Fair enough , it just reminds me that fake sports Sony WM-75 that I still find brand new (unopened) at fleamarket .
Something makes me suspect this Electro Brand might not be vintage 80s, but more like 90's or even 00's, meant for senior citizens who were still using cassettes instead of CDs
Not all of them , this one is from 1992 , metal door , metal lock , slip resistance back , touch controls , remote control .
The Sports Walkmans filled a void for damp weather conditions, sure some were over the top, they had a billion different versions but at the end of the day you could listen to music without worrying about ruining your player. The engineering on some of them is pretty nice, but the sonics suffered at the price of water-resistance. Most of them seemed to be marketed at a reasonable price, the good ones were a little more than a regular player but they were never super-expensive.
And yes the most expensive Sports Walkman is the Sony WM-FS191, Buy it Now $100,000.oo USD! Made in Taiwan, this looks like NIB with the original headphones. https://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-SONY-...414460&hash=item2d1655b8f8:g:WcoAAOSwV1xfJIQ1
Sony ZS-D7, this is interesting, it has CD, a cassette deck and MD link for your minidisc, from the little information I can find it was made around 2000. On the Bubble Boxes Website (posted in the Japanese Websites Thread) this rare unit seems to be pretty high up for Sony Shelf Systems. There is a battery compartment and grab space, so it might truly be a boombox but the specs don't mention the 8 D-cells it takes. If it was much cheaper I'd take the dive but I just can't find enough information on it to rule out that it's just a bunch of plastic. Check out the pass-through plug, they were thinking, I'd guess that would be for the MD Player? I just found the attached owner's manual, it is a true boombox! Maybe one of the last high-end ones from Sony, they made it connect to several different units, MD, DAT, TV, VCR. It has a cool built in feature to record on tape from the CD, I don't think I've seen that before on any unit. That would be a cool feature for anyone getting into tapes and not wanting to go through their computer. https://www.ebay.com/itm/264883945049?&ul_noapp=true&autorefresh=true
That is interesting. I have both the ZS-D50 and two ZS-D55s from around the same era. The ZS-D55 is the box in my Avatar. Both types have Digital tuner, Auto-reverse full logic cassette, Vertically loading CD which slides down and out to approximately 45 degrees, MD link and Aux in on the back, and full remote control over everything. The ZS-D50 styling is quite tradional while the ZS-D55 which I think replaced it has styling worthy of a Sci-Fi prop. With the jog wheel it is possible that the ZS-D7 is the same parts as the ZS-D55 in a differently shaped case. A downside is that the CD laser tends to be quite prone to failure. That is how I have ended up with three. p.s This one has the same problem https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-ZS-...518195?hash=item2af41316f3:g:yxQAAOSwTtZfgmAL The remote is identical to ones for my units.
I didn't check the link but it looks like encompass might still have NOS lasers but it's hit or miss with those guys. They are an official Sony Parts Distributor in the USA. I did find a photo listing the new sell price as $299.00 USD, expensive but mid-level at best and it doesn't have the remote which looks like does a lot of the "programming."
If you love the microcassette recorders, this is a must have, the Sony MX-10L Mixer for your little Sony M-1000 Stereo Microcassette, or if your lucky the Sony M-1000B (Birding LiveLand Model). The "B" Model is super-rare and the only difference is it has a brown color tone. When cassettes were popular, recording sounds was a ton of fun and you'd spend hours doing it, this unit lets you have three mics for getting the perfect sound. These only pop-up every few years so get it while you can. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-Micro...696475?hash=item263f98335b:g:814AAOSwKAhfAJkT
I've never seen this one before, the Craig J700 Soundalong NOS. Craig was an early boombox seller and had a lot of bigger mono tape decks. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-19...281358?hash=item4dab96fece:g:HtQAAOSwogZesJvB
I think you can do everything from the front panel that you can do from the remote. In fact a few things, like setting the clock, have to be done from the front panel. I did change the laser for an after market replacement in one that had died completely but it was a difficult job and it wasn't 100% (more like 50% only playing some discs with audible distortion) once I finished. I didn't set the laser current, as detailed in the service manual, which would be very difficult to do when reassembled. If I ever revisit it I will drill a hole in the bottom of the slide down CD mechanism so I can access the trimmer without major disassembly.
AIWA Demo Cassette, these came with your boombox but I'm not sure which box this went to or if they even had specific boomers or just grabbed a cassette out of a box. There's several different version available. https://www.ebay.com/i/164297980243?ul_noapp=true
Anybody need 12 Sony CFS-3000's? Here's a local sale for me, a little under $20 a unit ($200.00 USD). I wonder if they are all different, they seem to have different configurations. https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/ele/d/minneapolis-12-sony-cfs-3000-transound/7212093126.html
I wonder if the person who bought them was like my late Father who would buy another copy of a train set if they changed the colour of a sticker on a wagon.
That post sent me down a Sony ZS series Rabbit Hole. Sony ZS70 which looks to be a top of the range JDM only boombox https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Boombox-...448007?hash=item4b6922fd87:g:mSYAAOSwU09eYmxS One for the minidisc fans although it doesn't take batteries so is more of a bookcase stereo https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SONY-ZS-...464682?hash=item3daacb71aa:g:mDQAAOSwlJhfV4Cc This ZS-X3CP is what happened when Sony decided to go beyond the egg. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-CD-...389816?hash=item23e19369b8:g:nekAAOSwL1BfeJk1 No cassette but it takes batteries and will play MP3 CDRs. Interestingly the large black piece with the Sony logo is the handle so if you carried it the speakers would be blasting upwards at you. I could fill the rest of the page with interesting ZS range devices like this ZS-2000, another bookshelf system The Sony ZS range is still going but isn't as interesting as it was twenty years ago
Speaking of demo tapes, this guy makes just the labels for a bunch of different brands, pretty cool stuff! https://www.ebay.com/itm/Labels-for...876678?hash=item1cec05a306:g:7VYAAOSwe~Ze4Qfh