Good Evening Boombox & Stereo Lovers!
Well I have always wanted one of these going back to the very early 1980's, however most I have seen up until now have led a very hard life & were either too far gone or reasonable examples were on sale by sellers who for some reason think that every portable stereo is worth a fortune! - I saw a poor little low end prinzsound last week £50.00 was the starting bid
It would have retailed for no more than 29.99 in 1983/84 & one can only wonder just what planet these people are on!
I have always wondered if these Tosh's were any good??
Read on & we'll find out!!
My RT-8710S arrived in just 24 hours which was pretty amazing - I duly unpacked it from a very well secured boxing up with a ton of bubble wrap as I had asked the seller to pack it really well for me & he certainly did that & I am always greatful to such sellers that listen to their punters!
All good so far & I knew that the cassette deck was not working & the radio only just working which was due to the usual filthy dirty corroded pots & switches so I wasn't too worried about that!! What worried me a little bit was the state of it - It looks like it has lived in a catering or pub environment as it was shocking dirty & coated in what looked like grease & the usual tobacco staining
This gunk whatever it was had also penetrated all the switches & pots heavily as they were very hard to move let alone turn :O :O :O The aerial was the worst I have seen so far - Complete & unbroken but very heavily stained as well as almost seized solid & bent :O
Oh shitee I thought - I have got myself into a right gherkin here, this will never clean up let alone work again properly!!
I thought back to early 2017 & my Hitachi TRK-8290 that contained more than one dead cockroaches & quickly realised that it was bath time for all of this Toshiba except the electronics & cassette deck & began to strip it down ready to clean & restore it!!
I was a little concerned that the speaker leads were missing - They connect using short phono to phono plugs & I had already ordered 2 of those for this stereo - Until they arrived, a cursory quick test using headphones revealed that both channels were working with a lot of messing around with all the dirty switches!!
Next after removing the front & rear casing of the main unit & speakers & wiring from the cabinets, I dumped everything to clean in a sink full of hot soapy water & left to soak! The water was changed around 7 times & left to re soak - I wanted to lift as much of the grease & tobacco stains making the clean process less gruelling
Time to be a soldier on & the cassette deck was removed fairly easily, this stereo uses solder tags & wires that have a female version of the tag that push onto the male tags soldered through the board - Take tons of images from every possible angle so you don't end up the boat without a canoe..........Confusion could easily reign here if you don't keep a proper record of what goes where :O :O
I was greeted by a cassette mechanism of excellent quality, One big flywheel driven by a large flat belt & changing the belt is a doddle as the images show!!
But first, of course the dreaded black gunk from the remaining belt had to be removed from just about every part of the deck (& casings) This took absolutely ages yesterday & kept me up late to clean up!! A new belt completed the cassette deck repair, it now did what it should do with manually turning the flywheel including the autostop function
Another 2 hours in kitchen washing all the contaminated parts & leaving to dry overnight, the water was black! :O :O
Just before settling down for the night, I used a couple of soft brusshes to clean the woofers & tweeters which were all in great condition ready to go back in their clean cabinets the next day
A quick word about the speakers - the cabinets are made of extremely strong injection moulded black plastic/polymar with a beautiful steel grille & very strong mounting points for the two drivers! - I think these would be well worth upgrading with better drivers & a little acoustic wadding! They are very simlar to the "Realistic Minimus 7" speakers sold by Radio Shack/Tandy for many years! the Minimus uses real aluminium cases & a soft dome tweeter - that's why they are better but these speakers are rock solid build quality wise! I love them...........
This morning arrived & after performing my various ablutions & a short drive to the butcher for my ham on the bone purchase accompanied by some fresh crusty rolls for lunch, I was ready to continue the restore on the Toshiba!
All Cornets & Blasting Trumpets!!
The clean up had been a complete success!! Everything was pretty much like new with very few marks & scratches on this almost 40 year old stereo!! Even the antenna now straightened was gleaming
& So began a very long reassembly process - everything double cleaned & polished as it slowly went back together, it took pretty much all day today until dusk to complete & I am worn out now!
Does it all work?? - !! 100%
Does it sound any good?? - Yes It Does!!
