Sports Walkman: Sony's Go-Anywhere Portable Electronics!
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- Опубликовано: 9 июл 2024
- As the personal electronics craze exploded in the 1980s, people wanted to take their gadgets everywhere. Sony came up with a product line that promised to hold up to (mostly) anything their owners could throw at them.
Featured music: "Disco Soul" and "Liftoff" by Discoholic: discoholicmusic.bandcamp.com/...
Sources:
WM-F5 photo: www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/desi...
Multicolored WM-F5 models: walkman.land/sony/wm-f5
Sports boombox photo: philamuseum.org/collection/ob...
Sports Watchman photo: www.larkclub.com/gallery/2014...
Sports Discman photo: www.larkclub.com/gallery/2018...
MZ-S1 photo: page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/...
Panasonic Shockwave cassette player photo: tyo.deedpowerfactor.xyz/index...
GPX sports cassette player photo: www.etsy.com/listing/10424502...
My First Sony box photo: www.ebay.com/itm/125826219756
My First Sony commercial: • My First Sony Commerci...
My First Sony product range photo: www.flickr.com/photos/mawari/...
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Music by Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com).
Intro music by BoxCat Games (freemusicarchive.org/music/Bo.... 
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It's always nice when someone designs a device for obvious serviceability. There's a retired Japanese Sony designer sitting there satisfied he did a good job like this walkman for his whole career. Arigatou oji-san 🙏
80's nostalgia here - those Sony Walkmans, ghetto blasters and radios were and still are pretty cool looking. Quality as always!
I have Sony Walkman WM-F10 the first cassette box sized walkman with fm radio in 1984, very good condition and it's upgraded brother - WM-F100II from 1989, I love how small Sony made them to be - 30 years ago
@1sonyzz That's one to hold on to!
Original boom boxes and ghetto blasters were really of the late 70s and very early 80s. By the time this thing was released in 1984, ghetto blasters were dead and replaced by low end portable stereos.
The early machines we call "ghetto blasters" and "Boomboxes": were high end machines made possible by the solid state revolution. They were "solid state" machines in the truest sense in that they were discrete component machines.
But by 84, they were no longer discrete component solid state devices, but loaded with ICs to the point that most of the space inside was empty. The sound quality and even the quality of the radio tuners plummeted like a stone along with the price.
@tarstarkusz Agreed, portable stereos is a more appropriate term and name for the time. You know your stuff
Oilers/Spartans circuit city brings nostalgic memories, 5 years later at the Pomona store she had a chance to fill out a form for arbitration because of rejection. So don't feel like she haven't suffered, because she makes 4x more money NOW than circuits city employees
Thanks for the video and thanks for introducing me to Discoholic! (I am saying this again we really need a TDNC curated playlist for the music used in the videos!)
My best friend his dad worked at Sony in the 90's. We visited him at work, when he was cleaning up inventory. My friend and I both got a Sports walkman, which to this day I still have!
I bought one of these in 1988, had cassette and radio. Also had dolby I believe. It was my pride and joy, and boy did it get a workout! It got stolen in around 1993 and replaced by insurance. I still have it stored away in a draw, I'm pretty sure it still works.
Me too. Got mine at service merchandise for around $75-$100 in the 1980's .That was a lot of money.My sister stole it and brought it to school in her backpack, broke it by dropping the bag. so sad!I miss that walkman
I think the one thing I appreciate the most about new technology is the battery percentage indicator. I still remember the heartbreak of finding out only after I’ve gotten on the schoolbus that my batteries were dying. *Nothing* made the day go by slower than neither you nor your friends having any spare batteries 😔
Fun fact: Digital media players/recorders, mainly two decades ago, drain battery faster than analog tape. Why? CPU uses more energy than a little flywheel motor. Isn’t that something?
The color combination of those Walkman looks so cool.
Whoa! Great to see. This was my first Walkman. It is just beautiful
As a kid, I got the GPS "Sports" clone you showed in this video. Thank you for that shot of nostalgia!
Another great Walkman video, but can we take a moment to appreciate the absolute BANGER of a cassette you chose to use as your test cassette!? Hoooooooly crap my dude, I need more of that!!!
