I've been using this Walkman for about 4 months now. As you can see from the image, the electronic buttons operating the radio are on the front while the tape buttons are on the side.

You have to be careful with the front electronic buttons. There's a "HOLD" button which turns them off so that if you are traveling or packing the Walkman in luggage, it won't get turned on accidentally, and won't change stations accidentally if you are listening to it. The buttons are easy to use, even in the dark once you are used to it. It is easy to tune and fairly easy to program. It has good reception for FM. I don't use AM.

I occasionally use the TV sound option, but there's not much point listening to TV without picture. I've never found the Weather Band option operational, so it's useless as far as I can tell.

The tape works pretty well. The main problem I have with it is that when I get out audiobooks from the library, they are quite tightly wound, and the mechanism of the machine is not strong enough to play them at the right speed. I don't have the same problem with my own personal tapes, because they are higher quality and take less energy to play at the right speed.

The best feature of the machine is that when you use it on the radio, it lasts a long time. I haven't measured it precisely, but I'd say I get 50-60 hours of radio play with 2 AA alkaline batteries. (That might be related to the fact that I use small headphones, which use little energy.) Once you start using the tape player, battery life is drastically reduced, but is still 25 hours+. Unfortunately there is no input jack to plug in an adaptor for DC power, so you have to use the batteries.

One small problem I found, that may stem from my idiosyncratic needs, is that it's rather difficult to work out which tape buttons to press when it is dark. But with practice, it gets easier.

I found the carry case that comes with this fairly easy to use. I was able to listen to tapes while mowing the lawn with little trouble.

Overall, I am very pleased with this machine. The sound quality is fine. It seems reliable. It looks good, and nothing has fallen off yet!


Recommended: Yes