Magnavox D8443 any good?

[MesaAZGuy]

I notice there's a bunch of these units on fleaBay for usually less than $150. I do have to admit, back in the day, Magnavox was a cheap brand that I never would consider buying. Having said that, this radio has a cool look to it. Not sure how good they sound or their reliability... Was thinking this would be a good first starter radio for my wife to take along on the trip. What say yoo'se?

 

[Radio raheem]

stay away mate, this possibly the worst box ever and it's made by phillips which always break due to there old age and breaking cog issues

 

[Fatdog]

It has the looks, but quite lacking in overall sound quality. If you are just looking for a beater box to take to the pool or beach, it's fine. And yeah, they have a plastic gear that is notorious for breaking or crumbling to pieces.

 

[baddboybill]

I remember almost buying one brand new in 1984 but instead got my CEC. Took me almost 3 hours at Zayer to decide which I liked better. I now own a NIB one that works perfect!!!

 

[floyd]

These don't sound bad if its the only box you have but if you compare It to boxes that cost 4 times as much it don't sound so good .at one time I had 3 of these .

 

[Ghettoboom767]

More show than go! Plus line in,not so good!😮

 

[Reli]

They sound crap. No power, cheap TV speakers.

 

[MesaAZGuy]

So an ebay seller accepted my offer for $60. It's not too bad in condition. I guess I would have to do some modifications or leave it more as a display piece.

 

[neanderthal]

So an ebay seller accepted my offer for $60. It's not too bad in condition. I guess I would have to do some modifications or leave it more as a display piece.

You can buy speakers, an amp, and a bluetooth thingamajig and mod it so you have a retro looking stereo, playing through your phones bluetooth.

I have a nice Sharp WQ 73 CD that I had modded that way.

 

[Northerner]

Just replace the two main speakers and they sound a lot better

 

[MesaAZGuy]

I know I sound like a oxymoron when I posted the question about the radio. I had put in two offers from two sellers not thinking they'd go for it but one did so I had to go through with the sale. Even so, I did my research on this box and am fully aware about the weak gear (Ordered a new one) and the crazy line in setup where you have to play the tape without the tape to get the line in to work. Titty-wonkas in my book. So the mods begin. I plan on a lighted dial, LED VU meter cut in somewhere to up the appearance of this box, bluetooth mod and of course, speakers. I wouldn't mind experimenting with an additional amp if possible to connect to the speakers to boost the radio's amp. Perhaps a small 5 watt boost? In this case, I would still have full use of the radio's knob doohickeys. Now the hard part...Finding new speakers with the chrome center. I can't find any of those online. Marie will like it when I am done dammit!