D-T20

The D-T20 took the tuner-equipped Discman idea Sony had explored a few years earlier and made it feel more settled. The AM/FM radio remained built into the same basic portable CD framework, with the headphone cable still doubling as the antenna, but the whole package came across as more integrated and less provisional than the earlier hybrids.

By 1989, this kind of machine no longer needed to justify itself. The D-T20 was part of the point when CD-and-radio combinations had become a practical answer instead of a novelty, especially for anyone who wanted one player to cover more of the day without much thought.