Hello! Happy to be a part of the community! Im a collector and appreciator of vintage stereo equipment with a soft spot for the original cassette decks (64'-78'). I currently own nearly 100 different units, including examples of the first cassette recorder from 1964, the first 'boombox' or 'radio-recorder' from 1966 and many of the original cassette auto changers. Looking forward to taking part in community discussions!
Welcome tapedood! For some reason this just popped up on the new post link. I love the history of the early units, some guys might question what a boombox is and what the first one is. Most people say AIWA or Philips had the first around 1969 but they only include radio/cassette versions. Personally I also like the early turntable/radio/battery portable units, they are basically the spirit of boomboxes before cassettes were standardized. As Walkman Archive said, please post your equipment, I love seeing anything related to audio, especially the "foundation" equipment. I've got some 60's portables I'll pull out soon, some of it looks like it was built in a garage and some has an ultra-cool 60's vibe. For a long time people were throwing all of this stuff out but lately I think we've turned a corner and not only are they kind of cool to show playing some music off but the design looks cool, much better than a square flat phone.
Thank you @Mister X ! It's great to be here among like minded analog and vintage audio appreciators like yourself! On the boombox front.... I know there are some disagreements on what the first boombox was. None of them were really a 'boombox' until the term boombox started being used in the 80's, referring to portable (with a handle) radio/cassette recorders. Also know as a 'Jambox' and 'ghettoblaster'. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boombox So by that definition, the first ever portable radio/cassette combo unit (coined the 'Radio-Recorder') was created by Philips/Norelco in 1966 (22RL692), two years following the introduction of the compact-cassette and 'Carry-Corder 150' from 1964 (also created by Philips/Norelco). Pics of mine are below along with a 1st gen 1964 compact-cassette (Norelco tape cartridge). Units being released in the years to follow (by a variety of manufacturers) began to resemble the more traditionally designed boomboxes from the 70's and 80's. They were much smaller in size and only capable of mono output, record and playback but the cassette door was moved to the front. The first ever stereo 'boombox' was released by Crown in 1968, with 2 detachable speakers. It was the Crowncorder 23 model CSC-9350M. This site has most of the history/units well documented. I've referenced it often in my search to collect the original cassette units from the 60's and early 70's. Start with era 61'-65' (the compact-cassette era) and move forward. Tons of great info on the history of significant units. I've been super lucky to have found the 'originals' I do have, in the relatively short time I've been selectively hoarding vintage units. But I only have a tiny handful of what's shown here. In all likelihood, I'll never find most of them but I do look nearly everyday! http://cassetterecorder-museum.com/en/galerie.html I would love to see some of your early portables! Please post any and all. Radios, turntables, cassette players and more... Im a nerd for all of them!
