I just recently found this Aiwa CSD-MR1U at Goodwill.The construction is quite heavy for a box of it's type.However this could be due to its 6 speakers!There is a spatial button which really transforms the sound!Also,the speaker cone surrounds light up and flash!There is a button with three settings to control this feature (Off,On,Flashing).Does anyone remember this one?

What a funny little radio!

Does it play cassettes?

yes walkgirl!The cassette is opposite the CD door on the top of the unit.I knew it would peak your interest .As for the rest here,it just doesn't pass their olds school test I suppose.Maybe I'm just more interested in the total history of the boombox than others here.Of course,the '80s boxes are my favorites also.However,I can understand the disinterest in these '90s units as I'm not real fond of its shape either.Actually I'm taking pictures of every box I see in the wild.Then I check to see if it's in my database 2.0.With a digital camera,I don't have to worry about the cost of film and processing.Since I always have my digital camera on me,I will just shoot whatever I see.

Nice catch, Jovie!

One of the wholesale places where I "hunt" has had one of those for at least a year. They keep it turned on and playing most of the time, so I guess most people assume it is "theirs" and not for sale... so it stays there, playing away. The colored lights are pretty cool, and the sound --as you'd expect from the design-- radiates out in all directions. Seems pretty durable, all right, from the amount of time they have it playing!

Jovie
That's cool. Looks like a combo unit, disk player and humidifier!

When there would be proper thriftstores here I
would take pictures also!.

Arkay-I would have seriously liked to see that.It would be great if you could do a regular video podcast series of your adventures in the wholesale electronics district.You could pan around in these places you search with a small digital video unit.With the volume movement of items we would see many different things in the same places on different trips/days.Perhaps you could also do some interviewing with those that might know some English.High definition would be even better.That would save you from having to take loads of still pictures.I would imagine electronics are found everywhere in the orient and everyone has the latest thing.I don't imagine them being camera shy as I'm sure they're everywhere.We could watch one of these podcasts many times and still see new things.I'm sure your commentary would be on par with your writings in the forum-pretty amazing stuff!.If you sold just a few things you've found you could easily finance a very high quality video experience for us all.This is just a thought that passed through my mind.Many are podcasting these days about anything,everything,and absolutely nothing.I hope you will consider this.In any event write long,write often,my friend

Daiwa-At the forefront with new ideas as always!I have to wonder if that is one of the CX4 Sidewinders many hidden features.Your point is well taken though.The fact that the lights are around this Aiwas circumference doesn't allow you to appreciate the full effect from a single vantage point.It's the hope of all that the industry eventually comes around to acknowledging their mistake of moving on from the classic box silhouette.I mean do they seriously think people get excited looking at a humidifier?

It's my feeling that Aiwa was one of the better boxes even into the nineties.They tended to have nice bright highs and cleaner sound than most for years after the classic era.When Sony decided to remake the brand after acquiring it some years earlier their quality really seemed to slip.

walkgirl-I always keep a decent compact digital camera everywhere I go.Cell phone camera are simply not good enough yet to get decent pictures.Most of the time I wear 6 pocket army style pants to carry everything I feel I need when looking for boxes specifically.Besides a small camera this includes a couple of different electric cords,line-in cables,AA batteries,and my Ipod Touch.

I believe Goodwill is a nationwide chain in the U.S..The Salvation Army chain seems to have ridiculously high prices so I never go to their stores.There are also many other similar stores big and small.Maybe sometime you can visit the states and see what thriftstores are like .

A blue one!

it appeared in a 1997 brochure I posted here.