Boombox Archaeology

New guys feel free to contribute! I'm sure there's a lot of local information that I'm not seeing.

Ted Danson and his monster JVC from Playboy Magazine 1983

 

I thought I throw this ad up here since it's one of the first boomboxes! Maybe an unknown one for most collectors, the Concord F-103 from November 1968. I don't know much about Concord, they were California Based selling Japanese Audio Electronics in the USA and maybe world-wide. They were heavily into compact cassette products. I'll have to do a deep dive into the company.

 

I did some research into The House of Hurwitz, an electronics store in Boston where I posted a bunch of boombox ads from. I found this cool video of their closing in 1989, it has a lot of boomboxes in it.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1197930365836349441

 

From 1973, the JVC RT5520 8-track with AM/FM

 

Just doing some Saturday Morning Reading, I found this interesting article about Korean Audio Products.
From 1985, of course all of this has changed.

 

Speaking of Korean Boomboxes, here's the Gold Star TSR-641 from 1982, Mart Magazine

 

Sorry for the quality, from 1987, Design Magazine

 

Panasonic Info including the RX-F80

 

Ready Cassette Go! From Seventeen Magazine 1980

 

Speaking of Microcassette Decks, there's some info towards the end about Fisher's New MC Boomboxes from Mart Magazine 1981

 

Mart Magazine (a retailer's guide) with some info on the new AIWA TPR-920 and 910 from 1978

 

Choice Magazine (Australia) 1995, looks like JVC gets the win! Price is AUD

 

Meriton to market AIWA in the USA, Mart Magazine 1975

 

Same issue, this time with a sweet Sharp GF, you know I love these early monos!

 

Craig's Boombox and some info on AIWA's Audio Products from 1976

 

From 1980, there's several of these "release notes" in this magazine over the years, this has a super-rare Magnavox 696 Boombox, anybody seen this one before?

 

Circuit City 1977!

From MART Magazine, check out the cool boomboxes! Mono was king but the few stereo models are classics! Is that a big Sony to the middle left?

 

1984, what a great year but boomboxes were more entry-level.

 

Here's an eye-opening interview from 1984, boomboxes are dead and returns will kill you! The old guys on audiokarma say the same thing, the sales guys all remember the units and brands that came back for repairs.

 

Toshiba 1984