Small cheap Walkman for daily playing with helpful features

I've recently bought a WM-D3. It's partly broken (usual stuff, I have a thread about it), but it sounds good to me. Now however, the D3 is all metal and very heavy and doesn't have autoreverse, among other things.

It's good to listen to music at home, but now I'd like something cheap to actually listen to cassettes while walking and to reduce a bit the mess my cassettes are, by cataloguing what's on them song by song.

So for this reason I'd like a Walkman with

• AMS (automatic fast forward / rewind to nearest empty section of a tape)
• Autoreverse
• Dolby B and Type switch (but they're not even essential if it sounds pretty good and has bass and treble controls)
  
• Ideally, bass and treble controls, but I could live without them
• Decent sound, which definitely doesn't mean D3-level, just as decent as it gets for the above features and a cheap price (I'm thinking €50 or below)

As I write this, I'm thinking of the Walkman I've had for many years, which is a WM-EX382, one of the many '90s plastic models with a "triangle" on the front. It has autoreverse, Dolby B, bass/treble equalizer, and Type selector, as well as Megabass which I don't suppose I need, but may end up getting anyway.
So the box this model doesn't tick (apart from mine being broken) is AMS. I suspect it might move me to a completely different line, because I assume AMS implies servo controls with "feather touch" keys, which this doesn't have.

So that's why I'm asking. I could probably find a lot of models with the features I'm after, but there are literally hundreds of Walkmans in each of their lines, and I'm really not even limited to any Sony Walkmans... if you can suggest something else (Panasonic, Aiwa...) that fits the bill and sounds decent, it'll do. Again, the "sounding decent" thing isn't actually a huge priority, because for good sound I have the D3, but it's the one thing that I can't just figure out from specs of eBay listings I come across... whereas you may know models that shine despite being inexpensive.

I'd also lean towards "as modern as possible" to minimize risk of things being broken or quickly breaking due to age, although maybe you would suggest to go with an older but easier to repair model... consider, though, that I mostly can't repair a thing (can't solder, for a start).

Alternatively or in addition, although that should go to another subforum, I'd kinda like a small deck ("midi" size?) that has the aforementioned features, and is also cheap. But maybe I should think about this later. In the case of a deck, though, I'd also like it to have decent recording, with automatic calibration for tape type.

P.S.: models that use a "gumstick" battery are also okay, since I have a charger for that, and I understand new batteries are available and cheap. In fact, given I'd like the walkman to be small, it might be a better option than AA.

 

You placed some options on you future potential walkman but you want it to be cheap. May I ask about your definition of cheap?
There are several brands that can serve you with your criteria but I need to know how much you want to spend.

 

Sorry, I tend to write long posts, so the details get a bit buried within. I did say €50 or less is the rough budget.
I'm willing to compromise on sound quality to keep within it, but I'm afraid requiring AMS alone may put me above this budget... otherwise, I think WM-EX models like my 382 are probably cheap, but those have mechanical actions.

Still, there are very many Walkman models around and some are pretty obscure (even more if you count what's not actually Sony). Some are at a premium because of being the first at something, or the very top of a line, or a design icon... so I'm hoping maybe I can sneak my hands into some of the rest.

 

OK, Lets see what you can get with €50 budget. Are you good at repairing walkmans/ electronics?

If you have knowledge of repairing electronics then your best option is Panasonic brand. Panasonic made several excellent quality walkman at the time. There are several models with your budget limit including: RQ-S11, RQ-S20, SX11, SX20, RQ-S45, RQ-S7R, ...... but if you find them at this time they need a lot of attention and maintenance work. Repairing of Panasonic walkmans require some soldering/ desoldering steps and there are other problems associated with these models (including possible cracked ring, leaked capacitors).


But if you have only limited experience of repairing walkman units then you should go for Sony brand, several Sony models fit in your budget limit. You need to change the belt and clean the walkman. Changing belt in most of Sony Walkman units is easy. something like EX808, EX610, EX88, EX621, EX707, EX77....

( I usually avoid any walkman with cheap plastic shell)

Another option and probably best option is to spend that €50 to service your current D3.

 

Unfortunately, soldering and unsoldering is off-limits, I've never done it and am a bit scared to try. So I'll keep an eye on the Sony models I guess... well, I'll probably watch both, maybe I'll run across a restored Panasonic for a reasonable price, miracles might happen. I've already learned at least part of my lesson when I bought the "all working" WM-D3 that actually requires professional repairs, though.

Repairing the D3... that will cost more than €50 from what I've seen, closer to €100 when shipping back and forth is considered. But, I do intend to do that anyway (it sounds good!), it's just that even after repairs, the D3 won't have the features I need to sort my cassettes, nor the weight and size to use it as an actual portable device outdoors these days. So I'd rather think of the D3 as a very small home deck. I wouldn't even mind that "foldable" Walkman that's actually smaller than a cassette... I don't remember the model, but anyway I assume that being a special piece of design, that's going to cost tons.

 

I suppose in the end I might have to get whatever shows up for a reasonable price on eBay, but in case I get some choice... do you have any particular favorites among the models you mentioned? Maybe some that are the least likely to have issues (even among the Sony)?

