Quelle Catalog featuring Universum Boomboxes 1980

I own the last one, CTR-2306U
It's very good quality. Based on its design, I think it was built or sourced by SABA.

 

I'm assuming this is German, but of course it could be Swiss or Austrian.
If German the prices would be in Deutsche Mark. According to
https://www.poundsterlinglive.com/b...rical-spot-exchange-rates/gbp/GBP-to-DEM-1980
the exchange rate was about 4DM to £1 back then. If so the Germans got some bargains with their top of the range box costing just over £100.

p.s. I just checked the cost of LPs. Just under 20DM for an LP which does sound right to me.

p.p.s. For those in the USA 1.8DM = $1 in 1980
http://marcuse.faculty.history.ucsb.edu/projects/currency.htm

 

Yes this was Germany, Quelle was a big mail order company that created the "Universum" brand. It's 220V and the controls are labeled in German, so they obviously didn't expect to sell many of them elsewhere. And I've never seen any AKA's for it. That doesn't make sense to me. After spending so much money designing and tooling a good box, you would think they would try to sell it globally.

 

A great video. I like the tuning scale on the box, labelled with exotic far off stations. By the mid 1980s most manufacturers has stopped doing that. I guess they got out of date too quickly. However, the BBC still broadcasts on 198KHz Long Wave, where it is shown on the dial.

I was particularly interested in seeing where the box was made, but even the plate on the back didn't show that.

 

Ha ha yes, I like the tuner scale as well, the lettering is very intricate and business-like. The whole box is very reserved and modest, yet very high quality as well.
I am assuming it was made in Japan. To my knowledge, the only boxes made in Europe were Philips, Telefunken Studios, and of course all the various Soviet boxes.

 

I think there were lots of manufacturers in the East who made electronics equipment under contract rather than designing it.
I was wondering if Grundig made Boomboxes in Europe. They certainly made Radio Cassettes. I have one made in the U.K. (Northern Ireland to be precise).
I looked on Ebay and the first Grundig Boombox I found was https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Radio-Bo...945982?hash=item3425d3f03e:g:0L4AAOSwyExdBWm1
One photo clearly states Made in Korea but the styling looks Grundig and I doubt if you would find an AKA.

Having said that someone will probably post a picture of an identical Goldstar or Samsung.

 

Oh yeah I forgot about Grundigs, I have one that was made in Portugal