I'm looking for a portable speaker/stereo with radio, line in, and CD. I often look for the oldest thing that meets my requirements, with the idea that it will look cooler and feel nicer, but it seems that they didn't start adding line in until the mp3 era. Some options from Sony that I found: - ZS-RS09CP - ZS-S50CP - ZS-D50 I found these mostly by guessing at Sony's scheme for model numbers and seeing Google's search suggestions. Seems like before the ZS-D50, the boomboxes or "personal audio systems" either lack line in or can't be operated on battery. Anything I'm missing? Also open to other brands but there is no comprehensive list of boomboxes of various brands. If there's a better way to search that would be helpful too. The Sony CFD-V15 is a good example of what I would want; I especially like that it has knobs for volume instead of buttons; but it lacks line in.
I have both the ZS-D50 and the ZS-D55. The CD mechanism does seem to be prone to weak and failed lasers though. Some of the Panasonic Cobras have line in and are cool units if you have the space. You will have to research which ones. Most of the manuals are online making that quite easy. If you can live without CD many of the older units have line in. Back in the day I chose my Sony CFS45L because it had a proper Line In Position and I wanted a unit that would double as a tape deck and tuner for my stereo.
Actually boomboxes have had line in (and/or phono) since the very beginning (early 1970s). It's usually only the cheap entry-level models that don't have it.
There did seem to be a trend to drop it when CD started being added. I guess they thought they had all sources covered at that point. There are even some CD Radio Cassettes with phono output for the CD player but no input. That was when the type of person who could afford a CD player probably already had a HiFi without one. My Panasonic RX-E300 ? has a fully logic cassette deck with Dolby but no line in which is a shame. Like I said some Cobras have it others don't. It would be interesting to compare inclusion against year released. p.s. Another range worth looking at would be the JVC Kabooms
Yes the Kabooms have line in (actually called "aux"). But make sure you get the RV-DP100 or 200, because they are the most powerful ones, and they also have adjustable bass, mids, and treble.
I think Longman nailed it, line in was usually used for recording or listening to phono or another tape deck. I think most of us were recording albums over at our friends houses through our boomers. I don't know the exact year but the feature went from being on most boomboxes to almost none around 83. Here's one of mine, one of the very few CD boomboxes I own, the good news is I have two of them..... https://stereo2go.com/forums/threads/toshiba-rt-7096.3189/
Well the big Lasonics were mid-late 80s, and all of them had line in even though they were lower-quality Taiwanese boxes. But I do agree that manufacturers started providing fewer features after 82-83.
I had a look on eBay and the Panasonic RX-DT75 Cobra has Line In https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304283112961?hash=item46d8afd601:g:MXIAAOSwU8phzjjp I challenge anyone to explain Panasonis numbering system back then. In terms of inputs, watch out for the Panasonics that have "Mic Mixing" but no line in. @Reli Did the Lasonics have CD ? I have a low end twin tape Panasonic which has two phonos on it for Line In, presumably to plug in your Discman or the Panasonic equivalent.
Thanks for the input everyone. I did some searching and the Panasonic RX-DS20, RX-DS30, RX-DS40, and RX-DS50 all have aux (they appear very similar to each other). There is also the RX-DT6xx line with detachable speakers. Can't say I did an exhaustive search. Would be cool if someone made a boombox in the 90s with only CD and no tape player. Surely that would have aux in to accommodate an external tape player, and it would be more compact too...
CD-only boomboxes were a very limited market, because most people still had tapes and they also wanted a way to copy CDs to tape. I think there were a few fold-up models, with a vertical CD player sandwiched by a pair of folding speakers
Most cassette Lasonics had phono and/or line in. Their super-size dual-deck models had something mysteriously labeled "Phono/CD" which does work with both signals if you fiddle with the input level. Their first CD model, the CDX-931, only had a mic input
Looked through Techmoan's videos and did some image searches; didn't see any old CD boomboxes without tape, folding or otherwise. The folding thing sounds awesome though! Sounds like it would be rare and expensive if it did exist; still very curious though.
The Nakamichi SoundSpace models are some examples. I'm not sure if any of them were portable, though.
