Bring back
£55
Worth after
£260
Rarity
8.7 / 10
What it is
1981
Sony Walkman WM-2 — the second-gen Walkman. The original (TPS-L2, 1979) is the one Star-Lord uses in Guardians of the Galaxy. The WM-2 was smaller, cheaper, and made personal music a global thing. Cassettes were never just cassettes.
The story · the lore · the numbers
- 01Sony sold 400 million Walkmans across all variants. Changed how humans listened to music forever.
- 02A working WM-2 with original orange foam headphones: £150-£300 on eBay.
- 03Cassette sales hit a 20-year high in 2023. Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift release on tape now.
- 04The drive belt rots after 40 years. £25 part, £30 labour at Walkman Workshop in Bristol. Done.
How it gets brought back
Belt + head clean — mixtapes back in rotation
99% Save it1% Let go
Where to find one
Live searches on the marketplaces that actually carry this kind of thing. We don't sell anything — these go straight to the seller.