Hi, I had not noticed this before getting a WM-7, but the illusive HS-M2 bears uncanny resemblance to Sony's WM-7. Both of these devices came out in 1982, but I couldn't find more precise dates for them. Anyway, at first glance you might not even consider finding similarity, as the two units vary vastly in size, but one you get up close, the Aiwa really looks like a tiny clone of the WM-7. 1. The most obvious shared detail is vertical layout, with a long, vertical window spanning across the whole front doors of both units. Even the text layout is identical - the smaller text boasting features of the units is printed in the top end of both windows, against a black background. 2. The WM-7 has embossed, raised lettering under the window. The HS-M2 also has its embossed text located directly under it. 3. Both devices have modular construction, where the top panel is a separate, removable piece. Moreover, that panel is angled at more or less the same angle. Even the button/switch layout is replicated on the Aiwa, with the stop button being in the same position, as well as the pause and rew/ff switches being in the position of function switches of the WM-7. Heck, even the headphone jack is in the same place! I don't think this is a coincidence - I think someone at Aiwa must've really liked the WM-7 OR it was the other way around, but without precise release dates, I can't be certain.
Seeing as Sony were a major shareholder, if not the owner of Aiwa back then, it makes sense that they would share some design/components across the board to cut costs, much like car manufacturers share chassis and engines these days.
Very nice units quaz30! From all of the information I've collected, Sony didn't get majority ownership until around 1991, who knows how much collaboration went on before that, it's one of the most interesting manufacturing business partnerships from back then. Personally I don't see a huge similarity, I've got some Toshiba's and AIWA's that look a lot alike. I do wonder about words like "stereo" that appear in certain fonts, it would be easy to believe that the "industry" wanted them similar for marketing purposes. Those are awesome high-end units, the specialized manufactering and assembly process more likely made them look a lot alike.
Aiwa, back in the early 80's, worked the most with Sanyo and Kenwood, from what I've gathered. But where Kenwood players were just rebadged Aiwa with different designs, Sanyo worked with Aiwa together in development of their units. There's a little known Sanyo, the MGP44, which bears uncanny resemblance to the Aiwa HS-P09, but the mechanism is a bit different and the electronics are a totally different story. Sanyo also helped Aiwa with designing their first logic players, the P08 and G08.
That Sanyo is neat, I can definately see the similarity in those two. Do you think that AIWA was buying components from Sanyo and the design was similar due to the switch locations?
I think the design was similar just because both companies worked on it. Internally, Aiwa and Sanyo units have relatively little in common. Their mechanisms and electronics look similar, but only at first glance. My theory is both companies worked together in early development and then branched out the general design into something each of them thought was better for them. A good example of this is the Sanyo MGR-150, with button layout for the mechanism similar to the Aiwa HS-F07. Internally, there are major differences. About parts, Sanyo players used the same motors as Aiwa. The classic, copper-cased DC motor found in many of their models can also be commonly found in Sanyo walkmans, bearing a Sanyo label.
