Assuming they would follow the same design principles as in the 80s and early 90s. Would they still go with a user replaceable battery? Would they use the same single motor and sophisticated gears or separate motors? Would they digitize the signal right after the head or leave it analog?
There was a thread discussing this subject (but it wasn't specific to SONY), will edit the post later to link it. In my opinion, SONY would do a couple of things if they were to release a walkman nowadays: - they would use as much in-house technology (like digital amplifiers) as they can to reduce the costs; - they would probably focus on Bluetooth a lot, as they already do with their turntables in order to upsell you other products from their ecosystem; - battery won't be replaceable. This is a trend most companies seem to align to unfortunately: see the We Are Rewind and Fiio CP13 walkmans. - most likely case won't be put together with screws but with clips and adhesive: see the above 2 mentioned walkmans. As for the mechanism it's very hard to tell. If they could mass produce something like the WM-EX line at a decent cost, they would probably go with that. Otherwise they would use the Tanashin clone that's currently available on the market. They won't go back to DD designs or dual motor (like DD9), that is for sure. That won't be economical to produce. As for the signal path, I incline to say yes they would digitize it right after the head preamplifier. The preamp itself might be part of a bigger IC which does everything (preamp, 120/70us EQ, ADC, DSP, digital amplifier). It's a direction they were starting to move in the late 90s - early 2000s, so I expect that even more now. A company like SONY would do what makes sense for them from a profitability point of view and would also follow some current market trends. The economy itself has changed a lot (in general we manufacture a lot less nowadays) and the consumer market is entirely different than in the 80s or 90s.
I have been a long-time SONY fan, and respect their innovation and quality ( I am referring to the 70s, 80s, and early 90s products). However, the cost-cutting practices of the 90s going forward made SONY's quality worse, and somewhat "cheapened" the brand's image. @Valentin summed it up perfectly in technical terms. I would only chime in that I don't think SONY will ever go back to tape format (walkmans, decks, etc) no matter what the small resurgent interest in the format is among audio geeks like us. They are invested in this digital type of Walkman, see above. And at a whopping $3,699 why even bother with the complexity of the mechanics i.e. motors, flywheels, pinch rollers, and cracked clutch gears? Also, W & F is zero too. I am sure the manufacturing costs of this unit are way lower than the DD series Walkman, and the profit margin is way higher. That does it. As for me, I'd rather own a DD Walkman.
I think the company most likely to make a new "Walkman" will be one you might not have heard of. A company you might have heard of is Behringer, well known for making low cost copies of classic synthesizers. They have gone as far as getting their own analogue ICs made for the likes of guitar pedals and synthesizers. Alternatively one of the existing manufacturers might invest in a decent mechanism. This VWestlife video on a turntable that isn't just a Crossly clone is interesting. The manufacturer went as far as incorporating features that weren't common in the 1980s while keeping the cost reasonable. I wonder if a company like Audio Technica who went to a lot of effort to remake the Sound Burger will ever attempt a cassette deck ? It is a bit ironic that you can buy a new portable record deck which is at least as good as the original but not a Cassette Portable.
I think most likely a new walkman would comprise the audio subsystem or chip from a smart phone plus a cassette drive mechanism. It would have an earphone jack and/or Bluetooth for wireless earbuds or Bluetooth speakers. It would surely have a usb-rechargeable battery. Given new regulations, the battery would be user-replaceable to some degree. Battery life would be less than a cell phone due to the tape drive. A cinch to include FM radio and recording. Perhaps not an AM antenna to save space and because cell phone chips lack AM. Controls would be touch screen. Internal speakers like cell phones use. Like the smallest walkman it could be shrunken by clipping onto the cassette rather than having an enclosed tape bay. Why not throw in a cell phone? Or make a bluetooth cell phone accessory that runs a cassette tape drive?
"It is a bit ironic that you can buy a new portable record deck which is at least as good as the original but not a Cassette Portable." @Longman I think that the mechanical complexity of tape decks (portable or stackable) is far greater than that of turntables. Cassette players/decks require periodic maintenance, and when they break down (and they always do) someone has to fix it. This is a challenge to find a skilled technician, at least in my area. So, with the new product on the market, you have to think of warranty and service, and I think that can be a problem. And now since we ruled out SONY as a potential manufacturer of this new Walkman, the features conversation is really interesting. @Steve Grant I love the features you mentioned. I think the touch screen is the way to go. This is sort of a hybrid between the iPod Touch and Walkman DD: one side is the cassette compartment, and the other is a touchscreen. All the modern features of connectivity would be wonderful to have. I would stick to the cassette player only (a personal preference, of course: no FM, and no recording either). A solid metal case, of good quality. Lastly, what would be the price for this player? $500-700? I am not sure if I'd want to spend so much on it, would you?
I certainly wouldn't buy such a device. Once songs are digitized, which they all are, there is no reason to use an unreliable and bulky system of reeling delicate magnetic tape. And the logistics of about 10 songs on something the size of a cell phone when solid state memory can store a thousand songs in something smaller than a gnat.