I was so pleased I hadn't bitten myself in the leg with this stereo & it now performs very well! I wish I had owned one back in the day now as it sounds so good
There is another model almost identical but it has Dolby B & manual level controls......It's also very elusive & finding one in great condition has so far proved impossible!!
Almost over engineered cassette mechanism with bulletproof mechanical controls & build quality designed to last & it has!!
Autostop only the basic lever between the two heads, but who cares? It works everytime & the transport keys cleaned up like new too! They now look very smart against the red metal cassette mech cover inside the tape slot...........
Of course the proof of the dinner is in the eating: load up a chrome tape with a great quality recording & just sit back & listen to this lovely machine..........Nice frequency response & just a subtle boost/cut performed by the bass & treble controls! The little speakers don't disappoint either, a rich warm almost 1970's sound eminates from these little speakers & it's nice easy on the ears which doesn't become tiring!! Some boomboxes can give you a right earlobe & it's hard to keep on listening to for any length of time I can tell you!! :O :O :O
I chose a couple of challenging tracks for any cassette player to play to find out if the deck was up to my standards - I don't like wow or flutter so sustained piano chords & strings are a great way to put the Tosh to the test!
It sailed through it sang like a budgie without missing a beat & not a quaver to be heard
So there we are - The Toshiba RT-8710S is indeed a very nice stereo radio recorder especially when orientated in the very long "Low Profile" option giving you a better than average soundstage for portable!! I suspect many only used this at home - it's big & heavy & probably better enjoyed indoors!!
I am so glad that I didn't get caught out just like a kipper - I am delighted to present my latest acquisition the RT-8710S
Et Viola:
https://youtu.be/_BGpHikG7aw
https://youtu.be/bVf2KAa0dOI
https://youtu.be/cr2sNXwOXME
Hi-Res Images Here:
https://onedrive.live.com/?id=BEA218B70F2B18D1%2131785&cid=BEA218B70F2B18D1
Can't upload full set here, Run out of "Allowance" Saga again!! So annoying when you resize a whole folder then cannot upload these tiny images - Use link to my full size online folders, much better to see full res!!
Well I have always wanted one of these going back to the very early 1980's, however most I have seen up until now have led a very hard life & were either too far gone or reasonable examples were on sale by sellers who for some reason think that every portable stereo is worth a fortune! - I saw a poor little low end prinzsound last week £50.00 was the starting bid
It would have retailed for no more than 29.99 in 1983/84 & one can only wonder just what planet these people are on!I have always wondered if these Tosh's were any good??
Read on & we'll find out!!
My RT-8710S arrived in just 24 hours which was pretty amazing - I duly unpacked it from a very well secured boxing up with a ton of bubble wrap as I had asked the seller to pack it really well for me & he certainly did that & I am always greatful to such sellers that listen to their punters!
All good so far & I knew that the cassette deck was not working & the radio only just working which was due to the usual filthy dirty corroded pots & switches so I wasn't too worried about that!! What worried me a little bit was the state of it - It looks like it has lived in a catering or pub environment as it was shocking dirty & coated in what looked like grease & the usual tobacco staining
This gunk whatever it was had also penetrated all the switches & pots heavily as they were very hard to move let alone turn :O :O :O The aerial was the worst I have seen so far - Complete & unbroken but very heavily stained as well as almost seized solid & bent :O
Oh shitee I thought - I have got myself into a right gherkin here, this will never clean up let alone work again properly!!
I thought back to early 2017 & my Hitachi TRK-8290 that contained more than one dead cockroaches & quickly realised that it was bath time for all of this Toshiba except the electronics & cassette deck & began to strip it down ready to clean & restore it!!
I was a little concerned that the speaker leads were missing - They connect using short phono to phono plugs & I had already ordered 2 of those for this stereo - Until they arrived, a cursory quick test using headphones revealed that both channels were working with a lot of messing around with all the dirty switches!!