👋 😘
Yes, I had to shazam it because it was so great. Would defo get that to listen in the car. Very much like late daft punk.
@@AJC508 What music was it?
Hi Colin, great video! That's awesome you were able to use the Sports Walkman I sent in it. Glad it worked out.
When unique ideas and colorful design are beyond our imagination. That's the 80's heartbeat. They never comeback
I have been watching your videos since your review about JBL go speaker. However since the pandemic it has been almost like a tradition watching your videos on fridays when going home to my parents home for the weekends. I hope you keep it up
The best, I was 19 in 1980. I like tapes, records and even the 8-track, lol. Home phones with no apps, the simple way of listening to music is what I missed. I think I'll get one of these on Amazon to make me feel even better. They have a Sony CD player, that I like very much, and I'll get one of them as well.
Very cool. I remember my mom had a yellow Walkman under the Sports brand in the 90s as her daily driver. That yellow color of yours instantly reminded me of it.
Glad to see the Sports line finally getting some recognition! My first Walkman was an F397 I found at a thrift store for only $5. It had a bit of corrosion on the battery contacts, but after some isopropyl it worked just fine. If you can find one for a decent price, it is a no brainer to pick it up.
I honestly don't get why anyone would want to pick one of these up. These were generally low end devices. I suppose 5 bucks in a thrift store might be worth buying, but not ebay. If you want a portable cassette/radio combo, there are much better models. SInce you will likely have to do at least some maintenance anyway, you might as well get a decent model. Also, do not buy cheap belts from Ukraine. You should buy the proper belts. They are much more uniform and are sized properly. Using a too small belt, even by a very small amount will burn up the motor. They use bushings and those bushings will wear very quickly.
@@tarstarkuszOf course there are always better models, but most people getting into them now don’t really care about getting the Best sound possible, we have digital music for that. So just having something that sounds alright, is cheap, and is easily repaired if it wears out are the main draws. Also, these were built as runaround machines, so they’re far more durable than some of the higher end slimmer ones. And even though they were low end when they came out, most of them are still light years ahead of any of the cassette players being made today, in both build and sound quality.
@@Jackster743 I don't like modern digital because I don't want to pay for a virtual item. To me, that's the draw of a CD or cassette or vinyl. What you are paying for is connected to the medium itself.
I agree this is much better than what is sold today. My point is if you are going to buy vintage, there are better models.
I also would want a high quality AM/FM stereo. I actually still use a walkman till this day. I don't like carrying my personal tracking device (AKA phone) while biking. So I carry a cassette walkman I can control right through my clothes. I also create playlists on youtube and then record those playlists onto a cassette.
they go for 30$ - 60$ nowadays - worth it ?
I had completely forgotten about the "My First Sony" line. Me and my brother had a set of those headset walkie-talkies you can see the kid in the commercial footage wearing. They were voice activated, which was not typical for children's walkie-talkies at the time, so they seemed so cool back then.
Great video covering a compelling classic device...with good music to boot?! SHEESH 🔥
I think the closest example in today's electronics store that we had from back then with a huge selection of Walkmans is the camera and camcorder section at Best Buy. Just imaging going to an electronics store and having about 30-40 different Walkmans and Sanyos and Panasonics at various price points all just sitting out on a couple chest height shelf lined with carpet. Minimal to no security cables. No portable cd players yet. You could try all them out too. Great times!
In the mid to late 1980s I had a 1970's stereo radio with 8-track player and record player. I had a handful of hand-me-downs of both. By the 1990s I had my first stereo with a compact cassette player. It was around 1998 I got my first compact cassette Walkman, and it was a Sports Walkman that I won with tickets from a local go-cart/mini golf/arcade place. That thing sealed the deal on my buying mobile Sony music products! Their cassette player and the two CD Walkmans I had after were great! I still have my Sports CD Walkman as I type this, and it STILL works!
My Dad had one of these and I used to listen to tapes on it a lot. I can still remember the feel of the latch opening and closing and the little rubber stopper in the headphone port. It’s a really tactile device.
it was always crap, failed format !
So we got: a Walkman repair video, with excellent production and awesome music all the way... All wins in my book!
