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Sony Walkmans DD9 or DC2 Wanted

owenloveslife - 2013-02-27 12:47

Hello, 

I'm new to this forum, so first off, hello! And thank you for having such a great place. 

 

I've been doing research, and collecting the players that will give me the highest quality sound I can achieve on cassette.

 

I have a Sony WM-D6C that I use for portable recordings, and for playback. However, I would like a playback-only cassette walkman that will serve as my main listener around the house and away from home.

 

I've read that the best walkmans ever produced could achieve very wide frequency response (20-20000hz) and low s/n ratio, whilst still being loud enough that the frequency response is utilized.

 

The WM-DD9 is heralded at being the best, although I've heard with only one battery, it leaves some of the spectrum out and leaves the listener more to be desired.

 

The DC2 is then said to be the next best option, it has a higher "push" to drive better headphones and thus has "better" sound, but it's frequency specs are only (40-15000hz). Also I hear it has a bad problem with a cracked main gear.

 

Thus I'd more like to get my hands on a DD9, and I would use my CMoy pocket amplifier when listening so I could utilize the full sound. 

 

However, if there is a walkman that meets or beats these specs (possibly Aiwa or Panasonic) I'd more than willing learn more about it and possibly go for that, especially if somebody here has one they'd be willing to sell to me. Any thoughts? Any help is appreciated. Thanks again for the great forum!!

plop - 2013-02-27 14:11

Hello and welcome to the forum!

 

In terms of rock solid playback, the DC2 or DD9 are pretty much as good as they are going to get.

 

You've correctly identified the cons to both models, and in respect to the DC2 its centre gear can be fixed - in the right hands.

 

The DD9 has direct driven capstans and comes with auto reverse. The downside to the DD9 however is the higher prices they command over the DC2. There are a lot more DC2 that come up on auction too compared to DD9 as well, but note that there is more than one revision of DC2 as well. The earlier DC2 have a 'pointy' amorphous head.

 

Perhaps maybe just get one of each?

 

type2tapehead - 2013-03-17 14:08

I have been lucky enough to sample 5 DD9's from different owners and like mine there was noticeable wobbly (wow&flutter) when using these on the move but this is only a minor problem compared to lack of operating volume. A good alternative to the DD9 or DC2 is the fantastic AIWA HS-PX101, although is also a pricey unit to acquire but it's a sweet sounding machine. I have one of these and use it whilst on tube trains, with decent headphones it destroys my iPod in the sound quality department. Hope this helps.

lapis - 2014-06-28 22:12

I also heard that WM-702 is comparable to DD9 as the bass response is lower than DD9. 15hz for 702. Another good alternative is WM-1. It may not have all the frills of Aiwa as well as quite large for a Walkman but the frequency response is comparable to Aiwa's PX101. It have 16khz, just like Aiwa and this is back in 1981. Not bad!, especially considering when compared to TPS-L2, which was only 12khz.