Displaying items by tag: sony - StereoLife Magazine

If there's one thing Sony has demonstrated over the years, it's that the Walkman is remarkably difficult to kill. The original portable cassette player changed the way people listened to music, turning what had previously been a largely stationary activity into something they could enjoy almost anywhere. Back then, the priorities were fairly straightforward: reasonable sound quality, compact dimensions, long battery life, and enough room in your bag for a few favorite tapes. Nearly half a century later, the world looks very different. For most people, a smartphone and a pair of wireless earbuds provide everything they could possibly need, with millions of recordings available at the touch of a screen. Yet Sony continues to develop dedicated portable music players, including some that cost more than an entire high-end stereo system. The latest examples are the NW-WM1ZM3 and NW-WM1AM3, two new members of the company's prestigious Signature Series. Both feature upgraded S-Master HX digital amplifiers, extensively redesigned power supplies, sophisticated noise-reduction measures, and larger 5.5-inch touchscreens. They also support high-resolution audio, modern streaming services, and advanced signal processing. But their real purpose is something rather more specific: to convince demanding listeners that a dedicated music player can still offer something a smartphone cannot.

Even the longest journey has to begin with the first step. For Sony, one of these steps was to release the CDP-101 player, which launched the adventures of the Compact Disc format. So this is genesis - the first audiophile CD player. The device was released in 1982 and followed by the first compact album - reissued "52nd Street" by Billy Joel. Sony was ahead of their partner in creating the CD format because Philips unveiled its first player a month later (it was the CD-100). This player was based on a CX-20017 16-bit D/A converter made by Sony (like most of the electronics used for the construction of this machine) and the KSS-100A laser module. These days the CDP-101 was one of the most advanced devices for general commercial use with 34 chips onboard.