The luscious FAIR MATE PD-562 from 1981. For a short while these executive models seemed to be popular for both the desk and portability. This neat unit also has both MIC and AUX in using the same female R+L jacks on the side with a switch for either (but not both). The ad is on page 43 of the newspaper ads thread, none of these are over on walkman.land but they seem to represent the better quality early units from Fair Mate.
I always liked the "executive" style, most seem to be better build quality but they don't get the love because they're so big.
Me too. I have a TC-150 on my desk next to my calculator for office voice applications. Such an old device has advantages over modern solutions. As we know, Panasonic tried this shape as their first walkman with the RQ-J33. But that apparently wasn't a success, because the next one simply had the standard walkman shape, the RS-J3. In my selection of early devices, I chose the J3.
The Panasonic RQ-J33 is a tank in size but slightly plasticy with it's sliding plastic handle. I was just reading reddit where the author stated the J3 was Panasonic's first portable but back in the old days John Edwards concluded the J33 was. I personally believe the stereo "executive" models were the quickest way to take existing (dictiation) models and upgrade them to stereo. One of these days I'll post my Sony BM-600 Microcassette, probably the top of the heap for executive models.
I also tried to poke holes in John Edwards arguments and conclusions with all sorts of research back then, but I couldn't. That Sony is pretty much the pinnacle of executive recorders. It must be quite a challenge to get it working properly again these days. Utter miniaturization madness
Following this thread, I went back to check my archives. In 2014, I bought an Osaka Hi-Teen player. I picked it up in person and had an interesting conversation with the owner. The person I bought it from was a retired employee of a chewing gum factory. He had been given the player by the CEO of that company. The owner told me that the CEO had purchased the player during a trip to the USA. The CEO frequently traveled to the USA by plane and used the player to listen to music during flights. After that, the player reportedly sat for years on a shelf in the CEO’s boardroom, presumably because he had bought another device and no longer needed this one — a post-TPS-L2 model. Since this ties in with the story about Sony’s CEO and the D5M recorder on an airplane, I came to the conclusion at the time that it all grew so large because of the use of pre-tps-l2 devices in business-class international flights. It also aligns with my own experience. Back then, I used to sit in the back seat of my parents car with headphones and a boombox. The demand was clearly there at the time. That’s why I also found it completely logical, as John Edward suggested, that Panasonic initially tried converting an executive model to stereo. It fits well with the original inspiration behind the application: listening to your own music in proper stereo during professional (executive) business travel.
Plus those business guys could afford it. The electronics model back then was build something super-nice and then slowly get the price down so the masses could afford it. I was watching one of the Steve Jobs Apple Movies and he was talking about the "credibility" you had owning an Apple II cuz it was super-expensive compared to TI, Atari, Commodore and Radio Shack Equipment.
We don’t have that much info and high quality pictures of these Fairmate Walkmate units. If you have them, send them to me here as DM or over on Walkman.land discord channel.
