Small cheap Walkman for daily playing with helpful features

Sorry to bother you @Boodokhan... would you say the WM-EX612 is roughly equivalent to the other EX models you mentioned as fitting the bill, sounding decent and the belt being easy to replace if needed? There are so many models, you have to get what shows up to an extent...

Not a lot of information specifically about this model on the web, but it feels a bit like many of these full-logic models are very similar internally but with a different appearance and button arrangement.

 

Toshiba‘s are very good and highly underrated, saw f.ex. a KT-4078 for less than 60 euros on ebay. i personally love those units (and similar) and even the bulky plastic Toshibas with ffd and rwd on the reel-axles are often offered for low budget and soundwise extremely good (with equivalent headphones off course...)

 

...or for example check out this on german local ebay:

https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s...buttons&utm_medium=social&utm_content=app_ios

 

WM-EX612 can be a good alternative.

 

I agree with you that Toshiba Walkys are very underrated. I have a large selection of Toshiba portable players. The problem Of Toshiba brand is with the mechanical/ movement parts. I have practices with most of Toshiba Walkmans. That Specific model KT-4078 is a good option which doesn't have the famous faulty FFW and REW bottons installed on spools.

The other model you recommended from local German site :https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s...buttons&utm_medium=social&utm_content=app_ios
This model is more difficult to repair. The capacitors are good quality on this model. But the movement parts are little difficult to repair. On this model "KT-4056" several cracks can happens from gears to take up spindle to REW....
It is a good walkman if it is fixed.

 

I don't know if pictures are tricking me, but those Toshiba models look far from small! Also, again if I'm squinting appropriately, the tape buttons look mechanical, which normally implies there is no AMS.

I passed on the first WM-EX612 because there is another listing which claims the belt was changed, and it looks like a reliable seller, although it might have been a bad idea since bids are already pretty high on this, and the other one (which ended up to a reasonable price) did have the original box, which I don't care a lot about, but it does make them worth more should I ever decide to sell it.

I've also eyed a nice-looking Aiwa HS-PL555 that says it was recapped aside from the belt being changed, but despite it having logic controls, it doesn't look like it has AMS (not too easy to find good information on this model or the Toshiba ones, though), and it doesn't come with the remote control, although all controls do appear to be on the machine itself too. Shame, because it seems very small. Maybe someone else could use this one so I'm just mentioning it.

 

I sent you a PM

 

Thanks. I've found an eBay seller who specializes in Walkmans, and while I haven't bought any yet, I've asked him some question and he has confirmed more or less everything that was said to me here, plus he added a couple more models that I'd probably want to keep an eye on, especially if just the belt is to be replaced.
He sells them after replacing the belt and making sure they're good to go, though, so I'll probably buy one from him since he's been nice and he said he can ping me when he has one like I want.

 

So, I've bought this WM-EX550 from the seller I mentioned. It should arrive Monday or Tuesday. The seller is a charm, he kept it for me and sold it to me for a price that he said is lower than he'd normally sell them for, and I believe him based on the prices I have actually seen. The only negative side so far (we'll see when I receive it, obviously!) is that it doesn't come with a remote controller, but the seller explained it not one of the models where you absolutely need one for certain functionality (like enabling Dolby)... but I would have still liked the remote, so maybe I can pick up one later from a broken Walkman that gets sold for cheap (any idea which remote models would be compatible with a WM-EX550?).

I don't love this model in terms of the aesthetics, I find the huge button panel a bit tacky... but the one I'm getting is not black but metal-colored, which makes it stand out less. I usually like my gadgets black, but when they're metal, just metal-colored is cool too. Based on the pictures and the seller's statement, this looks practically mint.

 

So, here it is, my fancy-featured WM-EX550, in a picture next his older WM-D3 direct-drive, recording brother. I've waited this long to post about this because I really wanted to mention the eBay seller I got it from, who was really nice, but there is no point now since he has nothing for sale anymore due to all sorts of COVID-19 uncertainties. At least I have a few cassettes to play while locked down.

It looks nearly mint, although I can see some vague traces of battery acid in the compartment (which have been cleaned away competently), the belt is new, and it sounds fine while static, although the wow is obvious when I'm walking around with it. Good thing not much walking is on the horizon! And anyway, the WM-D3, while it wouldn't have that issue, is so heavy I really wouldn't walk around with it.
This runs on one AA battery, unlike the other models of that time (1997, I think) which had a gumstick battery, creating a small protrusion that is quite unoffensive to see and feels like sort of a subtle handle.

It also has "blank skipping", a feature I wouldn't think would be incredibly useful except for figuring out what I might have recorded on some old blank-seeming tapes, but instead, I find I keep it enabled all the time, mainly for the convenience of automatically fast-forwarding to the end of the tape and then auto-reversing without waiting.

If I can blame anything on this model it's looking and feeling a bit too iPod-like, and fitting in a pocket. Also, spooking me with mysterious noises in the night that I couldn't pinpoint, until I realized I had left it on a chair still playing, and the noises were from the auto-reverse...