I'm a little disappointed in the EX2, It doesn't have the Brass Flywheels! The EX3 EX5 does though... I guess I pulled the trigger too fast. The EX7 opens up like a regular walkman and has no Volume pot, as Valentin mentioned. The EX2 is the modern walkman that opens and you slide the Cassette short ways. Sounds good, but now I should've grab the EX3, the EX5 is pricey everywhere.
Throughout the years of Walkman production, they have produced best models and cost-cutting models. Around now, what you see on the market is that the top models are rare in working condition and cost a LOT, while the budget models are more available and cost a lot less. Of last year's models, only the EX20 and EX2000 caught my attention. They are prohibitively expensive, so I passed.
I really enjoy the EX60, EX70 walkmans. Ex Amorphous Heads and I like the looks and feel. Now if we can get the W&F down to a solid 0.200%RMS value! I have spent so much time on these, also learning the simple mech.
I would honestly sell all of those EX and just get a single perfect condition EX2000 and never look back. Kind of like jewellery you can wear a whole bunch of okay looking rings, or that one ring that absolutely sings in the sunlight and people can spot a mile away. Maybe a bad metaphor but you get the picture. The only other EX I'd bother with are: EX9 - Colour shifter <3 and less than 2CM thick. Sadly though can't use all features without the remote and the output power is pretty low for big headphones. Really good quality unit though. EX20 - Stunning model, though I wish you could see more of the cassette inside. The only other model that has MEGA SURROUND apart from the EX2000. The limited anniversary edition is also really beautiful. The EX2000 though is still the crown jewel. Amorphous OFC head, every modern feature ever put in a Walkman, ridiculously long battery life (over 100h), lowest W&F of any model (even lower than WM-DDs) thanks to the brass flywheels, equalizer, auto-reverse, auto volume, mega surround, blank skip, AMS, anti-rolling, Dolby-B, metal body, utterly stunning rainbow window, the best button system ever which makes almost everything usable without the remote, 145g only and it features the new Y2K Walkman logo. The ONLY downsides are the lack of DC-in (but you don't need it with 100h+ battery life) and it doesn't come with a specifically made case, but you can get one made. Oh and it doesn't have Dolby-C but I really don't care. It plays and sounds far better than a lot of Dolby-C models. It's really the only model that I tell people they absolutely must own if they already collect Walkmans and don't have one. It's worth every penny. One of these and a DD9 and you are set for life.
Thank you, @givemeyourwalkmans. You've summed up all the best thoughts about the Walkman ever made. Unfortunately, these days, they are ridiculously expensive and very rare in good condition.
