Sony's new $5,899 Walkman is gold-plated, and AI is the small part

Sony unveiled the NW-WM1ZM3 on 15 Oct: a $5,899 music player with a gold-plated case milled from 99.99% pure oxygen-free copper. Even the screws are gold-plated. Sony claims they give a stable ground connection for "powerful bass, an expansive soundstage, and smooth, extended high frequencies." Plenty of people online doubt that. It weighs about 670 g, up from 490 g on the model it replaces.

Two cheaper models launched alongside it: the NW-WM1AM3 ($2,999) and the NW-ZX900 ($1,899). All three run Android. The flagship has a 5.5-inch 1080p screen, 256 GB of storage plus microSD, and up to about 35 hours of playback.

The AI is a small feature. On compressed files only, the player uses AI to work out the genre and then boosts the high frequencies. Most of the heavy processing comes from the DSD Remastering Engine, which converts regular PCM audio to an 11.2 MHz DSD stream, and the S-Master HX amplifier. Pre-orders are open, but Sony hasn't confirmed a European release.

Why it matters: AI now shows up in spec sheets as a selling point, even when it only adjusts EQ on MP3s for a $5,899 audiophile player.