Aiwa 955 and National 5080: the same level.

[koleloi]

Currently listening to both of the two boxes connected together by a RCA cable via Line-out. And It is actually not that easy to tell which sounds better.

It's a well-known fact that the Aiwa 955 is one of the best mid-size boxes so I am still wondering how can that "normal" National keep up with the top of the line Aiwa. They are about the same size with the National is 1/2 inch deeper and weigh around 2 pounds less.

Technical guides suggest that the Aiwa was sold for 67.000Yen (in 1979) while the National cost 43.000 Yen when new (in 1981?) so it's even more impressive what the national can carry out.

Here is what I observed:

- The Aiwa is better in Mid and High departments: it has louder, clearer mid, and more detail high.
- The National has slightly better bass: it produce more bass at the same volume and can hold up bass better when turn volume up.

With great detailed high and better separation, the Aiwa is still the better sounding box, but the National is just very close behind.

Please give your opinion.

P/s: I forgot to put a question mark at the end of topic title

 

[Ambience]

Well that's good to hear, as I imagine the 5080 is pretty close to the 5085 that I own! Since the CFS500 is the only other true midsize box I own, I'd agree with the bass, however, I don't feel my speakers handle the bass all that well on max.

 

[ralrein1]

Hello,I haven't heard the Aiwa. However I do own both the Panasonic rx-5080 and 5085. My rx-5080 is a bit of a bass monster and not as clear as my 5085. The 5085 sounds clear and has decent bass up to about half way, after that I have to turn the bass down. I think it has something to do with the white colored paper they used on the woofers. Its not quite as thick as the black paper on the 5080's woofer. Also the dust caps are slightly bigger than the lovely 5085's woofers. Maybe the magnet is slightly bigger too. Heavier stock plus slightly bigger magnet equals better bass. I was toying with the idea of switching out and putting the white speakers of the 5085 into the 5080 and vice versa. To see if this would increase the clarity in the 5080 and help with bass handling in the 5085. The only other good midsize I have to compare it(rx5080)to is a JVC rc-656.Witch is a nice sounding box but probably not as good as the Aiwa. So maybe the Aiwas woofers are not as stout as the Panasonic's. Also I'm pretty sure that Aiwas were not manufactured in as great a numbers as the Panasonics. So with greater numbers made the Panasonic could be produced for a cheaper price. At least that's my theory. Hope this helps,let me know what you think.😁😁😁

 

[koleloi]

Hello,I haven't heard the Aiwa. However I do own both the Panasonic rx-5080 and 5085. My rx-5080 is a bit of a bass monster and not as clear as my 5085. The 5085 sounds clear and has decent bass up to about half way, after that I have to turn the bass down. I think it has something to do with the white colored paper they used on the woofers. Its not quite as thick as the black paper on the 5080's woofer. Also the dust caps are slightly bigger than the lovely 5085's woofers. Maybe the magnet is slightly bigger too. Heavier stock plus slightly bigger magnet equals better bass. I was toying with the idea of switching out and putting the white speakers of the 5085 into the 5080 and vice versa. To see if this would increase the clarity in the 5080 and help with bass handling in the 5085. The only other good midsize I have to compare it(rx5080)to is a JVC rc-656.Witch is a nice sounding box but probably not as good as the Aiwa. So maybe the Aiwas woofers are not as stout as the Panasonic's. Also I'm pretty sure that Aiwas were not manufactured in as great a numbers as the Panasonics. So with greater numbers made the Panasonic could be produced for a cheaper price. At least that's my theory. Hope this helps,let me know what you think.

Well, my 5080 does has white paper woofer and tiny chrome dust cap like your 5085, while the Aiwa 955 has much thicker cloth (Not very sure cloth or not) woofer, it's very thick and sturdy. See pics below. Have no idea which magnet is bigger though.

My best guess about the price is that the Aiwa is loaded with much more feature and its design is way more complicated. It has dual antennas, separate bass treble control, loudness, dial light, sleeper timer and more that the National doesn't have. So it's probably that they're classified in different classes by manufacturer. Some mid-size from Panasonic that has same amount of features and built quality like the Aiwa did also cost between 65.000 to 75000 Yen. I think top mid-size class for Panasonic includes RX-5600, 5400, 5500, 4350 or maybe 5700 and second class consist 5250, 5150, 5085, 5080, etc. The 955 is, definitely, very top of the line mid-size box from Aiwa. I only has three midsize here with me that are the RX-5080, RS-4350 and the Aiwa. The 4350 was sold at similar price as the aiwa. I will do some comparison soon.

Well that's good to hear, as I imagine the 5080 is pretty close to the 5085 that I own! Since the CFS500 is the only other true midsize box I own, I'd agree with the bass, however, I don't feel my speakers handle the bass all that well on max.

Actually I never turn the volume pass 8, when I turn up volume to 6-7, the aiwa start to distort, especially with loudness on, while the National still handle it well.

 

[jimmyjimmy19702010]

The Aiwa 950 is definately in a different league to the Panasonic. For a start, the Aiwa has a BTL amp just like an M70 and a GF-9696. The Aiwa has superior build quality to the Panasonic. In a way, Panasonic were a lot smarter business wise as they only made the quality as good as it needed to be. Early Aiwas were overbuilt with quality components a purchaser would never see - The 950 takes an absolute age to pull down with so many extra screws etc to be removed before any maintainence can proceed.

The Pannys are super well engineered and dispite the simpler constructiion, they ended up just as reliable or more so than the more complicated Aiwas.

James...

 

[ralrein1]

You know what? I think your both right. I hope to get or at least sample the Aiwa someday soon. My older brother had a dual cassette deck made by Aiwa. It was a killer,diller deck made great recordings. So yes they did make high quality stuff back in the late 70's thru the early 80's. Also I think with regards to Matsushita Corp.they may have made the rx-5080 under the National,Panasonic,National Panasonic and Quasar brand names. So they could have made a whole shnit load of them and as we all know the more quantity you manufacture of an item,usually the cost per unit goes down. So that probably has something to do with it to.

 

[monchito]

Yes the Aiwa 950 to me is better than the 5080 now I would compare the 950 to let say the Panasonic 5600 or the Sanyo 9994 or the Aiwa CS 660 which is kinda in that line of mid size bass box don't forget the Aiwa 990 the bigger brother to the 950 955

 

[Superduper]

When comparing boomboxes, it's important to consider the input power. Otherwise, you might as well compare a entry level 4AA -cell box with a 10-D cell M90. Not a fair comparison.

Remember that the Aiwa TPR-950/955 are 6-cell boxes. This makes it only a 9V boombox. Is the 5080 also a 9v box or is it 12v? Because that would be 3-v difference. More voltage means more available power. I've generally considered the Aiwa TPR-950/955 series the king of 9V boomboxes. Due to it's BTL amp configuration, it performs like higher powered boomboxes.