Originally posted by: BOOMBOXTAFF I know you guys are not big fans of these boxes, but for me some of them hold memories of the 80's. I knew a few people who had them, the 3D7, 3D8 and 3D80 - the 3D8 in particular as i worked in a factory from 88-90 and the 3D8 was the box we listened to everyday in work, whether a Cassette or Radio. I want to collect the whole series and have a way to go yet, but trying to get mint examples and every function on the box working. I am also trying to get them all boxed with instructions which is going to be difficult. I've only been collecting since May 2015, and the first box i got was the 3D80. I was lucky to buy Northerner's 3d7 - (Thank You Simon). Boxed with instructions and like new, and that really started me off wanting to get them all boxed. I have since managed to get some more.... anyway this is what i have so far. I wanted to take a group shot but was afraid it might rain today as there was cloud above so didn't want to take the risk. Will do that another day. Might have a few more by then hopefully. Finally got some group shots and now have a NOS CX-W400 Starting with the 3D7 This is the 1st 3D that Hitachi Made. It wasn't called a 3D7 but a TRK 7620 to start with and later became the 3D7. The quality build is excellent on this unit and has a good sound. Not as powerful as the 3D8, 3D80 or 3D88, but the 5 band graphic equalizer gives you great control over the sound, and to my ears has a great sound for what it is. There is also a Mark II version of this box, exactly the same but upgraded graphics and badged mark II 3D8 This was the next Big Beast 3D after the 3D7, it's more powerful than the 3D7 and has a twin deck. The downside is it only has a 3 band graphic equalizer. To my ears comparing this to the 3D80, is more harsh on the top end. bass is the same really, although gives the impression of it being slightly bassier than the 3D80 due to Single woofer bouncing hard. Even though the 3D80 had Double woofers of the same size the bass is not any more powerful due to the amp chips only running half the power to each one, as where all the power goes to the single woofer of the 3D8 hence why it bounces more. Some of the writing on the front of these boxes are white, i have a white printed front one too. I think the white printed ones were slightly earlier and the gold ones were later
3D5 - Boxed but no instruction manual, anyone have one spare? Quite a small box but good sound for what it is, the woofers are small in this, and runs out of puff after a certain level. Good build quality though like all the earlier 3D models and has 5 band graphic equalizer. There are 2 versions of this, one comes with standard tuner , but this one pictured has the preset radio station feature as well 3D80 - need instruction manual for this, anyone? I have 2 of these .. bought this one from Allan Wales on here and it is like New. This has twin woofers, and to my ears a nicer top end than the 3D8. Also the bass is more refined as the woofers don't pump as hard as the one in the 3D8, this is my personal favourite in terms of styling and how it sounds. 3D88 - Need Instruction Manual Virtually identical to the 3d80 in how it sounds, just a restyled 3D80, all features are the same but no tape counter like on the 3D80 and has reverse tape mechanism which the 3D80 doesn't have.
3D40 One of the later 3D's, think this is probably early 90's. Sound is ok, but by this time the quality from Hitachi had gone down. Feels and looks cheaper than earlier models and sound is not as good. 3D30 This is one of Hitachi's worst sounding boxes. they sold a lot of this model and one on ebay almost every week. Not a patch on the earlier ones and the woofer is pretty poor. 3d70 Similar to the 3D7 in power.I think was the new model of the 3D7. Personally i like the styling of this box, it looks better in the plastic than it ever does in pictures. The sound is pretty good and also well made. Has the option to preset radio station which is a nice feature. 5 band graphic on this one too. 3D2 and 3D9 The 3D2 is the smallest Hitachi 3D not a bad sound for the size, it is very small and so the woofer doesn't give a lot of thump, but then for a box this size expected. I think it's a cute looking radio. The 3D9 IMO is a lovely looking box, one of the nicest 3D's, good sound but lacking in bass compared to the 3d7, 8 and 80. I have also seen a mark 2 version of this box and is badged 3D 9 mark II and has upgraded graphics. CX W 700 and CX W 750 More early 90's boxes. These are exactly the same except analogue and digital tuners. Both are CD and twin Cassette. These are good sounding, but the bass falls apart when cranked up loud. Surprisingly the woofer is tiny inside. I took another one i had apart, and it is really weedy compared to the ones in the 3d7, 8 , 80 and 88. I'm surprised it sound as good as it does considering. A lot of people think they are ugly, but i like them. CX W 750 CX W700
3D52 and CX 200 Again, 90's models. they sound ok and are no frills. Not a patch as good the early hitachi's but still better than the 3D30. They are not bad for what they are. The Cd player on the CX 200 has a pretty good sound for what it is. 3d52 CX 200 CX W500 Well I have now added another Hitachi to my collection. Again this is a 90's box with CD twin cassette and fully motorised volume control from the remote. Sound on this is OK. It's quite a big box, but the middle woofers are not as big as the ones in the earlier models, 3D80 etc. The sounds is not as good either. Been made with cheaper speakers, but it's not terrible. Has 3 band graphic equalizer. Last up 3D90 and CX w800 - i call these my duds as they are not 100% working like all the above. The 3D bass slider is not working on 3D90 , so I'm not getting the max bass out of it although everything works otherwise. This would have the same output as the cx 700 and 750, it just doesn't have the CD player but it has line in. The CX W800 ... CD player skips quite a bit and only one cassette deck is working although it's only a belt I think .... So the hunt continues for a fully working one. The CX W 800 is one of the best sounding of the 3D and one of the most powerful, it's similar to the 3D8 in power, but I think slightly more powerful and better sounding IMO and the 5 band graphic equalizer helps in that department too. these came out in 1986 and would have been one of the best portable CD player in price range at the time. Made in Japan as well.
