WM-EX302

The WM-EX302 is a midrange EX-series playback Walkman that uses metallic styling and auto-reverse playback to feel slightly more elevated than Sony's lower plastic cassette players of the same period. It also includes Mega Bass, anti-rolling support, automatic volume limiting, and manual tape selection inside a compact two-AA body that remained fairly straightforward underneath the more polished appearance. This model leaned more on finish and handling than on technical depth.

Here the visual treatment is doing a lot of the work. The EX302 is a player built for people who still wanted their cassette Walkman to look a little sharper and more deliberate even when the feature set itself was no longer especially novel. That's a very 1994 kind of Sony object.