Sony DD portables genealogy

I am glad this thread had reverted to the OP from some absolutely un-Godly personal insults

The Q I was about to ask before @TooCooL4 had posted my second concern was:

Are There Any non-DD Walkmans which sound as solid as DDs???
At the chat-rooms of vinyl-heads there is a serious (and as ugly as we see here) disagreement/discombobulations between belt-drive and Direct-Drive turntables enthusiasts. Cogging vs. belt-stretching goes on seemingly Forever... DD looks like in-between, like 'rim-drive' in the legendary Thorens TD-124. BUT: is there a consensus that DD are the Best Walkmans ever made? A bit of a same Q: Direct Drive cassette decks: do they sound any better than belt-drive TOTL efforts from Nak/Pioneer/Sony?

My Question is: which one is The Best-Walkman EVER MADE? With cassette decks we kinda know the answer (Nak and Tandberg), but with Walkmans I am a bit confused...

The Best Walkman Ever Made: what are our Choices???

((and the reason I managed to verbalize my Q is because OP schematics is soo similar to my favorite chatroom of the fine-scale-jets-modelling kits evolution ))

 

My opinion is DDs are not necessarily the best sounding or the best walkmans ever made in general. That's not to say they don't sound very good, but there are better ones out there overall.
We can't take the wow&flutter as the only important parameter that matters, although DDs are one of the best ones strictly at this aspect. But even then there are the Panasonic RX-S40/RX-S41 which I suspect do even better than a SONY DD in terms of wow&flutter.

In terms of overall audio quality, I will say something that some might disagree with, but I found it to be true: many slim Panasonics (and even AIWAs), like the RQ-S25 sound better than SONY DDs.
They also happen to do pretty good in terms of wow&flutter, getting similar figures to the spec of a DD1/DD10/DD11/DD22.
SONY WM-DX100 sounds better than the DC2, although less power and higher wow&flutter (I think @Emiel can confirm this).
What do I mean by better ?
Its frequency response goes from 15Hz to 20kHz (which is clearly audible to me and others), distorsions are lower, Dolby NR is calibrated well from the factory (not the case on DX100), not even having those trimmers.
On SONYs, the Dolby levels are ALWAYS off, rendering the NR system unusable unless a proper calibration is done (which is almost never done on a seller refurbished unit bought on ebay, otherwise they would mention it in description).
This means a SONY DD will need a complete service (some sellers only replace the center gear and do nothing else) to be brought to its full capabilities, while a Panasonic like the abovementioned might get away with just a new belt (easier to DIY than DD).
Yes, its headphone amp power output is not that high, but more than enough for IEMs and for larger headphones an external amp could be used anyway.

To me, the best walkman in overall terms and the most expensive one are not necessarily one and the same. Look at post #7 in this thread: https://www.tapeheads.net/showthread.php?t=76685
I have the same opinion as MagneticBlood, that being SONY was and still is more about very good marketing than the best technical solutions.
They also want to create a sense of luxury, that's why those SONYs are speculated on ebay for a lot of money, not necessarily because they're worth that much or they're really as rare as some believe.

What I am trying to say is DDs certainly don't have a good price/performance ratio. They're the most expensive walkmans out there (at least on most ebay listings), many cost more than a good DirectDrive deck,
while other ones can get a much better price/performace ratio, even if some specific aspects are not necessarily the best (like wow&flutter, output power and cosmetic design/sturdyness) .

Not to mention the term "best walkman" will always be subjective, because one will like the cosmetic design and the build quality a lot, even the brand itself.
Same with best sounding amplifier, where some people might like a very specific sound coloration (like a specific type of distorsion with only even harmonics or a frequency response that is not flat),
but that doesn not mean that specific sound is the best objectively, rather they like it the most (nothing wrong with that).

 

I have to admit I never talk about best, I avoid using such words. I mean best at what, best with regard to what criteria, best according to who?
Let’s take the Sony’s WM-D6C, DC2 and DD9, they are all good units but all very different sound to each other.

The D6C has a big sound, goes deep but a bit coloured. The DD9 is clean, lean, fast, articulate and some say a bit thin sounding. The DC2 sits bang in the middle of the D6C and DD9, DC2 has the best traits of both.
As good as both the D6C and DD9 are, they are at the opposite end of the sound scale to each other, so saying best does not really mean much as it depends on the sound you like. Either end of the scale is not wrong, just different and what your ears like.

Yes Aiwa are up there with regards to sound quality, they just did not blow their own trumpets.

Valentin just because one unit goes to 20kHz and the other goes to 15kHz, does not make the 20kHz one superior. It's to do with how well everything is done within that frequency range and a host of other factors to boot.

 

Certainly true. Just the 20kHz frequency response alone won't make a walkman better, but when combined with flatness over the entire spectrum, low distorsions, low noise and and Dolby system that works very well, that is a plus for me.
Being easy to repair (like requiring a simple belt replacement) is an aspect that many are interested in (seen that on the forum and on my private messages requesting advice for repair), because not all can afford/are willing to pay for a professional service.
We must consider price as well, because although a DD9 ticks all of those boxes, it's one of the most expensive walkmans out there, if not the most expensive. Some will not afford to buy it, others may not be willing to pay that much even if they have the money.

