The Ultimate Marantz, Superscope, UNIX Boombox Thread

Discussion in 'Chat Area' started by Mister X, Apr 13, 2018.

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  1. Mystic Traveller

    Mystic Traveller Well-Known Member

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    Mystic Traveller, Apr 18, 2019
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  2. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Whoa, that's a nice unique, never seen before Marantz. Thanks for posting!
     
    Mister X, Apr 18, 2019
    #142
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  3. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    The fact that the 100V mains voltage is moulded into the case shows they had no intention of it being sold outside of Japan.
     
    Longman, Apr 18, 2019
    #143
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  4. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    I tried to do some more searching for the newest discovery, the Marantz Bustang CRS 5.5, I could only find an advertising brochure from the 80's.

    Marantz b 3.jpg
    55.3.jpg
    55 2.jpg
    55 1.jpg
     
    Mister X, Apr 23, 2019
    #144
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  5. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Here's an ad for the Superscope by Marantz CRS 4800 and CRS 5000 with pricing around $800 USD and $900 USD back in 1978.

    Marantz b 1.jpg
     
    Mister X, Apr 23, 2019
    #145
  6. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    I originally joined Stereo2Go due to a discussion on prices so lets work out the price properly

    First get the Yen / Dollar spot rate in 1978

    https://www.poundsterlinglive.com/b...rical-spot-exchange-rates/usd/USD-to-JPY-1978

    It varies a bit but averages about 200 JPY to a Dollar.

    so Y89800 = $449

    Now feed it through an inflation calculator

    http://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1978?amount=449

    and we get a 2019 price of $1750

    If you find that surprising its not unbelievable as today people will spend that sort of money on a MacBook laptop.

    One of the reasons I care about prices is that back in the 1970s and 1980s things like boomboxes were worth getting professionally repaired if they went wrong and people could make a nice living from it. I know someone (now retired) who did TV and audio repairs throughout the 1990s. A friend of mine was delighted to get her Aiwa Midi system repaired by him for about £70, after the shop she bought it from did nothing in months when she needed it repairing after the guarantee expired. Back then the alternative was paying £200 + on a new one. Nowadays you could probably pick up a similar system in a Charity shop for £20, while expensive items like the Macbook are almost unrepairable.
     
    Longman, Apr 25, 2019
    #146
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  7. Mystic Traveller

    Mystic Traveller Well-Known Member

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    Yeah! Cool ad, thank you! :)
     
    Mystic Traveller, Apr 25, 2019
    #147
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  8. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Mister X, Apr 27, 2019
    #148
  9. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Mister X, May 14, 2019
    #149
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  10. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Hey, I found some old Superscope Ads, imagine that. The Internet Wayback Machine has a book and magazine section that I highly recommend checking out.

    Here's some cool old 70's ads for Superscope by marantz, a lot of these were in Sports Illustrated. Some of these look plain but these were the first wave of these little mono boxes. These were really cool for portable listening and you could directly record off the radio, as a kid there was nothing better.

    Superscope CR-1000A.jpg
    Superscope C-104.jpg
    Superscope CR-1200.jpg
    Superscope CR-800 2.jpg
     
    Mister X, Jun 18, 2019
    #150
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  11. Reli

    Reli Well-Known Member

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    "PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT ACCEPT OFFERS AS ALL PRICES ARE FINAL"

    Good luck with that then. :nwink:
     
    Reli, Jun 18, 2019
    #151
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  12. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    He only needs one buyer, just one Reli.......
     
    Mister X, Jun 18, 2019
    #152
  13. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    The Superscope CR-2480! I might have to settle for one of the roached out versions that shows up every 10 years for sale. I ballpark the price at $445.00 USD around 1978, big money back then.

    Superscope CR-2480.gif
     
    Mister X, Jun 22, 2019
    #153
  14. Reli

    Reli Well-Known Member

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    MacBooks are the ultimate ripoff. There are dozens of Windows machines with equivalent specs for only $1000-1200, plus you can get them with a touchscreen and a 360-degree rotating hinge if you want. MacBooks don't even offer those features. They claim the consumer doesn't want them. In reality they're just trying to avoid cannibalization of iPad sales.
     
    Reli, Jun 22, 2019
    #154
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  15. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    I've got all of those options Reli and I agree 100% with them, I hate touchscreens, except phone or tablets, and the hinges stink, I don't ever use that feature. The price may be high on MacBooks but they're still milking the old days where they had the fastest processor out there and if you were doing any graphic related work, you wanted that extra firepower. Now people will pay extra for what they perceive as a premium product and too be honest, there's a few features that are a little better.
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2021
    Mister X, Jun 22, 2019
    #155
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  16. Reli

    Reli Well-Known Member

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    The only way a touchscreen laptop would cause any problems is if it wasn't bright enough to hide all the finger marks on the screen. But mine can go as high as 500 nits of brightness, plus it's got an anti-glare coating as well, so it's not an issue.
     
    Reli, Jun 22, 2019
    #156
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  17. Jorge

    Jorge Well-Known Member

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    MacBooks is a new RELIGION, you can Not fight it! Try to enjoy The Show!!!
    :delighted:
    I actually USE my Windows laptop for my job, and it is vaaay over 10 years old. The rest of my family they use whatever little I am making to buy them a new Mac every two-three years: Macs, they just burn-out, or fall apart... But they are soo "hip"
    Me, I just spin my fav Genesis album: "what a poor boy can do"?... As always, Music saves me from frustrations and lost arguments :)
     
    Jorge, Jun 22, 2019
    #157
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  18. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Well put Jorge! I'm living the same life in the Midwest. I just never figured out how to touch my screen easier than the other options, I'd love to learn and be apart of the group but it's all keyboards and finger pads for me.
     
    Mister X, Jun 22, 2019
    #158
  19. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Marantz had the most hideous advertising in the 70's with these ugly cartoons charactors, this is a very rare crossover for Superscope using the world's worst advertising campaign and the Superscope C-108. Marantz and Sony were really close, I wonder if Marantz was close to making a stereo version. Maybe their sales agreement, that ended in 1979, prohibited Marantz from making their own. Sony had sued Marantz earlier for clarification on the terms of the agreement, maybe it was over portables.

    C-108.jpg
     
    Mister X, Jun 22, 2019
    #159
  20. Philip Taylor

    Philip Taylor Active Member

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    Philip Taylor, Jun 23, 2019
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