WM-EX16

The WM-EX16 is a straightforward EX-series playback Walkman that uses tunable 2x Mega Bass as its main differentiator, keeping the rest of the machine simple and affordable. It retained a two-AA body, anti-rolling support, manual tape selector, cassette window, and belt clip in a plastic chassis assembled in Malaysia, but omitted auto-reverse and Dolby noise reduction. The emphasis was clearly on giving a basic player a more immediately noticeable sound identity instead of a broader feature set.

The EX16 is most revealing as a sign of how strongly bass enhancement had become a consumer-facing language by the early 1990s. Sony no longer needed a machine to be especially advanced for it to feel more "fun" or more personalized. This is one of those modest, sound-led models that helped define how the lower-middle Walkman range was sold.