Though now out of production,this Philips AZ2555 is a real performer.This one was sitting unused on a woman's desk at a client location on my route.After seeing one posted on Ebay by Skillphil (with a rave about some serious bass),I decided to ask the lady if she would consider selling it."See me next week.I'll think on it",she replied.After several weeks missing her,I finally caught up with her in the office at my normal delivery time."Have you thought about getting rid of the radio?",I asked.After a few seconds of thought,she replied "Sure,why not?" with a smile.It was obvious to me I had caught her off guard.I don't think she had given it any thought over the past few weeks."How much?",I asked in a rather straight forward manner."Oh,I don't know",she said sounding rather clueless."30 or 40?",she offered.I flipped through my wallet with a pained look on my face."I was thinking...20?",I finally responded with an inquisitive look on my face."O.K.",she said smiling again.Needless to say,I was pretty excited inside!That's really all I was ever wanting to spend to be honest.Here is my new blaster.If it had solar panels,it would look a bit like Soyuz:
It appears to be brand new and rarely,if ever,used.Though I'm not a fan of most of the newer styles,I've always thought this one to be a unique design.Particularly cool is it's functioning needle style meter which will respond to the pulsing of the music.Though it appears to have no practical use (I don't think it really measures anything),it's still a V.U. style gauge!
I've found it to be quite a lot of boomer for the money,actually.It's very loud!The Game Port feature provides a trio of 3 RCA inputs on the front of the unit (1 RCA left channel input,1 RCA right channel input,and one labeled "video in").If you ignore the video jack,the other two work like your typical old school "line-in".Just select "Game Port" in the menus and your good to go!
Though its 2 main drivers are fairly small,they are deeply ported.The assisting passive driver labeled "woox" functions all the time even without pressing the "woox" button.The button does give it some extra kick when engaged.When listening to techno,dance music,etc.,this is only beneficial with no apparent downside.However,when listening to music with vocals,the extra emphasis will color the mids changing the sounds character in an unwelcome way.I rarely ever use this button.It's really unnecessary.Skillphil was right.This unit really kicks some bass!
The most pleasing surprise to me is the 3 band EQ feature.I require lots of highs from a boombox.Sound presets never adequately do this for me.Neither do most post '80s boomboxes.Luckily,its possible to dial in a lot by running the mids up to "+3" and the highs to their maximum of "+5".This results in a nicely bright sound bringing forward guitars the way I like them to sound.Though many old school boxes are better at this,I am very surprised at the ability to get good presence of highs from a modern box,especially one with only 2 active full range drivers.
If you have a chance,I recommend checking this one out if you don't mind its looks.It's too bad its discontinued,but you should be able to find one cheap from a thrifty.Otherwise even if you pay a bit,it's a box that would be well worth the price!
This is pretty cool. I really like some of the modern and futuristic designs that have come out lately.
$20- a great deal!
That's a great price for a Philips boombox.
quote:
I flipped through my wallet with a pained look on my face.
That's a classic line
. Interesting box. I like the gauge pods on it too. Kinda reminds me of my Lucy's gauge pods.
el rojo grande-Though very unconventional looking for a boombox purist,I agree.It's nicely done.It's quite solidly built.Actually,my research shows this box to have cost around $90.00 when new.Given its loudness and surprising bass I think this was a very good value.I have to wonder what people would have thought of it back in the '80s.Of course the CD on the top would have been a cassette if this had been available during that time.Judging from its sound,unique looks,and build I feel it would be considered a classic today if it had been produced back then.This thing is not junk.
A.A. Fussy-Free would have been better
However I asked if she would "consider selling it" which isn't exactly the best way to get something for free.I got the feeling she didn't have the least bit of interest in it anymore-if she ever did.Though I've gotten boxes donated to me before,I think it better to have given her something for it.It really is like new.I like this box a lot!
Master Z-It has a handle on each end.Oddly enough the handles feel like the cheapest things on this box.They are fastened to the ends of it by tiny screws.Whenever I pick the box up,I have this fear that the handles might snap off at the screws.Of course they don't creak and feel firm enough.However I could easily envision seeing one of these at a thriftstore with broken handles.Heavier weight handles with more robust mountings would more match the overall solid feel of this blaster.
THAFUZZ-I've actually never been much of a negotiator but I'm learning.There's a guy at another account of mine with a pristine old mid '80s 3-piece Sharp I was wanting to get.I asked if he would sell it.He said he never uses it anymore and that he would think about it.When we were able to talk weeks later,his attitude had changed totally.Now he sneers at me and will not give me the time of day.I'm still scratching my head trying to figure it out whats going on with him.Of course it really doesn't matter to be honest.There's just some people who you can't deal with.I really suspect he has some mental health issues going on
.Too bad he's not enjoying his old Sharp
.
i owned one of these from new when i was a teenager did have a good sound and it took a good thrashing every day for 2 years nothing broke, worst thing i done was selling it to buy some cd decks think i got 40 quid for mine to, they were 69 pound when i bought mine from currys they were selling them off (end of line).
just remembered i did have something go wrong the woox passive speaker started to rattle bad so i took the speaker to a shop that built guitar amp speakers at first they just laughed but then they agreed to fix it, at first couldnt find anything wrong until they put it on a jig and ran a few frequencys near it then they heard the noise, a damper had split near the middle bit of glue and all was well never did it again.
allso there should be a little remote too.
This thing looks like star wars.
Strange design, but love it.
Congrats to this rare one.
Nice score... now I want one LOL
