We are all familiar with the JX707 as the talking walkman. However AIWA also made some less famous talking walkman too.

We start with the "father" of the most commonly widespread and indeed of course most famous of them all, the JX70. This model gave rise to many different variants and the range itself could be argued as one of AIWA's most successful of walkmans. The JX70 came in two colours : the more commonly seen black and the lesser seen champagne gold. A box set version of the JX70, the EX3000, was also made. These weren't numbered limited special editions unlike say a Sony WM-701S, but were easily available to purchase at the time for an additional premium.

The JX70 was of course a Japan only model, but two international models were produced. The JX707D was the direct equivalent of the JX70. It differed from the JX70 in that the world clocks were all manually adjustable. The JX70 only had the 5th clock being manually adjustable and that the first clock was supposed to be set to Japanese Standard Time to allow the other 3 clocks (Honolulu, New York City, and Paris) to be correctly calculated.

The much more common JX707 was destined for areas of the world where the TV band was not adopted, and therefore the TV band was omitted. It also only had a standard FM 88-108MHz frequency range, unlike the JX70 or JX707D with their extended 76-108MHz frequency range. These are easily identified by the grey border around the clock display. Models that feature TV band, have a black border around the clock instead. It must be mentioned for completeness that AIWA did also produce some early  JX707 with TV band as well, with the black border giving away the fact that the TV band being present.

Old style AIWA logo

New style AIWA logo from late 1992 onwards

The JX707 and JX707D like the JX70 also gave rise to non-limited premium box set gold versions namely the JX3000 and JX3000D respectively.

Following on the success of the gold JX3000, a cheaper scaled down gold coloured unit was released as the JX909. It came in a standard box and regular accessories unlike the JX3000 before it.

Owing to the restrictive FM band in Japan of 76-90MHz, many radio broadcasters there relied on the AM band. When AM stereo became popular in Japan, AIWA released an AM stereo version and what was probably the last ever variant of the JX70 - the JX929.

Aside from the well known JX70, there was a non-recording version. The RX70 was based on the same design as the JX70 and indeed shares many similar parts with the JX70. However it was a playback only model and therefore did not have the recording function of the JX70, nor did it have the 5 station preset layout as seen on the JX70. Less noticeably, it also did not have Dolby C NR.

Finally there was the PX70. It uses the same 0ZM tape transport as the JX70 and RX70, but that is where the similarities end. It's design styling was completely different to that of either the JX70 or RX70 and is more akin to that of the PL77. Unlike either the JX70 or RX70 it did not feature BBE sound enhancement.

All photos are copyright of their respective owners and shown here for illustrative purposes only.

Wonderful! Zhank you for the nice overview of the Aiwa JX70 series!

Great writeup! I remember you said that you preferred the 929 because it had a better head, were there any more improvements made to that model?

(Looks wise, the old Aiwa logo looks much nicer than the 90s "crown" one to me.)

Apart from the new tape head, the other obvious change is the tuner board now incorporates extra circuitry for the AM stereo feature. Perhaps I got lucky, but the build quality seems to have improved over earlier units. Tape playback is more consistant over the earlier JX707 models I have. With only one sample JX929, this may be a one off observation though. The JX929 still suffers from a horrid DSL response unfortunately.

Very nice post there Plop very informative, keep up the good work Thanks!

The RX70 signature was mainly a silver color, the black one you posted is quiet rare to find. I have the silver version - a very nice and stylish unit.

There is a another version to the RX70 that AIWA made in 1994 right after the merge with Sony It's the HS-RX910 a Mid-Range model with Digital Radio w/auto memory preset, Bi-Azimuth, Amorphous Head, BBE and Dolby B. 

The RX910 is the rest of world version of the RX70. This would have been released at about the same time as the JX909 and JX929 as well.

The black colours tend to be AIWA's default colour during the 90s. Therefore the silver one you have is the rarer one.

The RX910 appeared only in the 1993-94 catalog but never before. I also have the 1991 catalogs and I haven't seen it there. IMHO the RX910 is a follow up, a 1995 upgraded version of the RX70.

As far as I know AIWA didn't released new units in 1992 and therefore the Official Japanese headquarters did not published any catalogs (they were busy with the merger with Sony) The following year they Re-designed the last year units and published the 1993-94 catalog. in this catalog you can clearly see how they photo montage the new Aiwa logo and omitted some features. 

You might be right about the world version, but the question arise if JX70 is JX707 world version and PL77 is PL777wv so RX70 should have been RX707 world version! right? 

After the 70/707 series there is the 808 series like JX818, 828 838 etc. and then the 909 series.

The JX909 and JX929 I guess are 1995-96 models but I am not sure about that, I've lost interest in Aiwa since 1992 right when the new format arrived - the MiniDisc.

BTW: the main differences with JX2000 EX2000 etc. are all about the Hi-End Quality Earphones HP-V99 or HP-V88 or just Plain Pipe earphones. 

I thought since the takeover, the last of the 0ZM models that effectively came out were in 1994 which would have included the RX910, JX909 and JX929.

JX70 is a Japan only release.

JX707 and JX707D are rest of world releases of the JX70

PL70 is a Japan only release alpha tape transport model

The PL707 is the rest of world version

The PL777 is a 0ZM tape transport model and is the rest of world release of the Japan only PL77

I do not ever remember seeing a RX707 being released. Logically this would have been the case, but AIWA do not always release worldwide versions of their initial Japan models. I may be wrong but I have yet to see a worldwide release of the RL50 ie RL505 or even the PX70 which would be a PX707.

