Music on the move — and now for your ears only

Press, 11 May 1981, Page 13

Music on the move — and now for your ears only

By

Nancy Cawley

Remember the old nursery rhyme that ends. "With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, she shall have music wherever she goes”? All very well as far as it went, but if this damsel had been looking for a bit of portable music today, she could have done a lot" better for herself. The chances are that she would have passed up the toe-bells entirely and opted for one of the new light-

weight leisure toys recently produced by the Japanese. Personal stereo hi-fi cas-sette-players went on the New Zealand market four months ago. and have been in use for at least a year overseas. The power-pack of the model illustrated is little bigger than the standard-size cassette that it holds. 9cm x 13cm, and weighs 400 g without batteries or cassette. The music-machine comes with

ear-phones (two sets of earphones may be used to allow listening with a friend) and a protective leather or padded nylon cover. 'it may be worn on a belt, round the neck on a strap, or merely slipped into a jacket pocket. Now, for the bad. but not unexpected news. The cas-

sette-players are not cheap. In New* Zealand, a slightly heavier and larger model than the one described is retailing for $124. In Britain the price is similar, although it was higher when the mu-sic-machines first appeared.

These toys come into their own, of course, in situations where one wishes to listen to music w’ithout disturbing others, and during leisure activities where music is not usually available. So the young man with the vacant smile on his face, twitching and nodding in the corner of a London underground train, is not drunk or insane. He is plugged into his cassette-player. And the spaced-out skier at the bottom of the chairlift in Zermatt, beating time with her hand and not bothering to queue, has probably just skied the bumps with David Bowie. Of course, the batteries don’t last forever. One of the larger models comes with rechargeable batteries which give three to four hours playing time. In the lighter models, batteries need replacing after eight to ten hours, at a cost of approximately $3.00. A recharging unit costs an extra $lO. Advertising promotion of portable cassette-players is big overseas, and it would appear to be paying off. In London alone, the giveaway ear-phones are to be seen everywhere — on commuting city cyclists, on roller-skaters going with the flow of heavy traffic inplaces like the Haymarket, on people queuing' in the Underground, and on strollers in the parks.

These days, a pair of earphones looped nonchalantly around the neck is a trendy label. For those without sufficient cash to go the whole way, just buying the earphones would be enough. The right impression would be created. These ingenious Japanese products got a further boost at London’s Earl’s Court Ski Show, at the end of last year. A demonstration stand featuring the cassetteplayers aroused a lot of interest. It was staffed by a team in navy-blue sweatshirts emblazoned with "Boogie Down the Mountain.” A few pros and cons to consider. The big plus is the quality .of the sound and the mobility of the machine. Although the cassetteplayers are being pushed as being suitable for sports such as jogging, some users have found the jerky body movements of running make the tape jump. And in activities such as cycling and ski-ing, some models of ear-phones need a head-band to keep them secure. Cycling in traffic with a personal music-machine is not dangerous, although it is a bit of a waste of time because the noise tends to intrude. But on the open road it adds a new dimension. A final warning. Don't sample a cassette-player unless you can buy one. It is too frustrating when you realise what you are missing. If you do become a proud owner, be prepared for the head-music to take over. One moves at the pace of the music, so if you are hurrying to an urgent appointment, make sure you are listing to Supertramp rather than Schubert, or you’ll never make it.