Sanyo MGR59

The MGR59 was an AM/FM stereo cassette player manufactured by the Sanyo Corporation. This was a budget-end player to compete in the Walkman market, and because it used Sanyo's audio IC, the famous LA4520 for the audio circuit, it performed extremely well. In addition to this, the player also used the Toshiba chipset for the radio function, which consisted of three individual chips; consequently, the radio circuitry is highly developed and well engineered for a budget-end player.

Push Buttons

This player does not have a rewind button, thereby making the cassette-deck mechanism and push-button assembly much simpler with fewer components. The push-button assembly is plastic, and the motor drive is a simple DC motor.

Controls

It has basic controls for operation, and there are rotary controls for the volume and tuning. It has one tape/radio select slide switch, and one FM/AM band select slide switch.

Cassette Lid

This player is a basic model with an all-plastic construction, including the cassette lid and battery hatch. Without the batteries, it weighs very little and does not feel significant in the hand. Interestingly, it was manufactured in Singapore and would have been sold all over the world.

Sanyo / Toshiba Chipset

This player has some unique and endearing features that makes it desirable for the Walkman collector. It has the LA4520 integrated circuit for the audio circuitry, which means the sound quality will be excellent, providing you use a good pair of headphones. The Toshiba chipset for the radio circuitry is one of the best, and consequently the radio reception is clear.

eBay / Cost

This unit is usually very nice to have when brand new and straight out of the box, however they can get damaged and scratched very easily. They were mass-produced and sold all over the world hence they are not that rare. However, it is a nice piece of history that will be hard to find in good condition as many people treated it like a disposable Walkman.

When brand new they look nice because all the surfaces are shiny, however a used scratched one generally looks awful, and most people throw them away, and hence this unit is starting to become rare. A badly damaged one that is non-functional would not be worth much except for its spare parts such as the motor and head. However, a good working one in its original box with original headphones and manual would be worth a tidy sum to a collector.

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