okay, so ive been looking at buying a largish 1 piece box for a while now, ive pm'd a few people on here and they've given me plenty of advice and shared their knowledge (thanks guys) and ive been trying to look for a deal but summer is fast approaching and ive decided id rather spend a bit more money on one quality one than try and find a few bargains.

so! can you guys help me decide as im sure between you, you've heard & handled of almost all boomboxes ever made so which is the best quality one? im obviously interested in the box looking the part, so 1 piece ones only, and a bit of colour is nice but not really essential. the main factor is sound quality, but the thing is i'll be using it outside mainly so i dont know how that affects things. ill be playing all sorts of music, hip hop/electronic (drum and bass/techno) mainly but really a bit of everything. oh and the louder the better!

so what in your opinion are the top 3 boxes to get (and i can realisticly only spend up to £200).. so things like the m90 are probably out of the equation. im looking at lasonic/crown/sharp/elta type boxes. thanks for any help guys!

For that kind of money I would try and find a nice JVC M-70.

That's a very debateable question, you can ask 20 of us and get 20 different answers because the bottom line is what sounds good to you may not sound good to most or all of us. With that said there are some fairly safe bets such as:
JVC- M70
Rising SRC-2015 (20/20)
GF-777 (if you can find one cheap enough)
Aiwa CS-600 or 660 (not super loud but very good sound quality)
Sanyo M9994
Sanyo M9990
Panasonic RX-5600

Those are just some ideas but the list of nice boxes in your price range is quite long. Do some research and you should get a good idea of the nice boxes and which ones seem right for you.

quote:

Originally posted by 71spud:
For that kind of money I would try and find a nice JVC M-70.

Best carry around 1 Piece box is the JVC RC550 followed by the Crown CSC850.

Honestly.

The latter is easier to get on that kind of dough.

quote:

Originally posted by ramon:

quote:

Originally posted by 71spud:
For that kind of money I would try and find a nice JVC M-70.

also. M70 has arguably one of the best tape deck mechanisms in it and is plenty loud. In that budget range, the M-90, C-100 and some other big-hitter grails are out of the question. So, it really becomes a question of which box is the king of the mid-sizers... The M70 is the bully on that block, for sure.

If you plan on using this outside and as a true portable away from power plugs, one of your prime considerations should be how effeciently the box uses batteries. And as an owner of both the M90 and an M70, I can tell you that the battery consumption for the M70 is much better. To the point where I'd probably lug the M70 to the park instead of the M90 anyway. The M90 is a battery hog, where the M70 is more like a battery cat.

Bang-for-the-buck, I honestly think it is the best overall boombox available for the money and use you've described.

It has a good balance of features, volume, sound quality and classic looks. Its a bit heavier than some other one-piecers (think Sharp 9494/9696 or Sanyo M9994) but worth the effort. I have a 9191 & a 9696 and I'll take the M70 over those in a pinch. The box just screams quality.

Now, with all of that said... I just realized the title of your thread is "best sounding 1 piece box." And at lower sound volumes, I actually think my Sanyo M9990 has better sound, but the M70 goes considerably louder and stays pretty clean. The Sanyo M9994 is very similar to the M9990, but shows an extra eight or 10 watts of power consumption on the back tag, so I'm guessing its a bit closer to the M70 for output volume.

Maybe someone with a well-working nice Sanyo M9994 that has compared it to an M70 will chime in and share some thoughts on this subject? But, could you find a Sanyo M9994 (or maybe even an M9998 in good shape) for that amount??

M70's are generally quite plentiful in good condition. There is a reason there are so many working M70's out there, they sold a lot of them because they are that good.

For a functional workhorse, you can't go wrong with the M70.

For the cheap price they go for,i think Sharp GF8989,GF575,look nice and sound ok..

thanks for all the replies guys, really helped! the m70 really does sound like the one for me. shame the big hitters are outta my price league, but apart from obviously the bigger size (which is a plus in itself) how much better/louder sounding are they? is there really a big step up or not? also, how much more do they cost roughly? im quite intrigued now. oh and, the mid-sizers are what.. around 22" or so wide? how big are the conion/m90's etc?

will have a look at the sanyos as well, but how does the 777 compare to the the m70? is it louder or not? and one final question, ive been looking at the lasonic trc-931 just cause it looks pretty cool and is in my price range but how loud/good does it sound compared to the m70 as well.

thanks again.

