Need honest opinions on current boomboxes

[BoomBoxStash]

Hey, everyone...
New to this forum.
Back in the day, I owned, auditioned and/or peeked inside many of the 'Classic Great Boomboxes' of the 80's. JVC, Aiwa, Sanyo, Crown, to name a few. Regretfully, I did not keep any . My mistake.

I've been looking at some current boomboxes on the market.

I had the GPO Brooklyn:
Meh. It reminds me the most of the 80's classic style. Actually similar to older Lasonic models. Nice speakers. But the amp design was disappointing. I measured as much as 15 W per side into 4 ohms with bass/trble at max, but less than 2 W at flat setting. Some type of governor limits output. That's why it plays so low. Also, hollow sounding and shell vibrates (very annoying). Not enough screws holding shell halves together. The VU meter reminds me of the cheap department store boomboxes of the past. Poorly designed and executed.

The GPO Manhattan:
Actually sounds good. Nice speaker quality. Wooden sub-enclosures. Looks kind-of like the 80's boomboxes. Decent power, measured around 17 W/ch into 4 ohms before clipping. But I hate the EQ display. It is not a real spectrum analyzer. Just a random light show crap. Useless! And the grills suggest much larger woofers (disappointing). No CD nor Cassette nor Tuner either. Just a plain BT speaker.
Also, I can hear chuffing on bass heavy tunes. I returned mine. If the display was a true spectrum analyzer, I might have kept it, for what it was.

Considering the new Lasonic i931BTW. On sale now.
But no manual online.
I found the i931BT manual. But I believe that's for the older 'true' Lasonic boombox. This new one is no longer Lasonic, per se.
I wasn't impressed with the older i931BT anyway. I liked the 8" woofers. But the sealed cabinets just don't offer nearly enough internal volume. Deep bass output sucked! Causes mid-bass and midrange peaks! Wondering how the new one compares?
Any thoughts?

I've also considered Studebaker's Avanti and the larger Sound Station with the analog VU meters.
I really don't like the style of the Avanti. It doesn't have that classic boombox look. Looks more like an oversized clock radio with a handle.
The larger brother has a slightly more traditional look. I like the VU's! The woofers are small, tho, and I assume cheaply made because the unit is pretty light weight.
And the brand name, Studebaker, does nothing for me.
Do either of these 2 sound decent?
The HSN tv ads tell me nothing. Those sales people probably never owned a true classic boombox .
I'm also afraid these Studebaker models are of inferior quality. They look cheap, anyway.
Any opinions?

Finally, the Tech Monster and Monster Pro.
These are also based on the later Lasonic cabinet design. But, again, the woofers are smaller. The Pro costs $100 more and supposedly offers 20 W more per channel, plus a hand held mic. But they look identical. Afraid the wattage increase is bs, and the extra $100 only pays for a cheap mic accessory.
I also read that the tuner dial is totally fake, which is a real bummer.
How do these models sound?
Very little info online. No teardown info at all.
Any opinions?

Tired of buying these damn things, taking them apart and then being disgusted.

imo, it's too bad Lasonic did not continue to make the newer i931BT models with a totally opened-back design, as in the old days. I understand the open back allows rear sound waves to interfere and cause phase issues and bass loss. However, my experience was, placing a larger open back boombox, such as the old JVC RC-M90 or the old Lasonic TRC models on my lap, or near a corner of the room, brought about much better bass response, without causing annoying mid-bass boom hollow sound. And the old open-back allowed midrange to flow from the rear, sometimes offering a more spacious sound effect.

The sealed back 'home cabinet design' worked on only very specific old greats, such as the Aiwa CA-880U. That unit benefited by a true sealed cabinet. But, it was in a class by itself.

Some things were better left alone

 

[Reli]

I didn't even know Lasonic was still selling anything. But yeah, I just googled it and yes they are. That same model came out about 15 years ago, starting with the iPhone version.
The "Tech Monster" looks like it was built by the same factory that built the Brooklyn, so I wouldn't waste my time on it.
Honestly the Manhattan is the best one you mentioned. The bass goes deeper than the Brooklyn due to the wooden enclosure. And since the ports are on the sides, the bass will increase if you put it in a wooden bookshelf or cabinet.

But even better would be a used Sharp GX-M10 or a Pioneer STEEZ D10Z. Both of those can be found cheaply.

