Hello Everyone on Stereo2Go, I was doing some pre-spring cleaning and ran into this old ads of Sony DAT Walkmans. All prices are in USD. Enjoy!!! Peace Out✌️✌️✌️ WalkyTalkyBoy
That's actually a pretty interesting find. I was a actually recently wondering if there was any DAT walkman after rewatching the Techmoan DAT video.
@WalkyTalkyBoy Pretty cool ads thanks for posting these. I've never seen any ads for DAT walkmans, so this is quite interesting. I see the lowest ad in the list is the (very rare) NT recorder. Another format that didn't make it but was fairly interesting, those cartridges were tiny, about the size of an SD card. It's funny to see how price categories essentailly swapped for the two DAT models there. @Cameron There weren't many Sony DAT walkmans from what I can tell after having looked through the net for quite a while. If you or anyone else is interested in some info on those shown in the ads, open the spoiler below. I'm still "fresh" to dealing with portable DATs, but I've summarized my experiences with them so far (I own a TCD-D8 and WMD-DT1). Spoiler The TCD-D7/D8 models are currently among the cheaper, affordable ones and easier to get a hold of. The TCD-D8 seems to be a solid model and is an improved version of the TCD-D7 you can see there (all further research I've done seems to confirm this), featuring an additional step in the switch for better playback rate at 48kHz instead of just up to 44 and minor cosmetic changes (mostly shade of colour), but it often comes without any remote and the "remote" is a stationary blocky module that (often) has to be purchased separately. Overall it's "huge", roughly WM-2011 sized, fairly heavy due to metal case and more suited as an easily movable/portable or tiny recorder solution in my honest opinion. Still a neat thing if you don't have too much money to spare on the big DAT stuff and works very well for stationary use. Recording modes for Speech and Music are integrated and can be picked from and be done through either the mic in or optical cable (with what seems to be a proprietary jack). The opening mechanism is mostly automatized and doesn't work without power, the same switch to open it pushed into the opposite direction works as hold. If you intend on getting one for portable use, make sure it comes with a battery box, a module that you need to insert, otherwise you need the power adapter and it remains stationary. You can set time and date to use it as a digital clock when not in use, the display can be illuminated through a light button. Theoretically the set time remains for about an hour after removing batteries, allowing for a smooth change. It uses 4 AA batteries and has a runtime of ca. 4 hours. The WMD-DT1 you can see there is really hard to get a hold off though and often sold for insane prices even in terrible condition, probably because it's rare to get in a good state. Overall a nice device, mostly made out of metal with the exception of the (darker) battery box you can see there, which seems to be made of plastic with a rubber coating around it which ensures a firm grip when holding it. The rubber coating of the battery box (left side, apparently an afterthought by Sony) and the battery lock are prone to defects though, it's a serial issue. If the battery lock fails you won't have any power as the cap of the box contains the metal connectors to save space, hence why so many tape this part with use or put a rubberband around it. The rubber coating is purely a cosmetic issue, overall not necessary, the underlying material is black too, just a bit more shiny, the only thing you would sacrifice then from excessive usage (unfortunately) is the white "<- Open" writing. Besides that the remote got one of Sony's annoying proprietary jacks and only works with original headphones or through a Sony microjack to 3.5mm jack adapter. The adapter was used on minidisc models with remotes as well, however it's really flimsy and I wouldn't trust it too much. The remote works without having headphones in it and the model has a second phone jack next to the proprietary horizontal/flat remote jack as a backup plan, so that's no big deal, theoretically. Sound output works through both jacks (remote and phone on side) simultaneously, so if you want someone to listen along to your music with their own headphones, that's apparently possible, I tried it. The buttons on the side of the remote for FF/REW/Skip, VOL+/-, AVLS/Bass Boost and Scan/Repeat are tiny and embedded into the case so you have to push your finger in a bit to actually trigger them. This means you won't do so accidentally. Additionally it features a hold lever too which only affects the remote. AVLS/BB and Scan/Repeat seem to be only available on the remote, not on the backside of the case. Unlike the TCD-D8 this is a pure playback device and the opening mechanism is fully manual. It uses 2 AA batteries and has a runtime of roughly 4 hours as well. There's also the TCD-D3, it has been used for professional recordings and on-stage recordings. I don't have any experience with that one though and never held one either. All I know if is that it's supposedly very good and popular for professional use, it's not featured in these ads though. I think this pretty much covers all (to my knowledge) available models that you could even get a hold of these days, not entirely sure if those weren't even all types that were ever produced. Wouldn't surprise me since DAT didn't make the cut for home usage.
