Walkman/Cassette player nomenclature

Hi,

I don't know if we already had the discussion: What do the names of our Walkman mean?

I want to start with the letters of the Sony Walkmans

WM = Walkman
SRF = stereo radio ?

A = cheaper model ?
*C = Dolby C model
D (D3, D6, D6C; DC) = Professional models
DD = Direct Drive or Disc Drive ?
DX (only DX100) = DD + EX head?
EJ (only EJ95) = Sports Walkman J-League
EK (EK1, EK3) = cheaper full logic transparent plastic model ?
EJ = "Beans" transparent plastic model
EX = EX amorphous head
F = radio
FK = EK + radio
FS = sports with radio
FX = EX with radio
GX = EX with radio and recording
HG (only WM-EX1/2/808) = high gloss (Chrome) - EX1 Gold is not HG
J (only WM-J501) = ?
MV (WM-MV1) = cheaper model with metal case
R = recording
RX = EX with recording
SX (only WM-SX77) = sporty EX-model
W (only WM-W800) = double deck
WE/WX = Wireless

I hope you can add or correct the list.
AIWA, Sanyo, Sharp, Panasonic, ... are interesting too

Thanks!

 

I believe you nailed most of them.

I consider "F" as a short form for "FM".
I think "J" means "Japan Model"; the WM-501J was a Japan-only model to the best of my knowledge.
The "W" in "WM-W800" probably means "Double" (as the letter W is pronounced "double-you").

 

Panasonic XBS - Extra bass system
Aiwa BBE - Barcus Berry Electronic??
Sony AVLS - Automatic Volume Limiter System
Sony ESP - Electronic Shock Protection
Sony G Protection - Gravity protection?
Sony MDLP - Minidisc Long Play

 

Sony DD = Disc Drive.

Sony don’t make a Direct Drive portable.

 

Thank you for this. So much. Part of the whole reason I joined the forum.

Are the GX units the only ones outfitted with Radio -and- recording?

 

And let's add the non "walkman" stuff too:

TC-... = Tape cassette/corder, mono when used in small portables, before the introduction of the stereo walkman (example: TC-50, TM-55)
BM-... = Business machine, models marketed as dictation machines for executives (example: BM-11, BM-12)
TCM-...= Tape corder mono
TCS-... = Tape corder stereo
TPS-... = Tape player stereo (seems to have only one other iteration besides the TPS-L2, the TPS-R10)

And some other suffixes
-...S = Silver plated (WM-701S)
-...T = The also silver plated Tiffany version (WM-701T)
-...EX (at the very back) = Special "Excellent" model (WM-3EX)
-...V = Recorders with the VOR system that only records when there's sound
-...D = Recorders marketed with the double recording time feature (half speed)

Sony seems rather inconsistent though in using these letters, and there are often many exceptions that do not fit the pattern. And there's also some special prefixes for special product lines like ...-E(letter)... for the Yppy & Beans models.

No, there are others, including:
WM-F2 = The first radio + recording walkman, if I'm not mistaken.
WM-F707 = Why they don't use FR here, don't know. But they didn't use it in the F2 either and this was before the GX series
WA-11
WA-55
WA-66 = The WA series are more like super mini boomboxes. But for me, due to the layout, some like these 3 can still be considered walkmans

 

I think that's another never ending debate topic that has also been discussed elsewhere. I personally am leaning on disc being different from direct. I'm looking the the drive from the point of view of the media. The DD walkman motor indirectly pulls the tape by directly turning the capstan. As opposed to DD cassette decks where the capstan is the axle of the motor itself and directly contacts the tape. The DD walkman is more like an idler-drive turntable without the idler wheel/a rim drive system.

 

Great insight here. Thank you for this.

Not to stray from the purpose of the thread, but the F707 (is this different from R707?) is gorgeous. I can't find the manual, but Walkman Central's write up of the R notes it can only record mic in. Are you aware if that's also the case with the F? (Record from radio is always my aim.)

 

GX models were the only ones to have both recording and FM radio since 1993.
Before that, the following models had recording and radio:
WM-F2 (1982)
WM-F85 (1986)
WM-F202 (1987)
WM-F707 (1990)

There were around 12 GX models between 1993 and 2003: WM-GX707, WM-GX711, WM-GX312, WM-GX822, WM-GX322, WM-GX677, WM-GX323, WM-GX200, WM-GX688, WM-GX400, WM-GX202, WM-GX788.

The WM-F707 can also record from a Microphone. Here's a promotional photo of it, showing the included Mic:

 

Stuck-in-time just explained it in post 8.

The motor is in contact with the under side of the Rotor Assembly which is like a rubber ring around the flywheel that drives the capstan, it's driven by friction not gears.

 

The F707 has a plastic front cover while the R707 has a gorgeous dark blue metal cover. I don't know abut reording from the radio though.

And I just remembered that some the WM-W800 came with a radio tuner pack for side A, and side B has a record function. So it qualifies as a radio recording walkman as well.

 

Is there a common name (or nickname) for all fancy metal clamshell models, primarily for the Japanese market, mostly with gumstick battery, with nice counterbalanced cover, etc. to discern them from cheap plasticky ones? I've read somewhere people called them "stamina models" for using gumstick battery, or "ex models", but not all of them I believe use EX head, also there are cheap models that also have EX prefix.

