D-80

The D-80 is built entirely around the 8 cm CD single, using a compact rounded body that accepted only the smaller discs and made its purpose immediately clear through its proportions. It is not trying to be a general-use Discman so much as a specialized object built around one very specific idea of portability.

That narrowness is really the point. The D-80 is part of the part of the line where Sony still had enough freedom to explore format-specific side paths once the main Discman category had stabilized. It feels closer to a pocket gadget than to a conventional portable CD player.