Hi everyone!! I’ve always loved casettes but just recently got into boomboxes. I owned a Panasonic rx-5050 for a little bit but I think it’s time to play with the adults. What is the best sounding boombox I can get on a $500 boombox. My #1 priority is having great detailed bass and something gaudy if possible. I just found a Lasonic TRC 931 on FB marketplace going for $450 and everything appears to be in working condition. Would that be a good candidate?
Beginner Needing Guidance
- Thread starter Mason_H
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Hajidub
Member (SA)
I own a refurbed 931, I wouldn't pay $500 for one. There's a couple problem children on this box, selector/power button. To tell you the truth, the 90's megabass boomers (much cheaper) boomers sound better than a majority of the older, big boomers.
The Lasonic 931 is a looker, iconic even and many people like the sound and bass. But they are thin shelled, brittle, cheaply made and frequently shattered. The switches break if you look at them wrong, luckily solutions to fix this common problem are now available. They practically invented that mirror led gimmick which I don’t even think is a stereo representation of the audio but that feature sure helped sell tons of them. But the missing teeth look (cassette keys) is far too common and suggestive of thin plastic construction employed throughout. Nevertheless clearly buyers were attracted to the combination of its big flashy look and thumping bass and low price. To my ears, the sound is not accurate, full or clear to my liking. But that’s just me, I’m picky, many people aren’t. Build quality is nowhere near the level of boomboxes that were released by large mainstream manufacturers — one peek inside will reveal this. If you can find a jvc rc-m70 for that price, that would be a great starting point but it won’t have the visual attraction of the Lasonic. This may sound like I’m bashing the Lasonic, but I own 2 of them; a classic 1st generation one and a later iPod version. There’s a place in my collection for them, but I listen to other sets in my collection instead.
Thanks for the insightful answer. Hypothetically, could I switch out the woofers in the lasonic to a more crisp and high quality option whilst keeping the same shell? Ik it probably is a lot of work but I love the looks of them. Truly, my priority is sound quality. That’s why I own tekton and sennheiser speakers for home audio. But if I’m able to at all capture that gaudy 80s aesthetic I’d love to
The Lasonic has good woofers, as boomboxes go. Some people even stuff Lasonic woofers into higher quality boomboxes like the JVC M90. But the sound quality deficiencies likely has more to do with the simplistic audio circuits and not the speaker drivers. It’s just not as sophisticated or complex in it’s design.
floyd
Boomus Fidelis
The Trc 931 has crap tweeters . but once you replace them with some decent tweeters it's a world of difference. Not only that the bass is awesome but the tweeters make it sound cheap and raspy. As for inferior plastic casings . I can tell you a Trc 931 case is way thicker and stronger than people think. How many lasonic have survived shipping as opposed to jvc sharp and other big names . I guarantee more sharps have been totally destroyed in shipping as opposed to lasonics .
Transistorized
Member (SA)
Maybe I am biased, but I would think a properly working JVC M70 could be had for around 500. Probably not going to find one mint for 500, especially on eBay, but IMO eBay prices are way inflated. The important thing to note on these are the alps slider controls. You would want to ensure they are working as they should. These have the most powerful amp for the size. IMO, they pack the best sound and bass for the size and money.
Old video but out of all of my mid sized radios, this one goes the loudest and has the best sound. I have a RX-5050 also and I can tell you, the M70 is in another universe.
You just have to make sure the seller demonstrates left and right bass and treble slider operations in a video for you.
Old video but out of all of my mid sized radios, this one goes the loudest and has the best sound. I have a RX-5050 also and I can tell you, the M70 is in another universe.
You just have to make sure the seller demonstrates left and right bass and treble slider operations in a video for you.
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bantytfv
Member (SA)
