They also hobbled the functionality so you could not get digital recordings from the device. Lots of DJs, producers, etc... wanted to use it to record live music sessions, then transfer them to their machine at home.

This is when Sony fucked themselves, they went from an amazing electronics company, to a content producing company with a shitty electronics side. All the decisions were made by the content side. This is when they started their slide.

It is awful to think about, when you read about the origins of Sony, and how much they were revered for producing top of the line stuff in the 70s, 80s and 90s.