The EX3000 was released only in Japan and is the equivalent to a premium gold boxed version of the JX70 (ie they both have fixed world clock). The JX3000 and JX3000D are the rest of world premium gold boxed versions of the JX707 and JX707D (neither of these have pre-fixed world clock). The EX3000 has TV band as well, only the JX3000D has TV band whereas the JX3000 does not.

Japan versions may well have different headphones. I have a PX10 and PX101 both have their original headphones, one is ear bud type the other head band type. Having different model numbers certainly give manufacturers the excuse to swap out accessories for different regions of the world even though usually the base item is essentially the same.

I don't think we're ever going to see RX707 or RL505 nor PX707 because they were never made under a different model name!
We need to remember that AIWA Co. didn't changed in one day it was a process that took some years to complete. when a takeover happens It is a well known process. AIWA executive decisions were very limited and a new system of rules were made therefore the whole system have changed and economic changes took place. one of them is universal units.

Aiwa's primary market always was the Japanese/Asian. there are many models out there which are only Japanese/Asian. like JL30, JL50, RL50, RX50. but all of them were made when Aiwa hand's were on top.

The Earphones were very popular in Japan therefore the Japanese units were sold with Earphones while the export models with Headphones. It was more like demand and supply.

Moreover there are reasons for the differences because every country have their own restrictions and regulations like the FCC, EC etc.

Sorry, my mistake I was talking about the JX2000 line.
EX50 Is a CassetteBoy has HP-J7 Earphones.
JX2000 Is a World model has HP-V99 Pipe-Phones.
(there is also a Limited Edition Taiwanese Version - 80th Anniversary with Japanese TV tuner.  that's the only difference - the earphones

Indeed it is unlikely we will, as I have already pointed out the RX70, RL50 and PX70 are all Japan only models and I'd be extremely suprised if rest of the world versions of these turn up. If such versions exist then they would more likely turn up from asia than europe, as some extra models did get produced for that part of the world.

...and it is strangely coincidental that following the takeover from Sony that there are no longer any two digit high range headphone stereo models being created for the Japan market. Rationalisation of models, and consolidation of product range. Just some effects of cost saving measures.

The above named models are Japan only models. The JL models were also available outside of Japan as the JL303 and JL505. These may not have been sold outside of asia however. It is probable that the RL and RX models may have been sold in asia, but I can find no evidence to support this.

Regionialisation still happens today. Moreso for Japan verses the rest of the world. For example Toshiba make laptop computers sold the world over, but in Japan they are sold by a company called Dynabook who happen to be owned by Toshiba. The Dynabook range of laptop computers is greater than that of Toshiba as we know it, but it is unlikely the majority of that range will ever be on general sale in the rest of the world.

Something as generic as a cassette player with no radio tuner is the same no matter where it is ultimately destined, but that didn't stop AIWA selling the same model with two different model numbers such as the PX10/101, PX30/303, PX50/505 etc... AIWA's policy was to have a Japan model and a rest of world model. If they decided it wasn't viable for a world release then we never got to see it.

The JX50 follows a similar path to that of the JX70 with regards to naming. The EX50 was the premium gold boxed version of the JX50. For the rest of world versions of the JX505 and JX505D, there was the premium gold boxed versions of the JX2000 and JX2000D as well. The JX2000TW was a special version of the JX2000D for the Taiwanese market.

Regionialisation still happens today. Moreso for Japan verses the rest of the world. For example Toshiba make laptop computers sold the world over, but in Japan they are sold by a company called Dynabook who happen to be owned by Toshiba. The Dynabook range of laptop computers is greater than that of Toshiba as we know it, but it is unlikely the majority of that range will ever be on general sale in the rest of the world.

If you mentioned Toshiba, you're absolutely right.
Indeed Aiwa wasn't the only one to practice this kind of behavior.

for example: In Japan-

Aiwa personal stereo are called "Cassette Boy".
Toshiba called them "Walky".
JVC/Victor called them "Tepee".
Panasonic called them "Jump".

Toshiba KT-RS7 Japan is KT-4085 World Version.

Toshiba KT-GS5 Japan is KT-770 World V.

Toshiba KT-PS30 Japan is KT-V760 World V.

Sharp JC-7 Japan is JC-77 World V.

Sharp JC-N7 Japan Is JC-786 World V.

Even Sony with the Hi-MD format.

This is Japanese MZ-RH10

and this is World version

A while back I was pointing out that Japanese Walkmans are built differently with superior parts vs export models. this kind of practice/policy is exclusive to Japanese consumer products.

The way it looks, it is Japan versus the world!

All photos are copyright of their respective owners and shown here for illustrative purposes only.

Hi I have contacted you in KAZUO, but no reply, I just wanna ask whether u gonna have AIWA P5?

You haven't contacted me personally. I don't have an account on Kazuo.

The AIWA P5 to the best of my knowledge is not a talking walkman.

I don't have an account on any Chinese walkman forum. If you want help with something, then start a new thread on it rather than hi-jacking another topic. It's more polite to do so and likely to get you attention from people capable of doing so.

Btw, welcome to S2G. Be sure to introduce yourself properly.

K， sorry. A guy from Chinese blog has refered your topic, I took it for granted that...u r the man called "INK" in KAZUO. No worries, I will complete my details ASAP.