WM-FX463

The WM-FX463 is a more capable FX-series radio Walkman that brought a worldwide synthesized tuner, twenty station presets, TV-band support, auto-reverse playback, Groove bass enhancement, AVLS, and a manual tape selector into a compact plastic body. It still runs on two AA batteries and remained very much a mainstream portable instead of a premium luxury machine, but the tuner side was clearly more electronically organized than on Sony's simpler analog FX models.

These are the kinds of models where the radio branch starts to feel less casual and more systematized. Presets and world-band coverage change the way the machine fits into routine use, especially for people moving between places or depending on remembered stations instead of manual tuning.