Sony claims high-end SD card offers 'Premium Sound'

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For the audiophile who has to have it all, Sony is now offering an SD card that claims to offer 'Premium Sound', ideal for its new range of high-end, high-resolution Walkmans.

The SR-64HXA micro SDXC memory card is due on sale in Japan next month for 18,500 yen, which translates as around £100. That makes it around five times more expensive than the average memory card.

Why would you spend the extra? Sony claims the card helps to "reduce electrical noise generated when the file [your digital music] is read". So if you store music on a memory card, this super-SD should help suppress electrical noise, which can affect sound quality. That's Sony's theory, at least...

The Sony Japan website suggests while the capacity and speed of cards can be the same, the parts and materials can be different - and, so Sony says, that can make a difference to the sound.

High-res audio is a big focus for Sony at the moment, with the launch of the £950 flagship NWZ-ZX2 Walkman at CES 2015.

But, with many people struggling to be convinced by high-res music, we can't help thinking a "Premium Sound" memory card might be an even harder sell...

MORE: High-res audio - everything you need to know

Joe Cox
Joe Cox
Content Director

Joe is the Content Director for What Hi-Fi? and Future’s Product Testing, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for almost 20 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff, and the Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).