Sony WM-BF58

The WM-BF58 was a Sports Walkman also known as a personal radio cassette player with AM/FM bands manufactured by the Sony Corporation in Taiwan. The WM-AF58 was a similar model for the U.S. and Canadian markets. These units were a step up from the WM-B52 and WM-A52, which lacked the radio tuner circuitry. All of these Walkmans have the LA4570 pre/power amplifier IC, and the LA5523 servo control IC. However, the WM-BF58 / WM-AF58 models have additional circuitry for AM/FM reception consisting of CX20111 IC that performs front-end functions, and TA7370P, which is for the FM Multiplex.

The sound quality of this Walkman and those in the same series is very good; however, it all depends upon the quality of your headphones. I used the vintage Sony MDR-W15, which produces very good bass and treble levels. The audio power output is 15 mW, and with the right headphones, it can be extremely loud.

The WM-BF58 operates on two "AA" size batteries that produce 3 V for the circuitry. Using the Sony SUM-3 battery, you can expect it to last for four hours for cassette playback. The LCD clock on the cassette compartment door uses a watch battery that lasts for four years providing it receives 200 lx sunlight everyday for 8-hours.

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