Sony WMGX680 Walkman

Author's product rating:   

Sound Quality	Excellent
Ease of Use	Simple
Look & Design	Excellent
Range of Features	Excellent
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Slim with great features
Disadvantages:	None found

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Now, I don't want to sound over dramatic, but I think that Sony are the best thing to have happened to us since sliced bread! Seriously though, I can't help but feel impressed when using Sony products. And the Sony WM-GX680 Recording Walkman is no exception.

Lets start by what you get in the box; You'll find, in typical Sony packaging, the Walkman unit, headphones with remote control, rechargeable slim battery with charger, add-on battery compartment and a stereo microphone, along with the usual assortment of manuals and info cards.

The main reason that I bought this particular Walkman is because of its ability to record. Most recording Walkmans on the market these days are either too bulky or use the micro-cassette format. The WM-GX680 differs from the rest by combining the best from both worlds; excellent Walkman features with the ability to record too.

The actual unit itself is as slim as an audio cassette case and only slightly larger in width and length. All of the major controls, such as play, stop, forward, rewind, record and mode selection are on the face of the device. On one side of the unit you'll find the volume, headphone and microphone sockets, with the other side reserved for the slim battery slot and extra battery add-on space. A sliding latch is situated on top to open the Walkman and on the back of the unit is a clear window through which an inserted cassette can be seen.

As for the extra features, well, there are loads! Typical from Sony, you get a lot for your money. The unit has Dolby B Noise Reduction, anti-rolling mechanism, blank skip feature (that fast-forwards past any silences that are more than three seconds long), Automatic Volume Limiter System, Mega Bass and Sound Revitalizer! It even has a programmeable indexing system, by which you can program your favourite area of a tape and it will play that selection continuosly! All these features make sure that the sound quality you hear is of a very high standard.

As for recording, the quality is excellent. The sound pick-up is very accurate through the provided stereo microphone. To prevent accidental recording, the record button is designed as a slide switch. And to prevent general accidental button presses, there is a hold switch too.

The remote control can be used to access almost all features of the unit and is back-lit in a nice blue glow for night time use. Both controls, on the remote and the unit itself, are very easy to use and understand. On top of all this, the unit also includes a digitally synthesized AM/FM stereo tuner as well, with 32 station presets! So what more could you ask for in a Walkman!

Battery life is excellent when the internal slim battery as well as the add-on unit are used (which uses a normal AA battery) and is supposed to last for 40 hours. But if you are constantly rewinding and forwarding and generally using the features a lot, then 30 hours is a more accurate number, which isn't too bad either. Build quality is brilliant and what you would expect from a world class manufacturer.

The Sony WM-GX680 is quite difficult to find in ordinary electronics shops but is readily available at 'The Sony Centre' branches. It costs around £100 but I managed to get mine for £85 from abroad! I consider this a bargain for such a device. Another excellent product from those geniouses at Sony!