The first Walkman, SONY Stereo Cassette Player TPS-L2
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| The first Walkman TPS-L2 and MDR-3L2. |
Walkman
Before 1979, portable music players did not exist, and there was no culture of listening to music with headphones outdoors. At that time, Honorary Chairman Masaru Ibuka, who used to carry a 1.7 kg cassette recorder “TC-D5” (Cassette Densuke) to listen to music while traveling, requested a compact monaural cassette recorder “Pressman” to be equipped with a stereo circuit for playback only. This request led to the development of a compact stereo cassette player.
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| Size comparison of the Cassette Densuke “TC-D5,” the Pressman “TCM-100,” and the first Walkman “TPS-L2.” |
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| Comparison between the base models Pressman TCM-100 (center) and TCM-100B (right). Not only the shape but also the button layout is almost the same. Especially the black TCM-100B looks like a Walkman. By the way, the red button on the Pressman is the record button. |
Amid skepticism about removing the recording function, the bold decision was made to make the device playback-only. It was named “Walkman” based on a suggestion from a young staff member. The color was blue (metallic blue), inspired by young people’s blue jeans. It came with lightweight headphones, the “MDR-3L2,” which were developed as part of the “H・AIR” series by a different department.
Under the directive of then-chairman Akio Morita, the decision to commercialize the product was made, and just four months later, on July 1, 1979, the Walkman was released. Due to the lukewarm response at the pre-release press conference, initial sales were sluggish. However, thanks to the efforts of the sales team, the initial lot of 30,000 units sold out in two months, and it became a hit product with a six-month-long shortage. Subsequently, the Walkman underwent numerous model changes, and even the cassette type alone saw a cumulative shipment of 220 million units worldwide by the time sales ended in 2010. The Walkman created the portable music player market, which continues with digital audio players and smartphones.
Some overseas sales companies were resistant to the Japanese-English term “Walkman,” and various names were used, such as “Soundabout” (USA), “Stowaway” (UK), and “Freestyle” (Australia). However, due to word-of-mouth from foreign visitors to Japan, the recognition of “Walkman” increased globally, and it was eventually unified under the name “Walkman.” Later, “Walkman” was included in dictionaries such as Kojien and the Oxford English Dictionary, becoming synonymous with portable music players.
References: Sony Autobiography, Sony Public Relations Department (1998)
HOTLINE
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| The control buttons inherited from the Pressman. Mechanical buttons that press in with a satisfying click. The separate left and right volume controls add a professional touch. |
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| There are two headphone jacks. Despite being a playback-only device, it has a microphone, which seems to be a remnant of the Pressman design, but it is actually for the hotline function. When you press the orange HOTLINE button, which serves as a design accent, the tape volume decreases, and the microphone picks up surrounding sounds. This gimmick was intended for couples to converse while listening to music. Incidentally, it was Chairman Morita’s idea. |
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| How a hungry couple uses the HOT LINE button. From the instruction manual. |
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| With the lid open. The cassette tape in the photo is from the AHF series. |
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| The device uses two AA batteries. The batteries in the photo are recent STAMINA alkaline batteries. There is also a 3V external power supply terminal. |
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| Switch according to the type of tape used. For normal tapes, set to HIGH. |
GUYS & DOLLS
Several variations of the TPS-L2 have been identified depending on the production lot.
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| Differences in logo marks. From left to right: no logo (early), sticker logo (mid), new logo (late). |
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| Differences in the dedicated covers. From left to right: with lid (early), without lid (late). The lid was probably considered a nuisance. Ironically, this cover, which was supposed to protect the main unit, caused a tragedy where the silver paint on the main unit would peel off if the cover was left on for a long time. This is why the silver parts of most existing TPS-L2 units appear tarnished. |
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| Differences in the headphone jack engravings. The two headphone jacks were whimsically engraved with “GUYS & DOLLS” in the early production runs, but this was soon changed to “A” and “B.” It is believed that units up to around serial number 30,000 have the “GUYS & DOLLS” engraving. |
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| Differences in the rear STEREO logo. From left to right: white (early), embossed mold. |
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| Differences in the play button marks. From left to right: Pressman, green (early), black. |
Guardians of the Galaxy (GotG)
The Walkman used by Star-Lord (Quill) in the movie “Guardians of the Galaxy” is a later model with the new logo. Incidentally, Star-Lord’s headphones are not the MDR-3L2 but rather the MDR-5a.
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| On the left is an MP3-playing toy with headphones that has a strong knock-off vibe but captures the atmosphere well. On the right is a Star-Lord style Walkman Hi-Fi stereo earphone headset that looks very similar to the MDR-5a. |
AFTER TPS-L2
Subsequently, various types of Walkman were released:
First FM WALKMAN: SRF-40 (1980) Radio?
First DISCMAN (later CD WALKMAN): D-50 (1984)
First DAT WALKMAN: TCD-D3 (1990)
First MD WALKMAN: MZ-1 (1992)
First Memory Stick WALKMAN: NW-MS7 (1999)
First Flash Memory WALKMAN: NW-E3 (2000)
First HDD WALKMAN: NW-HD1 (2004)
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The cassette Walkman became increasingly compact.
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| Size comparison with the final model of the cassette Walkman, WM-EX651 (2004). |
Reproduction is prohibited.
SONY Stereo Cassette Player Walkman TPS-L2
Standard Price: ¥33,000 (as of 1979)
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