I bought this as working, but sadly, it doesn't, despite some specific questions I had asked. Namely, my D3 won't rewind with a cassette in it, and either with or without one, it will make loud clicks while rewinding; it will fast forward, and it will play, but faint clicks will be heard during playback, and the tape counter stays at 000. I've also heard some distortion after initially okay playback, which went away by stopping and then resuming playback. Not yet sure if this was just a bad cassette maybe. It also sometimes doesn't play or stops playing when I wiggle the cassette lid around a bit (like slightly press on it), which I assume is an open-sensor being a bit too sensitive. So, mainly thinking about the major faults which I guess most people with DD Walkmans here recognize immediately, and only with a second thought to the latter issues... given I am in Europe, are there repair persons I could get this to within the EU (Customs are a nuisance here), is there anyone who doesn't have long wait queues, and roughly speaking, what sort of money am I looking at? I understand it's going to be a wide range. The thing, is, the seller is willing to refund part of the purchase price, and I'd rather do that than return it, as I think I'd have to fight that, and I honestly don't want to risk it. Besides, the Walkman is aesthetically very close to new.
These problems that you mentioned are common for D3 walkman. It need gear repair and need for a counter belt. repairing D3 central gear and applying a counter belt is somehow more challenging that a regular DD walkman. You can contact @matic777 who can help you.
You know, I'm starting to feel convinced that I've bought the hardest imaginable Walkman to repair or get repaired, and that even if I had actually gotten a working one, it was bound to break soon, so... not such a bright idea in hindsight. And I should have known, really: I feel like I've been reading only those parts of the web, including this forum, that supported my idea of wanting a professional recording Walkman, hence either a D3 or a D6(C) (which just didn't come up with as good a deal, but potentially I could have ended up with one). But still, this is the second recommendation to get it done by matic777, so I'll definitely consider that. I am more reluctant to attempt my own repair, but maybe I'll mull over it a while. What's for sure is that I have to decide whether to accept the seller's proposal for a partial refund. He's giving me €50 and honestly I don't think it makes sense to ask for more, and a return would be a headache, so I think I'll take it regardless of whether and how to get it repaired later.
well, in my opinion you have 3 options: 1- get the $50 refund and spend on repair. 2- send the walkman back, get a full refund and buy a fixed DD walkman from few members who are in this business. Either way you have to spend more money 3rd option: get a DD gear kit from @mihokm , read through the guide of how to fix a DD central gear carefully. (If this is your first experience fixing walkmans most probably you will fail the process for small mistakes including losing plastic washers, spring... UNLESS you read the guide several times and store the parts in secure place). once you feel comfortable with the guide you need to know that D3 requires extra steps to change/ repair the broken gear. Also there might be another cracked gear in D3 (which is common) that needs to be fixed and the kit is available on Mihokm's store : small reel gear:https://fixyouraudio.com/product/sony-wm-dd3-small-reel-gear/ central gear: https://fixyouraudio.com/product/sony-wm-dd3-walkman-new-center-gear-repair-kit/
That's what I understand too... the main gear is probably also broken, because, well, they mostly all are, aren't they? and also I can hear some faint clicking during playback. But rewind just doesn't work, and makes a loud click; plus, the tape counter is dead, which I understand is also tied to the rewind gear, unless I misunderstood. Any clue if the rewind gear is any easier to access/fix than the main gear, in case at least that part is something I can manage to try on my own? In other news, the prerecorded cassettes I've tried playing have all sounded quite awful, although they have somehow reactivated the brain centers that miss the sounds of my '90s... but on the other hand, I tried a classical music cassette that I had recording myself and, mind, I'm no audiophile (I'm playing Dolby B encoded tapes with Dolby B disengaged, if that tells you anything), but I think it sounds pretty darned amazing.
Bleh, I'm stupid. One thing that hadn't even crossed my mind to check (despite knowing the D3 isn't quartz-controlled) was to check for correct playback speed. The music just seemed to come out right, but evidently I'm not a good judge of that, because it runs noticeably slower than my computer playing the same thing from YouTube, while on the other hand, an old cheap inherited computer-style mono cassette recorder has more or less the correct speed. So I guess I'm adding speed adjustment to the every growing list of repairs I'll have to get done... kinda wish I hadn't accepted the seller's partial refund at this point.
I did a tutorial on restoring the WM-D3 (link below), covering everything that needs to be done to bring it fully functional again. This unit will need a complete overhaul, as most of them are sold with a broken center gear and were most likely never serviced. Even one with a replaced center gear will likely need the electronics to be adjusted; that's assuming the mechanical side was done correctly, which is not always the case. You need roughly 50euros (including shipping) to fix the mechanical side properly. That's assuming you will repair the unit yourself, of course. For the electronics side, you will at least need a TrueRMS multimeter to do the adjustments properly. If you do not have a Dolby level tape, that adds about 40$ (including shipping). To offer my opinion regarding the feasibility of repairing a WM-D3, it all comes down to how much you are willing to pay. If you can find a defective unit between 100-200$ in good cosmetical condition, it is certainly worth repairing. However, it is to be noted that most units on ebay are listed at prices close to 300$, some of the sellers even asking ridiculous prices of 400-500$ for units that are listed as working, but have broken center gears. That price may only be worth for a unit in original box with all accessories. From time to time, there are reasonable auctions where you can buy such a unit at a realistic price. But most of the time I find sellers who just ask a lot more than the walkman is worth (and that's true for most SONY high-end walkmans, not just for the D3). https://stereo2go.com/forums/threads/sony-wm-d3-restoration-tutorial.6884/
Hi, I'm a little late to this discussion but just wanted to share my experiences with restoring WM-D3 and other walkmans. I've recently finished changing center wheel of a otherwise mint condition WM-DC2 as my fist project. This went well but required quite a lot of concentration and patience. Now I just restored a D3, changing center wheel and rubber band for counter, this went easier as it was my second project. As a general note, you need to find this kind of projects fun and ready to accept challenges and setbacks. Neither my DC2 or D3 worked perfectly directly after changing center wheel, it needed some adjustments so they were disassembled partly a couple of times but once you get them up and running including ff and rev it is a very satisfying feeling. Also I would not buy refurbished items on Ebay and other sites unless you know the person who done it. Better to buy broken/non working ones but that are otherwise in good physical condition naturally if the price is right.
