Sony Unveils Gold-Plated Walkman for Surprising Price

The company logo of Sony Corporation is seen at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
The company logo of Sony Corporation is seen at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
TT

Sony Unveils Gold-Plated Walkman for Surprising Price

The company logo of Sony Corporation is seen at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
The company logo of Sony Corporation is seen at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo

Sony has unveiled a new 'gold-plated' Walkman music player that comes with high quality lossless audio and an eye watering $3,200 price tag, The Daily Mail reported.

The gold plated, oxygen-free copper chassis is designed to improve the overall sound quality by reducing electrical noise and promote a more 'nuanced sound' that matches what came from a studio, according to Sony. This model is named NW-WM1ZM2.

There is a cheaper model, the NW-WM1AM2, still priced at a staggering $1,600, that comes with a strong aluminum alloy frame, also reducing electrical noise.

The two versions of the device are available from next month, according to Sony.

They also have a five-inch touchscreen and up to 256 GB of storage, which will come in handy as an Apple Lossless file is 5MB of storage per minute of music. Although that will still leave enough room for thousands of high-definition songs.

Inside the chassis of the more expensive of the pair, Sony used high-end braided cables, to further improve the quality of the sound. Made using advanced braiding techniques, the four wire-braided cables are handcrafted to seamlessly handle high power and deliver ultimate sound performance.



NASA's Parker Solar Probe Aims to Fly Closer to the Sun Like Never Before

The sun sets in Santiago, Chile, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, as a forest fires burns on the outskirts of the capital. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
The sun sets in Santiago, Chile, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, as a forest fires burns on the outskirts of the capital. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
TT

NASA's Parker Solar Probe Aims to Fly Closer to the Sun Like Never Before

The sun sets in Santiago, Chile, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, as a forest fires burns on the outskirts of the capital. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
The sun sets in Santiago, Chile, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, as a forest fires burns on the outskirts of the capital. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

A NASA spacecraft aims to fly closer to the sun than any object sent before.
The Parker Solar Probe was launched in 2018 to get a close-up look at the sun. Since then, it has flown straight through the sun's corona: the outer atmosphere visible during a total solar eclipse.

The next milestone: closest approach to the sun. Plans call for Parker on Tuesday to hurtle through the sizzling solar atmosphere and pass within a record-breaking 3.8 million miles (6 million kilometers) of the sun's surface, The Associated Press reported.
At that moment, if the sun and Earth were at opposite ends of a football field, Parker "would be on the 4-yard line,” said NASA's Joe Westlake.
Mission managers won't know how Parker fared until days after the flyby since the spacecraft will be out of communication range.

Parker planned to get more than seven times closer to the sun than previous spacecraft, hitting 430,000 mph (690,000 kph) at closest approach. It's the fastest spacecraft ever built and is outfitted with a heat shield that can withstand scorching temperatures up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,371 degrees Celsius).

It'll continue circling the sun at this distance until at least September.

Scientists hope to better understand why the corona is hundreds of times hotter than the sun’s surface and what drives the solar wind, the supersonic stream of charged particles constantly blasting away from the sun.

The sun's warming rays make life possible on Earth. But severe solar storms can temporarily scramble radio communications and disrupt power.
The sun is currently at the maximum phase of its 11-year cycle, triggering colorful auroras in unexpected places.

“It both is our closest, friendliest neighbor,” Westlake said, “but also at times is a little angry.”