[leon]

For a few years a local store 3 minutes from where I lived had Fermos... but I couldn't bring myself to buying those at the time.

Who knows even my favorite XL-IIS would become extinct so soon... *fans self with That's CD-ROM*

 

[NEO]

Quote:

Originally posted by Yang NEO, do you know about the sound quality of the DD series (not specs)? There are a ton of them going for pocket change in Ebay Germany. Also, what's wrong with the WM-DX100?

I never have DD series so i don't really know. I used to have WM-D3 but has a probleem of head alignment most of the time. I can't convinece the technical guy that the head isn't in the exact position where it should (it sounds ok to him but muddy to me). I highly doubt that many DD series may also developed a same mechanism problem . But if everrthing is working norrmally,those D/DD series shoule easily outperform all other cassette player. As far as i remembered, no other manufacturers did offer this system in their walkman. Eventhough Panasonic and Aiwa had some audiophile series.
WM-DX100 might be the last model in D series. I think it hasn't been referring to as much as DD9,D3 and D6C. DX100 is slimmer and has in line remote control. I'm not sure if it has autoreverse since normally the model with autoreverse were named as DD,not D.
Another two interesting models but not in D/DD series are WM-EX/FX 909. They have dual head mechanism (one for side A and one for side B). Pretty interesting idea but i heard that they also developed mechanism problem.
NEO

WM-DX100

WM-EX909

WM-FX909

 

[redshifter]

as an owner of a dd9 walkman (currently in need of repair), i can attest to a few things:
--the dd9 has by far the deepest bass and widest soundstage of any portable i've heard from the headphone out.
--to get the most out of this dd unit, you must use metal tape ( i prefer maxell mx90s, for their wide frequency repsonse and low noise floor)
--do NOT use any dolby
--ONLY use an analog source, such as a high quality turntable and vinyl, and a very good cassette deck

it is more work, but analog is always more work. but the results speak for themselves.

 

[krayzie]

The EX/FX999 also use the dual head mechanism... together with the 909s make the only 4 Sony Walkman to have such a system... The original concept is to have two smaller and more efficient heads instead of one standard sized one in order to conserve power... at least that's how Sony marketed the concept... I'm not sure if that attributes to better sound quality tho... I doubt it... The 999s also have a rubber rim guard around the tape compartment for keeping out dusts, pretty cool! I saw a EX999 once at a pawn store for $60CDN, but didn't grab it cuz one side of the shell was badly scratched... but it sounded really good, should have bought it then...

Well I only have one digital source which is my anicent Sharp CD player, and recording CDs onto metal tapes eliminate that coldness associated with perfectly clear digital sound while retaining that high fidelity sense to it... It's pretty amazing!

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

Well I only have one digital source which is my anicent Sharp CD player, and recording CDs onto metal tapes eliminate that coldness associated with perfectly clear digital sound while retaining that high fidelity sense to it... It's pretty amazing!

i have no doubt, krayzie! i recorded a linear pcm track from a music dvd at 48 khz onto tape and the extra resoltion was intact, along with some nice analog euphonics. but honestly, until you hear a full analog recording you just don't know what you are missing. this is from a/b comparisons of the same recording from cd and analog onto mx90s tape. of course this difference really only shows up when you are dealing with the quality of tape players we're discussing here.

 

[leon]

In theory Sony could opt to reduce (eliminate?) azimuth differences for sides A and B with that dual head thing... just a thought.

I think the DX100 isn't as dramatically audiophilic as the previous models. The servo mechanism is different, and the wow & flutter performance wasn't announced.

 

[lini]

As far as I know, the early DD series models didn't have a quartz locked servo unless explicitly mentioned - like on the DC2 for exaple.

I've still got the D6C and the DC2, by the way - but my cheaper Aiwa HS-PC202MkIII sounded better to me, anyway (and it's got auto-reverse...).

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

 

[sony_md]

Quote:

Originally posted by lini As far as I know, the early DD series models didn't have a quartz locked servo unless explicitly mentioned - like on the DC2 for exaple. I've still got the D6C and the DC2, by the way - but my cheaper Aiwa HS-PC202MkIII sounded better to me, anyway (and it's got auto-reverse...). Greetings from Munich! Manfred / lini

right, DD quartz mechanism is inplemented only when the "QUARTZ" logo is explictly printed on the body of the unit

 

[sony_md]

Quote:

Originally posted by krayzie I saw a EX999 once at a pawn store for $60CDN, but didn't grab it cuz one side of the shell was badly scratched... but it sounded really good, should have bought it then...

IMHO, Order of better looking: EX555>EX777>EX999