WM-EQ5

The WM-EQ5 is the only true special edition in Sony's Beans series, taking the already unconventional bean-shaped cassette Walkman and pushing it further into collectible territory. Its translucent "Metal Taste" shell kept the series' exposed internal look intact while giving the plastic body a more stylized metallic feel, and the bundled earphones glowed in the dark for added novelty. The underlying machine remained simple, with auto-reverse playback, a manual tape selector, automatic volume limiting, and two-AA power inside the same rounded skeleton chassis.

This is one of those late Walkman where the object itself is clearly doing more of the work than the mechanism. Sony was not trying to evolve the Beans line technically so much as keep it visually alive and culturally interesting. The EQ5 is less of a new player and closer to a designed variation meant to be noticed, collected, and carries.