While I'd say Sony was much better with Walkmans, they also have a ton of boomboxes. They were not afraid to try new configurations and had some really nice models, pushing the cutting edge of design. There is a series so rare, it's not even on the wikiboombox site. Yes it's a true boombox, cassette, radio, battery and portable from 1980. I'm not sure of the weight but it has to be in the top three for Sony. Jorge is not going to like it because it is a three-piece box but it's one of the first and I don't think most people could carry it around with one hand. Point to point wiring, discrete components, and one of the hardest units to disassemble, this was a powerhouse that can easily go head to head with the FH Series that followed. Does anybody besides HI FI Tom have one of these?
The Sony XF Series came out in 1981, while the internal components are just a bit larger than the Marantz 53 System, the XF blows it away with it's cast iron carrying case. Advertised as "our top of the line" the ad doesn't state if that's for the portables or for home stereos since the ad also mentions "The first Sony home stereo to leave home." This unit is heavy, one of the heaviest, the case is solid metal, the speakers are also solid metal, this includes the front face trims.
"The fanciest portable sound gear ever produced" priced right at $1,495.00 USD, and remember this is 1981
Yeah I've seen those a few times on Ebay. They got $100-300 tops. They're cool from a build standpoint, but I don't think most collectors seem to care much about them. The styling is rather conservative, and the speakers don't seem to attach in the normal way. Here are the coolest Sonys in my opinion: http://wikiboombox.com/tiki-index.php?page=Sony+ZS-8+Sonahawk http://wikiboombox.com/tiki-index.php?page=Sony+ICF-6800W http://wikiboombox.com/tiki-index.php?page=Sony+CFS-F40 http://wikiboombox.com/tiki-index.php?page=Sony+CFS-F70
Here is a SONAHAWK for sale https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-ZS-8/273783545971?hash=item3fbec56073:g:34MAAOSwasZcnezj Translation Sony ZS-8 is in excellent condition, fully functional, the remote is native, all functions work, the stand is controlled separately from the remote, Japan 100V
Those are all great models and the CFS-70 looks like it might have some design cues and the same speakers without the tweeter. One of the problems with the XF Series is that everything was sold a la carte, meaning you could just have the base unit, you could also add the speakers and of course, one of the most wanted, but rare piece, the handle was also an option. The handle clips into the top silver mounting points, joining the main body (that has a built in handle) to the speakers. Taking the unit apart is an exercise in precision and eye strain, I had to buy a service manual, not to fix a faulty component, but to take it apart! The back side is solid metal with allen head screws and the largest heat sink ever on a boombox. The internal units are wired to a common board with clips. There's a very large rechargeable battery inside and some mystery metal clad boxes on the bottom. I was unable to get that section to slide out, the tolerances on this are pretty close and I didn't want to force anything. While the components aren't meant to be used outside of the main unit, as far as I can tell, their cases are stamped polished metal. The surface is so nice that my work light was reflecting off of it which was very distracting. The high quality is everywhere, reminding me of some 60's tube gear where you can tell craftsman assembled each piece with care. Some of the screws even looked like they were oriented the same direction similar to a concours automobile. The unit is advertised at 50 watts, there's also other units, the Sony XF-3000 pushing 15 watts, the XF-2000 (I think it's identical to the XF-3000 but doesn't have AM radio), and the XF-300 that has an EQ instead of a radio. The XF-5000 seems to be only in black and the lower models in silver.
SONY CFS-F70 is on of deffo. A little ultra heavy top notch metal gem from 1981, QUITE expensive back in the day, JDM only unfortunatelly.
Sony often used metal construction, it was something they believed in, making the chassis rigid to eliminate resonance. Even the little CFS-F10 mini had metal speaker gaskets and a solid metal handle. http://wikiboombox.com/tiki-index.php?page=Sony+CFS-10
Price-wise, this was the top, the base unit alone is close to $2000.00 USD but you can add the speakers or use your own. If you buy the matching speakers, it looks like they're $500.00 USD for two and don't forget the battery, I can't tell if it's included but that is around $90.00 USD.
The idea of someone taking a $1500 boombox to college amused me, but i suppose someone like the Alfa Romeo driving star of "The Graduate" might have done. Interesting to see the picture of the flat screen Sinclair TV in the magazine article. The one that went into mass production was significantly smaller. However it used primary lithium batteries developed by Polaroid, leading to a running cost of about £1 an hour. It was also so late to market that the LCD pocket TV was obviously the future by the time it came out.
That would be one of these then! The battery is obviously dead but the unit still works, sadly I cannot pick anything up on it now as it's analogue and the UK is digital only now. I'm totally loving the Sony units though, will be on the hunt for one now!
The unit seems to be aimed for a hard life, I've seen some of the XF-3000's that are pretty roached out even with the metal enclosure. They have a car antenna female jack on the back, in addition to the extra thick, long internal antenna. I think the market was boats, busses and dorm rooms even with the TOTL pricing. The units with radio are all I've seen, It would be nice to track down the EQ. There is an XF-3000 on Ebay US right now, it's been there for several weeks. https://www.ebay.com/itm/SONY-XF-30...879668fbe:g:8RwAAOSww35ciZxo&autorefresh=true
The service manuals say the XF-3000 has 2x15W, while the XF-5000 has 2x40W. That's quite a substantial bump up for the black one. And that's a true FTC measurement, not "PMPO" nonsense.
I just realised that with the slot loading cassette etc the XF series look as if Sony simply took some car audio units and shoved them in a carrying box. I wonder if someone could identify the car units although they might have been made for some Japanese Limosine. I agree that the FH7 looks better as it was obviously designed as a portable. LupoGTIboy. Yes that was the Sinclair I was thinking of. I have one too and a non working one in silver. I was thinking of the possibilities nowadays of fitting a rechargeable battery, but realise it would be a bit pointless, since as you point out all you can pick up are devices like Home Pong or maybe a Sky box.
Since the XF Series was first from 1981, it might get extra points over the FH Series. I've got an FH-100W, so far the only FH I've got, and I have to guess it's a few notches higher than the FH-7 but the red is sooo good looking, I don't know if the 100w came in red. For the tv guys, get a Blonder Tongue Broadcasting unit, if you haven't seen my thread, you can see the unit with a Roku that gives me all of the channels on my little tvs. This guy has a boatload for cheap, make sure it's the right one for your application. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blonder-...688955?hash=item1a7ad1557b:g:~VIAAOSw8KpcwzOX Longman, I actually dug this up and was surprised to see this looks like the same unit, including the same mounting holes.
...and I just found some more, it looks like this was going to be a multipurpose system, I wonder if the speakers are in metal enclosures.
the sony f40 is the rarest one i have ..the red sony fh7 comes to mind or the sony fh909 with it's motorised tape draw is very unique