That's why I consider for many, Pansonics and AIWAs may be better choices, with better price/performace ratio, although not necessarily being the best of the best.
Even Sanyo would be a good choice for many, as there as some cheap and very good sounding ones out there.
So for different people, "best" may mean different things, depending both on preferences (as you mentioned) and budget.

 

Ok then instead of starting from the measures why not starting from the handling or the ergonomics ... in general a Walkman is used with one hand ... I use the left one .... and with one finger ... I move the function keys ... Play etc. etc ... Here are some examples

 

Very good point @Silver965 !
In my view, the best ones in terms of ergonomy are going to be the slim ones. Would also consider how well one fits into a pocket if it is to be used outside.
Of course, for some this may not be an important factor or a problem at all, but it should be considered nonetheless.

One other aspect is mechanical control or full logic. From ergonomic perspective, full logic is to be preffered.
From the ones in your pictures, I choose the JVC. The DD11 and TPS-L2 will not fit in a normal pocket, but the button layout is good.

 

I would like to add: the slim lines / super Walkmans with remote control. No need to remove the Walkman from your pocket, simply use the inline remote.
Remote ergonomy is something different; I believe Sony were able to perfect the Walkman remote only later, when they were working on the Minidisc portables.

 

The Panasonic RX-S40 and 41 were more completer in the small housing at the time of release: logic control, radio / recording functionality.
Not to forget, the all weather direct drive S45 as a direct WM-F5 competitor.
Did Sony out-market or otherwise overshadow these?

In terms of audio quality, I confirm I prefer the DX-100 over the DC2. Output power it lacks compared to DC2, but I only notice it when driving passive Walkman speakers.

 

I think the DD1 (mine) was meant for the right hand the buttons are pushed with the thumb and are well spaced ... the tps l2 is for the right hand but if you have a small hand it is difficult to hold and press the buttons. ... also the wm 20 is for the right hand and with the same finger you can also control the volume Like the Wm 2 but to the nearest keys ... The jvc is made for the left hand and with only one key for all functions except the volume controls it with the index finger ... Also the wm r202 and for the left hand like the wm 702 ..... Aiwa J09 - T09 you control the volume even with the thumb only ..p09 you control with the thumb the keys and with the index the volume Etc..etc .. Remote controls were a nice invention but not all of them were provided

 

With regards to physical size, the smallest I ever owned was an Aiwa HS-PL77. With the battery pack removed and only using the internal battery it stood at the same size as a cassette case, in fact it may even be a little shorter. It also had remote. unfortunately it got stolen back in the 90’s.
Being so slim, the W&F was terrible if you jugged it about too much while walking around. The unit did not sound to bad to me in the 90’s, but I wonder if I would think the sound quality is still good these days now that I am used to better.

I bought an Aiwa HS-PL707 a while back as it looks like the HS-PL77 but with better BBE, the W&F is still terrible on the move so it never get's used.

Attached is a picture of the Aiwa HS-PL77 I found on the internet.

 

Thank you for sharing the scans!
I updated the overview table in the first post as a result, DOL was not correctly mentioned.
And I fixed the total current draw column, abbreviations were not correct and the legend was partially visible.

 

I started to add more details to the Timeline.
The goal is to have it somehow animated or clickable.
Let me what you think!

 

Both animated and clickable sound like good ideas to me. What I imagine it like is the following:
- animation showing them faded them making them clear one by one in a chronologial order (so at the end they're all clear);
- if you click/hover the cursor over to offer some additional information in a small text box;

It's up to you how to do it in the end, these are just ideas/suggestions.

 

I have requested contributor access to Walkmanland, who knows

 

August '22 update to first post: new table and timeline.
Corrected a few items, like the servo IC of the DD22.
The DX100 and DD22 are now more clearly linked, through both the PLL and Servo IC.
More important: added text to clarify the relation between units to the graphical timeline.
There are still a few unknowns (?), please provided feedback to complete the overview!

 

I think for completeness' sake the other model variants can be added? The WM-D6C and WM-D3 appear in some markets as TC-D6C and TC-D3 (I think the equivalent TC-D6 doesn't exist).

And regarding the predecessors:

• TCM-600 can be expanded to include TCM-600B (black version) and maybe TCM-100 & TCM-100B (not sure if there's any difference between the 600 and 100)
• Add the BM-12 between the TCM-100 & TPS-L2

 

Thanks for the response!
Update Aug. 16 - I added the alternative model names to the overview table, see first post.
In the table I captured all different colours per model, black and silver for the TCM-600.
The BM-12 I need to read more about, on my to-do. There are some threads here about the TCM-600 and BM-12, mono to stereo and differences I need to digest.
@Machaneus : your feedback about this would be greatly appreciated.