If your looking for a quality box like you stated in your first post don't look at Lasonics or for the most part the big black plastic boxes. These boxes are generally of lower quality than the standards by Sony, Sharp, JVC, Panasonic, etc.

JVC RC M70

quote:

Originally posted by gettoman:
For the cheap price they go for,i think Sharp GF8989,GF575,look nice and sound ok..

totally! i have the 575 it's a def fav

Truth be known I would pick the M70 for your purposes however it's a good idea to have options because you never know what good deals are going to pop up. Yes the M70 is common so you could decide to hold out and eventually I'm sure you could pick up a nice one.

Of course I agree with everyone, because they are all agreeing with me. There are great boxes that fit your price range (in fully-working and great cosmetic condition) from Sony, Sharp, Panasonic etc. However I think that the JVC M70 is the best choice for a great classic looking box, a great sounding box, a durable box, and a box that can be worked on and if you have an accident you will be able to get parts etc. You will impress people before you turn it on, and more so after.

But if some huge black, bulky thing that is no fun to haul around and will be breaking on you all the time there are lots of options out there. Maybe an abused disco-lite perhaps.

There are larger boxes that are good.... but in your price range they will not be 100% working and they will not be complete or cosmetically excellent either. If you want to spend 2-3x as much you can get into a whole other market.

But just get an M70. A good one... don't buy the first one you find.

M70 sounds like the top-dog choice but personally I'd give honourable mentions to:

Sharp 9696 - Great sound, impressive looks, watch for tape deck issues.

Sharp GF777 - Might just fall in that budget but could be tatty and/or have issues so beware.

That big Pioneer SK909 (I think that's the model) with the passive radiators, very cool looking and from what I've read superb sound.

But you won't go wrong with the old workhorse M70, it's just the epitome of a classic box.

i would recomend the sanyo m650 or m720 they look amazing and the sound is very good.

(IMHO) I think the Panasonic RX-5085 is one of the best sounding midsize boxes I've ever owned. It has great bass,crisp highs and can go real loud if you need it to,and it has Ambience and Dolby with TPS music search. It is a nice size and weight too.

Some good choices mentioned. I could have also mentioned the Panasonic RX-5150, which is a decent mid-sizer... The upside to the Panasonics in that range (5050, 5085, 5150, and a few others) is that they can sometimes be found for under $100 in very good working condition and they only need eight batteries.

But, given the choice, the M70 is still a louder and prouder box, IMHO.

Cant go wrong with the M-70 for an all around great box (ive had 4 of them).
Its always been my favorite carry around and Ill never be without one.
1. Plenty loud
2. Great sound with all different types of music
3. Classic looks and a great deck.
4. Awesome build quality
5. With conservative use the batteries last forever.
My only quam with this box is the sliders wear out when they are well used.
so try and get one thats been kept well.

The M-70 is a powerhouse 1 piece, thats for sure, it certainly checks all the boxes for quality in construction and sound. The best part of this is they are usually very salvageable as, unlike a lot of the Lasonic's and cheaper brands, they were built to be carried and take the bumps of every day use. That count's for a lot 20-30 years later on.

I'd say my M70 is definitely one of the most robust designs for a portable I've got and is the one I'm least worried about getting any further damage when carrying it around as the case is solid as a rock.

If you're just starting collecting then I for one would recommend getting an M70 as soon as you can cause it's a great reference point to be able to compare the sounds, features and sizes of other boxes to in the future.

That said, I sill need a replacement tuner board for mine so I've not been privy to it's radio performace yet.

Good luck Cantbearsed!



Rock On.

thanks guys,

i think im gonna go for the m70 now, just gotta keep my eyes open on ebay and such places. can't believe one just went yesterday for £50 bin though! i should have started looking straight away. ah nevermind

quote:

Originally posted by skippy1969:
(IMHO) I think the Panasonic RX-5085 is one of the best sounding midsize boxes I've ever owned. It has great bass,crisp highs and can go real loud if you need it to,and it has Ambience and Dolby with TPS music search. It is a nice size and weight too.

gf 9191 is pretty good i recon and obtainable.

cf100 is worth a crack as theyre rather loud and look the part. not many people have them in the uk tho.

For more options check this thread out.
I asked a similar question and got a lot of good feedback.

Recomendations.

The Sanyo M9990 sounds amazing.