WM-EX57

The WM-EX57 built directly on the EX53 platform, keeping the same flat single-AA body, auto-reverse playback, Dolby B noise reduction, Mega Bass, anti-rolling support, logic control, and automatic music search while adding a simple wired remote integrated into the supplied earphones. The cassette player itself remained almost unchanged, but the addition of remote control subtly changed how the machine is meant to be handled in motion.

That compact change suggests more than it sounds. The EX57 sits in the point when Sony is no longer simply refining the cassette player itself, but also refining how it was uses while clipped to clothing, tucked in a bag, or carries on the move. It comes across as an interface upgrade disguised as a model variation.