Mini-stereo / boombox nostalgia

[Romeo Wolf]

Boombox: I recently picked up this 1979 Sanyo M9909 as an "upgrade" from my crappy 1990 GE 7-7150 and Sanyo U4S6 cassette recorders. It sounds pretty good for what it is, and it gets decently loud. (Uses x2 Sanyo 4102 Amplifier chips, which put out 1.05W into the 4" 8 Ohm [1.6W Nom. 2.5W Max] Full-range drivers @ 9V [6 D-Cells]). It needs a bit of TLC, and the $32 I paid for it feels a bit steep.


It's nothing incredible, but it's a start.

Mini-Stereo: I also have a 1993 Soundesign 5826ABB. Of course, it's worth nothing. But it sounds decent...that's all I've got to say.

 

[fireprix]

My first boom box that was decent was a Magnavox that had detachable speakers. I used this as my bedroom stereo as an upgrade to my Soundesign Trendsetter, the smallest one they sold had AM/FM and a BSR changer. It was a real step up as it had a pretty good cassette deck that had Dolby and Metal tape capability. Also had an aux input with a preamp for a MM cartridge. I did kill it by adding a cheap Radio Shack tweeter to the 2 way speakers because I felt it lacked high frequency detail. It fried the amp chip. I do remember it held 9 D batteries that would last only long enough to play a 90 minute cassette. I do have an original JVC Kaboom that was an impulse buy from Montgomery Ward. I was blown away by the sound and just bought it. I used it as a basement radio in my old house for a while but it had been sitting basically unused since about 2005. I just recently brought it out of hibernation and use it to fall asleep to music at night. The cassette and CD player still work even though I don’t have many cassettes and never really used it to play tapes. Still sounds as good as I remember it did.

 

[xs650shawn]

Got a Panasonic 3 CD changer boombox about 2 years ago. All works, but needs an antenna replacement.

Picked up this Sony today. 6 disc changer in there. Doesn't sound bad. Not great, but not bad. I always liked those 90's Sony's. Cassette player doesn't work. Can hear motor going, but nothing happens. Probably a belt. I might convert the tape player to a line-in/aux input, for phone/media/mp3 player.

 

[62vauxhall]

From a portability aspect vs sound quality and power, an Akai PJ-33 was the one to beat. Also had a phono input/pre-amp for turntables.

Conventional boom-boxes felt empty and plasticky. These felt dense and heavy for their size. .

 

[RickeyM]

I had a boom box back in the the eighties that was a pretty nice one. AM/FM double auto-reverse cassette but I don't remember the brand. The cassette section was unique in that instead of the tape wells being side by side had the tapes one behind the other. It was advertised as 10 watts per channel and the two way speakers (non-detachable) for nice for a boom box. It also had an Aux in with actual RCA jacks that I made use of when I got my first CD player. Sadly back in those days "static" in the volume and tone controls spelled the end of many a piece of audio gear and my boom box got junked.

 

[gizzyman47]

Picked up these two radios today at our local thrift. I know, not a boombox or a great brand but for $6 for both, I couldn't pass them up. Will make nice gifts to a young kid just getting into music.

 

[j!m]

I purchased this one around 1986 or 1987; I always considered it a "gentleman's boombox". I bought it to carry with me as I traveled quite a bit with my first real job. I would listen in the car, and then take it into the motel room for the evening. I would while away the hours listening to cassettes, FM, and AM talk radio shows. It is still performing well as a shop radio these days, although the cassette mechanism needs some work. I see one on ebay they are trying to get 250 bucks for- I am pretty sure I didn't pay that much for it new.

View attachment 1705866

I had the same one (RC-F35) back in high school and recently re-purchased it for listening at work. I’m considering a full recap, maybe some upgrades for less noise where possible...

 

[Justgotohm]

View attachment 1902775 Picked up these two radios today at our local thrift. I know, not a boombox or a great brand but for $6 for both, I couldn't pass them up. Will make nice gifts to a young kid just getting into music.

Totally blatant knock offs of Tivoli Audio, I would have bought them too. Perfect gifts for kids or friends with cabins or lake houses, etc.

 

[Yodathedog]

My new kitchen system:

Denon UD-M30 receiver
ADS 300 speakers
Sony MZ-1 Mini Disc recorder player



Yes, this is the original, very first Mini Disc model to hit the market way back in the early 90s. It’s still fully functional. In fact I have 2 fully functional MZ-1s

 

[Justgotohm]

I just installed a new belt on this Toshiba, deoxit all the usual places, and gave it a proper detail. I took it upstairs to have listen.
Man, we have come along way in portable electronics, it’s like nails in chalkboard compared to a similar sized modern BT unit.

 

[Bahamayellow]

Still buying Boomboxes if I can find them. Dug out my old shelf system And put in the office loft. Sat in closet for years.

 

[Yodathedog]

Still buying Boomboxes if I can find them. Dug out my old shelf system And put in the office loft. Sat in closet for years.View attachment 1918373View attachment 1918374

Pretty.

 

[GWhitney]

My crispy 1979 Panasonic RX-5500.

 

[Qtronic]

I’ve been using this one daily as yard and car work gets done. Even the cassette player works!
JVC PC-11JW

 

[j!m]

Well, what good is it if the cassette player doesn’t work?

ya can’t play tapes if it’s not working!

 

[Justgotohm]

Still buying Boomboxes if I can find them. Dug out my old shelf system And put in the office loft. Sat in closet for years.View attachment 1918373View attachment 1918374

Yes sir, this one is next on the to do list.

 

[Bassblaster]

When i was little i had a panasonic RX-DT600. id love to get my hands on another one, but honestly if i had the choice i would probably get the higher moddel like the RX-DT680/690

 

[kmulkey]

I still have great memories of my Panasonic RX-DT-640 "mini-stereo". I had some very under-powered cassette players, as a kid, but eventually moved up to this unit, as a teenager. This was a "night and day" kind of transition: music finally didn't sound tinny, harsh, and lacking.

I'd honestly still probably use it: if it had an aux-in or I had a garage. It still going, as my Dad's basement radio. The powered speakers, in my bedroom, even have a similar transparent grill aesthetic.

I'd love to hear other tales of beloved boomboxes and marvelous mini-stereos.

I owned a Pioneer SK-21 in early 1980. Great sounding boombox. I'm currently making that walk down memory lane again so I bought another and I'm waiting for it to return from repair.

 

[Wildcat]

I bought this circa 1985. Still use it in the garage although in typical Sony fashion, the CD player doesn't work, and the cassette quit also a few years later. I use the AUX input with a Chromecast Audio and it fills the garage with a lot of noise of my choosing. The speakers sounded less plasticky when I closed off that slot port on the bottom. Sony CFD-5. Picture "borrowed," of course.

In the kitchen, a JVC UX-T1, in white.

The speakers were kind of poopy sounding (very plasticky) so I've always used this into a pair of Boston A40-IIs, which I have tucked away on top of cabinets in the kitchen. Again, it's fed by a CCA attached to the AUX input. The backlit display has now gone dark, but I'm sure I could probably replace the bulbs if I wanted to. (It's hidden in a cabinet, so there's no reason to read the display.) Like the photo, different parts have yellowed from age. But at least it still all works.

Similar to what @Justgotohm has, I have a pair of RIVA Arena speakers--I had considered the Festival but felt these would be easier to place. The Festival does have more bass and sounds much larger than what you'd think. I still may get a used one for my better half, so she has something better to listen to.

 

[bimasta]

That is a very strong table!

[see Post 20]