I still have fond memories of the Sony WM-F57 Walkman, which I got in 1986. It was one of the only Walkman models to have a speaker built in. I used the heck out of it through junior high school and high school, and took it on so many trips I couldn’t even count. I loved that it gave me the option to not use headphones. And it was just a very high quality Walkman overall. It wasn’t my first one but it was the best one in my humble opinion. I remember the bright yellow Sports models being around at the same time, but I was never jealous about having one!
I can just imagine Colin at a roller disco throwing his moves to the music between 6m43s - 7m42s
YES!! :-D I found a really clean WM-A53 at a thrift store a few years back and I was a little stumped as to how to disassemble it once the belts finally broke. I now know how to do it because of your teardown log! Thank you :-D
Discoholic: excellent musical taste!
I’ve got one of these - it was my dad’s. I love the design of it, and it gets surprisingly good radio reception.
I had serveral Sony cassette models back in the day, including the sports model. wonderful pieces of engineering.
Cassettes and Walkman/portable players hold a very special place in my memories. Thanks for the video.
Hope you do get to do a video on the My First Sony line. I still have the "My First Sony" analog alarm clock/radio that I got as a kid, remember seeing it in a catalog and waiting for it to come out on the conveyor belt at Service Merchandise. It felt somehow grown up to have an analog ticking clock even in that bright red, and during power outages it was the only battery radio on hand already set to got and would get moved to the kitchen counter. At one point it did stop running for a couple years until one day it started up again on my desk where it was being just a radio, no idea why it ever stopped but it continues to run to this day
I dig the song choices, thanks for putting it in the description
I've always been interested in tech and the 80s is where it all started from there. Through video games like the NES, Walkmans and boom boxes, it also lead me to have a strong interest in computers. It's good time to be alive.
The Sports line looked great. I always loved the look of their boomboxes growing up.
Always great to have a new video from you on a Friday Colin. My own small Walkman collection is a result of your videos and I've repaired many as a result. Love your video style and editing too, really high end production values.
Definitely have had the itch several times in my life to build up a bookshelf of the Sony yellow sports items, there were so many from portable TVs and boom boxes and even headphones, as well as the various Walkman models.
I have one of these sports series Walkman with its wire over-ear headphones (I think it’s the tape-only model that can read different kinds of tapes). My aunt used to use it when visiting my grandparents. I don’t have many cassette players anymore, so at this point I think it’s the best player in the house. I love how it looks and it feels solid.
Love your videos about old tech. That yelow Panasonic Shockwave player you show later in the video was my first ever cassette player (I believe I got it for my birthday in 1995) and I loved that thing - the design and headphones were the epitome of cool to 14 year old me. Would love to see you do a video about that one if you could, because I'd totally forgotten about it and this video brought back all the great memories I had of it. 😊
My first CD player was a my first Sony branded one. I remember I used it until it died, at which point I finally replaced it with a home stereo component player. I was lucky enough to find another one complete in the box a few years ago on eBay for a very cheap price. The only thing it was missing, was the included, audio CD, which I just happen to still have from mine!
I had yellow walkman, and also the famous yellow MDR-W15 headphones. The 90s, the best years.
I bought mine around 1987 and it was identical to the one in the video. Love it! Those headphones were funny
Glad you're covering a Sports Walkman, I have a soft spot for these and believe they're highly underrated units!
I grew up playing with my mom's WM-FS191 and appreciated the overall ruggedness and built-in radio these are known for. Used to listen to FM stations when riding the bus to/from school with it, years before I got my first iPod. Was very happy with the reception and fidelity it provided, and never felt ashamed when other kids would make fun of me for having it. (It was the mid 2000s, when iPods and mp3 players were commonplace.)
My childhood Walkman was from this era. I drooled over the sports models, mine was black though, with a metal body, the bass boost button shared this model's shade of green.
Im 37 years old and I'm obsessed with this channel. Its so therapeutic to me.
1:45 Okay pop off with your groovy self
I owned one of these bought with the $ from my first job when I was 16. I LOVED it!!! It went everywhere with me and once I took a spill on my bike and my Walkman splayed across the road. I was terrified I’d killed it, but it I was able to repair it myself. Truly, they don’t make ‘em like this anymore!
