Long before portable CDs players became black plastic and ubiquitous in the 90s, the first couple generations of the devices were manly beasts, made of metal and sporting discrete components on their system boards.
This particular model came out about two months after I bought my first portable CD player for a ridiculous $420, a Sony D-7. (I think that was the model; after 34 years the memory fades and I kept no record of it.) I wished I'd held off buying the unit, because this Technics model surpassed it in so many ways and was actually cheaper. Ironically when the time came to replace the D-7 (early adopter, technology riddled with problems), I didn't get the Technics, I bought another Sony, the D-10, which was actually better than the Technics and I remember it being much lighter, even with the external battery pack. The D-10 served me for years, but I still let out a little sigh when I stumble across a picture of the Technics unit. It was a damn good looking piece of tech, and to me more than anything resembled a miniature version of their SL-15 turntable.
