Hoping you guys can help out with this one! I had this radio as a 14 year old kid and I would love to find it again. I searched through old family photographs and found two photos of it. The photo quality is poor but it’s all I have to go on. It was purchased around 1985 at Pat’s Stereo Center in Greensburg, PA. I clearly remember it being an off-brand. Through careful inspection of the photos, I *think* it might be made by Centurion. The only other identifiable feature is each speaker cabinet has a forward and a top firing speaker. It was likely sold all over the world under various brand names. GPT wasn’t much help. It consistently mis-identified it when I uploaded the photos for analysis. Please ignore the mounting. As a kid, I had the BBX installed in a robot I was building at the time If anyone recognizes it, please let me know. I would LOVE to track one down. It brought me tons of joy as a kid!
It definately looks like a Centurion Logo. I think they were made for department stores and might have a link to the very similar Gran Prix Radios. Mayming Electronics (HK) Co Ltd was listed on the FCC Look Up for Gran Prix Here's their applications and some different company names https://fcc.report/company/May-I-N-T-L-T-D Sorry that's all I could find.
Thanks! That’s a lot more info than I had before. I’ll start a deep dive of Grand Prix boomboxes from that era. Thanks for the help!
Not sure but it might be an AKA of the Candle JTR-1317. Detachable speakers are different but they have a nearly identical front panel layout. Not sure if this gets me any closer to the exact Centurion radio…but I suppose it’s a small step forward.
This is what weaponized OCD looks like LOL. Two days of off-the-rails research and I found it. Centurion E901X Now…I need to find one!!
After considerable searching, I’ve realized this is an extremely uncommon model. The search might take years before I find one. It’s all about the thrill of the hunt lol.
It might also have some other AKA's (also known as), I know I get sucked into ebay listings for this style radio but when looking closer they don't look as nice as the Sanyo's. What store is the ad from?
Here’s a few ads with store names. All from 1984. In addition to the E901X, there’s also an E901. The diff is in the speakers. X model has front AND top firing speakers, non-X model has conventional front firing speakers only. MAN would I love to find one to buy. They must be fairly rare bc I can’t find a single photo of one on the internet. As far as AKA’s I think the Candle JTR-1317 is a nearly perfect match. There’s one on eBay Canada right now. Too expensive and missing 2 knobs. As for Sanyo, I’ve always had a weird beef with them. Generally better than off-brand but also generally not as nice as mainstream brands. A weird middle ground that has never appealed to me. Any other info you run across regarding the E901 | E901X would be appreciated!
One small argument against the Candle being an AKA is the lack of a chamfer on the back edge of the case. If you look at the actual (blurry, grainy) photo of the Centurion there’s a chamfered edge that runs across the back edge. The Candle is squared off. It seems to me as a cost-cutting measure, the back part of the case (main chassis) would be universal. IDK tho…I’m splitting hairs.
I’ve been searching under these other off-brand / second-tier names to find an AKA but no luck so far: Candle Randix Unitech / Unitec GPX York Soundesign Emerson Prosonic Citizen Trident Conic Lloyd’s Helix Rising Crown Lasonic Sampo Magnasonic Audiosonic Juliette Symphonic Goldstar Samsung
Finding old boomboxes from ones youth is a special and honorable quest Amazing results from all the hard work! Now that you have better pictures... can't AI do some "heavy lift" searching? (Well, maybe not yet, but soon enough.)
GPT works remarkably well for some things, not so well for other stuff. GPT image search for the E901X and corresponding AKA’s is terrible. Results are deal-breaking inaccurate. So for now, I’m settling in for a long, slow, arduous quest lol. Incredible how much joy BBX’s brought us as kids. I had this box when I was 14. Had a really bad family life so I moved into my grandfather’s abandoned house on the same property. Lived alone and supported myself for years. It was glorious to create my own stability and be out from under the strife. I remember cold PA winter nights with that Centurion radio. I’d stoke the old coal furnace in the basement, make some tea, and listen to cassettes or B-94’s top 8 at 8. Such beautiful, peaceful memories. I’m really motivated to find one. It would be like Christmas Day when that thing arrived in the mail.
Wooo Hooo found an EXACT AKA!!! GPX 900X None on eBay right now. I have an alert set!! Found another exact image of another AKA but having trouble reading the blurry brand name. Can’t read the blurry brand name!
I love seeing side x side photos and checking out the differences. I looks like the GPX has some sliders while the Candle has blanks or labels?
Oooh that blurry name is almost within reach... I'm not that good with image processing... but I bet others could tease out a letter or two? This is the best I could do. First letter a D? Dy? hy? with a little gap or stylized space mid-word?
Or maybe the Candle is missing the slider knobs? Something different is going on there. I can’t tell what it is. Candle JTR1317
I love it. It makes me so happy that I’m not the only guy who does this lol. I’ll start poking around with these suggestions!
Here's the first thing I thought when I saw it... https://stereo2go.com/forums/threads/a-small-triumph.2759/
