reading tonights thread by billpc
--he just got a real good panny platinum box --then compared it to a much better box --
and predictably --got a bit discouraged

so--here is the new s2g sanity suggestion :
whenever we acquire the 'next' box ---

test it- admire it - and enjoy it for 24 hours before it must go thru our mandatory TORTURE tests !!! ---
when we put it next to all our bigger/better stuff.

at my place --there is always a big kaboom plugged in --and more than ready to do battle-

and i have a few boxes --which their highs are seriously 'untouchable'

and there is one -- thats so friggen solid - that NOTHING can make it rattle or vibrate !!

so , then --the next day --`the inevitable comparos get performed -- and , of course, unless we just got a major winner --

our new gem --may seem like a big boring 'so what' box --and a waste of time , money and anticipation --like ...'why did we bother to get this one' ?

well -- the answer is -- that if we really enjoyed the box --with no comparos --for the entire first day --
then its a good , worthwhile box to use and keep --even though it will always get wiped out in the 'side-by-sides'
____________________

question --do any of us just KNOW BETTER ??
and never compare some boxes --
and just enjoy them for what they are ??

and never even try to turn the bass/loudness controls up to the pre-explosion levels ??

i have spent sometime this evening with the nice platinum panny.
ok so i can say this with absolutely no shadow of a doubt.
bells and drum cymbals crashes and rides ect sound better on this boombox than other that i have.
i also listened to a bunch of eighties dx7 ladden synthpop tracks tonight once again this box really shine on that.
another thing wich i found interesting is how good female vox sounds on it.
hahah i couldnt get too discouraged with it tho. i mean if you guys knew what i payed you would most likely want to kill me.
i mean i have some excellent large stereos now.
with really nice klipsch speakers and even a set of very very very early epi 100s.
so yeah every boombox i own pales to them.
you really do have to spend time with any boombox in order to appreciate its subtle differences from the others.
all of them have weaknesses and strenghts.
i cant say to many of my boomboxes have been wastes of moola. i mean i never pay very much for them. for me the only ones that are a waste of money are the ones that just get locked in the closet and never used.
when i do real recordings i mean ones where i go into a studio and have someone spending money to produce a product, i like to listen to the results on as many differnt devices as possible.
i mean i am really really picky when it comes to the final result. some of the stuff i have done has been just for fun,but when the chips are down and someone is planning to make money off of what i am doing i need to really listen and make sure things are sitting how they should be.
so yeah this new beasty didnt light up to wow button right aways...
but over the course of a few hours and side by siding it with a bunch of differnt boomboxes and larger stereos.
i now have a reference in my mind as to how it colors the sound .
i remember working with a guy once who listened to only the really really bad car stereo he had.
when it came time for the final master of his album it came back sounding like a really really bad car stereo.
i used to also use some of the boomboxes for their preamps and other weird experimental stuff. sometimes recording a bunch of different parts on each one then triggering them by hand and recording the entire mess through a couple of condensser mics.
then i would sample the sounds and crunch them down into tiny waveforms and do other wierd things with them.
i am done with that now.
i really use them now for listening to recordings.
i am most sure this latest one will be useful to me for that as well.
i mean listening to a master on really expensive studio monitors is never going to give you a idea of what people in the real world are going to hear.
i mean nowadays so much music is just listened to on ipod headphones.
thats changing tho and people are starting to really return to nice two channel devices.
i need a lot of options to be at my disposal.
despite being a hearing impaired musician the one ear i do have that works is extremely critical and well i am very very very fussy about things.
i mean getting it to sound good on as many devices as possible is a challenge.
so yeah i for sure need to listen to them side by side in order to get the idea of what this does better than that and so on.
and after this evenings listen pleasures this new panny is for sure a luxor box in my eyes.

