I saw this model in a catalogue in 1994 and it was my dream machine at this time, but i was to expensive, so instaead i got the AZ-8240 (a cheeper and smaler model) I´ve been serching the net full for some informations on this AZ-8640, but theres not much to find,, Anybody who knows this model? It´s complete wiht original manual and remote control
We didn't have a lot of Philips over here, they might have been branded Magnavox or something similar but I'm not familar with that model. It looks like the manual says "DCC" does it have digital cassette? That would be really cool, it's one format that doesn't get a lot of coverage on the forum.
No I don't think it has a DCC deck, it's just a commercial sign for the system on the manual. I have some more photos on it and it just shows 2 normal cassette decks I bought this Philip to replace my second hand bought Panasonic RX-ED90. The Panasonic has several problems with the electronics (buttons who don't work normally, failure when playing CD's, cassette needs new belts, sometimes it would not power on and it turns of again when push it on, it forgets the FM stations, the light in the display goes of sometimes and the top panel sometimes goes up and down by it self and I don't want to spent a fortune on it
I see this logo on the front cover, are you positive, Philips had the only digital cassette player that I ever saw.
@Mister X Seems to be just advertisement of Philips. You're refering to the round logo on the manual, aren't you? The one with DCC and CD. I've zoomed in and it merely says "Inventor of CD and DCC - a product from Philips". There doesn't seem to be any space for a DCC deck either, seems like two analogue tape decks and CD down there with the tech/display with buttons in between the two. On the case itself there's just DSC (Digital Sound Control) and DBB (Digital Bass Boost). Can someone verify this? Got my curious as well. @Allan Andersen It looks like a nice machine. I like its design, edgy and black but smooth at the same time. Reminds me of a radio cassette recorder we used to have back in the days. Certainly no AZ-8640 or 8240. Seems to have a bunch of features according to all those buttons, pretty impressive. It's also the first time I see this one. And now I end up wondering where the old Philips we used to have went...
You are right. The 8640 was there top model except for the ones with detectable speakers and I don't like these models at all. As I remember Philips did not make a model with a DCC recorder build in. Maybe later but I'm not sure at all... As far as I know the 8640 was quite expensive and not sold in presentation because many prefer Sony, Panasonic etc.. Yeah I also really like the design with the clothing covers on the speakers and the square design unlike Panasonic and JVC witch was more rounded in the design..
It is on RadioMuseum https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/philips_cd_radio_cassette_record.html I just checked the 1994 Argos Superstore catalogue and they didn't go that high in the range. The AZ 8404, which looks to be a lesser model, was their second most expensive boombox. The cheapest CD boombox in the catalogue was an Alba at "just" £70.
Yeah the 8404 maybe was the previous model for the 8640 but I'm not sure and has the Philips Turbo Bass Generator sound system witch was pretty awesome. The later models just use the Dynamic Bass Boost but the high models still sound amazing
I just found it in the 1996 catalogue. Still their second most expensive boombox, although not by much, as the Panasonics are getting cheaper while the Philips are getting more expensive I reckon 1995 was about the same time as I bought my Panasonic RX-300E for a similar price although that was in a sale and the shop was doing interest free credit over ten monthly instalments.
i just bought an expensive phillips the cogs broke within a couple of hours rendering it a doorstop if i were you id'e cancel you're order while you can
Nice to se it in a catalouge I think the Panasonic model is the litlle broter to the one I have. Mine is a RX-ED90
Well i dont know, the last Philips I had did ever broke, but my Panasonic RX-ED90 has a lot of errors
Good guess but you are wrong. There are various sellers on Ebay who sell catalogue scans e.g. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1980s-20...m3b29ad0c2c:g:3DMAAOSw6hNcUZ6N&frcectupt=true pdfs can be skimmed through very quickly, although the Retromash site is great if you don't want to spend anything. As far as I know I now have all the Argos ones that have been scanned. I just checked and I have 31GB of catalogues on the computer here. I have always loved looking through catalogues and find the historical ones more interesting than the majority of history books.
I just received the Philips today, and a lot of days before the estimated shipping time so I was exited to get the package home and get it unboxed.. I was very surprised on the condition on the ghettoblaster. The seller described it as a used condition with some marks on it but I would rather described is as near mint.. So? Does it works?? Yes it does! Both cassette deck works and plays fine, the CD player also do work and plays perfectly and the tuner also.. The included original remote also works. It even came with the original user manual. The playback cassette deck has auto reverse but the recording deck don't (who cares?) The cassette decks is not logical types. How does it sound? Very nice and clearly is the word I will use. Has a nice bass, mid and treble sound in n world for a ghettoblaster and goes loud in the volume without losing the depth in the sound.. In the DSC menu you can chose a personal adjustment and let you adjust bass and treble but you can also chose rock, pop, jazz and classic effects if you want this instead. It also got Dynamic Bass Boost which gives it even more powerfull sound especially in lower volume levels but also works fine with higher volumes. The tuner is very sensitive and receives more FM channels than my Panasonic does, so the tuner is very good in this one. It also have an external FM antenna plugin to even better signals receiving.. The remote is VERY simple but in the same way easy to use and it controls the CD (play, stop, next and previous) tuner (stored stations) volume up & down and standby. The only thing I missed in this model is an auxiliary input so you can connect a Bluetooth receiver, phone etc.. Maybe it's possible to build it in?? I don't know, but I read a lot about it but I don't know if it needs an auxiliary input to do this.. Sound ☆☆☆☆☆ Design ☆☆☆☆ Easy to use ☆☆☆☆ Build quality ☆☆☆☆☆
You can get around the AUX input with a bluetooth cassette but they are low on the pole for sound quality and can be difficult to work consistantly. The other way to do it is get a transmitter unit that goes to the FM band. Now that some phones don't have a jack, it might be harder. There's a lot of interesting transmitting variations but none are great. I keep the newer boxes stock and still burn mix CDs, the older boxes are better for finding a bluetooth dangle.