Or is it vice versa: plastic ones are not proper walkmans, so there is no need to give a special name to metal ones?

In particular, I think I've read in some Sony ads for their cheap late 1990s-2000s walkman family, they were labeled as "slim" (as opposed to thicker models from the early 1990s).

 

I recall that around 1988-1989 slim models were called "Super Walkman" in the catalogs I have seen.
After the WM-701C most slim models were marked "EX".

 

I think the Super Walkman name started in the mid 80's with the WM-10/20. Super small indeed for the era

 

I see "Super Walkman" moniker used in 1990, 1991 European catalogs. But I cannot figure out the system. Some are superslim metal ones with full logic control, other have traditional mechanical linkage like the ex50, it does not even have amorphous head that was one of Sony's bragging points! Not sure what was "super" about it.

 

Regarding model naming after 1990, I think it went something like this (IMHO and AFAIK is added to every statement below).

Prefixes

Early on Sony latched on "WM" prefix for walkmans. But then they figured that with the proliferation of different models they need more distinction and system.

A two-letter prefix means:

First letter:

• E - no radio
• F - has radio
• G - can record (and has radio?)

Second letter:

• X - regular model
• S - sports model, that is, weather-proof, maybe water-resistant.

Post 1990 numbering scheme

In 1990 Sony released a new cheap family, starting with the WM-EX10/FX10. Then they kept adding new stylings until they reached FX46 and realized that they have EX48 and FX50 which are totally different ones, the FX50 even was branded as "Super Walkman" in 1990. So, Sony devised a new numbering system.

• 100 through 499 - cheap plastic walkmans with mechanical linkage for tape transport buttons (a few 4XX models have full logic control).
• 500 through 599 - entry-level higher-end models, some outer body parts made from plastic, AA battery instead of gumstick, a remote is not always provided.
• 600 through 999 - proper superslim metal models with gumstick battery, full logic control, remote, etc.

Cheap 1990-1999 "all plastic" models

In the 100 - 499 region Sony carved four segments:

• 100 through 199 - single direction, radio with manual tuning (if equipped)
• 200 through 299 - single direction, radio with digital tuning (if equipped)
• 300 through 399 - autoreverse, radio with manual tuning (if equipped)
• 400 through 499 - autoreverse, radio with digital tuning (if equipped)

In each segment there would usually be a family of models, adding features like Mega Bass, tone controls and Dolby NR, the latter would only be allowed for the top of the line models. At some point Sony decided to assign models with radio odd numbers, while models without radio had even numbers.

For example:
WM-FX101: a single-direction walkman with manual radio tuning. It has sister models: FX103 adds Mega Bass and Bass/Treble tone controls. FX105 adds Dolby NR.
WM-EX102: single direction, no radio, has Mega Bass. WM-EX104 adds Dolby NR.
WM-FX301: autoreverse walkman with radio, otherwise the same as the FX101.
WM-EX302: autoreverse walkman, no radio, otherwise the same as the EX102.
WM-FX303: autoreverse walkman with radio, adds Mega Bass, otherwise the same as the FX301.
WM-FX305: autoreverse walkman with radio, adds Dolby, otherwise the same as the FX303.
WM-FX401: a base model for FX401/FX403/FX405/FX407 family, it is autoreverse walkman with digital tuner. FX403 adds Mega Bass. FX 405/407 add Dolby NR.

There were outliers belonging to this family, like WM-2051, WM-2061, WM-2055, WM-2065/F2065, WM-F2068 — no idea where these numbers came from.

All of the above models have two capstans, even those that are single-direction. On single-direction models the reverse capstan is shortened and a corresponding pinch roller is removed. They could not remove the capstan completely, because it serves as an axle for the second flywheel, so all these models have two flywheels and they all use the same type of rubber belt, "3-354-868-11" according to Sony's service manual.

Cheap 1995-2010 "metal frame" or "slim" models

Around 1995 Sony created another platform for cheap walkmans, and it happened to become the last cheap Sony platform that was in use until 2010 or 2012, when Sony pulled the plug. I am not sure which model was the first in this family, I think it was WM-EX170. These models use the same numbering scheme as above, but the numbers usually are in the upper range of each hundred, like FX425 is from the 1990-1999 models, FX435 is from the 1995-2010 models.

For example:
WM-EX170: single-direction with no radio. The original base model for this whole series.
WM-FX171: has the same mechanism as the EX170, but with manual radio. WM-FX173 addes two-way tone controls.
WM-FX433: autoreverse with digital radio. FX435 adds Dolby NR.
WM-FX451: autoreverse with digital radio. FX453 adds Mega Bass. FX455 adds Dolby NR.

There were some higher-end yet cheap 4XX models with full logic control, like FX477, FX487, FX493, this is a testament to the quality of the last cheap generation mechanism that had a metal frame.

In this family, single-direction models have only one flywheel, so they use a shorter rubber belt, "3-013-560-11". Autoreverse models have two flywheels and use a different belt, "3-938-657-11".

Maybe someone in the know will be kind enough to divulge the sizes of these belts

 

Hi,

How about AF-57/BF-57 and AF-67/BF-67 models?