 

The unit to which you are referring is the SonyWM-20here is a link to some info

http://www.sonyvintage.com/?p=1282

 

To be honest i would do like Boodokan says and get your D3 fixed. Buying a cheap unit that probably will not sound as good plus you will more than likely have to spend even more money to fix.

Put your money into the D3. You have Doctor Walkman in Italy who will fix your D3 for you.

 

Thanks @Philip Taylor, that's odd, I had a completely different image of that Walkman in my mind. I probably wouldn't have guessed it was the one I had in mind if I had seen it. Apparently the WM-10 is like that too (https://walkmancentral.com/products/wm-10) but looks roughly the same anyway. Memory plays weird tricks.

@TooCooL4, as I said, I'm not considering them as alternatives... My D3 is getting fixed, maybe not today or tomorrow, but it sounds and looks to good to just keep it broken!
But to make sense of what's on a bunch of unlabelled cassettes, autoreverse and AMS can make the process considerably easier. And then if the Walkman is small, cheap and lightweight, I can actually use it outside as a bonus. I wouldn't risk that with the D3.
The D3 may go to Slovenia or Slovakia, just because I believe at least one of them is less swamped with work, but it doesn't make much difference because within the EU postage is pretty much equivalent to national postage. Or, I've been given pointers to fix it myself, and I'm still thinking about it, but ultimately I don't really want to kill it completely through my lack of expertise.

As an aside though, I remember reading that AMS can damage tapes somewhat, because it has the tape touching the head during fast movement, which is not great. Can you confirm that?

 

The AMS is more likely to create more head-ware than damaging the tape.

I use my D6C out and about and it’s bigger than the D3.

 

@TooCooL4 hah, I think I saw a photo of you with that gear on in some other thread... is the headphones amplifier really necessary when the D6C is powered by 4 AA? I was under the impression it had plenty of output power.

Anyway, it's a combination of being heavy to carry around (although it's half as heavy as your D6C!), fear of damaging it, and the fact I want AMS/autoreverse for other reasons. I'm not in a rush to buy this second Walkman, I'll get one when/if I find a good offer. After all plenty of people here have multiple Walkmans for different uses...
I'd have definitely liked a D6C, incidentally (even before knowing their center gears are less likely to crack than the D3, and they're quartz-controlled while my D3 runs slow now), but they do go for slightly crazy prices, even compared to the D3.

 

Hi LjL
There were I recall several models all similar .The WM-10 WM-20 WM-F20 (with radio)WM-30 WM40 and WM -FX. Here isa link showing all of them with from Just Casettes . One Of them was I recall was an American model. Ai think it was the WM40 but not sure if I am right off my. Head

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&url=https://www.just-cassette.com/post/sony-walkman-wm-10-wm-20-wm-30-wm-40-wm-fx-series-comparison&psig=AOvVaw0tCFEkyl8FwBb2NgWayMOE&ust=1581338069443000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAkQjhxqFwoTCLirgcG9xOcCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ

 

It’s got nothing to do with power, but more to do with control. The sound is cleaner and overall better with the amp between the player and headphones.

 

Oh, I know, I'll just buy https://www.ebay.com/itm/164061696961!

 

Does anyone know if there ever was a Walkman with AMS

Personally if you just want something to listen to tapes on the move I would go for something like this.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-Wal...803775?hash=item4b70ab06bf:g:4esAAOSwUvhd9TFQ

Yes it is very plasticy but it has loads of features, is lightweight and is fairly new.
Even if you need to change the belt it is a five minute job with a screwdriver.
I know as I have one, although I didn't pay that much.

 

@Longman oh there were lots of Walkmans with AMS! I'm still sifting through the very many models and submodels, which is a bit of a job, but roughly speaking, I'd say most Walkmans with "logic" controls ("feather-touch buttons", whatever we want to call it) had AMS, and some of them the related "Blank Skip" functionality, with the ones that include a radio being a big exception, because many of them have logic controls but lack AMS.

Anyway, one example is https://walkmancentral.com/products/wm-ex618 although I have no particular preference for it (but it's a variant on one of the models @Boodokhan recommended), it's just that it's the one model that the site provides as an example of AMS in its glossay of terms (https://walkmancentral.com/glossary).

At the moment I have two searches on watch on eBay, one for the models Boodokhan recommended, plus some others that I've found to be variants of them, and another search into title and description for models where autoreverse and AMS are mentioned. Few people actually list features in their eBay listings, but given how many model numbers there are, that's my workaround for the time being.

I wouldn't particularly mind the plasticky, although sleek metal models are cool (they also go for high prices, though), but I really would like to have AMS for all these mixtapes where there's all sorts of things recorded and they didn't even have a single label...

 

Wow i don't think so, silly money.

 

@TooCooL4 indeed, I obviously wasn't serious, but I was also very at it... I've seen "fully restored" units go for (several) hundreds, but not yet thousands. This D3 for instance https://www.ebay.it/itm/254479624403 I didn't think it would even sell at that price, but now I'm no longer sure... although the D6C does go for a fair bit more than the D3 in general. But eBay is getting a little crazy... I mean, sure, that one came with the original microphone, the original headstrap, the original box, and everything original, but still, thousands?!

 

Well i guess it only takes 2 people wanting something that badly to knock the price up.

 

Or sometimes even just one, plus the seller under an alternate account...
I'd have liked to know what sort of bidding pattern there was, but the auction was marked private, meaning no such insight.