Hi, I learned from RUclips if you use Brassow wadding, it comes in a tin can You can polish the see-through plastic and it gets most of the scratches out on the walkmans. Just be sure if you’re plastic comes through the inside to put something behind it or hold it so you don’t pop it out but on these Walkman sports you’re showing I don’t think you have to hold anything, great channel Thanks for your videos.
That white noise that produce this Walkman is pure nostalgia! 😢 6:43
I loved my old Walkman!!!
I want to thank you for making this video. I bought this model Walkman because of this video, and I’m extremely happy with it. I really appreciate it. I hope to see more Walkman videos from your channel. Thanks again.
Holy nostalgia, pretty sure my parents had this exact model, I briefly remember it being around growing up.
It was so nice to see a cassette related repair video and not have to suffer listening to those awful 'Retro Grooves' cassettes all the RUclipsr's seem to love.
Man. A great video as always. Even better; thanks for turning me on to Discoholic. This is like a Jamiroquai/dico hybrid and I dig it. Their music SLAPS!
'Disco Soul' started sounding like Debarge to me, which I 100% mean as a compliment. Gonna have to look up the rest.
@@CrabOfDoom thanks! debarge rocks
I used to own one of these Walkmans when I was a kid. The thing I remember most about it was whenever I tookit on an aeroplane, it would be really difficult to open due to the air pressure and the fact that it was airtight. The rubber seal would get super compressed.
I was just thinking about the that. I went to disney workd and flew to florida with my sports walkman. 1989! Man i feel old now. Love that walkman
Holy crap it’s Discoholic
I could never afford a genuine Walkman as a kid, I had a bush one I think!
Great video
Man, do these every get the nostalgia vibes going. Fun video - thanks for all the awesome content and info! :)
Nice to see this still functions. While the "Sports" line was rugged, some of the others were not, a friend had a Sony "dubbing" walkman (with dual cassette decks!) which if I remember correctly broke within a year or two...
I have many of the Sports boomboxes and they are indestructible to this day I still use them outdoors in the yard
This is such a great video!
This brings me back to when my Dad got a Sony Walkman "Professional" model back in the late 80's. A big deal at the time, as it was a $$$ Pricey little bugger...at least from what I remember. LOL
Gotta love the Retro Tech!
Once again, Great video!
Cheers!
-Gerry
I had this one as a kid in elementary school and I felt FLY with that yellow.
I've got a WM-FS420, which is a really nice Sports Walkman model, but I have to do some desoldering/re-soldering in order to get to the belts and replace them. It doesn't look too difficult, but I'm new to soldering and haven't felt ready to take it on just yet. The mechanics and radio seem to be working fine, though, apart from the belts. I recently bought some soldering equipment based on your tutorial video on it, Colin. Thanks for publishing that!
Have had that same exact Walkman for almost 40 years now. Still works, and spent an entire winter outside in the snow.
I'm not 100% sure, but I think my mother used to have one of these along with matching yellow headphones. She would use it not only for music but also audio books for book series she had already read before to play at night to help her sleep.
that second song was amazing
I had one! Thanks for bringing back beautiful memories 🎉
Strong memories of those ‘waterproof’ yellow clamshell Walkmans back in the mid to late 80s. Always wanted one but by the time I was buying them with my own money the fancier digital units always seemed the better buy. Ironic that their ‘sealed’ design ended up making them much easier to repair 30+ years later.
This brings back memories of my first time using my (sligy later model with a yelow slot cover / more rounded features) yellow walkmen outside. Great video!
Hah, I actually still have one of those "My First Sony"s, it literally was my first Sony from when I was 4-5 years old, more than 30 years ago. Put a smile on my face seeing it in the video.
I actual had one of those the exact same color as well. Such a great rebuild of a iconic device. Nice video
Hi. This was the Walkman I had in the 80s. It served me well 😊💎
I love this new way of editing. it's dynamic now. I've been watching this channel and I just subscribe
ohh the "my first sony" walkman.. I used to have one of these when I was a kid... I used to love that thing... Maybe it is still on my parents house somehow..
great video and I am happy that this repair worked out :)
Seeing this brings back so many memories of my youth. Riding around on my mountain bike with the headphones on. Jogging in the park on a cool summer evening listening to tunes. Walkmans were and still are cool as far as I'm concerned.