Sony made a load of CD Radios without a cassette deck in their ZS range such as this weird ZS-X7 Sports model. Surprisingly most of the ones I looked at didn't have a line in, probably because they were from the days when most people were storing (and playing) MP3s from CD. Some later models did / do have line in like this ZS-PE60 From some eBay listings that might still be a current model in Japan. It doesn't have a handle and looks a bit weedy though so is pushing against the definition of Boombox. I actually own a unit which might tick all your boxes, (CD, Radio, no Cassette so compact, handle, will run off batteries, and Line in. However it might be a Europe only design and would never be mistaken for a boombox You could easily mistake it for just a radio, but there is a slot loading CD mechanism in the top. Like many DAB radios (it does have FM as well) the styling copies the Pure radios which were the first popular ones on the market. In conclusion I think you need to work out what you main priorities are in order to find the most suitable unit. If you aren't worried about a handle and battery power there are loads of other options. Panasonic made a whole range of slim CD Radios that were mains power only. For some reason there were several in a second hand shop I went in recently. Maybe people have replaced them with Bluetooth speakers. I found this thread interesting as I have looked several times for something better than what I use regularly at the moment, which is a ZS-D50 in the kitchen (although my wife has been using a plain DAB radio there as her favourite station is only on that and the XDR-S100CD in the bedroom. p.s Only last week Techmoan was commenting that the Panasonic he was recommending as the last decent Boombox seems to have been discontinued and replaced with things like this https://www.amazon.de/Panasonic-RX-...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ== Maybe you should consider one.
You can get a radio transmitter for a few dollars that plugs into the headphone jack, that might be a better way to go.
Panasonic SC-DM504EG-K Micro Hi-Fi System In Black, 40 Watt RMS, Digital Radio DAB+, CD, FM Radio, Bluetooth, USB, AUX: Amazon.de: Electronics & Photo
Makes sense since tapes were no longer popular by then. If there are any CD-only boomboxes from the 90s I would expect them to have line in, plus nicer plastics and buttons and such. I don't mind the lack of a handle, but since it is a later model I would expect it to have the shitty cheap feeling of other late models like the ZS-RS60BT. Looks a bit new and shiny for my taste, but I would still be curious to know the model number? It doesn't need to look like a boombox, but it does need to work on battery. I basically want the functionality of a bluetooth speaker, except I use aux instead of bluetooth and I want support for CDs and radio. I want something old because new stuff will never match the feel of older plastics/buttons/knobs; making something new of the same quality would probably cost thousands now. The Panasonic RX-DS50 is probably my best bet, though I would prefer something smaller and I am a bit worried about passive drain of the 10 D-cells when not in use (someone on another forum said their RX-DS20 was a "battery vampire"). The Panasonic Cobras and JVC Kabooms might be a bit lighter and better with batteries, but I find them fugly. Seems like they started adding aux to lighter boomboxes with the Sony ZS-S50CP (2007) and ZS-RS09CP (~2010?). I did order a ZS-RS09CP because it was $40 and it looked to be the last one on the market (couldn't find a ZS-S50CP). I will be able to evaluate the quality and feel when it arrives but I don't have my hopes up. I expect it to feel nicer than the new new stuff though. For maximum portability I found the Jensen CD-470 but it looks like an Absolute piece of crap. It does have a dial for the volume though...
Sony XDR-S100CD https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-XDR-S100CDM-Premium-Radio-Player/dp/B001FWXENC From the reviews it seems to date from about 2009. https://www.gadgetspeak.com/gadget/article.rhtm/751/589026/Sony_DAB_FM_CD_Portable_XDR-S100CD.html I have seen a few (and own a second one) in which the DAB Radio has packed up. That would be of no relevance outside Europe. I couldn't find a ZS-S50CP either for sale or in the completed listings on eBay despite the instructions having a U.K. specific section. Let us know what you think of the ZS-RS09CP. It looks to be a similar concept to the current Panasonics I posted a link to, although being cheaper the sound quality might be down. A few years ago Techmoan did a review comparing a current European Sony to one that is only sold in Japan.
Hello Guys, Yes boomboxes with line inputs have bee around for a very long time I have a early Panasonic that is Am/Fm and Phono it has line input So does my early Phillips . Sincerely Richard
