Needles & Grooves

Basically every cassette player you can buy these days uses the same incredibly cheap cassette mechanism, so there's not really much difference between them at the end of the day.

Might be better off just trying to find a classic Walkman in good shape. They're much higher quality than anything you can buy new.

Techmoan has a handy guide!

Thanks @kvetcha ! I was worried about buying a vintage one given the potential for wear on the tape head, but I'll check out the buyers guide.

When you say more 80's the better I am just picture those large piano key like buttons on tape players.

@imtheocean it's certainly a concern, but the modern mechanism is, uh, garbage, so it's sort of a catch 22.

I think I still have my original Walkman somewhere. It still plays. I agree, the older Walkmans are superior.

@kvetcha is completely on point (as usual) you can look for a refurbished one that have been gone through. They can be pricey but are way better quality than the garbage being produced today.

Still have the last Aiwa walkman I bought. I always liked their products. I haven’t tested the actual cassette player in a long time though.