 

[BoomBoxStash]

The Lasonic brand was around for roughly 20-25 years, give or take. I remember seeing Lasonic for the first time way back in the mid 90's. Possibly even earlier. Difficult to recall exactly. Lasonic reminds me of the GPO Brooklyn of that time period. What I mean, is Lasonic was an attempt to profit off of those who missed the large boomboxes of the late 70's to the mid-80's. Lasonic was a definite lower end brand, offering a very rough quite inferior product which loosely resembled the hi-end classics. But, I have to say the original Lasonic didn't sound bad. Their woofers and their amps were, by far, their best features. Most all other features were subpar, imo.

I like the sound of the Manhattan. And it is still selling pretty cheap, at around $130. It features decent quality 4" woofers and 1" mylar soft-dome tweeters. I've considered replacing the smaller woofers with larger 5-6" woofers and maybe throw in a full 1-way crossover.
But, the fake stupid equalizer display really irks me. I'd like to replace it as well. With either a true spectrum analyzer or even a pair of nice analog VU meters. But, fbl

 

[BoomBoxStash]

Sorry. my phone slipped out of my hand and posted an incomplete response, above.

I will have to look into the models you mention. I don't recognize either. Keep in mind, I have been looking for an 80's style boombox. Not simply a BT speaker. It's the nostalgia.

Thx for your input Reli

 

[Reli]

Lasonic was big in the 70s, 80s and 90s. Then they took a "break", and reappeared in the late 2000's with an iPhone dock 931, followed by a Bluetooth one. I had assumed they were long out of production, but it appears they're still being sold. Not sure if they're new old stock or what.

 

[BoomBoxStash]

I became interested in hifi beginning in the mid 70's. I think I bought my first home component cassette deck around 1980. It was a Sanyo. My first pair of hifi home speakers around 1978-79. A pair of Realistic Mach Ones. My Pioneer 85 watt/ch receiver around 1980. A Pioneer quartz locked direct-drive turntable around 1980. The boombox craze hit me in the very early 80's.

I personally do not recall ever seeing a Lasonic boombox until much later. What I do remember is the large hi-end boomboxes had already disappeared from store shelves. I was browsing around in a flea market and came across a seller offering the first Lasonic that I ever saw, and consequently bought, which featured white 8" woofers and, maybe, bass and treble controls (?). It attracted me because it was a big boombox. In the years to follow, I would find, and buy, the Lasonic TRC model with the 5-band eq and later the 10-band eq. I remember the 10-band model looked very cool. But I was disappointed in its sound. imo, the 5-band offered better sound overall. But I cannot remember exactly when I found that first Lasonic. I do know I never heard of Lasonic during the 80's, when I was intrigued by the big name brands. Then again, Lasonic was not a hi-end brand. It offered no noise reduction for cassettes. No manual recording level. Cheezy VU meters. Fuzzy treble. No hi-end 'feel' or 'look'. I most likely wouldn't have considered it, had I seen one, anyway. Many of the classic large boomboxes came with boasting specifications, just as the big name home components of that era. A good quality home component receiver might include 2-3 pages of just specs, to read and compare to other components. Subsequently, the classic boomboxes listed everything from cassette deck freq-resp, S/N ratio, wow/flutter to amp output in FTC terms to tuner specs, etc. I was really into the specs. Manufacturers like Lasonic offered literally no specs whatsoever. A mere mentioning of 15 watts/ch (not FTC rated), which defied the whole purpose of hifi that I had grown to appreciate. No deck specs. No tuner specs. No specs at all. I would have surely considered it to be junk, had I seen a Lasonic, at the height of hifi, back in the mid-80s, when hifi was king.

Unfortunately, hifi began to fade. I never expected that to occur. I thought, at the time, hifi would just keep improving, hence , I never hung on to my old Pioneer receiver, turntable or one of the many boomboxes I had owned. It was disheartening to watch hifi be replaced by new fads. Namely, the computer craze, the surround sound craze (which totally disregarded all the hifi standards I had grown to admire), and the miniaturization craze (ie: Sony Walkman). Suddenly, no one cared about large floor speakers, big hi-end amps and receivers or big boomboxes, anymore. Very sad.

CDs came out and replaced cassettes. Yes, they did
sound good, in the beginning. But the fun of recording your own hi-quality recordings was gone. Buying hi-end blank tapes, like the TDK Metal bias tapes encased in an actual steel reinforced cassette housing. Those were awesome! Buying new vinyl LPs and recording the tracks onto a hi-end cassette. Setting and watching the VU meters. That was fun. Fun to shop for all that hi-end stuff. Fun to play with it all, at home. It felt like your own little home recording studio. The hi-end classic boomboxes could record tapes as well as a home component deck. That was joy to play with. The advent of home computers and CDs replaced that fun with much simpler and quicker CD home recordings, and later on with piss poor MP3 files, with its compressed low-fi quality of sound. Much quicker. No fun to watch. No fun to play with. Yuck!