No one has mentioned the Hitachi TRK 3D50, I'm watching one on ebay, the Philips D8304 has gone tits-up, I'll send it in for repair some time but I don't know if it can be repaired, cassette deck B (record) doesn't work, deck A chewed a tape up recently and two radio bands are out of action - LW and SW, worth fixing or bin it? It totally pisses me off actually because I bought a strap for this particular model off someone in here back in August so I'll be looking for another one THAT ALL WORKS! I've given up on CD ghetto blasters after two packed up (Hitachi CX-W700 and W800), I'll make sure I get double tape ones with AUX input for CD walkman/DAB pocket radio/laptop.
Don't bin it especially if you want to buy another. Even if you break it up for spares someone might be after a knob, door or similar. I have a Hitachi TRK 3D50E and when I got it was pleasantly surprised by the sound as physically it is quite lightweight. Noticeably better than the 3D30E I had some time ago.
Ok, I'll give it to a charity shop if it can't be fixed - I'm going to book it in for repair first, see if it can be brought back from the 'dead'. half the radio works and one cassette deck (don't suppose it'll chew up every tape). My ex used to advise me to wind tapes taut before playing to stop them getting chewed, I must've forgotten to do this, managed to get another copy on eBay so I'm good. I had a 3D50 back in the 90s and it sounded fine, my dad ended up with that when someone fixed my video machine and I gave it to them for doing it as I had no money, my dad ended up paying £80 for it, I'd given it to this bloke in lieu of £40, Dad's dead now so I don't know where the machine ended up, probably in a charity or second hand shop. In the summer when my Hitachi 3D8 packed up I just put it on the front of the yard and it soon went. My motto is "if it goes wrong it goes", in July my Sony Xperia Z Ultra developed a problem I couldn't fix by resetting it several times so I flogged it as faulty, still got a ton for it on eBay, I've only just bought another phone. I never got any feedback for the Xperia Z so I'll never know if they got it let alone fixed it.
I really should visit s2g more often. I now have to get photos of mine before this guy beats me to it!!
Hey man welcome back! You should definately get some pics up, I dont remember ever seeing pictures of your full collection, we'd certainly like to tho.
Well I've only got one that works properly at the moment and even that's got a minor problem which doesn't affect normal play, one of the phono inputs is buggered but I use the mic input so no bov bruv. This is a Sharp Twincam WQ T484E-> <- and this one I've just bought, the Hitachi TRK 3D50E I also have a Philips D8304 but that's got a lot of problems, cassette deck B doesn't work and the LW and SW bands give no sound and deck A chewed up a tape last Saturday but I replaced that, hopefully it won't chew up another -> Ok?
Don't know why that is, when I just clicked on them they showed, just didn't swell in size which I find odd but I didn't get an error. There doesn't seem to be a 'Help' page in here.
What I can't work out is have Hitachi ghetto blasters got a bad reputation for tape play?, I just received the machine pictured in my last message, a TRK 3D50, both decks have issues with fast winding, one has issues with playing tapes at varying speed so it's all uppy-downy like a siren, though it's not just ghetto blasters, it seems everything I buy goes wrong in five minutes so time to kill myself on NYE, I've been saying all year that this is my last year on Earth if I have any say in it, it was my new year's resolution - to die in 2016. If I don't I certainly won't be collecting ghetto blasters if none of them are going to work, I've got one good one out of three so far, the Sharp WQ-T484E and I'd be very optimistic to say that'll last a year. On the yellow Philips tape deck B doesn't work and LW and SW don't work, I'll see if I can get it and the Hitachi fixed but repair people are too quick to write things off, "Sorry, this can't be repaired" - BULLSHIT!, people use the word 'Can't' like it's their favourite word - they really mean they can't be bothered to try or they just like being difficult and they won't help, some shopkeepers are like that too. When I put a Hitachi CX-W700 and -W800 in for repair earlier this year the man told me he couldn't get a replacement for the laser, he'd searched all over so I got rid of both, I just left them on the yard near the pavement, they were gone that day, good luck to the person(s) who took them!, did the same with the TRK 3D8E in about Aug/Sept - if it goes wrong it goes, my life is next, that's never gone right for 40 years and I'm surprised I've put up with it this long, should've killed myself at 18.
