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Bringing Walkmen in public:

manimal347 - 2009-09-10 19:00

I noticed the thread about rocking boxen in public, and couldn't help but wonder how many of us actually bring our Walkman with us in daily life, and if we do, if they're our primary tune box. They can be cumbersome at times (eg... dead batteries, jammed tapes,) and the belt clips are a bit precarious.

I personally carry my Aiwa HS-360 from the late 80's with me everywhere, be it on walks in the park, in the city, or on bus rides. My Sansa just sites in a sock drawer! I don't get many looks, but store clerks and people I meet in public often comment on the ponderous chrome-laden thing. The Grados might add to the surprise Razz

wombat - 2009-09-26 19:43

I wore my Sony WM-1 on a saturday during July--my unofficial Walkman birthday party. I think most people thought it was a small life support system--like those oxygen tanks people tote behind them.

aa.fussy - 2009-09-27 05:42

I'll usually bring one of my Walkman players on my next plane trip-perhaps my WM-FX511.

kkzeder - 2009-09-27 06:15

My dad and I "lug" our WM-F10II's so we can still listen to AM/FM and switch to some music when needed. Not many MP3 players have good FM tuning (well, granted the F10s also use PLL based tuning) and even fewer support AM broadcasts (not many engineers find a bulky ferrite bar antenna appealing.)

Still, these "pocket" units can effectively swallow an Ipod if you remove the reel sprockets. I can tell you its definitely not fit for school life anywhere but the library.

dinosaur - 2009-09-27 18:15

I carry a walkman with me EVERY day!
I have a custom case i have made for a Sony D3 dat Walkman that i use to carry a Sony SRF84 radio and currently am using a Sony WM-EX674. The looks i get when i change tapes on the train is hilarious!

zx280 - 2009-09-27 22:42

It IS a life support system isn't it? Well WAY of life anyway!

ao - 2009-09-28 00:27

A man of my social standing, in fashionable WC1??

Personally I wouldn't be seen dead with one.

I used to take the DD9 or a D6C but sadly I favour the convenience of the MP3 as I now commute 3hrs a day into the West End.

coolcol - 2009-09-28 04:05

I do use my cassette walkman collection but not every day though.

It is hilarious to see other people faces when you take it out of the large rear pocket that you bought specially to fit walkmans in. Haha

I mainly use the Aiwa HS G09 as it is so bl--dy loud and i have an hearing impairment (i wear an aid). God knows how loud that is for normal hearing people. I also like it when my daughter listens to it through the seq-50 so we both can share the music. People think it is some sort of lead but have been approached by teenagers saying it is cool that we can share music. (that is one thing is missing on todays MP3s) but society of late somehow wants you to be by yourself.

C

johnedward - 2009-09-28 12:06

Well I actually do take my walkmans often but not daily when am out. A year ago my favorite was the Blue RQ-S75, then moved on to Sony EX-1, next a olde Philips Skymaster 3 in red that has increadable mid clarity and LOUD, for beauty and red cool backlight remote the Panasonic RQ-SX77 finally on to few months ago Panasonic RQ-SX99V and past few weeks my new love even tho HEAVY is my Black rebelted WM-7 and I LOVE the original headphone sound actually amazed at clarity of this unit almost like it had Amorphous head. So many players the sound is like being behind the glass of a sound studio the live performers on other side so you hear from monitor speakers then a very few walkmans create that sonic sense you are right next to the instrument hearing the pluck of strings, slow fade of vibration. My DC2 is my desk listening of choice with SEQ-50 in Grey.
Oh and yeah I do love the attention you get changing a tape or the questions people ask. They will ALWAYS be for many a grand fun wonderful memory of a time in our youth and seeing one again lets you touch that memory again.

toocool4 - 2009-09-29 05:27

I use my personal stereo everyday, I travel to London everyday for work. I usually use DD33, DD9 or DC2 but the DC2’s are out for repair at the moment.

On Fridays we have iPod day at work, this is a day anybody in the office can bring their own music and play it for all to enjoy.
On Fridays I bring in the WM-D6C as my iPod. First they all laughed thinking digital is better. We did comparisons with the same music on the WM-D6C and iPod, they could not believe it when the tape player won. I do my recording on TDK MA-XG using Nakamichi CR7.

I do get funny looks on the train some times from the iPod users but do I care, it’s all about the sound quality and I use the Etymotic Research ER-4S in earphones. It’s isolates me from the outside noise and it sounds amazing.