Component portable audio lasted slightly longer. JVC introduced that craze with its JVC PC-5 mini home component system. I remember seeing that at a May Company store, of all places. At hifi's peak, every store had an audio department. I had to buy one. I kept it for a number of years. I bought several other, more advanced, more powerful portable components afterward. JVC, Sony, Technics and Yamaha, to name a few, offered some very cool, well equipped hi-end portable component systems, some of which even included optional CD player add-on components and matching miniature turntables. They were so cool. They offered some near hifi
specs, comparable to home components, which was always the goal of the hi-end boombox, to begin with.

To my knowledge, Lasonic is no longer around. Some Chinese company bought its name, just as they bought the names of many great 80's manufacturers, such as Akai, for instance. Lasonic really isn't Lasonic, per se, any more, as I stated, initially. Hi-end brands, like Akai, are now low-end Chinese crap as well. The quality and design is gone.

So, I do not really know when Lasonic came into existence. Their product was lower end. imo, comparable to store brands of the time period, such as Montgomery Ward, Emerson, Lloyds, or one of a countless number of less-expensive brands offering much poorer performance and quality when compared to the big name hifi brands of the 70's and 80's.

And that is enough for now LOL.

 

[Reli]

Yeah Lasonic was always on the lower end of quality. Their first models in the late 70s were decent, heavy, solid build, silver-colored, and styled after Sanyos. They had lots of controls including recording level. But after about 1983, there was a shift in the market. Manufacturers no longer cared about quality and features. The competition had exploded, resulting in shrinking profit margins, so they couldn't afford to keep providing tons of features. The focus shifted to lightweight, empty boxes that were just trying to look big and cool. This trend affected ALL manufacturers, even the best ones like Panasonic (their RX-5350 from 1983 was nowhere near the build quality of an RX-7700 from 1979 or whatever).

So after 1983 the 1-piece boxy models had become big, low-quality status symbols for the street. Production had shifted from Japan to Hong Kong and Taiwan. Plastics became thinner, potentiometers became cheaper, VU meters became inaccurate, and inner support brackets disappeared. If you wanted high quality after 1983, you had to start looking at 3-piece models with detachable speakers, especially from JVC, Sony, and Panasonic.

So by the mid-80s Lasonic had started selling big, piano-black models with cheaper build, like the ones you bought. They had good power and lots of bass and treble, but the overall sound was a bit fuzzy and distorted like you said. They were boxes you listed to hiphop or electro with, not classic rock or anything with real instruments.

 

[BoomBoxStash]

I did not know Lasonic made some better boomboxes with manual recording level controls. That's interesting. I hated any boombox with ALC. Auto-level circuits only compressed and ruined fine recordings when trying to copy from vinyl to tape, or even CD to tape later on.

I had briefly owned the JVC M90. That is probably my fav of all the old style large one-piece boomboxes. The look. The feel. The quality. I loved the VU meters. All the specs.
However, I never could swallow the JVC ANRS and Super-ANRS noise reduction circuitry. It bugged me that my cassette recordings would not necessarily play as well on most other decks employing Dolby Lab noise reduction. I also did not like the 8" so-called woofers. They were actually only cheap large PM speakers with a latex coating and no cone suspension to speak of, other than an accordian-type treated paper edge. Looking back, I should not have cared. I expected too much at the time. I was foolish to let it go.

I also bought the Sanyo MX-920. To this day, I am torn between whether I liked the Sanyo or the JVC more. The Sanyo had 7" woofers with what appeared to be a real treated cloth reverse-rolled cone suspension. Very nice quality face plate. Lots of chrome switches and buttons. Nice VU meters.
But, by the time I was ready to plop down the cash to buy it, the one local hifi store which carried it told me it was no longer in stock. I found one somehow, through a classified ad. I ordered it. It arrived defective. No matter what tape or bias I used, all my recordings came out very shrill with virtually no bass. Was it a bias issue? A tape head misalignment? I was young then and didn't know what to look for, back then. Because of the price, I panicked, and instead of ordering another as a replacement, I simply returned it for a refund.
Again, I should have replaced it. It was a gorgeous boombox. It looked as sophisticated as my home components. My bad.

There were a few other of the classic greats which I owned.

