Sony’s $5,900 Gold Plated NW-WM1ZM3 Walkman Machines Oxygen Free Copper Into a Portable Flagship

Sony still builds Walkman players long after most people stopped carrying dedicated music devices, and the new flagship arrives with a price of $5,899.99. Pre-orders opened in mid-October 2026 for the NW-WM1ZM3, a Signature Series model whose body is precision-milled from oxygen-free copper of 99.99 percent purity and then gold-plated. The rear chassis uses the same copper, and even the screws receive a gold treatment chosen for low electrical resistance and a more stable ground path. That combination adds real mass: the finished player measures roughly 86 by 157.6 by 23.2 millimeters and weighs about 670 grams.

Sony Gold Plated NW-WM1ZM3 Walkman Machines Oxygen Free Copper Into a Portable Flagship
The latest edition of Sony’s S-Master HX digital amplifier is housed within the copper-shelled body. This powerhouse supports native DSD files and has both a normal 3.5-millimeter output and a balanced 4.4-millimeter connector. High gain balanced power delivers a whallop, with 250 milliwatts per channel being the typical. That massive new DSD Remastering Engine works its magic on PCM files, turning them to an 11.2 megahertz DSD stream, and it now accomplishes this for music coming in via Wi-Fi as well as music saved locally.

A useful look-ahead noise shaper has three adjustable behaviors: light, balanced, and deep, essentially attempting to keep up with the music as closely as possible. They preserved the thick Kimber Kable cable from the DMP-Z1, which runs between key bits, and replaced the one large capacitor from the previous incarnation with two larger solid polymer capacitors. The oxygen-free copper block that covers the circuits is significantly heavier than before, and the high-purity copper coil with flat wire in the balanced output filter is much larger this time.

A 5.5-inch Full HD touchscreen sits above Android 16, which is larger and crisper than the previous ZM2’s five-inch HD panel. Storage starts at 256GB, leaving roughly 207GB open for your music, and there’s a microSD slot to add more if needed. The battery life is claimed as up to 35 hours of 128kbit MP3 playback via the balanced output and around 33 hours for 96kilohertz FLAC files; streaming Wi-Fi reduces it to around 31 hours. Recharging from empty will take about four hours using the USB-C connector. Wi-Fi now operates on all common bands: 2.4, 5, and 6 gigahertz, while Bluetooth 5.4 supports LDAC, aptX Adaptive, and LC3, among others.

There are two other variants that use the same circuitry but feature a slimmer aluminum main chassis. The NW-WM1AM3 costs $2,999.99 and weighs around 425 grams, whilst the NW-ZX900 starts at $1,899.99 and has a five-inch screen and a slightly longer stated battery life. The gold-plated copper-shelled top variant is currently available for pre-order and is slated to delivery in November 2026 or early 2027, depending on your region.