Preserving the feeling 
 
 Capturing every note and nuance with DSEE HX 
 
 Take the concert feeling home and experience your music as the artist intended, in near High-Resolution Audio quality. DSEE HX upscaling technology uses an algorithm to analyze your music and replace any lost information, so that the quality is almost high-resolution level. Choose from 4 additional modes to the standard to bring out the best in your music. ||||| Sony has built the perfect complement to your Apple Watch Edition: a $3,200 Walkman that’s plated in gold. 
 
 This is a super-high-end revision of the already-high-end Walkman that Sony introduced for playing lossless audio files last year. It basically takes that and modifies the hardware to prevent subtle interference that could harm sound quality. To be clear, these are likely to be minor sound quality improvements that only serious audiophiles with equally high-end headphones will notice. But for that niche audience, this may be a solution. 
 
 The new Walkman has a copper body that’s been plated in gold, which is meant to reduce contact resistance and magnetic interference. Internally, the Walkman’s analog circuitry is supposed to be separated from its primarily digital circuitry to reduce noise even further. It also has a "dual clock circuit with low phase noise quartz oscillator," which is an obscure part of the digital-to-analog conversion chain that's probably important to get right and difficult to measure the results of, but will theoretically lead to improvements in sound quality. 
 
 A less expensive, and less gold-plated, model will also be available 
 
 The Walkman’s design has been tweaked very slightly from last year’s model, too. Its headphone jack is now at the top (there appears to be two of them, although Sony has published very limited details so far, so I can’t quite tell), and the physical controls along its side look like they’re less recessed and perhaps easier to press. The player’s interface is supposed to have been changed up as well, although Sony hasn’t shown what it looks like yet. 
 
 If you want it, the insanely high-end Walkman will be available "early next year" for $3,199.99. A standard version of the Walkman will also be available for $1,199.99, which will presumably have the new design but none of the fancy circuitry and coatings of the gold-plated model. It’ll likely replace the 2015 Walkman, which currently sells for that price. ||||| BERLIN — Sony's out of its mind. At IFA 2016, the company unveiled a new high-resolution Walkman audio player... that costs $3,200. 
 
 As part of its Signature Series and aimed at audiophiles who have "golden ears," the new NW-WM1Z isn't just expensive, it's also one chunky and heavy music player. It's as bulky as an original iPod. 
 
 Image: MICHAEL RATHMAYR/MASHABLE 
 
 The music player is made of gold plated oxygen free copper chassis and leather on the backside. Sony says it chose the material because it's a "higher purity material" that produces clearer highs and deeper, more powerful bass. 
 
 On the front is a 4-inch touchscreen with 854 x 480 resolution. On the left side is a hold switch that deactivates the touchscreen; playback and volume buttons are on the right side. 
 
 The interface is typical Sony with so much information — everything from music info to buttons to an equalizer to album art to file type — crammed onto the screen that it can be a little terrifying to know where to look at. 
 
 Super thick Image: MICHAEL RATHMAYR/MASHABLE Leather back Image: MICHAEL RATHMAYR/MASHABLE 
 
 Still, if you're the slightest bit tech-savvy, you'll be able to pick it up and appreciate some of the details, like how much more precisely volume can be controlled. 
 
 The NW-WM1Z comes with 256GB of internal storage and also has a microSD card slot for expansion. 
 
 Of course, for audiophiles, it'll all come down to sound and format support. The Walkman supports native DSD (Direct Stream Digital) audio files, which has a sample rate of 64 times that of CD quality. 
 
 The Walkman also supports Bluetooth for wireless headphones. 
 
 Image: MICHAEL RATHMAYR/MASHABLE 
 
 But is it all worth $3,200? I'm no audiophile, so I'd never pay that much — and there are plenty of more affordable options if you're into hi-res audio. 
 
 In my brief listening time with Sony's MDR-1000X noise-canceling headphones, the audio sounded pretty good. I wasn't blown away, but then again the bustling listening environment I was in wasn't exactly suitable for music appreciation. 
 
 Image: MICHAEL RATHMAYR/MASHABLE 
 
 If $3,200 is too steep, Sony's got a more affordable $1,200 NW-WM1A that looks exactly the same, except it comes in black and is made of lighter aluminum. It's still the same thickness, though. 
 
 Its sound probably isn't as "pure" and crisp since it's not using the same lower-resistance copper as its more expensive sibling. 
 
 Both Walkmans will be out next year. So who's buying? 
 
 Image: MICHAEL RATHMAYR/MASHABLE
– How much would you pay for a Sony Walkman? Now double it. You're still not even close. Engadget reports Sony unveiled a $3,200 Walkman during IFA 2016 Thursday in Berlin. Or as Mashable puts it: "Sony's out of its mind." The new NW-WM1Z is meant to appeal to super serious audiophiles. And the Verge reports the big changes are in the hardware. The Walkman is made out of gold-plated copper to reduce magnetic interference and contact resistance. It also separates its analog and digital circuitry and includes a "dual clock circuit with low phase noise quartz oscillator." And if any of that makes sense to you, you might be the target customer. Sony's expensive new Walkman is "as bulky as an original iPod," according to Mashable, and features a 4-inch touchscreen that "can be a little terrifying" in the amount of information in displays. It boasts 256GB of storage and works with Direct Stream Digital audio files, which have a sample rate 64 times better than CDs. Still, Mashable "wasn't blown away" by the sound quality. And the Verge states all this will only result in "minor sound quality improvements that only serious audiophiles with equally high-end headphones will notice." For everyone else, there's this Walkman cassette player currently going for $5.00 on eBay. (A Florida man wants $10 billion for inventing the iPhone in 1992.)