I had an Aiwa CS880. That was also very cool. Not as big. But very hi-tech. First I had the version with the black center passive-radiator. Then I saw the new version with the white center passive cone and I returned mine and bought the other lol. It was very nice. Good quality tape recordings, although maybe not quite as good as the JVC or Sanyo. The first with a digital display tuner. And the fully enclosed speaker compartment reeled me in. I also very much liked Aiwa's DSL circuitry. At that time, Aiwa's DSL boosted a lower bass tone than the conventional 100 Hz centered bass, which I never liked on any audio equipment. Again, nice VU meters. I really liked the old analog VU's. Nay-sayers can say all they want about quick response digital meters being more accurate. The old style VU's were distinctive looking. And it you used them correctly, your recordings came out as well as could be expected.
But, I took it apart. The 5" woofers were ok. Not great. The passive was a 6" flat diaphragm and performed as it should.
But, the transformer and power supply board was located in the speaker enclosure, which bugged me. And the cone tweeters were not true tweeters. They were not sealed in the rear. Therefore, any internal pressure would affect them. That really bothered me. Finally, it did not play very loud at all. Thinking back, the Aiwa CS880 probably incorporated some sort of limiter, just like the modern GPO Brooklyn, to safeguard the output and minimize distortion, at the expense of max loudness level. I ended up selling it to a close friend.
I should have kept that one, too lol. It was a nice boombox, overall. With some pretty smooth bass, for what it was.

I expected too much of the boombox, back then. I was looking for something that rivaled my home system. Now, I realize, I should have kept any number of them, for what they were. A hi-end boombox.

I'm still looking at current boombox sales online. The Aiwa Exos-10 is pricey, but has some cool features. However, it's only 20" wide. That's pretty small, for me, anyway. Like I had mentioned, I would like an old-school feel boombox. Not really an oversized bluetooth speaker.

 

[Transistorized]

I have to agree with the response about the GPO Brooklyn. I like that the deck has auto stop on rewind and fast forward but the W/F makes it not enjoyable to listen to. The permanent magnet erase head makes recordings sound horrible. The CD player does okay but sometimes it distorts if a recording is a little hot, even on a factory disc. The level meters are just for fun. Not accurate at all. Battery is dead in 2 to 4 hours of use and dies even when sitting overnight. Doesn't go very loud IMO. I really don't have much good to say about it. The only thing it has going for it is the looks.

I have a Lasonic i931x model. This one doesn't have Bluetooth. It has the iPod docking door on the front. Now, it goes loud and looks really nice. I like it way better than the GPO for sure. The only thing about the newer Lasonics are, the decals will curl up and peel if left in the hot sun or in the car. Mine did this but fortunately, It was new enough at the time to where I was able to replace them through Lasonic. I wish they had a real tuner dial like the GPO, even if it is a digital tuner chip versus a true analog tuning capacitor. I also wish it had a cassette deck but, who other than us is interested in such a thing?

The other models you mentioned I do not have, but I do have the ION Boombox Deluxe. It has an analog (style) tuner and a decent working cassette deck. I favor it more than the GPO. I just wish it had auto stop on Rewind and Fast Forward. It will sit there and slip the belt if you go off and forget about it. Techmoan gave it a crappy review, but it actually sounds decent and has a built-in Rechargeable battery. You can also run D batteries which makes it nice if you do not have the ability to charge it when on the go. If you can find one new for 80 bucks or so, it's not a bad little box. It's Bluetooth and has a microSD slot for MP3s, etc.. Just like the GPO, you can record from Bluetooth onto SD card or cassette. You can also record cassettes onto SD card as well. Radio can be recorded to cassette or SD card. It doesn't go as loud as the Lasonic, but it does have more of the 80's radio vibe. It has analog meters but you have to just about crank it to the max to get them to swing.

I also Love my mini M90s by replitronics. The new ones have AM/FM and Bluetooth. They run a good long while between charges with a huge battery. They sound decent for their size and look cool. They have auxiliary input so you can also run a walkman through it etc.. Consider it more of a novelty item, but very cool in their own way.

I'm not sure at this point if I have helped in any way, but this is my experience with modern boomboxes.

 

[BoomBoxStash]

Yeah Lasonic was always on the lower end of quality. Their first models in the late 70s were decent, heavy, solid build, silver-colored, and styled after Sanyos. They had lots of controls including recording level. But after about 1983, there was a shift in the market. Manufacturers no longer cared about quality and features. The competition had exploded, resulting in shrinking profit margins, so they couldn't afford to keep providing tons of features. The focus shifted to lightweight, empty boxes that were just trying to look big and cool. This trend affected ALL manufacturers, even the best ones like Panasonic (their RX-5350 from 1983 was nowhere near the build quality of an RX-7700 from 1979 or whatever).

