Sony Walkman: New models compared to classic models – Video

Here is how the basic Sony Walkman WM-AF58 from 1988 compares to the Walkman NW-A306 from 2023.

This 12 months marks 45 years for the reason that unique Walkman was launched, so I believed it could be a superb time to see how the brand new and basic fashions examine. The Walkman is again, however it would not look the identical, and as you’ll be able to think about, it would not sound the identical. That is Walkman WMAF 58 from 1988. That is Walkman NWA 306 from 2023. Traditional mannequin performs tapes or radio. The brand new mannequin doesn’t play tapes, however you’ll be able to select. To have this nice little cassette graphic show whereas listening to your music. You possibly can play various kinds of audio information like MP3. Plus, the brand new mannequin runs Android, so you’ll be able to obtain apps like Spotify and both stream music over Wi-Fi or obtain songs for offline listening. It additionally has numerous pre-downloaded apps as a result of it really works. Android, it’s also possible to use it to say watch YouTube movies or obtain paperwork. This actually distinguishes the brand new mannequin from the basic one, which in fact has no app. The basic Walkman has 2 headphone jacks so you’ll be able to hear with a pal. These days, every pal can solely put on one pair of headphones, however you’ll be able to’t try this with the headphones that the Walkman got here with. The brand new model solely has a headphone jack and Bluetooth. Each fashions have energy buttons, in addition to play, pause, quick ahead and rewind buttons. However it’s also possible to clear a particular a part of a track on the brand new mannequin’s touchscreen and press pause the participant, which is way more environment friendly than utilizing the buttons. Within the basic mannequin, you management the amount with a facet knob. There may be additionally a button for altering the radio station. Within the new mannequin, you’ll be able to management the amount from two facet buttons or a digital change on the contact display screen. It additionally has a maintain key to quickly disable the playback and quantity buttons. The touchscreen will nonetheless be activated even when the maintain change is on, however you’ll be able to flip it off with out affecting your listening to by urgent the facility button. This specific sporty Walkman was meant to be sturdy sufficient to face up to the weather, like, say, splashes of water, so it is smart that it could have a solar-powered alarm clock. You can even examine the date and time on the brand new mannequin and set an alarm or a timer. This basic mannequin runs on 2 AA batteries whereas the brand new one fees by way of USB-C. Sony says it presents as much as 36 hours of high-resolution audio flack playback. The basic Walkman has this good belt clip and truthfully, I want the brand new mannequin had one too, however only for enjoyable as a result of it would not want it. It is sufficiently small to slot in your pocket and weighs lower than half of this basic sports activities mannequin, round 113g versus round 350g. However, OK, let’s skip to maybe crucial half, which is how the sound high quality compares. I purchased this basic Walkman on eBay only for this video, and the songs sound a bit sped up on it, which I do not like. I believe it is because it has been used and regular put on and tear may cause tape decks to hurry up over time. That is undoubtedly not an issue with the brand new Walkman. In response to Walkman Habitat on YouTube. I can attempt to use a screwdriver to decelerate the basic patterns, however my efforts have been unsuccessful. With these totally different track speeds. This isn’t a totally truthful comparability of sound high quality between the brand new and basic fashions. Nevertheless, here is what I discovered via my very unscientific however very enjoyable testing. After I hearken to music on the basic Walkman, I additionally hear a slight hum within the background. I do not hear this on the brand new mannequin. It’s possible you’ll discover the whistling sort of charming and nostalgic, or annoying, relying in your desire. I do not thoughts. Actually, some would argue that it provides the basic Walkman a hotter, cozier sound than the newer, clearer-sounding mannequin. However what’s cool concerning the new mannequin is that there are settings you’ll be able to activate to make it sound hotter. There’s a DC line. The setting is meant to imitate the sound of an analog amplifier, and a tape deck is one kind of analog amplifier. And there is additionally a vinyl setting meant to imitate the sound of a document on a turntable. These settings make the brand new mannequin sound a bit hotter, though it nonetheless sounds clearer than the basic Walkman. Nevertheless, the flexibility to imitate the sound of a basic product is cool coming from a digital audio participant, and there are much more methods to tweak the sound. For instance, there’s an equalizer setting that allows you to apply totally different presets to the track you are listening to. There is a vocal preset, for instance, that makes it simpler to listen to all of the vocals in a track. There may be additionally a brilliant preset that makes the already sharp sound of this audio participant even sharper. Or you’ll be able to activate the dwell supply setting to listen to a track in its purest high quality, precisely because the artist supposed, with out further sound changes. That is helpful when listening to high-resolution audio. The brand new Walkman helps numerous audio codecs, together with high-resolution flack information or lossless audio codec information that retain CD high quality with out taking on as a lot house. That is nice as a result of not all digital audio gamers help high-resolution audio information, however Spotify does. I do not personal any flak information or many music information, interval. So I sadly do not get this profit in any respect. And as a Mac consumer, one downside of this Walkman for me is that even when I wished to purchase some flak information to hearken to, I would not be capable to plug this factor into my laptop computer and obtain them. Whereas Sony makes an app for transferring music from a PC to its Walkman, it would not make one for transferring music from a Mac. And whereas there are third-party apps for transferring information from a Mac to an Android gadget, the entire ones I’ve come throughout value cash. An alternative choice is to purchase a micro SD card to load the music information on and pop it into the Walkman, which is certainly doable, however I want transferring information was so simple as popping the Walkman into the steering wheel. Mac. All that to say, I simply persist with listening to songs on Spotify, however when you have flak information and are out there for a digital audio participant, this could be a sensible choice for you. Whereas I discover the nice and cozy sound of the basic Walkman charming, that is the one sound you get. I believe it is fairly apparent what number of alternative ways you’ll be able to alter the sound on the brand new mannequin and the various kinds of audio information you’ll be able to hearken to, though I do not make the most of each one in all them. I am unable to discover how a lot this specific Walkman sport initially value, however the first Walkman value about $150. This contemporary model retails for $350, and this is not the one Walkman Sony presently presents. There’s a $75 model that’s smaller and would not have as many options because the one I examined. Like, for instance, it would not play flak information or run Android. There’s additionally a $900 model that is purported to sound even higher because of its higher-end audio parts, amongst different new options. And there are two different fashions which can be much more costly with considerably higher sound because of even higher audio elements, plus extra options. So by specializing in that, I am actually solely scratching the floor of those new Walkman fashions. Listening to music on the fashionable Sony Walkman won’t change listening to music on my iPhone. The display screen is fairly small and lags behind my iPhone. So for these causes, in the long run it is simply simpler to maintain the lock on my smartphone. Nevertheless, I additionally respect this little gadget. Whereas I admittedly use a few of it fairly a bit, the number of sound settings it has and the audio information it helps are spectacular and would make it a superb gadget for audiophiles who’ve a flat assortment and wish one thing moveable. tools to breed them. And whereas I believe the help for this stuff makes this mannequin an enormous step up from the unique, I nonetheless love the basic Walkman 2. In any case, I do not suppose any of those merchandise would exist with out it. When the Sony Walkman was launched, it provided one thing so revolutionary that we now take without any consideration the flexibility to privately hearken to no matter music you need, wherever you need. And for that, I’ll at all times be grateful to the basic Walkman.