Sports Walkman: Sony's Go-Anywhere Portable Electronics!

As the personal electronics craze exploded in the 1980s, people wanted to take their gadgets everywhere. Sony came up with a product line that promised to hold up to (mostly) anything their owners could throw at them.

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[JamieBainbridge]

It's always nice when someone designs a device for obvious serviceability. There's a retired Japanese Sony designer sitting there satisfied he did a good job like this walkman for his whole career. Arigatou oji-san 🙏

[ClassicGameSessions]

80's nostalgia here - those Sony Walkmans, ghetto blasters and radios were and still are pretty cool looking. Quality as always!

[hanakomisa]

Thanks for the video and thanks for introducing me to Discoholic! (I am saying this again we really need a TDNC curated playlist for the music used in the videos!)

[SoulSilverIV]

Another great Walkman video, but can we take a moment to appreciate the absolute BANGER of a cassette you chose to use as your test cassette!? crap my dude, I need more of that!!!

[ZenithMusicNet]

My best friend his dad worked at Sony in the 90's. We visited him at work, when he was cleaning up inventory. My friend and I both got a Sports walkman, which to this day I still have!

[Van_Der_Lay_Industries]

I bought one of these in 1988, had cassette and radio. Also had dolby I believe. It was my pride and joy, and boy did it get a workout! It got stolen in around 1993 and replaced by insurance. I still have it stored away in a draw, I'm pretty sure it still works.

[General_M]

I dig the song choices, thanks for putting it in the description

[jonahc.]

Hi Colin, great video! That's awesome you were able to use the Sports Walkman I sent in it. Glad it worked out.

[Edvuxas]

I have been watching your videos since your review about JBL go speaker. However since the pandemic it has been almost like a tradition watching your videos on fridays when going home to my parents home for the weekends. I hope you keep it up

[TechfulThinking]

I think the one thing I appreciate the most about new technology is the battery percentage indicator. I still remember the heartbreak of finding out only after I’ve gotten on the schoolbus that my batteries were dying. *Nothing* made the day go by slower than neither you nor your friends having any spare batteries 😔

[brennanpatrick]

Im 37 years old and I'm obsessed with this channel. Its so therapeutic to me.

[Jackster]

Glad to see the Sports line finally getting some recognition! My first Walkman was an F397 I found at a thrift store for only $5. It had a bit of corrosion on the battery contacts, but after some isopropyl it worked just fine. If you can find one for a decent price, it is a no brainer to pick it up.

[jennika]

As a kid, I got the GPS "Sports" clone you showed in this video. Thank you for that shot of nostalgia!

[TimelessGamingUK]

My Dad had one of these and I used to listen to tapes on it a lot. I can still remember the feel of the latch opening and closing and the little rubber stopper in the headphone port. It’s a really tactile device.

[phildile]

Whoa! Great to see. This was my first Walkman. It is just beautiful

[MatSpeedle]

Always great to have a new video from you on a Friday Colin. My own small Walkman collection is a result of your videos and I've repaired many as a result. Love your video style and editing too, really high end production values.

[GYTCommnts]

So we got: a Walkman repair video, with excellent production and awesome music all the way... All wins in my book!

[foxyloon]

Glad you're covering a Sports Walkman, I have a soft spot for these and believe they're highly underrated units!

I grew up playing with my mom's WM-FS191 and appreciated the overall ruggedness and built-in radio these are known for. Used to listen to FM stations when riding the bus to/from school with it, years before I got my first iPod. Was very happy with the reception and fidelity it provided, and never felt ashamed when other kids would make fun of me for having it. (It was the mid 2000s, when iPods and mp3 players were commonplace.)

[MrLuisMaldonado]

The color combination of those Walkman looks so cool.

[mattb]

I think the closest example in today's electronics store that we had from back then with a huge selection of Walkmans is the camera and camcorder section at Best Buy. Just imaging going to an electronics store and having about 30-40 different Walkmans and Sanyos and Panasonics at various price points all just sitting out on a couple chest height shelf lined with carpet. Minimal to no security cables. No portable cd players yet. You could try all them out too. Great times!