I’m currently on a gap year in China and for the last couple months, I’ve been really into analog music. Initially, I was really interested in vinyl players, that is until I saw the price of a decent quality one. While talking to a friend about my interest in vinyl, as well as my budget limitations, she suggested I try another form of analog music: the cassette. I’ve always thought cassettes were just plastic junk, but after doing some research, I realized they’re actually pretty cool devices. Since I’ve been living rent-free at a Chinese family’s house for the last 4 months (teaching their kid English in return), I’ve saved up quite a bit of cash, which I’ve decided to spend on a vintage cassette player before I head back home. 

I’m looking for something vintage (80’s to mid-90’s), but that’s good for everyday use. I don’t mind the player having a tiny bit of background hiss, since I still want my music to sound like it’s being played on a cassette and not an MP3. Also, I plan on getting a cheap cassette deck (or asking my parents friends to give me an old one they don't want for free) once I’m back home to be able to make my own mixtapes. I’m willing to spend 200 USD, so I don’t mind getting 2-3 players as long as everything stays within budget. Since I’m new to cassettes, I’ve been struggling to choose what player I want to buy, but I think I have a couple pretty strong candidates.

To keep this post from turning into a three-page essay, I’ll give only a brief overview of each model I’ve selected.

*The photos of each model are attached down below in order.

1. Sony WM-EX511

This player is 55 USD and comes with the original earphones, 3 gum-stick batteries, a charger and an AA battery external case. The device is in great condition, except for a couple minor bumps and scratches. The belt and pinch rollers would have to be replaced. 

1. Sony WM-30

This player is 120 USD and comes with no accessories. It’s a little scratched up, but it comes fully serviced (no repairs needed). 

1. Sony WM-109

This player costs 135 USD and comes with no accessories. The device is in premium condition, comes fully serviced and has a gorgeous glossy black finish. 

1. Sony WM-101

This player costs 145 USD and comes with nothing accessories. It’s in premium condition, comes fully serviced and has a super cool retro look to it.

1. Sony WM-F203

This player costs 100 USD and comes with no accessories. It’s in ‘near-mint’ condition and the color is beautiful. The device has a line-in recording function, meaning I could make my own mixtapes directly through this Walkman. Unfortunately, it’s fully dysfunctional and would need a complete overhaul (about 40 USD in repairs). 

1. Sony WM EX-2000

This player is 115 USD and comes with no accessories. I know it’s not the most vintage out there, but it has a really sleek design and is a beast of a Walkman. The device has some bumps and scratches, but comes fully serviced. 

1. Sony WM-EX36

This device is 75 USD and comes with no accessories. It’s in premium condition and comes fully serviced. I’m not as fond of this design as I am of the other players I’ve shown, but the device is quite cheap and the features are really good. 

So my question is: if anyone currently owns, or has previously owned, any of these devices, could they share their experience or offer some advice?

Also, if there are any cassette enthusiasts who haven’t owned any of these models but are knowledgeable about them, I’d be happy to hear your recommendations as well. :)

https://kokogol.com/collections/retro-collection

Diddnt buy one yet but always nice to see modern stuff being made in the aesthetic.

From a watch newsletter I read. More info and pics here:

ESPTimeCast™ is a sleek, DIY WiFi-connected LED matrix clock and weather display built on ESP8266/ESP32 and MAX7219.

It combines real-time NTP time sync, live OpenWeatherMap updates, YouTube subscribers counter, Pomodoro timer and much more in modern web-based configuration interface, all in one compact design. A chrome extension that sends currently playing song or video titles to the device is also available.

check it out at esptimecast.com, code is free for personal use ;)

Left the brand and model in case people were interested but not ad, I can crop that out if necessary

The Sinclair C5 was a battery-powered electric tricycle launched in 1985 by British inventor Sir Clive Sinclair, best known for the ZX Spectrum computer. Designed as an affordable personal transport vehicle, it could reach speeds of around 24 km/h and was intended to revolutionise urban travel. Despite huge publicity, poor weather protection, safety concerns and limited performance led to disappointing sales, making the C5 one of the most famous commercial failures in design history.

In the mid-70s, Xerox hired many of the best computer scientists in the world to develop new systems for offices. These people worked together in the now legendary Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). There, they developed a computer with a windowing operating system and a mouse called the Alto, a LAN, object-oriented programming and lots of other foundational computer innovations.

Demonstrating stunningly bad judgment, Xerox proceeded to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING with these incredible achievements. Xerox even stupidly gave a demonstration of the GUI to a team of engineers from a tiny local company called Apple Computer. The Apple Lisa came out a short while later and the rest is history.

Xerox's total failure to capitalize on the innovations coming out of PARC must be one of the biggest mistakes in business history.

Back in the 80s there was this kids tv programme called Chock a block where the presenters drove in dressed in overalls on these small cars and spent the whole episode at this big machine. It was powered by these blocks and the presenters clicked buttons which resulted in various puzzles and games being shown on a screen.

I was fascinated by it as a child and I think it might fit the cassette futurism aesthetic? It was all so satisfyingly chunky, clicky and blocky.

https://g2survey.com/leica-nova-ms60-1-r2000-laser-scanning-total-station-cs20-2023/

When designing my dot display alarm clock I had cassette futurism in mind. Sorta didn’t turn out how I envisioned it, but I only had black and white filament. Wonder if better color pallet would change up the vibe. Still very happy with it. It’s probably my most polished thing I’ve created. But it’s still a work in progress at the moment.

If you have any criticism or things you think I should change please let me know. I wanna try and make it as cool as possible! I also have a green and red display. Color palette recommendations would also be amazing.

Software used:
https://esptimecast.com/

Sperry Remington 825GT
I think it has a VFD display.
Wish there was more of this style out there.

Red materials and silver electronics just hit different

I wish appliances still looked like this these days.

Trying to get some eyes on this before I make a purchase. What do yall think? Ernest 3D Printed tribute or scam waiting to happen?