Next after removing the front & rear casing of the main unit & speakers & wiring from the cabinets, I dumped everything to clean in a sink full of hot soapy water & left to soak! The water was changed around 7 times & left to re soak - I wanted to lift as much of the grease & tobacco stains making the clean process less gruelling
Time to be a soldier on & the cassette deck was removed fairly easily, this stereo uses solder tags & wires that have a female version of the tag that push onto the male tags soldered through the board - Take tons of images from every possible angle so you don't end up the boat without a canoe..........Confusion could easily reign here if you don't keep a proper record of what goes where :O :O
I was greeted by a cassette mechanism of excellent quality, One big flywheel driven by a large flat belt & changing the belt is a doddle as the images show!!
But first, of course the dreaded black gunk from the remaining belt had to be removed from just about every part of the deck (& casings) This took absolutely ages yesterday & kept me up late to clean up!! A new belt completed the cassette deck repair, it now did what it should do with manually turning the flywheel including the autostop function
Another 2 hours in kitchen washing all the contaminated parts & leaving to dry overnight, the water was black! :O :O
Just before settling down for the night, I used a couple of soft brusshes to clean the woofers & tweeters which were all in great condition ready to go back in their clean cabinets the next day
A quick word about the speakers - the cabinets are made of extremely strong injection moulded black plastic/polymar with a beautiful steel grille & very strong mounting points for the two drivers! - I think these would be well worth upgrading with better drivers & a little acoustic wadding! They are very simlar to the "Realistic Minimus 7" speakers sold by Radio Shack/Tandy for many years! the Minimus uses real aluminium cases & a soft dome tweeter - that's why they are better but these speakers are rock solid build quality wise! I love them...........
This morning arrived & after performing my various ablutions & a short drive to the butcher for my ham on the bone purchase accompanied by some fresh crusty rolls for lunch, I was ready to continue the restore on the Toshiba!
All Cornets & Blasting Trumpets!!
The clean up had been a complete success!! Everything was pretty much like new with very few marks & scratches on this almost 40 year old stereo!! Even the antenna now straightened was gleaming
& So began a very long reassembly process - everything double cleaned & polished as it slowly went back together, it took pretty much all day today until dusk to complete & I am worn out now!
Does it all work?? - !! 100%
Does it sound any good?? - Yes It Does!!
I was so pleased I hadn't bitten myself in the leg with this stereo & it now performs very well! I wish I had owned one back in the day now as it sounds so good
There is another model almost identical but it has Dolby B & manual level controls......It's also very elusive & finding one in great condition has so far proved impossible!!
Almost over engineered cassette mechanism with bulletproof mechanical controls & build quality designed to last & it has!!
Autostop only the basic lever between the two heads, but who cares? It works everytime & the transport keys cleaned up like new too! They now look very smart against the red metal cassette mech cover inside the tape slot...........
Of course the proof of the dinner is in the eating: load up a chrome tape with a great quality recording & just sit back & listen to this lovely machine..........Nice frequency response & just a subtle boost/cut performed by the bass & treble controls! The little speakers don't disappoint either, a rich warm almost 1970's sound eminates from these little speakers & it's nice easy on the ears which doesn't become tiring!! Some boomboxes can give you a right earlobe & it's hard to keep on listening to for any length of time I can tell you!! :O :O :O
I chose a couple of challenging tracks for any cassette player to play to find out if the deck was up to my standards - I don't like wow or flutter so sustained piano chords & strings are a great way to put the Tosh to the test!
It sailed through it sang like a budgie without missing a beat & not a quaver to be heard
So there we are - The Toshiba RT-8710S is indeed a very nice stereo radio recorder especially when orientated in the very long "Low Profile" option giving you a better than average soundstage for portable!! I suspect many only used this at home - it's big & heavy & probably better enjoyed indoors!!
I am so glad that I didn't get caught out just like a kipper - I am delighted to present my latest acquisition the RT-8710S
Et Viola:
https://youtu.be/_BGpHikG7aw
https://youtu.be/bVf2KAa0dOI
https://youtu.be/cr2sNXwOXME
Hi-Res Images Here:
https://onedrive.live.com/?id=BEA218B70F2B18D1%2131785&cid=BEA218B70F2B18D1
Can't upload full set here, Run out of "Allowance" Saga again!! So annoying when you resize a whole folder then cannot upload these tiny images - Use link to my full size online folders, much better to see full res!!
