Does anybody have one of these Sony M-5? It's a very nice looking unit even though it's mono, It would look good up on the shelf. I can't tell if it's beefy or more low end, I feel like that Sony Star on the box indicates lower end products.
Classic! These are so good they also have a toy version. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Transforme...573101?hash=item1a5d2ff2ad:g:tKAAAOSwoIJbjg4S
Not stereo but maybe the only one with auto-reverse, the Sony M-950 https://www.ebay.com/itm/SONY-AUTO-...032182?hash=item1a46168af6:g:HhUAAOSwaTFamLmx
This is cool for the repair guys. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1pcs-NEW-S...aaf0380b7:g:inQAAOSw3KFWg-6z&autorefresh=true
Not so fast, Mister X!... I personally own a Radio Shack model that does auto-reverse, and employs piano-key operation: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fp%2F1845912830%3Fiid%3D232932836982 https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/202422899703 (Said unit is currently in storage) Also, don't forget offerings from Olympus: https://www.amazon.com/Olympus-Pearlcorder-Reverse-Cassette-Recorder/dp/B00CNVFQM6
I thought it must be more available but I usually hang out with the older units nickelindimer. It does make sense to have the feature.
It sure does... especially when you loan one to an old lady who wants to record their memoirs, like I have. God speed, Flo.
One of the reasons I love microcassette players is the extremely small units were built with a lot of precision in the early years and just ooze coolness even though the target market was the blasé executive. This one is an oddball for most of the forum and might not get the same respect as the stereo models but the Olympus Pearlcorder R90S deserves attention not only for it's very basic, yet second-look worthy design, but also the fact that attachments can be added on to make this a killer personal audio entertainment system. I've found zero information on this unit but it's still one of my favorites, the Olympus R90S I have came with a detachable Olympus RA1 AM Tuner. While plastic-bodied it's still a very heavy substantial unit and besides it's great looks it might fall under the radar for most tape heads. The AM radio did it for me, back when designers and engineers did weird, wacky things to make an impression, an AM radio on this unit was perfect. The good news is this isn't a gimmick, the tuner is really good, it's pulling in stations from hundreds of miles away, maybe it's the storm tonight but there's about 10X the normal AM stations out there.
My mule brought over this one fresh from Japan, the Sanyo WMR-CM. While all the writing and tags are in Japanese, the FM dial has full bandwidth which is lucky since I'm listening to the right side right now. The radio works great and it actually has some punchy bass to it. A very common problem with these units is the missing panel with labels above the cassette buttons. Oh well, I'll have to get some thin metal and cut it to size and label it sometime in the future. This one is a little bit crusty but it should clean up nicely and these are pretty substantial boxes surprisingly on the heavy side.
I was wondering what "MINERVA" meant, now I know.....These microcassette boxes are so cool, I hope walkgirl is still enjoying this awesome find. http://www.stereo2go.com/topic/mini-boomboxes.htm
the Minerva is an aka of the Grundig MRR-100: Minerva was the austrian version of Grundig. the MKS were also made mono. as far as i'm concerned, they made the stereo-model only in silver, the Grundig was available in black as well (my mono is a black one). ...and i know for sure that ao got a Minerva, too ;-)
My microboomboxes still work!, only the Heru has belt issues I must take a fresh picture soon and post it
Great to see this thread still alive and well. Thanks mainly to Mister-X. You seroulsy have to have the world's premiere collection of micro players. I owned the M-950 for a day or two before I shipped it off to DocP about 12 years ago and I remember thinking that it must represent the final roll of the dice for the formatt, well, for Sony at least. It was around this time when digital media players were beggining to bite into the segment. But sheesh, what a jewel ot was. Pretty sure it wasn't cheap. I also have that Minerva on my rather small shelf of boomboxes. I'd throw it away if it weren't a gift from our dear friend Autoreverser. Hope he doesn't read this. And look, we even have Walkgirl today. Or as we like to call her, great aunt walkman. Anyway, keep up the excellent work.
Thanks AO! If it wasn't for previous forum members posting their equipment, I wouldn't know this equipment existed. The threads here (on the forum reader) and on Tapeheads are fascinating and generate a ton of interest. I've been adding to the collection and will add some more soon. I just got home from a long trip and found over 12" of new snow that I have to move.
Usually Canuck Audio Mart is dismal for boomboxes. One huge exception is the time I snapped up this bizarre Aiwa CS-W7E Compact / Micro Stereo Radio Cassette Recorder Boombox less than a day after it was posted by a seller who agreed to ship. This was such a screaming deal that most reading this would pop on it immediately like I did, despite having no idea this model existed or even what a microcassette / micro cassette was. Even though the decks don't work (belt melt) and the handle is wonky, I am thrilled by the weight, design, build quality and above all sound range/clarity and LED Level Meter light show this Japanese bad boy delivers from Aux In & radio. It is heavier and cranks even louder than you can imagine. A top contender for the rarest & most unique ghettoblaster in my collection. I have Teac reel to reel cassettes but how cool would a matching microcassette / micro cassette be in a reel to reel design?
That's the grail of the dual size decks Weltron Clairtone Braun, nice grab. I followed your school of thought for finding units around here and was a little too successful and had to keep myself from looking too much. The handle might be ABS or PVC or something similar with a softening point around 130 degrees F. You might be able to rig up a wooden jig and place the handle in the oven and slowly work up to the temperature and it might reform itself, similar to how we used to try to flatten LPs we left out in the car. That turntable looks pretty cool, feel free to post photos in the sections below, it looks like it might say Braun? Some of their designs are legendary and still look beautiful today.
I just found this photo from a four year old ebay listing, they were only selling one unit but they included this group shot. There's lots of nice units on here, both stereo and mono and the little reel to reels are amazing.
Some of my Sanyo's, the M5850F Microcassette Player and AM/FM Radio. I lusted after this one after finding the photos I previously posted and finally found one for sale. While not stereo, this is a quality unit and very heavy for it's size, very similar to the slightly larger mini-mono boxes from Sanyo, it's very elegant but stately for it's tiny size. The Sanyo M5830 seems to be it's little brother, very similar features but slightly lighter and less detailed but a very rare and cool unit if you like radio equipped microcassette players. Both of these units are mono, but they I still like them and they really pull in the stations great, I'm actually surprised at how good the FM tuner is.
Another mono with radio microcassette, the Toshiba RT-M33 is one of these super cool radio versions. I don't look for mono microcassettes unless they have a radio because I find these really neat, and snapped this one up when I found it. While it has a lot of plastic, the build quality is still top notch. This is a very nice looking unit with it's blue trim and chrome buttons, another oddball to add to the collection.
