Ok, I'm lazy... But I can't help feeling tired of flipping tapes. I've become quite spoiled by my Nakamichi RX-303 tape deck in the home system.

Anyway, now I'm looking to add an auto-reverse boomer to the collection.

Ideally it would have separate left and right VU's, separate bass & treble controls, be metal cassette capable, and maybe even have a line-in switch (not just line-in for when tape is in record mode).

It doesn't have to be super-loud, but should have decently balanced sound with clean bass at low to medium volume levels. It shouldn't sound mid-heavy or hollow when you turn it up a bit. To give a frame of reference there, I'm thinking along the lines of Sanyo M9990 or Panasonic 5150.

Right now I have a Panasonic RX-F9 mini that has auto-reverse with a head that rotates. Unfortunately, that deck does not work properly and that mechanism seems quite fragile. Plus, I want something a bit bigger anyway(of course ).

My question is: What mid-size to larger box out there meets some of my criteria above, and has the best engineered, most robust, problem-free autoreverse mechanism?

I know, I'm asking alot out of a boombox...

aiwa-cs85
aiwa-cs880 (cs-j88)
sanyo-mr-x5 (mx720,mx820)

jt there may be some at least the jvc rc-880 the toshiba rt-200 i know there are a few i have a panasonic rx-c52 its a 3 piece small size big sound and there are a few more

Sony CFS 9000.
5 band equaliser , auto tape selector
2 X 25 Watt,...........

Most boombox's use the flipper head.
Walkmans use the 4-track head.
I dont know of a box with a 4-track head.

Walkmans dont record,
So you need to use the flipper head to record.
The head has both the play and erase on the flipper.

The wires will break on the flipper heads eventually. So be ready to fix that.


Update:
I did find a Radio Shack box
with 4-track head that records.
Uses 2 erase heads.

Nice...! Thanks guys, that was fast!

Since I don't have any Aiwas in my collection and have wanted one, my initial thoughts are leaning towards a classic looking Aiwa one-piece unit. But, I'm not leaning too heavily yet...

Keep those suggestions coming. I'll start looking into some of these for sure. Thanks again!

quote:

Originally posted by *TPR*:
aiwa-cs85
aiwa-cs880 (cs-j88)
sanyo-mr-x5 (mx720,mx820)

Sorry Jens,The Aiwa CS880 and the CS-J88 do not have auto reverse. Just thought I would clarify that.

yup ! no auto rev on the 880 for sure ! ! !

conion c100f

The little Aiwa CS-R10 has auto reverse. It is a great little box, but it has the flip flop head though.

quote:

CS880 and the CS-J88 do not have auto reverse.

HAHAHAHAHA!

yo yo...not possible to cheat you guys.

It took exactly three hours and 31 minutes....
..............................................

Nevertheless:


What `bout this?

That is the music sensor for the music search function. Not auto reverse. It works in fast forward and rewind..

HAR HAR now I gotcha!

jvc pcw 350C
Jvc rc 880 and a few others i can't think of now!

quote:

Originally posted by Jaredscottfla:
jvc pcw 350C
Jvc rc 880 and a few others i can't think of now!

ck jovie's rxc 43( (also auto reverse have that one too,totally forgot about it!) All very underated performers.

quote:

The little Aiwa CS-R10 has auto reverse. It is a great little box, but it has the flip flop head though.

I'm thinking the flippidy-flip-flop head is pretty much unavoidable at this point...

That Aiwa is the same size as my RX-F9, definitely looking for something bigger. The Toshiba RT-S77 is looking like a pretty good candidate.

you should also look for toshibas

toshiba#-rt6075
toshiba#-rt8550
toshiba#-rt8560
toshiba#-rt9100
all four with needle meters and auto reverse drives.

toshiba#-rt-s77
(led-meters)

do you prefer 1pce or 3pce machines?

Check PM

I'm surprised nobody mentioned my new obsession yet - Sharp WF-939. It doesn't sound very good, but it does have auto-reverse

quote:

Originally posted by vladi123456:
...It doesn't sound very good, but it does have auto-reverse

Spreading the love to other threads!

Ya, but on a serious note - those Sharps seem to be even more rare than M90. I've only maybe seen it once on ebay since 2007

quote:

Originally posted by vladi123456:
Ya, but on a serious note - those Sharps seem to be even more rare than M90. I've only maybe seen it once on ebay since 2007

And that one you saw in very early '07 now resides in 'Bama!

Not for long though - you know you want to sell it j/k

quote:

do you prefer 1pce or 3pce machines?

It ultimately boils down to sound quality. But, if I had to pick between two relatively equal sounding boxes where one's a 1-piece and the other is a 3-piece, I'd likely go for the 1 piece.

RX-ED90

Not big, but robust and dustproof.
This TEC:



And i agree with enskanker, the Panasonics (egg, wedge,... )

quote:

RX-ED90

Just when I think I have it worked out that I want a Toshiba, Unkle Ed comes along and drops a bomb! Go figure... You just like it because it's got your name in its model number, don't you!??

Did you know that original retail price of that bad-boy was $550!!! For that price, Panasonic was surely proud of their product.

But, dare I say that Panny cobra-top, trans-am front-end, wedge-of-a-box is actually quite an interesting thought. I did some searching online and apparently it has two A/R decks and the ability to play CDs as well. As prone as A/R decks are to failure, at least this model may actually still have parts available in case of repair needs, although I kinda doubt it.

This may turn out be the perfect "I don't want to put any of my classics at risk on a road trip and it even plays my wife's CDs" box.

And if I gift it to her instead of for my collection, I may actually get away with this without having to rationalize or justify otherwise. Hmmmm.... sneaky plan ahead!

Anyone ever given their wife a boombox for Valentine's Day? (seriously kidding there!)

Thanks agian for all the info from all of you, I'm googling and searching the site for info and pics like a madman.

UE-90

quote:

Originally posted by enskanker:
UE-90

Makes me want to go drive fast....

Thats a nice one Ed..

quote:

Originally posted by transwave5000:
Most boombox's use the flipper head.
Walkmans use the 4-track head.
I dont know of a box with a 4-track head...

Many of the later twin-deck Hitachi 3Ds had auto-reverse on the playback only deck. These have a 4 track head...

One more example:
Panasonic RX-ED77!
I love this "wedge", because it eats all CD´s (also the self-burned) and owns 2 fully electronic autoreverser decks!
It´s my modern times favourite

Autoreverse selections from my collection that haven't been mentioned:

National RX-C52 - Lovely 3 piece of excellent design
Sharp QT-70 - Fully featured maxi-mini
ESC JC2000 - the big gun

That's a nice range right there.



Rock On.

Just seen, this big PHILIPS owns one autoreverser-deck too.

Don't forget the Kaboom! Auto reverse tape deck.

quote:

Originally posted by JT:
It doesn't have to be super-loud, but should have decently balanced sound with clean bass at low to medium volume levels. It shouldn't sound mid-heavy or hollow when you turn it up a bit. To give a frame of reference there, I'm thinking along the lines of Sanyo M9990 or Panasonic 5150.

Hmm, I had a 5150, and it had next to zero bass IMO.

Panasonic RX-5235 has an auto-reverse deck.

quote:

Originally posted by teamstress:
Don't forget the Kaboom! Auto reverse tape deck.

Okay, so I just need to fix the deck on my kaboom!

Now all I need is that blasted service manual!