>Now, with cassette sales growing in the US in 2022, the Walkman has returned as a hi-res streaming player.

Wait what. I get records, but cassettes were awful. Even with my love of nostalgia I don't want cassettes back.

I'm also not sure why I would want this when my phone streams everything already.

I assume they've done their research and feel there's a market, but I don't need an extra device to carry around for music.

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It's an odd article since all of Sony's music players have been called Walkman.

After Apple pulled out, Sony have been one of the only players in higher end portable music.

Apple never really entered the high end portable music space. They eventually introduced Apple Lossless Audio codec, but their players didn't really have high end audio features like fancy DACs, or pre-amps for driving high end headphones.

I guess I should've said "mid-end" more than higher, but iPods and early iPhones had decent DACs, at least compared to what most phones currently use and compared to most mainstream MP3 players.

Sony's flagship Walkmans were/are better than Apple, but the $200-500 offerings were comparable.

>I'm also not sure why I would want this when my phone streams everything already.

Dedicated devices always will be better quality. Both streaming services and smartphones by design are aiming to be “good enough.”

For people who are connoisseurs, the dedicated device’s improved quality will be noticeable and of value.

People still like owning physical media but largely have no reason to. Cassettes are a way to physically own an album you love, financially support the artist moreso than through Spotify or whatever, while not requiring the same amount of space as vinyl. They're also a lot cheaper and easier to produce than vinyl records.

Audio companies really need to bring back listening stations. If you haven’t heard the difference, there’s no way this can make sense. If you’ve heard the difference between a Smartphone and a good DAC paired with good headphones, the “Why?” question goes away.

Am a bit of a headphone / portable audio buff. I’ve got an Astell & Kern AK380 DAP and it’s pretty awesome. For the sake of convenience when travelling however I got a Dragonfly Cobalt DAC.

It’s for use with my iPhone and my wired headphones. I also use Qobuz as a streaming service and the results are phenomenal.

So yep - the need for another device has almost gone away.

That said, what Sony are doing with their latest generation of Walkmans/men(?) is to be commended.

I do especially considering how big phones are getting

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The post is misleading. This has absolutely nothing to do with cassettes and the Walkman never went away having evolved to CDs, DAT, MiniDisc and their first DAP ("mp3" player) in 1999.

This is just the newest DAP model of Walkman targeting audiophiles. It runs Android and can download or stream over WiFi. Its specs are impressive if you're into that sort of thing. It's like the restaurant in The Menu only its audio instead of food, but probably attracts the same cast of characters. For almost everyone else, phones are the way to go.

Fair to say you spent $350 on the Cobalt DAC to bypass the iPhone’s audio output because you can tell a significant difference between the iPhone and something designed with audio quality as a priority?

depends on who you are.

I am leaning in that direction. I am out writing right now and i have my phone and laptop, But I am streaming audio from my phone to a fiio btr3k. I am using lossless audio because the btr works as a amp for my high hifi headphones. The expereince, versus bluetooth standard stand or just inexpensive headphones is pretty drastic. But really this is about if you want this experience and the crowd of people like me are growing.

Streaming audio from spotify and other services sounds pretty bad on most devices, so in that case not even "magic headphones" can fix it, but for people like me that search out HQ sources a device like that would be a great solution.

It's one of those things that if you know you need it you are already looking for it. But its also a great gateway to new audiophiles looking for an accessible way into the scene.

YOU most likely dont need it, most people probably don't. But for the people out there that like the process of getting the most out of their music things like this are pretty cool.

For the dogs and cats with good enough hearing to tell the difference? Coool

Was going to say, kids go nuts over the stuff their parents used. It's just the cycle of things I guess. Some future kids are going to be going nuts over "basic" smartphones current kids use now, compared to their augmented reality AI driven contact lenses or something.

Listening stations being those setups where you can listen/compare different products? I'd agree on that. I never cared about music quality until I tried a friends setup that was really nice. Not an audiophile, but even just buying a nice pair of headphones/speakers and cheaper DAC or sound card can make a huge difference.

30 years too late

Why would anyone want to hear tape hiss from the 80’s is beyond me.

But wait I thought young people hate plastic. But now they want a bunch of plastic cassette tapes. Can you you say double standard.

I've suspected for awhile that the recent boom in retro tech is due to how sterile and 'soulless' modern devices are. Cassette tapes have poor sound quality, but the physical act of using them is awesome. They're tacticle, they make cool clicky-whirry sounds. A good tape deck has super satisfying buttons to push. You've got dials and sliders and fidgets that our monkey brains tell us we should play with.

Meanwhile, you get none of that from smartphones. They're some of the most dissatisfying devices to use imaginable. Very little physical or auditory feedback, if any, with 99% of all relevant information being conveyed through artificial onscreen visuals and nothing else. And the screen itself is just a flat featureless piece of glass which is entirely uninteresting to touch.

Hell, even the aesthetics. Every cell phone these days looks and feels almost exactly the same, while there are a ton of different variations in older consumer tech.

I think people are just becoming starved for novel physical stimulation, basically.

I'm sure it's super cool but is it cool enough for $828 for a 64 GB version on Amazon?

No, I spent €250 but for the same reason you describe. But I use it on my iPad and PC too so I get quite a bit of value for it. Compared to the price of a DAP it’s quite a bargain.

I have to admit, after being out for a walk this morning listening to music on my phone and having email notifications repeatedly interrupt it, I'm starting to change my mind.

Now imagine that experience with a great pair of head phones and some high res audio. It really can change your day to discover someone new in the music you love.

Way ahead of you with the headphones, made that move a few years ago and never looked back. You're definitely right about how much music can boost your day.

Maybe don't but something as expensive as that walkman. Try using something cheap like my btr3k and some Flac's of music you know well. I would say that if you enjoy that experience it might be worth moving to a better system

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