I see that online there is rarely any information about WM-DD models such as the DD10 and DD11. Could someone on this forum please provide a complete history of the DD Series of Walkmans?
Thanks for sharing the link. @Walkmanlover : let me know if you believe information is missing, happy to improve the overview!
DD / DD2, based on WM5 with disc drive rather than belt drive. DD with only Dobly-B and DD-2 with Dolby-B and Metal tape support. They share a lot of parts with WM-5 and I always kept a shoebox of WM-5 dead bodies for DD parts. Also DD has an updated version (or updated look) as DD Quartz, not sure what's the difference internally. DC2 can be considered as DD2 with a better head and Dolby C. DD100 is a limited production version DD2 with Bass Boost. They are still quite based on WM5. D3 is a DD2 with recording, still based on WM5 design but added a lot more stuff inside, only a hand-full of parts interchange with WM5 from this one. DD30 is the first update to the DD2, new printed PCB and MegaBass. DD22 is an updated look of DD30, DD33 is DD22 with AVLS and some minor updates. To be fair they're all different versions of WM5, not the best design. Now different story from here. DD10 is a rearrangement of WM5 / original DD mechanism. Still very similar design but a different button location. I don't remember it still shares parts with WM5 anymore, or maybe just a few? D6 / D6C is loosely based on TPS-L2, not a lot of mechanism is interchangeable. I think there was a telephone recorder or something (TCP-5, don't remember the model name?) that shares some parts with D6 / D6C, but again not a lot. There are quite a few versions of D6Cs with different PCB I think. DD9 is a unique design, no one single part is shared with any other Sony walkman, but strangely the head is interchangeable with AIWA JX505 (or something similar). DD9 is also built to last, with a 2mm thick pressed aluminium front panel you can smash any other Walkmans into submission if you disagree with the sound quality discussion. DX100 is a new design based on SONY universal Walkman platform, which shares a lot of parts with other walkmans such as EX909 / EX900. But DX100 is quite a clever design to make the universal platform into disc-drive and it's the most reliable DD among all. I also think DX100 has a better sound than DD / DD2 / DD10/ DD30 / DD22 / DD33 / D3 due to the new head design, maybe even better than DC2 and DD100 if you don't need Dolby C and extra bass. People sometimes also include D5(s) into the DD series, but I guess it's a compact cassette deck with a battery pack, not really a walkman.
sazabi2001 you have the wrong information, WM-DD33 does not have AVLS. Not sure where you are getting you info from, but it's wrong.
No problem, I still have a ton of them all broken because I cannibalise them for the main gear to use on my DC2’s.
…and the „masses“ are collecting DD‘s like crazy - the real collector knows: the WM5 deserves the laurels
Thanks for the extensive post. The DD1-DD10-DD11-DD22 differ greatly from the others, they are the most cost reduced or production optimized. They are certainly mechanically not close to the DD3-DD30-DD33. The DX100 @Valentin restored on my request, works great but is mechanically overly complex. After contact with @mihokm it seems that the mechanism and/or electronics have a design flaw: it does not always return to center or neutral position, causing one of the pinch rollers to degrade faster over time. W&F is much higher than the other DDs, as the disc driven brass rotor drives the belt driven main mechanism. The sound quality is great as the frequency range is greater than the DD derivatives (except DD9), and the addition of Dolby B+C noise reduction and MegaBass / DBB makes it a great unit. I personally like the curvier design and the side indicator LEDs on the remote and main unit. The DD9 and DD33 are surely part of the same design family. Given it has rubber feet it is very difficult to take out your pocket or put it back, it looks like it was designed for stationary use.
Mechanics-wise, all DDs are almost identical: WM-DD, WM-DDII, WM-DDIII, WM-DD30, WM-DD33, WM-D3, WM-DC2, WM-DD100. The different ones are the WM-DD1, WM-DD10, WM-DD11, WM-DD22 and WM-DD9 (which is a unique design, has nothing in common with other DDs apart from motors maybe). The only difference between the disc-drive ones and WM-2/WM-5 is the belt-drive ones have another post to hold an idler pulley and motor position and screw holes are different. Mechanisms are not interchanghable between the 2 types for these reasons. D6/D6C is mechanically similar to the TPS-L2 and WM-3, but it has a disc drive system (D6/D6C although not labeled DD it is technically a DD) and some other differences. However on the electronics side, the 2 have nothing in common. The WM-DD does not have Dolby of any type, but does have a tape EQ selector (120us/70us), meaning it can play metal tapes, as long as they are not Dolby-encoded. DD Quartz means the motor servo has a PLL as a reference, not just the standard low temp coefficient trimpot, rendering a lower wow&flutter figure and better w&f stability with temperature variation. WM-D6, D6C, DDIII, DD30, DD33, DC2, DD9 all have it. Electronically, DC2 is almost identical to the D6C (without the recording part), has not that much in common with DDII. Head is again almost identical to the D6C, marked 35611 instead of 35711 (I imagine a difference in head gap, one optimized for PLAY/REC, one just for PLAY). WM-D3 has a similar mechanism to the rest of DD series, with added recording functionality. Electronically, it uses a custom SONY designed Dolby IC (CXA1058M) that is only used in this walkman. The rest is similar to DDII/DDIII: BA3304F head preamp, TA7688F headphone amp, etc.
