Monthly Archives: February 2004

1995 Sony Releases

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WM-EX1 wm-ex1hg in polished silver w/ gold trim.


WM-EX2.


WM-EX511.


WM-EX622.


WM-EX666.


WM-EX808 wm-ex808hg in polished silver and gold trim.


WM-EX811.


WM-EX911 detachable remote & headphones.


WM-FX1 LCD remote; AM stereo.


WM-FX2 LCD remote; AM stereo.


WM-FX811.


WM-FX822 LCD remote control.


WM-WX777 “Hi-Band” wireless remote & headphones.


WM-GX312 AM/FM cassette recorder.


WM-GX711 AM/FM cassette recorder.


WM-GX707 FM & AM Stereo cassette recorder; LCD remote control.


WM-RX707 Stereo cassette recorder; LCD remote control.


WM-WX1 wireless remote control & headphones.


WM-EX99R “IC Repeat”.


TCS-580 Stereo cassette recorder; internal stereo microphone.


TCS-90 voice-activated (VOR) stereo cassette recorder.

Toshiba Collection

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Electronics giant Toshiba (originally known as Tokyo Shibaura) announced their stereo Walky shortly after Sony’s release of the original TPS-L2 Walkman. The stereo Walky surpassed the offerings of the Walkman by its unique radio built into a cassette shaped case. One could pop this radio module into their Walky to catch FM or remove it to play cassettes. The gimmick lasted a few years until competing models arrived with built-in AM/FM tuning. In 1986, Toshiba offered the first personal stereos with digital tuning (the same year they introduced the world’s first laptop computer).


l-r: Toshiba KT-S2 w/ RP-S2 FM tuner pack, KT-AS1 w/ RP-AF2 AM/FM tuner pack, KT-4056, KT-PS5, KT-S1 w/ RP-A2 AM tuner pack


l-r: TP-RS1 External Module with RP-AF2 AM/FM Tuner Pack; KT-RS1; KT-4076; KT-AS10 with RP-AF5 FM Stereo Tuner Pack.


l-r: ’80s US, Japan and Canada & Toshiba portable stereo catalogs.

JVC Collection

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JVC made a brief appearance in the walkman market during the ’80s, but their personal stereos had style and innovative design. The CQ-F22K for example, had a detachable radio that mounted to the headphones for compact, wire-free listening experience. Perhaps sales were low, perhaps JVC’s walkmans weren’t built to pass the test of time but finding a personal stereo under this brand name today is pretty difficult. In Japan, JVC marketed products under the name Victor.


l-r: JVC CQ-1K, CQ-22K, CQ-F2K.


l-r: JVC CX-5, CX-57K, CX-R7K, CX-F5K.


l-r: JVC CQ-22, CX-9, CX-R7, CX-V9, CQ-11.


1980s US & Japan JVC/Victor portable stereo catalogs

Sanyo Collection

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We look back at Sanyo as an “also ran” during the Walkman heyday but the make’s models offered decent sound quality and plenty of features, usually below the MSRP of the leaders’ models. “Sanyo” translates to three oceans in English. In the early ’80s, their personal stereo line was a strong one worldwide but success for the company petered out in North America and Europe. Sanyo continued in Japan and returned to worldwide distribution in the ’90s with a super-cheap discount line.


l-r: Sanyo M-4440; MR-G1; M-5550; M-G12.


l-r: Sanyo MR-JJII; M-G34DTA; JJ-F30 Suteki.