That is incredible!
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JVC Turntables - often overlooked and underappreciated
- Thread starter SmileyFaceEQ
- Start date
Whoa! That JL-B44 looks nearly identical to my VL-8 at first glance, same UA-55 tonearm too
Lol. I was thinking your VL-8 looks alot like my B44! Think the B44 was the domestic (Japanese) version of the same deck. My B44 requires a convertor.
I think JVC is underrated in general. I have this JVC JR-S300Mk2 receiver. 1976. I don't really need it but I can't let it go either. It's every bit as good as a $500 Pioneer / Marantz and it sounds so sweet but if I were to try to sell it I'd get $70 for it. Like I like to say: "f--k that noise." I have a minty Philips GA-212 turntable I can't let go either. I may build a nice little front room system with that and this JVC one day...
Chuck Vance
Active Member
Gotta disagree on JVC. They invented much of the servo technology many of the other big guys- including Denon- used for years. My first JVC was a QL-Y5F and I always regretted selling it. It worked flawlessly. I've recentlly acquired a QL-Y7 and QL-Y55F- both in excellent condition- and will enjoy them as well.
Bone Yard
Super Member
I love JVC Equipment but they never had a huge footprint for the full audio line back in the golden age. I never see speakers, rarely see turntables and sometimes I see a reciever but never separates. They did excel in tape decks which I considered mostly bullet-proof, mine never stop working and the early 80's models are super nice looking. Outside of portables, I think I only have one JVC TT, it's huge with a lot of plastic but it's from the 70's.
With zero proof, I think JVC penetrated our market with portables, being one of the grand-dads of radio-cassettes known to most of us as "boomboxes." Some of the early models did say "Victor" but most were badged JVC. Mid-70's JVC Advertising (outside of audio mags) concentrated mostly on their killer boomboxes like the RC M-70. While the M-90 is considered the king of boomboxes, advertising for it is super-rare.
I recently picked up one of my favorite turntables, the JVC DC-7, the linear tracking boombox turntable! This thing is huge with a slide out platter and detachable speakers. In 83, JVC was still cranking out "compo" style boomboxes like the PC-55, similar in build design, the DC-7 doesn't separate into an amp, TT, speakers but these portables were still high quality builds.
JVC wasn't afraid to make some gems, the MQ-5K is a beautiful little stereo microcassette player, I think I posted my "Twinches," the little portable TV and matching tiny boombox awhile back. Unfortunately, as mentioned, they started putting out some really gaudy audio equipment in the 90's, similar to aiwa. While extremely profitable, most of the equipment is underwhelming exce
With zero proof, I think JVC penetrated our market with portables, being one of the grand-dads of radio-cassettes known to most of us as "boomboxes." Some of the early models did say "Victor" but most were badged JVC. Mid-70's JVC Advertising (outside of audio mags) concentrated mostly on their killer boomboxes like the RC M-70. While the M-90 is considered the king of boomboxes, advertising for it is super-rare.
I recently picked up one of my favorite turntables, the JVC DC-7, the linear tracking boombox turntable! This thing is huge with a slide out platter and detachable speakers. In 83, JVC was still cranking out "compo" style boomboxes like the PC-55, similar in build design, the DC-7 doesn't separate into an amp, TT, speakers but these portables were still high quality builds.
JVC wasn't afraid to make some gems, the MQ-5K is a beautiful little stereo microcassette player, I think I posted my "Twinches," the little portable TV and matching tiny boombox awhile back. Unfortunately, as mentioned, they started putting out some really gaudy audio equipment in the 90's, similar to aiwa. While extremely profitable, most of the equipment is underwhelming exce
yeah I think there's some generational disparity in how we consider JVC, I was a teenager in the 90s and most of the products I was exposed to were low to medium price with matching quality, so I never saw their audiophile products until they were "vintage"
but the upside is that they aren't hit with the higher prices driven by collectors
but the upside is that they aren't hit with the higher prices driven by collectors
