OK ... this is going to test people I'm looking for a boombox... but I want to keep it small. However, I would like a nice, rich, balanced sound. It doesn't have to be loud... and I know it will never match a hi-fi... but there must nevertheless be a good sounding unit out there, that isn't too big. Quality over quantity. In the UK we are still resisting the push to digital radio, but I know that they continue to push to switch off FM, to use the frequency for mobile communication... so the tuner on such a unit will only h ave a few years more use. That means the long term focus will be cassette. And portability, of course. What suggestions do people have please? - I do prefer a nice red, but colour is secondary to cassette and sound quality. (and size!) - Listening is everything from rock to orchestra. I do love a bit of brass.
I have loads of suggestions but i keep coming back to this one, Panasonic RX-C45. It has a lovely deck, a sensitive tuner, loads of features and as its a mini 3 piece it sounds fab, way better than it has any right to.
Its pretty small, i do however have a selection of minis so if smaller is on the cards i could recommend something else. That is probably small enough tho im guessing.
When you look at the small guys notice the depth of the box, I've got some little ones that are a little over an inch deep and some like the Sansui FX-700R that are closer to six inches deep. The deeper quality units tend to produce a little warmer sound to me.
Using computers, I tended to love Logitech speakers because they seemed to use a heavier cone and did much within a small space. However, looking at some of these classic boomboxes, although I would like a mini, I'm going to have to give up my small dreams for sound quality... I appreciate that now.
How small is small? Aiwa TPR-950 is a bit smaller than the other midsize boomboxes, but it blows them away in sound quality. A tad bit larger, the Sanyo M9994 is great too. Those 2 often fetch high prices though, so if you don't want to pay that much, look for a Universum Super Sound 16000, it is almost as good, but costs much less.
Thanks for the suggestions. I've listened to some YouTube videos... not so much for overall quality, 'cause most of the videos microphones can't hope to convey what the speakers are putting out.. but more for the balance of power and richness between the tones. The TPR-950 is on my list, but I'll probably skip the Sony. I think the Aiwa and the RX-C45 are probably as large as I want to go, in total... and even then they're larger than I'd wish to go, but I know that if I want sound quality, then I'm going to have to sacrifice size. These things are going for one and a half grand on flea bay right now, so I'll just sit and wait for something affordable to come along.
If you limit yourself to a few certain units on the bay, you'll probably need to take out a new line of credit. Keep your eyes open for thrift shops, garage sales and boot sales (over there). That's where you'll get the more affordable stuff. 90% of the equipment I own is found this way and I'm still finding a decent amount.
Don't pay attention to the highest prices on Ebay, they're driven by 3-4 egocentric people who are just playing a game rather than actually trying to sell anything.
Some good news about that: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-43458695 Also the original intention was to move the main stations off FM to make more room for community stations like this http://www.forestfm.co.uk/ http://www.hopefm.com/ (and save the BBC the cost of powering their multi kilowatt FM transmitters).
Right - I got one - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AWESOME-...Radio-Cassette-Equalizer-Boombox/142769069364 - it'll take a while to get here, and I guess we'll see what I've let myself in for.
Well well.... I just scored an Aiwa TPR 950 ... it has some faults, but in the UK and I could afford it... so I snapped it up. The projects are just queuing now.
Well, it sounds like I've got a bit of work to do on it yet... "I have two of these radios, so decided to move one on to a new owner. When I sold this radio recently on here, it was 100% functioning, but when the buyer received it, FM was not working, so I accepted it back as a return, and have subsequently found an issue with the mono/stereo/stereo wide switch too. When playing a cassette, it has to be in stereo wide mode, or the right hand audio channel drops out. When the radio is use, this is not an issue. Weird one. Could be that the switch is dirty, or damaged. I really don't know, and so I am relisting it 'AS IS' at a reduced price.There is nothing obvious as to what the issue is, and I can't believe it is a big problem, as it was fine before, and all the other radio wavebands are working fine, but I don't have time to spend on it, so it is for sale, with declared issues, so there no misunderstandings..."
Who cares, they look great just sitting on the shelf, in my opinion, probably the best looking boombox of all time. But yes, I always start with easy and clean the switches.
I was afraid you snatched my favorite Aiwa from under my nose! No, it is still here: eBay-TPR950... Whew!!!
