Sony have unveiled a new music player that promises audiophiles a premium listening experience with a snazzy gold-plated look – but it’ll cost you.

Sony have unveiled their DMP-Z1 digital music player, a hi-res music player capable of playing all hi-res music formats. The player comes with a headphone amp that has been assured to be “audiophile-grade” and the volume dial is gold plated “to ensure absolute sonic purity” with gold soldering “to enhance the signal flow”.

By incorporating an audiophile-grade, high-power headphone amplifier, the DMP-Z1 realises 1500mW (16Ω) headphone output to drive even the most demanding headphones. It’s controlled with an intuitive touch screen user interface which makes it easy to access and customise the settings. It features a spectrum analyser which visualises frequency amplitude instantly.

The player has a vinyl processor which gives a boost of warmth and character that you get from vinyl records to your digital music. The subtle reproduction of the low frequency resonance, tone-arm resistance and surface noise deliver an authentic listening experience.

The DMP-Z1 comes with five built-in battery cells for both digital and analogue amplification circuits independently for enhanced dynamics and reduced internal electromagnetic interference. By isolating the power delivery from conventional AC power supplies, you enjoy both a more open treble response and tighter bass delivery without the harshness transmitted through AC line noise. It’s battery also offers up to 10 hours of non hi-res playback and roughly 9 hours of high resolution music playing.

All this sounds fantastic right? Well it could all be yours, but that’s if you have $7,900 to spare. That’s how much it will set you back. If you’re a wealthy audiophile the Sony DMP-Z1 could well be worth it but for the rest of us, we’ll probably stick to streaming Spotify on our smartphones.