WM-FX171

The WM-FX171 is another low-cost FX-series radio Walkman, even more stripped in feel than some of its nearby siblings, combining straightforward FM/AM tuning and cassette playback in a compact body with very few extra sound or transport features. It was designed around ease and economy instead of enhancement, making it one of the simpler radio portables in the late-1990s catalog.

There is something useful about how little this machine tries to be. The FX171 is a product from the phase where Sony already knew that a huge part of the cassette-and-radio market no longer needed persuasion-just availability.