Sony Walkman Professional WM-D6C Cassette Recorder Review PART 1

A review of the infamous, highly regarded walkman proffesional.

The Walkman Pro was as mentioned introduced into the UK back in 1982 at a RRP of about £220-a considerable amount back in those days to almost universal acclaim. Hifi enthusiasts, videographers and even pro sound recordists raved on about it and it proved to be an instant hit. There is a good chance that any of you out there listening to 'bootleg' concerts recorded in the early to mid eighties. And that in my opinion says it all.
So what was so good about it?

Well firstly it was the only Walkman which had been designed and built with the sort of features only found on full size cassette decks of the time. Such things as a Direct Drive where the cassette drive spindle is connected up to the drive motor without using a belt(making for more accurate tape speed and therefore better sound), Bias selection for types of cassettes used( Standard Ferric, Cr02 and Metal), Dolby B and (the superior) C Noise Reduction, the ability to record onto a cassette either via a microphone for live sound or via a line input for copying records(!) CD's and even other tapes

TYPE IV or Metal tapes.

Utilising pure metal alloy particles in the formulation, metal tapes wete the absolute ultimate in Cassette tape formulation. With a recording energy far in excess of a standard tape, metal tapes were the premium choice for live recordings, copying from CD's and Vinyl and even archiving radio broadcasts. When used properly metal tapes could provide a near perfect copy of a CD,had virtually no background noise such as hiss and in my experience have proved to be exceptionally fade free and durable.
Those were the days,,,,,,,,,,,,

So how did it perform?
In a word Magnificently!

I asked a friend to copy some Pink Floyd CD's onto a couple of premium quality Sony Super Metal Master tapes I purchased from James Beattie Plc in Wolverhampton (£11.99 each!) and the reproduction was awesome-in fact it was impossible for me to tell that I wasn't listening to the CD's it was that good. I have played a fair number of different cassettes through it and granted the cheaper ferric tapes aren't so good they sound considerably better through this than most full size decks. The battery consumption proved to be good as well, getting several hours use out of a set of Duracell's and the supplied headphones were excellent. The quality of Recordings done via the Line Input was also excellent, but again this is going to be determined by which tape is being used and the correct settings of the recording levels.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• sony
• walkman
• proffesional
• review
• recorder
• cassette
• tape
• japan
• metal
• wm
• d6c
• line
• in
• out
• player

[HamtaroEL]

@kinmanyuen

Both are rare but the WM-D6C is more rare.

[kinmanyuen]

in terms of rarity or collectability, which is better? D6 or D6C?

[deadbirdsings]

I had the "little brother" of this machine, the Sony WM-D3. I can't say watching this video brings back any fond memories of these machines. I don't know how much of an improvement the WM-D6C may have been, but I found the WM-D3 fiddly, fragile, and with average sound quality. For $300, the little digital memory card recorders that have flooded the market are a far better deal, IMO.

[deadbirdsings]

I generally preferred the sound of the Type I/ferric cassettes, despite their being noisier and not being able to handle as much signal.

[deadbirdsings]

I can't believe you paid that much for a cassette recorder.

[60jahredeutschland1]

the good old tape

[themaritimeman]

@freezazoid The WM-D6C has Dolby C noise reduction, as well has the Dolby B that the WM-D6 has.

[Sgardain]

I plugged it into a 12V DC instead of a 6V DC and I think I broke it. Be careful. Can the technics amongst you advise me if this might be the case and if so can it be repaired?I Can't get any sound out of it when put cassette in and feel I have maybe blown something inside the machine? Anyone know?

[dobwaites]

I just bought one in excellent condition at a garage sale for $10. I thought it was a deal, but when I got home and did some research, I realized that I got a real bargain.

[anmeldungscrack]

it is sooo cool !!! I want one :-D