I find the D3 underrated, at least a properly restored one Recording performance may not be on par with the D6C, but the compact size and Dolby B make it a proper, more portable recorder. It is not as heavy, but still weighty enough. In terms of playback, although not quartz driven, it is still a very stable disc drive with good W&F. The more compact later Sony recorders will certainly not outperform it. It can power more beefier headphones and, the battery status indicator uses all 5 LEDs The down side: the cassette door, the latch could not be more flimsy. However, while recording the door is held shut by the weight of the unit. Make sure you don’t skip this one when looking for DD units, although it only has one D in the model number!
Just my opinion the WM-D3 is not underrated, it’s just a very poor scaled down D6C which they got badly wrong. I would not have this unit if I was given it for free.
I like your response @TooCooL4 . Given however the prices a D6C seems to go for nowadays, the D3 is a more conscious price alternative. Will it be as good as de D6C? No. Will it do fine for a lot of tape enthousiasts? I think so. On the comparison between the 2: why did Sony opt for this single LED battery status on the D6C? It uses the same CX10043 IC as LED driver in both units. Minor thing, but as you may notice, this (electrical design) decision or feature still bothers me more than 35 years after first release.
Emiel like I said it's my personal opinion. I have 2 broken D3's which I took the center gears out of to use in DC2's, if people don't need recording DC2 is a better unit to go for and if you need recording I still would avoid the D3 don't know what Sony was thinking off .
@Emiel Now that I think again about it I have a potential explanation for why Sony did opt for single LED battery status on the D6C. First, the D6C is an older unit which design did not change too much over the years: through hole components mostly and single sided PCBs. Even the newer one with double sided green PCB, although had made some changes like putting the EQ and muting modules as discrete circuits onto the PCB, moving the DC-DC onto the PCB and changing the servo IC, the overall design had not changed very much. They never re-designed it from scratch. The D3, however used a double sided, double load PCB with a lot more SMD components. The muting circuit is more complex in the D3, having a separate muting function for the led drive. This is needed, because otherwise the signal level and battery level would be displayed at the same time, rendering the function useless. The D6C used that potted muting module, containing 4 or 5 transistors depending on model. The D3 has 13 transistors in total for the various muting functions. There is also a lot more space on the D3 PCB, as it only uses a single small package Dolby IC (CXA1058M), compared to 2 x CX20068/CX20218 in the D6C (which have a very big footprint because of complexity of Dolby C encoding/decoding circuits). The small board (single sided) where the VU-meter is located in the D6C, which also contains Dolby and EQ switches also has the CX10043 IC. Of course at the end of the day it's debatable: they probably could have done it if they really really wanted to, but there were a lot of elements that needed modification: main PCB, small PCB, likely more wires. I guess they just decided not to bother, as it's not a critical function because many reporters and professional users certainly had more than 4 batteries with them in case they get depleted. And they could just replace the batteries once the leds start to get a little dim in order not to risk. @Rune Lindman Good job with the restoration ! Indeed these DD units will need more than just swapping an old center gear with a new one. I'll link a couple of those below (there are more), for reference: - motor position adjustment: https://stereo2go.com/forums/thread...tments-applies-to-d6c-tc-d5m.7377/#post-53799 - center gear ring sanding: https://stereo2go.com/forums/thread...-wobble-problem-and-solution.7387/#post-53936 - in some cases pinch roller may need replacement: https://stereo2go.com/forums/thread...eplacement-complete-tutorial.7412/#post-54116 - auto-stop levers clearning: https://stereo2go.com/forums/threads/sony-dd-series-play-ff-rew-buttons-not-latching.7524/ These are just on the mechanical side and the list is far from complete, the slider needs to be repaired (spring bent down) most of the times, the takeup reel plastic support may need to be glued, center gear arm bent upwards. On the electronics side a minimum would be the following: - glue all 3 jacks and clean them with contact cleaner, as they're prone to breaking - clean the volume potentiometer, record level potentiometer, the 2 leaf switches, record/playback switch - replace a resistor in the VU-meter sample and hold circuit for proper level display - PB, REC levels and bias adjustments if you want proper Dolby decoding/encoding - azimuth may also need adjustment in some cases One can see there are a lot of things to do if one really wants to bring the unit in like new condition. As with other belt driven units, it's rarely "just a belt", like many ebay sellers put it asking for a high price. As for the quality of the unit, it's a decent one, but not as good as other DD units. It's quite noisy compared to the D6C, both on playback and recording. But for what it is it's a unit I really like for the very small form factor. It's comparable in size to the TCD-D7/D8 DAT units.
