Which of these Sony walkman options should I buy ?

Thank you everyone for your help. I will try to find better models for a while. If I can't find it, I go for aiwa js415. At least it has dolby

 

Another angle to consider: are you listening primarily through headphones and some portables, or have a Stereo at home? I am blessed with a Boss who lets me play music at home, and the fun of recording and playing back cassettes is soo much cheaper (plus sound quality is soo much better!) through a cassette deck, not a Walkman
My (locally snatched) Yamaha cassette deck cost me less than a broken Walkman, and with a bit of cleaning and lubrication it did not even need a new belt, although I did buy one for the price of the the deck itself

Ever since my long talks with my local Chicago hi-end dealer, I stopped worrying about Dolby: for the sound of Nothing we have Digital, but tapes recorded from LPs preserve the magic of Analog, and hiss + W&F is a part of that magic!

 

A good point Jorge. Thinking about TooCool4's car analogy I doubt if anyone uses a Ferrari as their daily driver. I did have an eccentric colleague who used a Caterham 21 as his, although even he had enough sense to have a basic Citroen as a backup for when the Caterham was off the road, which was for over a year when it needed a new Chassis.

I wouldn't want to try and count how many devices for playing cassettes I have here. There are about six personal stereos just by my side. None, including the Aiwa GS302 (which has Dolby) which I bought new when they were still in the shops, cost more than $40.

 

Using something daily or not, does not mean much. Things will deteriorate with or without use, in fact somethings deteriorate faster when not used so like it or not they will need servicing and parts. If you can’t afford the servicing or parts, what’s the point of having it? Unless you like having a paper weight to look at.

 

Yes, there is a point in what TC4 wrote. I will probably sell my D6C because I don't use it much (trying to use it once a month to not get it to bad state). Too big to use it as travel companion and eats 4 batteries a lot faster than EX622 one
I found sweet spots in Walkmans that I like after a lot of searching, buying, trying to repair, servicing etc.

 

For me dolby on walkmans is not a big question. I almost nerver use it. I fel it is the charm with using walkmans

 

Hello again. I found Sony walkman wm-2 for $25. seller says it is working. There are 2 more options. Ex521 and fx521. I know that the Wm-2 is more valuable than these 2 models, but I'm wondering is Wm-2 better than these 2 models in terms of sound quality ?

 

The WM-2 has good sound, but do keep in mind later ones (higher serial number) have the broken center gear problem, as the DD ones.
The electronics side is similar to the WM-DD, which has very good sound. This is one of the situations where I would agree that, although the EX ones might have higher frequency reponse, the WM-2 will sound better despite going only to 15kHz.

@Emiel bought one (serial 241322) with this problem, which was sent to me for repair.
Don't know exactly what the threshold serial would be, but if it's below 100.000, probably higher chance of having the thick gear (which does not break).
Below 50.000 I would almost bet it has the thick one. So I would ask the seller about the serial before deciding.
Indeed the WM-2 is a lot more valuable than the EX521 and FX521, but might also require a pretty involved repair if it has a broken center gear.
Even if it has a good gear, replacing the belt itself is involved, as it requires the PCB to be removed. A good cleaning of the mechanism and relubrication is recommended (in my opinion necessary).

 

I asked for the serial number, waiting for a reply @Valentin

By the way, while I was looking for a walkman, I found and bought a boombox 2 days ago. Hitachi trk 7620. Seller said Only the belt of the play button needs to be changed. Are there members on the forum who are experts in Boombox? I need to learn information such as what kind of belt to buy for Boombox and how to change it.

 

That Hitachi TRK7620 seems to be a rarer boombox. I'm not familiar with the unit itself, but at first glance I can't find a belt specifically designed for it, which makes me think you will probably have to find one by dimension.
I suggest posting in the Boombox Tech Talk section, as there is more likely you will find someone familiar with the unit there.

 

Serial number "545934" would you recommend me to buy it ? The Gear is thin and breakable I guess, right? @Valentin

 

Not breakable, it's broken for sure. None of these walkmans with thin gear has an intact one in 2021.

 

More commonly known as a 3D7. https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/hitachi_3d7_trk_7620hc.html I would start off with one of those packs of assorted belts. They are usually too thick for Walkmans but O.K. For Boomboxes. If it is like the Hitachi 3Ds I have had you undo a few screws and the entire top lifts off (although there will be wires going to the bottom half) allowing you to see the belts on the bottom of the decks.

 

Thanks for information. I will not take it. I'll probably get one of the ex521 or fx521. I'll open another thread for boombox. I will post videos and photos in a few days. I will ask everything I want to know in that topic.

 

Hello everyone.I know my Walkman purchase process took a long time but i found 1 more model and i will get one of 2 options tomorrow. I found Ex-511, other option is Ex-521. As a number, 521 is obviously higher than 511 but sometimes lower numbers can be better models. I'll take my final decision whichever is better, Ex-511 is slightly more expensive but it's very clean condition.