You’re addicted to great audio if you’re willing to burn $1200 over the Sony Walkman ZX2 which is being showcased at the CES 2015. It’s clearly for those who are scandalized by the idea of putting their music in a smartphone when there’s an option to listen to it on a more superior player, no matter the price.
Packed with all the wizardry needed to justify how much it’s pegged at, the Sony Walkman ZX2 is folded into a carved aluminum casing finished in a matte black texture and sports a prominent, gold headphone jack. It has 128GB of internal storage for hoarding all your tracks as well as a microSD card slot for adding another 128GB of memory.
The Walkman ZX2 runs on the outdated version of Android that is 2012’s Jelly Bean 4.2 OS. Getting the latest version of Google’s mobile OS is certainly not on its priority list and you can still download streaming apps onto it. The files it’s capable of handling cover DSD, WAV, AIFF, Apple Lossless, FLAC and so on.
You can hook it up to NFC- or Bluetooth-capable speakers or headphones, or simply plug in a pair of cans. The play, pause, rewind, volume rockers and power button are placed on one side so users can enjoy one-handed access to the controls. Sony plans to release its new Walkman in March 2015, meaning there’s plenty of time for you to save up.
The Sony Walkman ZX2 is certainly a device meant for audiophiles who don’t mind paying an arm and a leg for it. It’ll appeal to the kind of folks who’re attracted to the likes of the HiFiMan HM-901, the Cowon Plenue 1 or Astell & Kern’s offerings. But can the company afford to make niche products at this stage?