SONY Walkman DX-100, high-class walkman, working!
walkman.archive - 2012-09-16 13:46
I offer here a very high quality and extremely rare walkman that features:
- Dolby C
- EX Amorphous head
- EX DBB megabass
- Autoreverse
- full-logic transport
- 100% metal
and fully working unit.
This model is heavy and made to last very long. The building quality is superb, and can only be compared to his big brother, the DD9. It's very strong, durable, elegant, and features advanced systems focused only in audio quality, like the Amorphous head and the dolby C.
It sounds so great, close to the fantastic DD9, but without the DD system. Take in mind, however, that the wow&flutter are higher than the DD9, actually caused by the non DD transport.
It's a great machine, and even rarer than a Boodo Khan.
Condition: It's in good condition, but it has some light scratches in front and back. It's in working condition, and the sound quality is very high. It has been serviced by a professional qualified walkman technician recently.
Battery door shows a hardly seen small crack but it doesn't affect the operation at all.
It needs a gumstick battery (not included but tested, but you can get one here) and runs also on a simple AA battery when using the external compartment (not included, but similar to many other SONY models).
Headphone connector is SONY propietary and it needs an adaptor (you can use the WM-701C or get one at ebay) or the propietary earphones (not included).
If you are interested, please send me a message.
Regards,
walkman.archive - 2012-09-17 15:21
Update: by request of a member that asked me more details about it, I add an update:
- The gumstick battery works. I charged one of these, put into and it works perfectly.
- The azimuth of this unit is non-adjustable, like the DD9 and many other models. Luckily, it's almos perfect in both sides. I tested it with my oscilloscope and that's the resulting graph:
A- side:
B-Side:
both are measured with 1kHz signal recorded at 0dB on a test tape and measured at volume 8 setting.
soundabout - 2012-10-18 06:44
Ebay 330812381006
ao - 2012-10-18 07:13
Ebay 330812381006
TWA, is this your auction?
walkman.archive - 2012-10-19 01:39
I have listed it on eBay finally for 249$, accepting offers.
You could see it here: http://www.ebay.es/itm/330812381006
@soundabout: I'm surprised that you posted the number. Why?
claret.badger - 2012-10-19 02:07
so we could see it?
walkman.archive - 2012-10-19 02:59
Updated, sorry.
lapis - 2014-12-27 05:28
walkman.archive - 2014-12-27 15:46
I don't understand what you mean. that is just the V out for the L sine signal.
sotza - 2014-12-28 09:45
In the graphs we have 608.58 mv ms and 587.04 mv ms for side A and B respectively for L+R channel, I am not accustomed with that program so correct me if I am wrong.
I guess Lapis means (608.58+587.04)/2=597.81 if there was a perfectly equalized output.
By the way I was the one who bought the DX100 via my good friend John R.
lapis - 2014-12-29 17:39
bub - 2014-12-29 21:04
Azimuth is non adjustable due to a fixed head, and a variance on both sides is common for such machines. The only way to adjust azimuth is to replace the head and some transport components until you get close.
The plus side is simplicity of manufacture. Some earlier machines had bi-azimuth mechanisms, such as WM-7 and early Aiwa Alpha transports. Some of the larger, less expensive auto reverse machines that do not have logic control use a single screw to adjust for both directions. In that case, you can adjust for one direction or an approximation for both.
lapis - 2014-12-29 21:18
bub - 2014-12-30 01:09
Theoretically, yes. In practice, it is rare to find a fixed head unit perfectly aligned. Even if single screw adjustment is available, you may not get perfect azimuth in both directions.
lapis - 2014-12-30 01:19
sotza - 2014-12-30 02:35
Wonderful discussion gentlemen ,this is like resembling walkman mecha designers brainstorming!
I would add that provided the cassette is recorded on both sides with the same conditions even small differences in head alignment are audible especially with the immediate comparison when you hit autoreverse button ,that is why Sony and others tried to find a simple solution in the small space of a walkman.
I think Lapis has a good question there about the Sony wm909 and wm999 series with the dual head, probably that model was an answer to that problem,maybe someone who has that model(s) can confirm that it succeeded.
lapis - 2014-12-30 02:40
bub - 2014-12-30 06:05
It's manufacturing tolerances. Even the tape guides on the head may not be positioned perfectly. Add on to the fact that auto-reverse units do not wear symmetrically and it compounds the problem.
I don't own a EX999 or 909, so I cannot access its performance. Theoretically there should be no crosstalk from the other side. From the service manual, individual head height adjustment is possible. However, playback in the FWD direction uses a head in the pinch roller well and there is obviously no felt pad there. Therefore, a miniature felt pad in place of the capstan is placed there. The capstan itself is moved to the locating hole, and the pinch roller is moved above it. The REV head is mounted in the usual place.
Judging from this design, the felt pad for FWD direction is likely to wear out from heavy use, and the tiny pinch roller will likely cause issues as the unit ages. Seems like a compromised design to me, and Sony probably did not see value in continuing this direction. Possibly a factor to its lack of popularity is dull design that does little to stand out from other "standard" EX series units.
No auto-reverse is still the best for performance, but I believe that the Aiwa Alpha series mechanism tackled the azimuth problem quite well. The WM-100 has a similar setup as well. The head azimuth is set by screws in the main body opposite of the head assembly mounted on the door. However, the precision for the door/head mounts must be high. A loose hinge or dropping your walkman would kill the alignment.
It is interesting to note how the successors of both mechanisms ditched azimuth adjustment completely (0ZM, WM-150/EX49).
lapis - 2014-12-30 17:44
lapis - 2015-06-18 03:00
bub - 2015-06-18 09:43
It depends on which era of Auto-Reverse Walkman- The first to third generation mechanisms (Think WM-7 to WM-100) may have bi-azimuth, almost all machines from any brand after that (Think 0ZM, WM-150, Panasonic S, SX, 701C, Sony EX) do not (like I mentioned last year). It is not a "nature" of compactness but rather, clever engineering to fit the azimuth system in such a small space.
The DCC apparently solved Azimuth problems altogether by using special tape head guides that were slightly curved at one end and straight at the other, meaning that the tape naturally fit the guides perfectly. How well this works I cannot attest as I do not own one, but it sounds like a good solution. Again, manufacturing tolerances matter.
lapis - 2015-06-19 08:27
lapis - 2015-06-28 22:42
lapis - 2016-02-29 05:16
There ARE no crosstalk on the dual heads Walkmans because the heads are separated from each other. Trust me, I have a YP-ES20 and a WM-EX674 and I can tell you that there are more crosstalk with the YP-ES20 than the WM-EX674, due to the larger pickups and smaller guard bands.
lapis - 2016-04-23 01:07
My favorite SONY NON-DD DOLBY C will be the 703C/701C.
Why didn't it got mentioned?
ao - 2016-04-23 01:35
Lapis posted:My favorite SONY NON-DD DOLBY C will be the 703C/701C.
Why didn't it got mentioned?
My guess would be due to the fact that this post is regarding Walkman Archive's DX-100.
Feel free to begin a new thread.