 inch screen and the same streaming and upscaling tricks. If you want the idea without the jewellery price tag, this is the way in.
The price
Pair it with a great set of headphones and a music library you have built over years, and it starts to make sense, especially if the original Walkman still makes you a bit misty-eyed. It is also simply a beautiful object to have on the desk. For songs on the train, your phone and a decent pair of earbuds do the job brilliantly, for far less, so this is about the ritual rather than the convenience.
And the price is the price. The flagship is a serious chunk of money for a device that plays music, and even the ZX900 costs more than most phones people are happy with. Frankly, that is the point: this is a labour of love rather than a volume play, and Sony knows it.
At a glance
- NW-WM1ZM3: $6,499*. Gold-plated copper body, 5.5 inch screen, Android with Wi-Fi streaming
- NW-WM1AM3: $3,999. Aluminium body with gold-plated copper back, 5.5 inch screen, Android with Wi-Fi streaming
- NW-ZX900: $2,799. Aluminium body with gold-plated copper back, 5 inch screen, Android with Wi-Fi streaming
- All three: DSD upscaling that covers streamed music, battery rated for a day or more of listening
Verdict: A glorious, slightly silly and entirely sincere love letter to sound itself. The NW-ZX900 is the one to look at first, and the flagship is the one with the bragging rights.
*Article Update 4th November 2026: SRP from $8,499 to $6,499