great story, bill --
so then your super duper 707 did not really wipe it out --after all
and you will enjoy/respect it for life

most of the expensive boomboxes. well expensive when they were new all have their weaknesses and strengths.
i mean there always has to be some sacrifices when dealing with a boombox.
i think many of the boombox designers used subtle tricks with harmonic distortion and other phyco acoustic effects to enhance sound.
i mean its kind of like guitar amps. some do certain things better than others. sometimes a cheap crappy one will surprise you.
the higher end boomboxes i think had a lot of thought put into them.
if you look at that 707 there was a alot of thought put into the shape and from those really small speakers they got a very rich and full sound.
that also i think is enhanced with the surround sound feature wich to my ears sounds like a dsp midrange expander.
if you look at the biophonic jvcs they used some kind of effect based on delay really really short time analog delay it would seem to me.
there is so many little things that can happen to sound that can make it sound more musical.
i do feel very lucky to get all of these boomboxes for next to nothing. i dont know why i am that lucky with them. i think part of it is being a musician leaves me with a lot of time during the day to do the hunting. i seldomly take a trip which does not have at least two or three thrift stores along the route.
i go in and if theres nothing there i am out in under two minutes. sometimes i will hit the same stores in the same day.
yes for sure the new panny is going to be in my hands for quite some time now.
i mean boomboxes are worth what someone is willing to pay. for me part of that price is my persistent hunting for them in the wild.
i think that some folks would be surprised at how good condition some of the ones i have are.
i mean i am really picky about the ones i buy now.
if they are really thrasherooed i wont touch them. i dont care what they are. there was a pretty beat m70 in a thrift store a while ago. it still worked i could have parted it out and made some cash from it.
i am not doing this tho for cash. i buy things i can use now. the ones i cant someone else can do with them as they see fit.
its like with that really nice tube reciever i saw today. i could go back tomorow and it could still be there but if its not.
so be it.
allthough.
cross your fingers for me

btw --the surround on the 707 is, IMHO --the ultimate boombox 'holy sh1t' button

and --good luck tomorrow.

well you need to push a sat on a sony fh215r my friend.
that is the ultimate holy stih button for me.
or the disco button on a pioneer disco robo. those are omfg buttons.

Well I'm glad all my egging on of eggs over the years has produced some good appreciation of the egg.

Listening to Deep Breakfast on a Panny Egg is better than the 6 Egg Breakfast at Bob Evans.

I feel that is very good advice Redbenjoe.Actually I don't usually do side by side comparisons for at least several days.Most direct comparisons will end up in one clear winner and one clear loser.After that it's usually difficult to explore the losers attributes (including areas other than sound).It's important to clear your head when using a newly found box.If you enjoy it like this for a while it's always easy to come back to it and get that same experience.The testing is a part of our hobby but not overly important to me.Using them and admiring their functionality and style are really what its all about.For me sound quality is only a part of the experience.Most all of us realize that you shouldn't bother with boomboxes if great sound is the only thing important to you anyway.If that's our only criteria,the boombox would merely be a phase we pass through on our way to finding the "perfect" sound.

Consider that no matter what outstanding box you feel you must get there's always someone selling one.They are wanting the money more than that box you simply can't live without.That this is true even with "blastaficionados" is very telling.Personally,I'd rather have an assortment of boxes with different unique characteristics to use than have only one top performing "grail".In fact if someone told me I could have my most desired box on condition that I not be able to ever have any other box I would decline the offer.I prefer a lot of boomers,big and small.I'm not storing any away in hermetically sealed plastic bags either.I'm using them all for a different experience everyday.The choice depends on my mood and the boomers intended use for that particular day.

I think that a BBX could make you happy in many ways. Nont only power and quality are items to compare.

Always look like a mad when I told some friends of mine about my radios and how good they sound .. they don't believe me, and they are sure that a separates HIFI like a Sansui (even a supercompo series) could outperform easily any BBX launched .. and they are rigth.
That always occur between BBX itself. I can't compare my RX-5120 Panasonic ( with 10% THD at 5+5W power) against my M-70 (with THD lower than 1% at 7.5Wx2)
But I'm happier with the Pana. Not the power or quality .. but it's excellent at the level where this BBX belongs. They was cheaper than the M-70 (and lower overall quality for sure) but still good, power-full, reliable and easy to use.
You will always feel dissapointed while comparing different segment BBX.
To test it, first you need to guees to wich segment the BBX was targeted.
The RX-5120 clearly was a mid level Pana .. I'll compare it against other machines with similar power, features and electronics.

The RS-4300 is only 2300+2300 mW (HAHA) .. I guess that it will faill in almost comparo ...
For me is the one which out perfoms many BBX form higher levels.
Of course My G-6700 Sansui DC Reciver sounds better ...

When I compare boxes I compare with their peers. And example may be comparing my RC-M60 with my Blockbuster, or my PC-55 with my FH-5. Nothing wrong with comparing as long as you keep it in perspective and make sure that the obvious superior unit is picking on a unit it's own size.