2019 marks 40 years since Sony launched the world’s first portable cassette player, the TPS-L2. The Walkman revolutionized the way consumers listened to music on the go, but many were sceptical as the idea of a portable music player without a recording function was unheard of. Developed by evolving the Pressman (Sony’s voice recorder TCM-100), the TPS-L2 proved to be a huge success, introducing a new lifestyle which became popular around the world.

In 1984, Sony introduced the world’s first portable CD player, the D-50 – it was equivalent to the size of four CD cases stacked one on top of the other. This paved the way for the introduction of the world’s first MiniDisc Walkman, MZ-1, which featured recording, playback, a numeric keyboard and anti-skip technology in 1992.

2013 saw the introduction of the High-Resolution Audio included in the ZX1 Walkman which allowed for high-resolution audio source playback.

In 2016, Sony announced the NW-WM1Z Walkman as part of the Signature series. Sony’s engineers developed the NW-WM1Z with detailed acoustics and natural sound qualities. 

Sony has compiled a list with some of the biggest hits for each year that a new Sony Walkman was released.

Give them a listen:

 

Leave a Reply