National (Panasonic) RX-S41

Sony's Walkman DD series is renowned among enthusiasts for its exceptional sound quality, thanks to its Disc Drive (DD) mechanism. The DD system offers reduced wow & flutter and sound distortion compared to the belt-driven systems found in most cassette players. The RX-S41 features a Direct Drive system similar to the Sony DD line. After listening to it, I can confirm that it shares the same qualities as the Sony DD and sounds incredible! Panasonic/National also has another direct drive model, the RX-S40, in this series. To the best of my knowledge, these are the only two DD portable cassette players ever produced by Panasonic. So, indeed, they are quite rare!

There are a few key differences between the RX-S40 and RX-S41. The RX-S40 is designed to be expandable and collapsible, similar to the Sony Walkman WM-10 and WM-20, providing an innovative way to make the device as compact as a cassette tape. However, the RX-S40 has a significant drawback: it uses a 2.5 mm jack instead of the more commonly used 3.5 mm headphone jack. The RX-S41 addressed this issue by reverting to the 3.5 mm jack, which is compatible with most headphones available on the market.