WM-EX52

The WM-EX52 is a modest midrange EX-series cassette player that combined auto-reverse playback and Mega Bass inside a compact plastic body powered by two AA batteries. It also includes anti-rolling support, Sony's automatic volume limiting system, and a manual tape selector, but avoided Dolby noise reduction, music search, and some of the more polished features that appeared further up the range. This model stayed simple but not stripped.

The model suggests how broad the EX line had become by 1994. The EX52 was not entry-level, but it was not trying to feel especially advanced either. It sits in that large middle territory where Sony was refining very everyday cassette players for users who just wanted the expected conveniences and nothing more.