Don't do that John. If you are serious call 116 123. What you have to remember about these Boomboxes is that most of them are 20 or 30 years old and were designed to last for a five year extended warantee. My own TRK 3D50E needs new belts and has been waiting for me to get around to buying them and fitting them. It still sounds great on the radio or line input though. As you will note from some of the posts here many people get great satisfaction in taking these old Boomboxes and Walkmans and restoring them to their formar glory so why not have a go yourself. I remember you managed to swap the doors on the Philips so you have made a start already. Even if you don't succeed in fixing a box treat it as a learning experience. In my early teens I learnt a lot about electronics by buying old radios at Jumble sales and then taking them apart. If it is any consolation modern stuff like MP3 players aren't any better. In the past month I have had two six year old Sony MP3 players fail. One of them which I bought new had actually been lost for the last five years after only being used for tens of hours. When I found it the battery had swollen up to the point where it had split the case and cracked the display, so it is a complete write off. At the end of the day life is far more important than a working Boombox. If you want something that you know will give a few years service treat yourself to one of these http://www.argos.co.uk/product/5740...vc:c|adp:1o1&gclid=CPyntLKFidECFQsTGwodO-ABIQ and an extended warrantee
Well actually the TRK 3D50E plays most tapes normally but it won't fast wind in either direction or is pretty stubborn, would that be a gear or belt issue?, yes, the radio and AUX input are fine, I've got my CD/DAB alarm clock connected to it with a 3.5mm jack to 2 phonos lead so I can listen to CDs or mostly BBC6Music, pity Planet Rock isn't available on DAB in my area any more . I've got no clue about fixing these things and I've taken a Hitachi box apart before and it was even worse (no sound) when I reassembled it so I don't dare try it again, that was the CX-W8OOE of which the CD player had stopped working and the laser unit couldn't be replaced so with it thankfully being a dry day I put it on the yard near the pavement and it was gone before dark, good luck to whoever took it! I'll wait till new year before I try to get the Hitachi and Philips done as the repair man wants 20 quid upfront to look at it, better than a shop like Hughes or Currys I suppose, they'd want an arm and a leg! The Sharp's L/H phono socket is busted but that's no biggie as I use the external mic input to run things through in tape mode otherwise it's the best working unit I've got. Can cassette motors be replaced if need be?, the Philips one might need this though again it might just be belts/gears as I can hear the motor of the one that doesn't move, the radio side of things needs attention as LW picks up nothing (should at least get Radio 4) and SW is problematical so basically I've got one cassette deck and two (three if I'm lucky) wave bands on the Philips.
It is difficult to say without looking into the box. However, belts do seem to be the most common problem on these old boxes. On my Hitachi they are very stretched meaning one of the two decks doesn't work. From what I recall the Hitachi isn't that difficult to get into, with everything being nicely laid out in the top panel. Regarding repairs I think you need to find an enthusiast if your not doing them yourself. Unfortunately I don't seem to have time these days to even do my own stuff Most of it is put aside for when I retire. At the works Christmas lunch I was sat next to a former colleague who retired two years ago. He said his backlog is now down to ten years.
On Watchdog on Wednesday night they were talking about a 'Fix It' Club where they fix household electrics including radios, don't know where the nearest one of those to Bury St Edmunds is, knowing my luck there's nothing closer than Birmingham, Notts or Yorkshire, even Cambridge would be ok, 65min bus ride to Drummer Street then any connection.
Have you any idea why a boombox would make computer noises all the time it is switched on and can it be stopped without paying a mint for a repair?, my Hitachi 3D88 does this and can be heard over the radio or cassette (and probably anything I run through it if I remember rightly), I used to run the CD/DAB alarm clock through it to play CDs or DAB radio, don't know if that's what's caused the problem, the other Hitachi or the other machines don't do it. The Sharp WQ-T484E crackles through the speakers on all modes, can this be stopped without paying a mint for a repair?
What does a ( computer noise ) sound like? + I repair these radios all the time - follow me here = www.youtube.com/user/Cassette2Go/videos
Computer noises like bleeping and continuous (possibly) downloading sounds, have you never phoned a company and got a continuous horrible noise instead of ringing?, I can't describe it to you in words Big problem, I'm not in the USA, I'm in the UK
