steven36 Posted July 2, 2019 Share Posted July 2, 2019 Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first portable music player The world changed on July 1st, 1979: the day that Sony released the iconic Walkman TPS-L2, the first real portable music player that would revolutionize the way we listened to music in a way that no other device really had ever done before. Boomboxes and portable radios had been around for a while, but the Walkman made portable music private, ushering in a whole new era of people listening to music away from home. Forty years later and Walkmans aren’t exactly popular to use anymore (outside of things like Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy films, anyway), but the sea change that the Walkman caused in our lives is more apparent than ever. We don’t use cassettes or CDs anymore. Nearly every mobile device we carry now can play music, storing thousands of songs and streaming tens of thousands more from the internet anywhere in the world. But the whole idea of taking music with you — that you could listen to your favorite songs on the go, without subjecting everyone nearby to your music — started with the Walkman. And make no mistake, the Walkman was designed mainly for music. It was a simple product in that regard: according to Sony’s photo history, the original device was ridiculed at the time for lacking the ability to record tapes, but it didn’t need that feature. It even offered two 3.5mm headphone jacks (the same hardware that, until recently, was found on our far more advanced hardware today), allowing you to listen with a friend in lieu of a speaker. The Walkman would go on to see numerous hardware iterations over the years, including “Discman” CD models and MiniDisc players, as well as more modern portable media player devices that Sony still sells today. It’s not quite the powerhouse of a brand as it once was, but 40 years on, the changes the Walkman caused in our lives and in how we relate to both music and technology are still as relevant as ever. Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jramon2566 Posted July 2, 2019 Share Posted July 2, 2019 I had 4 different Walkman, 3 of them were Sony brand (the second was a Sony Walkman like the one from the post photography) and to this day I still have a 100% functional waterproof Sony Walkman (obviously with other headphones). These were a marvel to enjoy music privately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luisam Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 On 7/2/2019 at 11:39 AM, jramon2566 said: I still have a 100% functional waterproof Sony Walkman (obviously with other headphones). I never had an audio casette Walkman but did have a SONY CD Walkman with the best headphones ever. Then the SONY stopped working, while on warranty time. I took it to the authorized repair shop. They retrurned it after about 2 months and very soon stopped working again, now already out of warranty and the shop didn't recognize the sloppy work. For some time have been using the headphones on a "walkman clone" but soon got an MP3 player with 256 Mb of memory, I still have this clone CD player somewhere but the headphones disappeared. I use the MP3 player as pendrive. On a whole, not a happy experience with Walkman. Currently I listen portable music stored in my smartphone's 16 GB SD-card with an LG bluetooth headphone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debebee Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 I had 5 models of the sont walkman from from Version1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 This Bluetooth cassette player is a love letter to the 80s Why it matters: A Bluetooth-enabled cassette player certainly isn't something most people need in their lives, especially today given the prevalence of digital audio and streaming platforms. But these sort of niche products are perfect for Kickstarter, tapping into the alluring bit of nostalgia that some so highly desire. It's fun, and that's what tech should be about, no? Sony’s Walkman, the portable music player that defined an entire generation, celebrated its 40th anniversary this week. What better way to observe the occasion than with a bit of modern flare? That’s the impression given off by the IT’S OK Bluetooth 5.0 portable cassette player from NINM Lab. The retro-inspired device “brings a new perspective to the romanticism of the 80s cassette player” and supports traditional 3.5mm headphones as well as Bluetooth 5.0 compatible headphones and speakers, allowing users to relive the magic of magnetic tape without the physical tether. It also boasts a transparent cassette door so you can see the mechanics at work as you play, fast-forward and rewind those ancient mixtapes from yesteryear, a belt clip and a record button / integrated microphone for creating custom voice memos. If vinyl can stage a comeback, why can’t cassette tapes? The oddly-named cassette player is offered in three colors – pink, white and navy blue – and is available to back from today over on Kickstarter. Pricing starts at $63 with the campaign scheduled to run through August 5. Early backers can expect to receive shipment by December 2019. source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luisam Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 12 hours ago, Mach1 said: If vinyl can stage a comeback, why can’t cassette tapes Cassette tapes might be nice "nostalgia" item, but I've been using the best tapes on market with an excellent Panasonic tape recorder, my Pioneer record player and the quality of the music was not even near to a 64 kbps MP3. I used to listen my cassettes in my car's player. By the way, did you ever tried to extract the pieces of a tape entangled in your car's player? Currently, to listen music in my car, I find quite satisfactory WMA 9.2 recorded at 10% (about 44 - 48 kbps VBR) using the USB port of the car's audio system. Maybe it's my idea, but I feel it sounds better than an equivalent copy in MP3 format. Actually, t's possible to convert an audio cassette to a Digital Compact Cassette. I found this Youtube explanation The conclusion: it's possible but doesn't look really practical, so I'm not sorry at all about throwing away all those old cassettes and sold dirt cheap some still unused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven36 Posted July 5, 2019 Author Share Posted July 5, 2019 3 hours ago, luisam said: Cassette tapes might be nice "nostalgia" item, but I've been using the best tapes on market with an excellent Panasonic tape recorder, my Pioneer record player and the quality of the music was not even near to a 64 kbps MP3. I used to listen my cassettes in my car's player. By the way, did you ever tried to extract the pieces of a tape entangled in your car's player? If you have studio tapes they great there are even Cassette Flac releases for rare stuff on the internet Quote Cassette tapes are analog. So bitrate doesn't apply. If it's a cassette that was properly recorded, and you have a good deck to do the transfer, it's well worth it to transfer it to a lossless format. There far better than mp3 lol Back in the day i had a 100 watt Fisher and i could put a tape in and i blasted out the whole neighborhood .Same as our car stereos we had back then they would bust your ear drums.. Trying to compare a 64 kbps MP3 to a well done Cassette is nonsense you just don't have the stuff to make it right if it sound that bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catfish Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 Oh man, I still have like 2 drawers full of cassettes that my parents collected. Had the Walkman and then the Walkman phones as well. hated that sony had their own emmc cards but those phones were amazing and so were the heaphones they gave with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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