WM-F404

The WM-F404 is a high-end radio recording Walkman from 1988 that combined cassette playback and recording with FM, AM, and TV-band reception inside a substantial full-metal chassis. It supports auto-reverse for both playback and recording, Dolby B noise reduction, and Dynamic Bass Boost, giving it a broader feature set than most ordinary radio Walkman while keeping a sense of solidity and control. It was clearly built to feel more serious than the average all-in-one portable.

This model is the kind of model that sits just below the truly specialist branch but still carries a lot of intent. Sony was clearly aiming it at users who actually planned to use the recording functions, more than admire them on a box, whether for broadcasts, tape dubbing, or general day-to-day capture. The F404 is a machine for someone who still treated cassette as an active medium instead of a passive one.