Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony WM-FX290 Stereo Cassette Player with FM/AM/TV/Weather Tuning

The WM-FX290 plays tapes clearly without the warbly speed changes (known as "wow and flutter") that render piano music unbearable. At this price point, competency is the key; anything better is icing on the cake.

These days, people shopping for a cassette Walkman probably listen to audiobooks or have a boxful of old tapes they think they'll get around to playing. Neither customer likely expects Dolby noise reduction or the ability to play CrO2 or metal tapes. Also, in case you were planning to dictate notes to self, note now that this unit does NOT record.

The pleasant surprise is what you DON'T expect to find at this price: Attractive styling, digital tuning with presets, comfortable headphones, exceptional battery life (from one AA battery!), and a "hold" button that prevents unintended station changes when the unit is stuffed in a pocket.

What isn't so hot? Well, weather band has weak reception even in areas with usable signal, the "bass boost" function produces a sonic mudslide that will alarm even "boom car" afficionados, and the nearly opaque clamshell makes you eject to read the tape label or see how much tape remains on a side (yikes).

At this humble price point, the presence of a few nice touches -- and lack of jarring penalties -- spells an easy five stars.

I haven't owned a walkman in quite a few years. I bought this to listen to books-on-tape while I workout. It's very compact and has worked well. There is sufficient volume for my needs and the sound quality seems just fine. The fabric/plastic cover has to be removed to change tapes (I usually just leave it off now ... but you need it if you want to clip the unit to your waistband). Battery life seems good and it only requires one AA. Since I've only had it one month, I can't really comment on durability.

I am disappointed in Sony with this product. Sony charges a premium for their Walkmans. And I really expected them to deliver.

In the last two years I have purchased three Sony Walkmans. They all broke within 4 months of the purchase. One ate every tape it touched, the other two stopped turning the reel.

I strictly listen to books on tape that I borrow from our local library, I don't use the radio or other features, so cannot rate them.

This particular model is very sensitive to how the tapes line up. So if you get an older tape that is a little loose it cannot handle it. I had to rubber band the tapes to get them to fit tight enough to play.

Second, the lid on the battery slot stopped snapping shut. And the battery would just slip out! Again a good rubber band helped hold it closed.

Last, the player just stopped turning the tape reel! Sony does warranty their products but you have to pay to exchange it for a refurbished one. Ship the old product back etc. This is the same problem I had before.

For the price, this player is not worth the hassle. You are better off buying two of the cheaper brand, then you can just recycle it when it breaks and move on to the next one.

Adequate.

I've owned four of the Sony WM-FX290 series over the years. I use them primarily for audio-books - and I listen to thirty/forty books a year which easily means hundreds of hours of use. I'm mostly satisfied with the model, taking into account price, durability, ease of use, quality of sound, etc. There are significantly more expense cassette players (as well as really inexpensive, rather breakable models)but overall, this model is about as good as I've seen for the price. I'm not particularly thrilled about it mostly because I can remember sturdier models with more features and better design (at the same price) but, alas, they're no longer made.

Good points: Moderately priced, decent sound, great battery life (1 rechargeable lasts 4-6 hours cassette playing), easy-to-program radio

Bad points: Opaque-cover (you can't just look & see how much tape is left without taking tape out), no auto-reverse, battery "holder" easily broken (from a six inch drop)requiring tape to keep battery in place, no "clip" to attach to pants, too sensitive too squeezing (when I jog or walk, I hold the Walkman in my hand or pocket squeezing the player and slooowing the playback). Further, after several months of opening/closing, the tape holder doesn't seem to keep the cassettes in alignment making them again slow down (and making me adjust the tapes to just the right spot).

Despite all this, I'd recommend the player mainly because of the price. While I remember 10 years ago, we could've gotten auto-reverse, translucent views of the cassette, a molded rubber exterior, a convenient/unobtrusive clip, etc. from Sony, but they no longer bother with them at this price. I remember they also had the ability to rewind a tape while listening to the radio: not possible now.

(I've owned 4 over the 6 years: two I dropped (from less than a foot and once on a carpet) after several months and damaged the battery spring holder; eventually taping them didn't work, one just grew too old after fifty audiobooks (at least 400 hours use), and the fourth one's sound gradually faded away after a year.

My kids and I listen to books on tape from the library, and it's getting increasingly hard to find cassette walkmans at local stores, even though we live in a large city. All our usual sources had dried up, so we were delighted to be able to buy this one through Amazon. It's a basic, functional walkman. Nothing fancy, but just right for elementary/middle school kids who still tend to break their electronics fairly often.