Sony's newly launched Walkman costs more than an iPhone 14
What's the story
Sony's NW-ZX707 Walkman is now available in India at a hefty price tag of Rs. 69,990, which makes it even costlier than the iPhone 14 which usually sells for around Rs. 66,000 during sales.
As for the highlights, the audio device comes with 'S-Master HX' digital amp technology, a DSD Remastering Engine, and Edge AI-based DSEE Ultimate which upscales compressed digital music in real-time.
Context
Why does this story matter?
The demand for music players has witnessed a free fall since the arrival of smartphones, which come with built-in FM and MP3 playback facilities.
Apple recently discontinued the final iteration of its portable music player, the iPod Touch.
However, Sony continues to launch new Walkmans, adding a significant dose of modernity to a venerable piece of technology, in order to serve audiophiles.
Design
NW-ZX707 Walkman: Let's look at what's onboard
The NW-ZX707 Walkman sports a boxy design with control buttons, akin to other models, launched in the past. It measures 16.9mm in thickness and weighs 227g.
The device comes with a 5.0-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) display.
It boots the Android 12 OS and packs 64GB of onboard storage. There's a built-in battery onboard, offering up to 25 hours of continuous playback.
Information
The audio equipment supports multiple Bluetooth codecs
The NW-ZX707 Walkman is equipped with a Type-C port, a 3.5mm stereo jack, a balanced standard jack, and a microSD card slot. For wireless connectivity, it includes support for dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth with LDAC, aptX HD, aptX, and AAC codecs.
Internals
Lead-free soldering has been used for the components
The NW-ZX707 Walkman utilizes 'S-Master HX,' Sony's in-house digital amp technology that minimizes distortion/noise, throughout a wide frequency range, for a richer sound experience.
For soldering purposes, Sony has used a 'high-quality' lead-free solder that exhibits better corrosion resistance for the Walkman's internal components.
The device packs an FTCAP3, along with a solid high polymer capacitor, that aids high capacitance and lower resistance.
Highlights
The Walkman offers DSEE Ultimate technology for upscaling music
NW-ZX707 features an Edge AI-based upscaling technology, DSEE Ultimate (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine), which enhances the quality of compressed digital audio files in real-time, and even delivers additional benefits for CD-quality (16-bit 44.1/48kHz) lossless codec audio.
The Walkman enjoys a DSD (Direct Stream Digital) Remastering Engine that converts PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) audio to 11.2MHz DSD audio, allowing users to enjoy their music more.
Information