techmoan

A new Korean ‘Walkman’ shows it’s all over. (Patreon)

Published:

2021-09-01 18:29:09

Edited:

2021-09-02 11:33:38

Imported:

2022-05

Content

Thanks to a viewer in Korea I’ve received a new personal stereo cassette player (aka a ‘Walkman’ but not really). I had hoped that this device would prove that it is still possible to make a reasonably specced, adequately performing tape player in 2021. I was wrong - it ended up proving the exact opposite.

https://youtu.be/90-gIAMvQNs

Since my original premise for the video had evaporated, a sharp left turn was required to rethink things and now its purpose is to be a warning. It’s a video lighthouse steering people away from the rocks. Not the positive message I’d envisioned, but still one that could prove useful.

I’ll be returning to my happy place to take look at some older things for the next few of videos. Unless of course something unexpected (and good) shows up first.

Hope your September hasn’t gone off the rails yet. Take care.

UPDATE:

Thanks to the help of Jihoon here on Patreon I was able to add in a section near the beginning explaining the concept of the whole ‘Rewind Blossom’ thing. Of course that meant a re-edit - and a replacement video, which is the one now embedded above.

Files

Are all new personal stereos doomed?

I was hoping to have better news - but nope, it is what it is. I have to call it - the likelihood of ever seeing a good new cassette 'Walkman' ever again is so close to zero…we’ll just call it zero. I have to thank YoungSung Jeon (our man in Korea) for going to all the trouble of making a two hour round trip to pick this up from a store and then sending it on to me. While I had hoped that this would have shown that it's still possible for a company to make a reasonable quality cassette "walkman' type device in 2021 - it demonstrated the opposite. However this result does have a value of its own. Rather than fruitlessly buying each new device that comes out only to get the same results - we can see that the problem lies with the mechanisms that remain available. Since it seems extremely unlikely that anyone is going to start making a new high quality personal stereo cassette transport ever again - we can now draw a line under this period of history. Finding a newly manufactured high quality cassette 'Walkman' has now become as impossible as finding a newly manufactured high quality Edison Cylinder player. Things move on. These devices have passed into history. As a result you now either choose to buy an old one with the understanding that you deal with whatever issues come from making that decision - or you just don't get one. --------------- SUBSCRIBE ------------------ http://www.youtube.com/user/Techmoan?sub_confirmation=1 ------------- Merchandise ----------------- https://teespring.com/stores/techmoan-merch ------------- SUPPORT --------------- This channel can be supported through Patreon https://www.patreon.com/techmoan *******Patrons usually have early access to videos******* ---------- Outro Music ----------- Over Time - Vibe Tracks https://youtu.be/VSSswVZSgJw ------ Outro Sound Effect ------ ThatSFXGuy - https://youtu.be/5M3-ZV5-QDM ------ AFFILIATED LINKS/ADVERTISING NOTICE ------- All links are Affiliated where possible. When you click on links to various merchants posted here and make a purchase, this can result in me earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network & Amazon. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to AMAZON Sites (including, but not limited to Amazon US/UK/DE/ES/FR/NL/IT/CAN) Regularly asked question Q) Why are there comments from days ago when this video has just gone live today? A) Patrons https://www.patreon.com/techmoan usually have early access to videos. I'll show the first version of a video on Patreon and often the feedback I get results in a video going through further revisions to improve it. e.g. Fix audio issues, clarify points, add extra footage or cut extraneous things out. The video that goes live on youtube is the final version.