GOLDSTAR TSR-800 VS JVC M70

What are your opinions on both? My Goldstar TSR-800 AKA (Prosonic PQR-9962) is nice, I've done a full internal cleaning/de oxit/belt job. Recently I picked up a JVC RC-656 and want to move onto its bigger brothers. M90's are way out of my price range and M70's seem to be much more reasonable - I found a guy with a fully functional M70 selling it for $375 USD. It's a little rough aesthetically.

The M70 with 4 amps, in bridged config is definitely more powerful. It's also much higher quality but the speakers are smaller than the Prosonic. Frankly, you'll get opinions from all sides but in my opinion, the M70 when in top operating condition is the, or amongst the top mid-sized boombox in sound/performance.

What would be the other top mid-sized boxes taking 2nd or 3rd place in your opinion Superduper?

Your Prosonic has better low-volume bass than the M70. But the M70 is built better, and has more power enabling it to go louder.

For midsize boxes, the Sanyo M9994 sounds just as good as the M70, although not as loud. And it's built even better than the M70, IMO. I'm sorry but an "aesthetically rough" M70 isn't worth anywhere near $375. They're so overpriced it's pathetic.

From the viewpoint of someone who has worked on countless boomboxes, and have had the luxury of comparing the innards, design and component selections used in their construction, I disagree with Reli about build quality and price. The Sanyo M9994 is also a very desirable good sounding boombox, but it's definitely not built better, and as far as price goes, M70's are terrific values even at $375 but if it's cosmetically challenged, then you'll need to decide about that. I have seen cosmetically and functionally "nice" M70's go for twice that amount. M70's rarely go bad, has fantastic tuner that easily bests the Sanyo and are driven hard, yet has lasted 40 years already. The deck is far more sophisticated and uses much more metal parts than the Sanyo, which relies a lot on plastic parts that unfortunately, years are not good to plastic as they deteriorate, shrink and crack. All in all, it depends entirely on the exact individual specimen you are contemplating and you should of course try it out first if it's local.

You'll get various opinions about pricing which because none of these boomboxes have been sold new in decades, is really about collectibility, desirability and supply/demand. The M70's is a fairly common model, and the Sanyo is a relatively rarer model, which factors heavily into pricing but in my humble opinion, based on sound quality, the quality of the construction, overall circuit design, and features, the M70 is amongst the best value boomboxes out there, and this too translates to a level of demand that drives price.

A secret that I rarely share is that there are some models that I play all the time, and the M70 would be one of them. I also have a ton of other models which I "collect" and don't bother playing at all. I only have those to "collect". Your Prosonic would be one of those.

The M70 is a top quality box, not rare, not bass heavy but powerful and loud. The M70 deck is excellent sounding and has proven very reliable. There are definitely better sounding boxes that have a more balanced spread of output frequencies with a stronger emphasis on bass than the M70 that really pushes the mids.

I agree I had an m70 but it did not have enough bass for me. I need woofer's made of steel lol
it's a very nice looking box though

It just seems odd to me how a beat-up, half-working M70 can fetch $300, and a mint fully-working one $800, when there's like 10 or 12 of them on Ebay every single week. Don't people want to own something different from what everyone else owns?

OK maybe the M70 has better tech and better power, but everything you touch with your hands is better on the M9994, IMHO.

The controls on the M9994 are so smooth, those awesome toggles, and even the tape keys, I love how they snap back up. The M70 has that cheap-feeling function switch, plus those dual volume sliders that take longer to adjust than a simple knob would. There is a reason most high-end receivers used knobs instead of sliders. And the quality of the paint, and the acrylic windows, is better on the Sanyo IMHO. Plus all the brushed aluminum trim on the top AND sides.

Thanks for all the input guys, decided I'll roll the dice on it and go for it!

I think you will be very happy with the M70. If it is doing what it's supposed to do, you will find that when it's on 5 to 7 on the volume it starts coming alive. This little box loves being turned up just like its older brother M90. IMO the M70 is just a well rounded machine. Very practical and popular for a reason.

$375 is pricey for a rough M70 working or not. They’re are plenty of M70s around and you don’t necessarily need to settle on the first one you see. They were a successful model and sold well across the world. They’re are older collectors with multiples on here.
The Prosonic is a nice big and bold charismatic box (yours looks in good order) and would be harder to replace down the line.

id keep the golstar, although the m70 is good it's just an average box imho

Oh jeeze guys I dunno what to do now haha I guess I have some other smaller boxes like my panny's I could try selling to pay for an M70 instead... I get the whole rarity thing... I see M70's all the time on ebay. The Goldstar/Prosonic's never. There are two on there now from Russia and somewhere else.. you can guess how crazy the price gouging is for them. Trying to keep this hobby going by having it pay for itself!

Why not both? Keep the Prosonic and get an M70 when the price is... tolerable.

A Prosonic that's all-working and isn't all scratched up around the controls is a rare thing. Keep it. Or sell it, but demand $600 for it, lol.

i sold mine for £150 lol, yea get both, imho an m70 isn't worth more than £250

I appreciate all your input. You guys are right, I should keep it as they're rarely up for sale and the condition is nearly immaculate. More than that it's the first box I really fully brought back to life. I guess I got caught up in some JVC hype after my more recent purchases (the RC-656 and RC-727). I will buy an M70 when the time is right or I find one for a good price.

i paid £200 last year for my m70 fully working mate, screw the greedy barstewards lol

Rimmer36 said:

i paid £200 last year for my m70 fully working mate, screw the greedy barstewards lol

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Yeah screw 'em indeed. Was that an ebay purchase Rimmer?

lewdawg said:

i paid £200 last year for my m70 fully working mate, screw the greedy barstewards lol

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Yeah screw 'em indeed. Was that an ebay purchase Rimmer?

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indeed and she has been serviced

id sell you mine but im unable to post due to illness