I had the Sony sports boombox in college. It held up to sand and spills. It did an adequate job making Grateful Dead concerts sound pretty good.
I got one of these for birthday when I was young. The motor was so weak that it couldn't play all my tapes. I got it replaced with another one, it had the same problem. That made me completely disregard Sony as a brand for walkmans. I got the second one also replaced, but then chose a Philips which was much better. Great video and fun nostalgia, thanks!
The slow zoom while testing the Walkman was “chef’s kiss”
OMG I had one of these when I was a kid, we did a lot of travelling in my childhood. As my family tramped around europe I would listen to audiobooks on it. What a time.
Great video! And thanks for the my first Sony nostalgia xD
I still use a CD Walkman but I remember having a Sports Discman that I got for Christmas in the very late 1990s. I believe it was the Sony Sports Discman ESP2 D-ES51 since it had that grey clasp thing holding it shut but the interesting thing about mine was that Sony seems to have offered it in colours besides yellow because I'm pretty sure the one I had was blue.
I have the slightly newer one of these I believe. It's my favorite walkman for sure. I love the way the door opens, and reverse at the touch of a button is nice!
Oh cool not only got some interesting info but now I've got an album to listen to.
I had this Walkman, I remember this yellow color was relafive to on the go outdoors stuff, I had mine in like 92
Great video. Love the music included in this one.
God I’m so nostalgic for these. My dad had one.
The highlight of that My Fist Sony commercial is the pan across of the models on pedestals, and a kid sets the skinny tape player with the red handle on the end down on an empty one. It lands with a very solid, very loud THUD. I suppose it was left in to show they could take a beating from kids not being careful, but it lends the impression that that little kid must've been really strong, to even lift it.
I had the Sports Walkman, I used it in middle school PE. I regrettably gave it to my cousin, because he wanted a cassette player which at the time I was switching to portable CD players!
You’re fake, you’re NOT the real Colin, stop spamming!
The sports walkmans are also great for finding interchangeable parts. It was easier to find a donor for parts than I though it would be.
i have this exact walkman still in box and rarely used . I bought it back at Consumers Distributing here in Canada. Nice to know my belts are still good
Thanks for the video. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Btw, those S2 cd Walkman and Net MD were really beautiful devices. Brings back alot of memories.
horror memories you need ?
I loved the Walkman. I kept borrowing my cousins as a kid. And as an adult was really wanting to get the orange and white themed Sony Ericsson mobile phone, but Nokia at the time took over.
I choked on my coffee when that My First Sony advert played. HOLY CRAP that's a throw back!
Great vid as always! I bought my childhood favorite walkman a few months ago - Sony WM-FX43. I got a great deal on it and it is in fantastic shape minus the rubber belt needing to be changed. I have the belt but stare at the walkman sitting on my nostalgia display. I really need to change that out, lol.
My first Walkman was a grocery store brand knock-off of one of these from the mid-90s. It lasted me about a year at best. I’ll be honest - I never really liked the aesthetic of these (the DD line is where it’s at, for me), but I really like that they existed, as they clearly pushed personal electronics in a few new directions.
The sports line is so cool. That yellow!
love the music!!!
I love SONY WALKMANs. I still have several. Great video! 😃
I gave my cousin one of these as her first Walkman a week ago. I had one lying about that I got in a job lot with a bunch of other Walkmans. I didn’t want it because the lot came with some “cooler” models. However, it seems like I made the right choice for my cousin who’s only going to listen to cassettes casually.
I do want to check out the Sports Handycam and Boombox however. Those look cool.
i love walkmans
i like trains
*walkmen's
So true!
I had the next yellow model all through highschool. Once I learned to put MP3's on tape forget about it you can keep your discman.
Cassettes are a marvel in engineering
The physical product designs prior to the smart phone era were far more interesting than todays do it all devices. The repairability of the sports Walkman is a stark reminder of the access problems todays’ portable devices suffer from.
Had that exact one back in the day. Wish I had held on to all my 80s tech