Best deals: Walkmans

I'm also a little heartbroken at these prices. It makes the devices absolutely unattainable to anyone who isn't hell bent on having one. I understand that a perfect condition one ought to sell for a lot because it's basically got 'museum' status but $1000 bucks is a lot of money. I guesstimate that the DC2 I linked will probably end up selling for just shy of 1000 euros. Looking back at past auctions I've seen them go for as low as 250 euros in 'fair' condition. The prices vary so wildly that I can't tell what will go for what these days.

As for current prices I think we have our best friend Hugo to blame for that and maybe even Techmoan too. Historically, before techmoan made his 2015 debut Walkman video, Walkmans were selling on eBay for a fraction of the price they are now. It almost kind of makes me angry when one particularly rare or very good condition Walkman ends up on eBay with a "oh I had this sitting in my attic for 30 years and didn't realise I was sitting on a gold mine, so have at it ya'll! <bid starting price at 400 euros or more>" -__-

I know with patience I will eventually wind up owning all the models I want, maybe deep down I am even kind of 'okay' with the value skyrocketing because I will feel better when I do eventually score those Walkman of my dreams. But for now, it just reminds me of the kind of greed I see from those TV shows eg. "storage wars" or "antique pickers". People trying to cash in whilst the market is up.

One other example. I am currently waiting incredibly patiently for one eBay fellow to list another one of his many HS-PC202 Mk3 beauties (I think I am addicted to AIWA by this point). Even though the HS-PX303 is superior by all means, I would like a well performing AIWA Walkman for my daily use that I would not be so inclined to just leave on my table for playing at home. Well... I recently found one of these Mk3 models and from none other than someone in my home country!



That price is just mind-blowing, also given that he purchased this item from the same lovely fellow over at Tapeheads. So we have on our hands just another man looking to flip the price and make more than a 100% profit. Given that the nice guy over on tape heads has sold ~180 of these exact models all BNIB (new old stock) and all at a price of 124.95 euros. This guy above is asking for more than double the going price. Looking around further finds they have been selling in 'used' condition for about 70 euro, and in very good condition a little closer to 100. But almost 210 euro??? This is a great model, but it is no PX series or Sony DD!

Now comes the part where I say he is free of course to list as he feels the item is worth, but now I say I have spoken to him via message and he has bought from our same lovely friend on tapeheads. So naturally I am not impressed when I see someone reselling to a smaller market on ebay.com.au at more than double the price. The item is also btw, listed on an Australian only classifieds by the same person for the same price.

As much I want these devices to retain their value. I am more interested in the 'personal value' and not the act of merchanting a niche product to inflate the price. Which I think we can all say happens all the time for the likes of the DD9 and other very highly rated devices. Side note: I have been 'watching' one DD9 on eBay for more than 9 months that remains unsold for an asking price of $1599 and it is actually in one of the worst conditions I've seen of pretty much any DD9 I've seen, I feel bad saying and maybe some will crucify me, but I hope it remains that way. That is no small sum, even for what people consider the best.

And so every few hours I refresh my browser to see if one of these Mk3's have been listed by the nice fellow who has sold many of them. I only wish I had bought one months ago when my girlfriend told me that if I didn't I'd regret it. Certainly learned my lesson. Hopefully they aren't all gone.

Perhaps one day if I am consumed by the Walkman virus I will move to America, sell all that I have except enough to buy a van and comb the country top to bottom searching every garage sale that I can get to. At least where I am currently located in Europe, 'garage sales' and 'vintage record stores' where you are going to maybe just maybe find a nice model in the bottom of a box somewhere, are about as likely as getting struck by lightning.

I am somewhere in the middle of being very happy for you that you have enough donors to always have a wonderfully working DC2, and halfway between the 'one amazing Walkman per person please!' Leave some for the rest of us

EDIT: To remain on topic. Here is a near mint HS-PC202 in very nice condition (and I think also quite reasonably priced ) up for grabs to anyone who speaks German (or use Google Translate ) and can convince him to sell it to you. I will offer you one HUGE tip btw, eBay kleinanzeigen censors ANY country name that is not Germany in messages, deliberately to keep out international buyers. The best way around this is to ask the seller to move to eg. Whatsapp or get creative when trying to get around the word filters. If any message sent to a seller/buyer has the name of a country in any language (English, German, etc) the message will not reach the other person and you won't even get a notification that they didn't get it. The other person will just get no message at all. I have a very amusing story if anyone is willing to listen to it, as to how I learned of this.

Anyway here is the Walkman Nice condition but I don't know what I can say for the design

https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s...yer-dolby-b-und-c-walkman/1156581595-172-1192

FINAL EDIT: Forgot to mention the description does not say if it is "fully" working, it just states the device's specifications.

 

givemeyourwalkmans do you have other good personal stereos if so why are you looking to buy more?

