Sony Walkman WM-FX315
If you have read my previous review, you will immediately notice that the FX315 looks like a Deluxe version of the FX101. In fact, all Sony Walkmans with this button pattern have the same mechanism, but these two also have very similar external styling, which makes it easier to spot the added features of the FX315.
Top sides are identical, with Automatic Volume Limiting System (AVLS), headphone jack, radio tuning dial, volume dial and tape type switch, which also serves as DX/Local switch in the radio mode.
On the right side there are FM/AM/Tape selector and Play/Stop/Fast Forward/Rewind buttons.
Below them are two switches that control auto-reverse system: one selects forward or reverse playback direction, another allows to play a tape once — forward, back and stop — or keep playing forward and back and forward and back until the batteries die.
The sparkly front panel of the FX315 is adorned with the switches for Mega Bass, two-way tone controls, and the cherry on top: Dolby Decoder. These controls are connected to the main board via a flat cable. The radio, including the dial, is located on the main board, so if you lose the front door, you’ll lose Mega Bass and Dolby controls, but the radio will still work.
The mechanism is almost the same as on the FX101 despite that the the FX101 plays only in one direction, and the FX315 has auto-reverse and plays in both directions. I measured wow & flutter at about 0.16%-0.22%, which is acceptable for a cheap cassette player.
Whether the extra features of the FX315 are useful depends on your listening habits. Auto-reverse is great for listening to long albums without flipping the cassette, like Pink Floyd’s The Wall. This album is longer than 80 minutes, so a CD version comes on two discs. But it does fit one 90-minute cassette and can be enjoyed in one go with auto-reverse, hooray to the old technology!
Mega Bass is great if you use small earbuds and want more thump. On the FX315 Mega Bass works as a toggle for the Bass/Treble tone controls: first you turn Mega Bass on, then adjust highs and lows to taste.
Finally, Dolby Decoder is indispensable for listening to pre-recorded cassettes, most of which use Dolby Noise Reduction. Some say, that Dolby Decoder is useless on cheap models that cannot reproduce wide frequency range, but the frequency range of this Walkman is goes from 40 Hz to 15 kHz, a respectable range even for a component deck, so I find Dolby decoder very useful.
All in all, this is definitely not a collectible model, but a decent cheap Walkman for everyday use. Have fun playing tapes!
