Choosing a Walkman: features and settings
So, you’ve got yourself some audio cassettes, and now you want to listen to them on a proper Sony Walkman. There is just one problem: Sony quit making cassette players ten years ago, so if you want a genuine Sony product you need to look for a used device.
During 1980s and 1990s Sony had several model lines from basic ones to weather-proofed sport models to finely crafted machines with aluminum body, soft-touch buttons and remote control.
Outside of Japan, Sony sold mostly inexpensive boxy plastic models, which are easy to come by on online auctions. Twenty years ago people were literally throwing them away. But now, because of the purported “cassette comeback” these players are offered for sale — you can get one in working condition for about $20 or less.
For this money you get a full complement of Play, Stop, Fast Forward and Rewind buttons (cheap Chinese knock-offs do not even have a Rewind button). You get auto-stop. More upscale models offer Auto-Reverse: a nice feature to listen to both sides of a cassette in one go.
Tape Type selector, Tone controls, Base Boost, Dolby NR — These features are interrelated, and having some of these may alleviate the need for having others, but frankly it is best to have them all.
Tape Type selector is an unfortunate name for what is essentially an Equalization switch: in the “Normal” position the equalization is 120 μs, in the Chrome/Metal position the equalization is 70 μs. You don’t need to know what it means, basically when you move the switch to Chrome/Metal position, the music loses some of its higher frequencies, becomes less bright.
This cassette tries to clear the confusion by perplexing you even more: it says “Chrome”, but then it also says “120 μs”, which is the equalization normally used for, um, normal, that is, ferric tape. The paper inlay clarifies that despite this being a chrome tape, the tape selector must be set to Normal.
Bass Boost does exactly what its name suggests: it lifts the very low bass notes, giving a nice kick to most pop and rock music, but should be turned off for classical pieces.
You can also adjust frequency response using tone controls, whether it is a basic bass/treble dial like this, or a multi-band equalizer.
Finally, Dolby Noise Reduction. If you see a Double D sign on a cassette, it means it was recorded using the Dolby system, which amplifies quiet high-frequency sounds before recording them on tape. To restore them back to their original level you need to engage Dolby decoder on the player, which also significantly reduces tape hiss.
Many walkmans have built-in radio. Starting from the early 1990s, models with radio can be recognized by having FX prefix, models without radio have EX prefix. The radio can be tuned manually, with a rotating dial or digitally, by selecting a specific frequency. If you like hopping between several pre-set stations, then digital is much more convenient.
Broadcast radio is a feature that most smartphone users are deprived of; many smartphones do not even have a radio tuner, and those that do, often have it disabled. As far as I know, there was some sort of an agreement — you may call it conspiracy — between mobile phone providers and smartphone manufacturers to boost subscriptions for streaming music services by preventing people from listening to radio. So, a Walkman with a radio gives you this long forgotten feature.
Many European countries have switched to digital radio broadcast, but American radio stations still broadcast in good old analog format, often enhanced with digital sub-channels. Sadly, none of these Walkmans can tune to these sub-channels, even the Walkmans that have digital tuning. If you want to listen to these subchannels, which often have programming that goes beyond traditional formats, then you need to buy an HD Radio receiver.
Other digital goodies of walkmans, like clock and alarm, are not very important now when everyone has a smartphone. Some walkmans can turn on radio when alarm goes off, but these cheap plastic ones cannot automatically start playing a cassette because the cassette mechanism is mechanically linked to the buttons.
If you want features like soft-touch buttons, next song search, song skip, or even remote control — you need to look for a more advanced Walkman.
These advanced Walkmans were expensive back then, they are expensive now. Non-working units cost $50 or more, and the units that are advertised as working or, even better, refurbished, repaired, serviced, cost more than $100, often several hundred dollars.
Either way it is a gamble — remember, these machines are usually more than twenty years old. Even if the seller claims that the Walkman he sells has been refurbished and works, you may find that one of the channels is quieter than another, or that auto-reverse does not work, or that tape speed and sound pitch (known as wow & flutter) change when playing a tape. Therefore, I suggest choosing a seller that accepts returns.
Have fun with 20th-century tech!