I have to say for me I am not a collector of anything, well just my pay packet i guess. For me it’s all about the music and the best sound quality I can find.

 

So far I have only a mint DD3 which I am quite happy with, could definitely do with a tuning etc, and I do wish it had Mega Bass. I have also the not-so-well-working DD33 I have mentioned in another thread which I am going to take care of. One flawlessly working (apparently) HS-PC202 Mk2 coming in the mail, and I am looking to buy a mk3 as soon as I can find one and a PX303 or 505 (or both) which those two I desperately want. Originally I wanted a DD30 but I heard too many complaints about them (quite some people said even the DD33 had better sound quality) and even Dr. Walkman said he wouldn't recommend upgrading a DD30 (the D3 on the other hand was another topic due to different circuitry). Sure I would love a DC2 or DD9 (who wouldn't?) Doubt I will ever buy either one though unless I find one at a price I can justify.

I don't collect anything, don't spend a lot of money on really anything, don't consider myself a collector of Walkmans etc. I think it's mostly a thing because my father is a recording producer and still uses analogue for his own recordings (he's 70 and retired now though). I have a loooot of cassettes thanks to my Dad. He bought hundreds and hundreds in his younger years and got them from friends and family.

I think I first got into Walkmans a year or so ago when I found a microcassette which had a recording of my grandfather's voice on it (very nice transatlantic accent btw, he had been gone for almost 40 years) and I wanted to surprise my dad by ripping it to a digital format but I needed first a device to do that. So I got one, a pretty decent microcassette corder with a line out. From that I just started going through our entire huge cassette collection. The rest is history.

But you have all those DC2's how can you say that

 

Be happy for me, i now have 2 working units and spare parts to make up 1 more .
I rotate through my units every week, i use a unit for a week and get something else out the following week. They are used daily for my commute to and from work.

 

Is that for personal preference or you do that to spread the wear over more than once device? Just curious.

 

@givemeyourwalkman
if you have a D3, you have enough.
that's a good one.
spend more money on a good deck, far more important.

 

@TooCooL4
funny, everybody was hunting for the boodoo. i knew, its the dc2..
that 2001 sjit
a part of my walkman collection

 

Oh i can say that as i kept buying them as i wanted one without a broken main gear, in the end a member here renzgi fixed the gears for me and i gave him a DC2 as a thank you for fixing the gears.

 

Nice

 

Just for you givemeyourwalkman

 

yep
when your old skool, you know your stuff
funny, you were also which switched sides. after the boodoo, it's not the dd9, its the dc2..

 

yep, that's a nice pic
a real dc2 collector. no dd9 here...

funny, found my toshiba kt 4066 better than a dc2... but it's bulky...
that's why i prefered the dc2..

 

19lexicon78 i have never seen or heard a Boodoo Khan so i can't comment, but it has never appealed to me.

 

it was pre mega bass. iow dd2 with mega basss.
the dc2 had different head, dolby c
ok, i like the look of the boodoo.
but it's not a dc2 soundwise..

yep, i prefer pro-audio stuff.
perhaps that's the reason i prefer a tcd5 pro2 besides all other walkman.
i'm a pro-audio guy..

 

I still maintain i am not a collector, just want the best sound i can get hold of on the move
3 of the best below?

 

i prefer the d5 pro 2
i prefer body/mass in it's sound.
the d6c is too thin, i don't like it.
for portable, it's the dc2
don't like the dd9. just don't like the sound. i do like it's build quality, which is far better than a dc2.
but not it's sound, it's dull, it's not fun.
if i had to choose of those 3.
the dc2
it's sound is most fun and portable
even it's not portable, i still like the dc2 more than d6c. because it's sound is more fun. if i want good sound, i use a deck.

 

I do know of one possibly better personal stereo, better than anything else and under the radar it's an Aiwa. I was told about this unit by Dr Fang Bian, the head designer and owner of hifiman. We chatted about it when he saw me testing one of his headphones with my DC2.
I have been looking for this Aiwa for years now, but i only ever see broken ones from time to time and people still want loads of money for it.
I would like to get one just to find out for myself.

 

If i want the best sound on the move it's the D6C and the portable amp, at home it's the record player and second best it's the Nakamichi Cr-7.

 

tja, perhaps it's 5% better.
too me, walkman are fun. if i want good, i would go for digital. because cassettes are not good.
walkman are a feeling and personal and to me the dc2 is the ultimate 80's walkman. my ultimate walkman.
if i want good, i go digital or perhaps better R2R. that's another story.

to me, if you can find the aiwa, good for you.
for portable, it's the dc2 baby/ it's ultimate 80's, it's ultimate funnn.
that's why prices are soo high, it's emotion. you pay for emotion

 

perhaps the nak zxl 1000 is the ultimate nak.
i like the nak 682 more than dragon and co
i wouldn't suprise me the decks of the 90's are better dolby s and sjit