I would like to buy a Panasonic walkman, and i'm considering the RQ-SX series and the SX60 in particular. I had one in the past, RQ-SX25, but Marian's belts were still not available and the ones I found were terrible leading to high W&F. I also know this walkman's can be problematic due to cracked clutches and replacing the belt requires to de-solder several contacts (with high risk of damaging traces or pad). So my question is: are they worth it ? Do they sound good (e.g. compared to a similar Sony WM-EX672) ? Any opinion is appreciated ! thanks
SX60 has two belts - means it's almost 2x more expensive to repair them than any S and SXes that have S transport (like SX5 or SX33). SXes transport is worser. I have one waiting for repair and I think of selling it, if it has broken clutch, belts and clutch will cost me more then this walkman. It should sound good though.
The RQ-SX25 has the two belts transport and with the wrong belts playing the reverse direction was really painful. Even with the right belts, the RQ-SX series will surely plays worse than a single belt walkman and that is my main concern. The RQ-S series is made of plastic though (I had the RQ-S20 in the 90's) while RQ-SX is made of metal and it looks slicker and nicer.
Not all SX are the same. You mean plastic vs metal outside? I would take better mechanics anyday. I destroyed two S60 trying to repair belt. Never again.
I have few Panasonic RQ-SX60 and I worked on Panasonic RQ series for some times. Currently I have 2 of them in fully working condition. Based on my experience with RQ-SX series I do not recommend RQ-SX to most people . If you buy one of these RQ-SX series most probably won't work, then you need to open it and repair it. It needs 2 belts, to access the movement part you need significant desoldering. Once you install the belts there is no way to test it unless you solder the main board back to its place. Now imagine that it is not working correctly and you need to get access to movement part and it requires you to repeat the desoldering part again so I call it a "vicious cycle" of soldering desoldering! So basically these models are not for everybody. If you have a lot of different walkman units and now you decided to explore Panasonic RQ-SX then go for it and expect a lot of disappointments.
Thanks for the advice, I'm already familiar with the RQ-SX two belts transport, I already repaired an RQ-SX25 some 6 years ago. But belts available at the time were terrible and I ended up selling it. Currently I'm looking at a SX60 and a SX32, the latter complete in a box. They are both reported as working but they will surely need new belts. My question is: once the belts are new, how do they sound ? better, worse or equal to a comparable Sony ?
I have both model (SX60 and 32) specially 32 I have all different colors in working condition. I can tell you that the sound quality is fine but not as good as DC2. It is very close to Sony EX series. It can be a good project for somebody who has time and passion to compare Panasonic SX with Sony EX series with some professional equipment to find the difference but with my regular headphone I cannot feel a different sound quality.
Thanks, that is the info I was looking for; one other doubt: with proper belts, how it is W&F in reverse direction compared to forward ? With wrong belts, forward was tolerable, but reverse was terrible, guitar solos sounded like cat meowing.
This. I had a RQ-X11 back in the days and remembered that at the time, I really like how it sounded. When I tried it 10 years ago, belts were dead. So, I started to look for some Panas on the flea market and in the classifieds. Bought a first one (don't remember which one), it worked but had inconsistant play speed as I was walking. I thought that it had a poor anti rolling, but soon it started to "eat" the tapes because the belt was loose, so I stopped using it. Then I bought a RQ-SX72, it was brand new and worked fine. A beautiful little machine, with a good sound reproduction, and a lovely LCD remote. Unfortunately, it was stolen when my house got robbed (and the sad things is we got robbed by kids who stole electronics but absolutely nothing hi-fi. I keep thinking they thought it was an external HDD, and threw it away when they figured out it was not). Finally, I bought a RQ-SX70R, in perfect condition. But playing my first tape on it, I understood that the belt was almost cooked. In a few words : beautiful designs, good external construction, really nice sound reproduction, but not a single one working fine because the maintenance is really a pain in... I think this explains why they are way cheaper than the Sony. I think I'm done with them unless I find an extremely rare direct drive one.
I posted my restoration attempts on the RQ-SX60 in another thread, anyway to sum-up: unit is in excellent cosmetic condition and it clearly appears to be a TOTL model. Belts were melted so I had to carefully clean both flywheels and completely take apart the motor to clean it. New belts arrived and fitted, new clutch ring fitted and locked into position. First listening test: horrible, W&F is to the roof. It also makes a grinding noise, something is not correct. Disassembled once again, cleaned again belts path, checked motor if it runs smooth, checked all gears for signs of crack, nothing found. Moving the transport by hand is very silent and everything runs smooth. Checked pinch-rollers, they looks like new; re-assembled and listening test is same as before, forward direction is "tolerable" reverse direction is painful. On top of a very delicate transport, my unit also has capstans with rubber bands to improve grip (?!?!?) and one set of bands has disintegrated while cleaning it. It's a lost cause, the walkman has been shelved and now I'm looking for a cheaper RQ-X or a more conventional and reliable RQ-S. I summed up my consideration on the RQ-SX transport in this thread
