Which of these Sony walkman options should I buy ?

Hi from Turkey.

I want to buy a walkman. I found a reliable seller, I will write the models he sells and their prices. Which one would you recommend me to buy ? I can share photos if you want to see them.

Sony fx195 (brand new with original box) 29$

Sony fx521 (used, some scratches, no box) 27.72$

Sony fx453 (used, very clean, no box) 27.72$

Sony fx423 (used, very clean, no box) 25.51$

Sony fx303 (used, very clean, no box) 25.51$

Sony fx16 (used, very clean, no box) 25.51$

Sony fx267 (used, very clean, with leather cover case) 22.18$

Sony fx113 (used, very clean, no box) 22.18$

 

I would buy the brand new with original box, but this is just a personal opinion.
For the money, any one in the list is a good deal. Maybe put the one with scratches last on your list, but apart from that don't know what to say because I'm not familiar with any of those models.

Wait a little more as ohter members are more familiar with these particular models and can give you a more to the point answer.

 

@ekostros
welcome to S2G,
Do not buy any of those walkman units unless your goal is to open the walkman and learn from the movements, repair it and gain some experience. You wont enjoy listening to those walkmans.
also remember a radio function is not an advantage for a walkman. Try to find a unit without a radio unit.
If you let us know about your budget we can recommend you a better walkman.

 

There are some problems because I am in Turkey.

The first problem is that there is no collection culture in Turkey, so it is very difficult to find old products.

The second problem is that everything is very expensive in Turkey. To give an example, I saw this model "Sony Wm-DD22"
while I was looking at the market. He wants 700 TL (turkish lira) for this model, imagine it is sold for 700 dollars in your own country. My monthly salary is 2300 TL. 1/3 of my salary.

The third problem is that the Turkish lira is currently the most worthless currency in the world. 1 dollar = 9 Turkish lira. If I want to buy from Usa or Europe, I have to pay 9 times more money. There are also tax and shipping costs.

Let me ask a question then. My total budget is $45, including the Walkman + shipping (must be tracking). Is it possible to find a better model at this price ?

Finally, I want to say this. Which models would you recommend? if i'm lucky maybe i can find it here

 

Since you say the price is crazy in Turkey, I would say don’t buy anything that you are not able to test and listen to first.
Also since your max budget is $45, you will have to stick to what you can find in Turkey. You are not going to fine anything outside Turkey + postage for that price.

 

Most of the above are entry level ones, except for the FX521, which is an upscale model. I would either get it, or the FX195 because it is NOS and because it is the latest and the last mechanism of cheap Sony walkmans.

 

I agree with TooCool4. With those models a working one is worth at least twice what a non-working one is. I have more than one personal stereo here where the replacement belt cost more than the stereo cost me !

Without going through each unit on your list I would ask yourself what you want to use the Walkman for. Playing old mix-tapes, old pre-recorded tapes or something different? A big distinction between the cheaper units is whether they have Dolby or not. Whether you actually need it depends on what you will be playing.
Autoreverse, while nice is something else to go wrong.

 

If you have any relatives in Germany coming back for holidays I would ask them if they could find anything there. There were plenty of Walkmans sold in Germany through 80-90. Then you could spent all 45$(40Euro) for Walkman (no shipping and no taxes) or 3x , the rest would go for belt.

 

Maybe I can increase my budget a little more. Which models would you recommend me ? I'm thinking of following it for a while on ebay and etsy.

Why do I want a walkman? I have a great interest in anything retro. Listening to music on new technologies such as smartphones and spotify does not satisfy me. I feel like it's fake. I have a lot of tapes from the 90s. I will listen to these tapes and buy new tapes for the collection. I want to enjoy the Walkman. Because of this, I don't want to buy entry-level, low-end models.

@CDV Thanks for information. If I decide to buy one from this list then I will get the fx521.

edit: Aiwa js415 Do you know about this model ? Is it entry level like the models I wrote above?

 

There are low end models that where cheapened high end models. And as they aren't as complicated and pretty new they weren't used that much.
If you really want a Sony, I may suggest EX612 (or EX622 as it's called on other markets). I had 2, I sold one. Changed belt (very easy) and cleaned pinch rollers, capstans and head and set speed and voila. It's a model from 199x (3 / 4?). Has Dolby B, fast search of next song, autoreverse, automatic tape detection.
Sounds nice, but surely not the best.

 

Peter Vis has done one of his comprehensive articles on the EX612.
https://www.petervis.com/walkmans/WM-EX612/WM-EX612.html
Alongside Dolby three other things to consider are.

1. Battery type (and whether the Walkman comes with an external AA battery holder). Many of the high end Walkmans used specialist " Gumstick "batteries. While good replacements are available allow $15 to get one or two and a charger.
2. Remote controls. Again only applicable to high end models. If it doesn't come with one can all functions be operated on the player itself?
3. Headphone jack. A small number of Walkmans didn't use a standard 3,5mm jack. Avoid them as getting the required adaptor will blow your budget.

 

I believe that the 5XX has the same mechanism as the 6XX, the difference is that 6XX use gumstick battery, while 5XX use AA cell. I have a very used EX560 that I bought for more money that the 521 from your list, I think it uses the same mechanism, it has battery cover on the front, rather ugly. The 521 looks much cleaner, has radio. In fact, I think that for this money it is a steal. Verify, whether it comes with the remote, and if not, whether its main functions can be controlled from the body.

 

Hel sell 2 different fx521. One of them is brand new with box, he says he changed the belt. Here is the photo. The price is 700 TL (80$) 1/3 of my monthly salary. Turkish people are unfortunately greedy. I'm sure it's possible to buy a car for 700 euros in Europe. The other fx521 he sells is half price. Used, no remote, no box and some scratches. He wrote that there is no problem on both devices. I will try to negotiate with the seller for brand new fx521

Aiwa js415 Do you know about this model ? slightly cheaper than fx521. If I can't negotiate with the seller for the fx521. i can get fx195 or aiwa js415

 

Paying 1/3 of a monthly salary for a walkman would be crazy for an American. It would be totally normal for a Russian But if it does not work or works not as well as you expected, it would be a real bummer. I thought the used 521 was only $27, now it seems it is more like $40.

 

yes, I wrote it wrong, the price of the used one 27$ (250 TL)

 

No Dolby on the FX521. Personally I think the Aiwa looks more interesting, although some Aiwas do have a reputation for using poor quality capacitors that leak and destroy the circuit board.

 

Personally I would say give up on the idea of getting any personal stereo, if it’s taking a big chunk of your monthly pay. It’s not worth it. Whenever people are contemplating saving and buying something, I always say to them forget about how much it cost to buy. Look at how much it will cost you to run? That is a better indication of if you can afford to own it.
Sorry to say it but any idiot can save up money to buy something, but when it comes to running cost that is a different matter.

I mean I can afford to save up and buy a second-hand Ferrari, but when it comes to servicing and parts which it will need at some point it would cripple me. Even if I was giving a free Ferrari, I would turn it down because I know the running cost will be high.

I am not trying to put you off, but we all need to be realistic else we can get into serious hot water.
I have seen many people buy a second-hand Nakamichi only to find they can't afford to run it, only to sell it on.

 

I would just keep looking locally, without much regard for make or model. A month or two ago someone asked a similar question on the forum. A week later they came back to say that they had picked up a scratched but working Sanyo for a couple of dollars in a thrift store which was allowing them to play their old tapes.