So I think I'm ready for some nostalgia now!

Thanks Erniejade

 

Welcome Aboard

 

Hi T-ster and thanks for the message.

Yeah I'm always drawn to things with a real social history to them and totally get why boomboxes have such a loyal following. The M71 really appeals if I can find one. Out of interest was there one box that really defined the era or just loads of equally great boxes depending on how many bells, whistles and lights appeal to you? I'm also interested to know the best place to look (book or internet) to begin to understand what is hot and not and why?

I look forward to getting immersed and humbly learning from you pros!

 

Thanks Boodokhan!

 

Hello Edd

My advice would be to buy whatever appeals to you.

Was there a particular Boombox or Walkman that appealed to you in the past ?
Did either you, one of your friends, or a relative have something which has long gone but brings back nostalgic feelings when you see a picture ?

On the old site we had one member who seemed to collect nothing but Hitachi 3Ds.
In fact he managed to collect every single model, many of them mint in their original boxes.
They aren't everyone's cup of tea but he loved that particular range.

You will have probably seen some of Nicks collection which is nearly all Silver (in colour) as that is what appeals to him.
Both Nick and myself have managed to buy the first cassette recorders we ever owned. In my case it took three years to find one. Both were close to bottom of the range when new, but were bought for the memories rather than sound quality.

A big consideration is how much you want to spend. Some of the really sought after boxes like the JVC M90 go for up to £1000. In contrast you could probably find something with 90% or more of the quality for £50. When I joined the Stereo2Go it was to point out that Boomboxes were never cheap in the first place. In real terms i.e weeks wages a JVC M90 was the equivalent of £1000 back when it was new.

To me and some other Stereo2Go members a large part of the appeal of the hoby is being able to buy something that would have cost you several weeks wages back in the 1980s for a tenner at a car boot sale and then restore it to its former glory or maybe even better by replacing speakers etc.

To answer your question about which was the first boombox there was a gradual evolution to the classic format of speakers either side of a cassette deck. The early 1970s Philips in this thread

http://www.stereo2go.com/forums/threads/new-member-from-the-netherlands.970/#post-
7485http://www.stereo2go.com/forums/threads/new-member-from-the-netherlands.970/#post-7485

must be close to being the first, although there were Sanyos and Crowns in a similar form at around the same time.

This site, which Stereo2Go was originally an offshoot of asked the same question

http://pocketcalculatorshow.com/boombox/birth/

but didn't come to a conclusion. What is true is that in the 1970s many people questioned the need for Stereo in a Boombox when the speakers are so close together. Back then there were many more Mono boxes (some with great sound quality) than stereo ones.

Finally a few off beat ideas

• Try to get a box from the year you were born (and make most of us feel old)
• Collect only Red boxes. You might be surprised how many were made.

Hope you enjoy whatever you decide to buy.

 

Big thanks for the advice and links Longman. I'll carefully read through the links with interest later, but wanted to say you are probably right about taking a personal angle. My parents still have their early 1980s WHSmiths blue walkman that was my first taste of personal listening as a kid, and sadly the first machine I actually bought was the lowest in the Amstrad Centre range in the later 80s and broke within days I recall. I figure I can probably aspire a little higher now!. But you are right 'the keeper' needs to be one that makes me smile.

Best
Edd

 

Welcome Edd!

I think this qualifies as (one of) the earliest portable stereo radio-cassette combination:
http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/crown_stereo_cassette_crowncorder_csc_9350m.html

 

Morning dude and welcome to S2G

 

Cheers mate!