Here is the link to the older thread @Valentin is referring to: https://stereo2go.com/forums/threads/ideal-walkman.7602/
SONY is no longer in the market of wired headphones or IEMs (apart from MDR-Z1R) despite there's a pretty significant audiophile market for such products. Not to mention entry level headphones (such as Fiio JT1), market about SONY doesn't seem to care at all. That makes me very skeptical that SONY really cares much about products that are not scalable, which includes the NW-WM1Z. Hence why it's safe to exclude them. As for features, I think there are some basic features that need to exist on a new walkmans, while other I see as bonuses: 1. Decent frequency response: something like 80Hz - 12kHz (at -3dB) I think is a minimum that should be achieved. 2. Proper 120/70us equalization. Really too simple to not be done. Even if it's not really needed for the majority of users, it should still be there. 3. User replaceable batteries, prefferably a common type such as AA/AAA or 18650. Personally prefer AA or AAA since they're the most common type and also exists in non-recharghable format. A USB-C port to charge these batteries directly in the device is welcomed. There are ways to implement protections against charging AA alkalines, so this shouldn't mean non-replaceble battery. 4. The form factor should be as compact as possible taking into account mechanism constraints. Form factors such as Mullan B1000 EW are a good example, but think even smaller can be achieved. As bonus, I would like to see autoreverse, Dolby B NR, logic control, an LCD display. In regard to price, for a walkman with basic features I would be willing to pay anything between $50 and $200 depending on build quality, form factor, frequency response, wow&flutter. For one having all the bonus features, would be willing to pay double or more assuming the unit will really be high end (metal case, etc.). To me question is: Can a walkman having the basic features + bonuses be made for $600 in 2024 ? I incline towards a no and think a more realistic price is $1000-1500, price which very few would be willing to pay. Question is who is the target customer: - Someone who listens to prerecorded cassettes only; - Someone who wants to digitize old cassettes (Dolby NR may be required); - Someone who records their own cassettes on a quality deck to enjoy the format; - Someone who wants to get the best possible (like lowest noise) out of the format just because they like cassettes as a format; To me, judging by what walkmans exist on the market today, it looks like manufacturers only see variant 1 (and 2 to some degree) as the potential customer.
@Valentin All the features you specified are certainly very important and desireable. Perhaps, for me, the minimum Frequency range requirement for playback would be 30-15 kHz. I would not even look at a cheap plastic repro, like Mullan b1000 EW. This type of player has no appeal to me at all. it has to be in a metal case, better built, with a feeling of quality. It appears that by the time we add all the "Wants" for this potential unit, it becomes a boutique-style Walkman, and the price is ridiculously prohibitive. I record my own mixtapes tapes on quality decks and just enjoy the format. I never really went away from it too far and always liked the physical properties of cassettes, the sound, and perhaps especially the duration (45 minutes per side). I don't love the maintenance troubles of these portable cassette walkmans. It's a real PITA. When my last Walkman cassette player/recorder started to have playback trouble, I switched to a Minidisc Walkman, and it was a fine choice. I rarely looked back. However, when the iPod Classic came out, that changed everything for me, and my Minidisc Walkman went on the shelf. I go back to my cassette or MD Walkman once in a while only out of nostalgia and a pure appreciation of its mechanical qualities and rather good sound.
It's to be noted that most frequency response specs, at least on the lower end are not specified at -3dB. So 30Hz@-10dB for example can mean 60Hz@-3dB. Looking just at the corner frequency doesn't really tell much. Obtaining 30Hz@-3dB is very difficult without boosting low frequencies. Few vintage walkmans actually measure this good. Hence my expectations. The Mullan B1000 EW is a form factor I consider to be nice looking. Of course it can be improved upon a lot, but I prefer it because it's small, has round corners and big window. For a 50-100$ walkman, won't really expect more than that. But for $200 the case can be metal and the build quality can be much better in general. As for an audiophile-grade walkman (because it seems that is what many of us want), yes that would be prohibitively expensive to make given how limited the demand is. From the categories of potential customers I listed in previous post, I think only the first 2 have a significant market while the latter 2 are very niche and also in competition with used/serviced products.
Good discussion. I refrain from contributing because I tend to pontificate on the subject. I am aware that my opinions may not be appreciated or shared. But I can't resist saying it all again: That near enough to perfect sort of already exists with a few old models. And that's good enough for me. That's selfish I know. But I do not believe any new modern high end Walkman type player will ever be made. This is as good as it gets. I like big windows to see the cassette moving. A door that can be opened anytime, even while playing, would be insanely ideal. And big chunky players made of metal that are all analog. With discrete components and as few IC's as possible. For both sound quality and the ability for a "nutcase end user like me" to upgrade the filtering capacitors etc., And for less to break down and go wrong. And when it does break down it is easier to work on and repair because of this. And it should be a common player with lots having been made and out in circulation for obtaining spare parts. That's why I felt the WM-D6 / WM-D6C to be sort of ideal for my needs. (It's not about the recording ability.) It checks so many boxes. And there are so many of them out there, e-bay is packed with them, routinely coming up near mint on a weekly basis with sometimes only a few hours on them complete in box. They just have that "look" which I am after too. (Right now I am more interested in obtaining 2005 - 2012 era Olympus and Sony digital audio recorders that run on AA cells and can store high quality audio files for playback. Again, it's not about the recording ability. To get "the package" the recording seems to be mandatory. I also really like making binaural or "holophonic" recordings from home made microphone packages placed inside earbuds. I used to use my MD recorder for that too. Hope to get back into doing that again!).