So after 1983 the 1-piece boxy models had become big, low-quality status symbols for the street. Production had shifted from Japan to Hong Kong and Taiwan. Plastics became thinner, potentiometers became cheaper, VU meters became inaccurate, and inner support brackets disappeared. If you wanted high quality after 1983, you had to start looking at 3-piece models with detachable speakers, especially from JVC, Sony, and Panasonic.

So by the mid-80s Lasonic had started selling big, piano-black models with cheaper build, like the ones you bought. They had good power and lots of bass and treble, but the overall sound was a bit fuzzy and distorted like you said. They were boxes you listed to hiphop or electro with, not classic rock or anything with real instruments.

By the way, I looked up the Sharp GX10. I only could find the G-9X.

I did consider it. But, it does not look anything like the old school boomboxes.
Also, I had owned a couple different versions of the legendary JVC 'Kaboom' boxes. At first, they really impressed me. Very powerful bass. Better than any portable, rivaling home audio, really.
But, I've become more critical of a listener over the years. After listening for a while, the bass seemed to be more boomy than deep. The mids sometimes distorted at higher volumes. Treble sounded over processed or fuzzy.

I blame the above on a couple things. The tube-style enclosure and small internal space coupled with probable preset bass boosting caused the 'excessive boom' effect. The full-range front drivers were underpowered and too small, at 3". They were either over driven and forced to move too much, or under driven and the low powered full-range amps simply gave out. And the treble did not sound natural at all. The treble sound reminds me of the over-processed treble when employing digital enhancement on my Yamaha receiver, which is supposed to compensate for compressed MP3 signals.

I mention the above because that is a major reason I have avoided the Sharp you suggested. It is built on a similar premise, with a smaller 5" sub instead of dual 6" subs and very similar front-firing 3" full-range drivers, again, without actual tweeters. I have yet to audition the Sharp. I may do so, out of curiosity, since you suggested the Sharp.

 

[BoomBoxStash]

I have to agree with the response about the GPO Brooklyn. I like that the deck has auto stop on rewind and fast forward but the W/F makes it not enjoyable to listen to. The permanent magnet erase head makes recordings sound horrible. The CD player does okay but sometimes it distorts if a recording is a little hot, even on a factory disc. The level meters are just for fun. Not accurate at all. Battery is dead in 2 to 4 hours of use and dies even when sitting overnight. Doesn't go very loud IMO. I really don't have much good to say about it. The only thing it has going for it is the looks.

I have a Lasonic i931x model. This one doesn't have Bluetooth. It has the iPod docking door on the front. Now, it goes loud and looks really nice. I like it way better than the GPO for sure. The only thing about the newer Lasonics are, the decals will curl up and peel if left in the hot sun or in the car. Mine did this but fortunately, It was new enough at the time to where I was able to replace them through Lasonic. I wish they had a real tuner dial like the GPO, even if it is a digital tuner chip versus a true analog tuning capacitor. I also wish it had a cassette deck but, who other than us is interested in such a thing?

The other models you mentioned I do not have, but I do have the ION Boombox Deluxe. It has an analog (style) tuner and a decent working cassette deck. I favor it more than the GPO. I just wish it had auto stop on Rewind and Fast Forward. It will sit there and slip the belt if you go off and forget about it. Techmoan gave it a crappy review, but it actually sounds decent and has a built-in Rechargeable battery. You can also run D batteries which makes it nice if you do not have the ability to charge it when on the go. If you can find one new for 80 bucks or so, it's not a bad little box. It's Bluetooth and has a microSD slot for MP3s, etc.. Just like the GPO, you can record from Bluetooth onto SD card or cassette. You can also record cassettes onto SD card as well. Radio can be recorded to cassette or SD card. It doesn't go as loud as the Lasonic, but it does have more of the 80's radio vibe. It has analog meters but you have to just about crank it to the max to get them to swing.

I also Love my mini M90s by replitronics. The new ones have AM/FM and Bluetooth. They run a good long while between charges with a huge battery. They sound decent for their size and look cool. They have auxiliary input so you can also run a walkman through it etc.. Consider it more of a novelty item, but very cool in their own way.

I'm not sure at this point if I have helped in any way, but this is my experience with modern boomboxes.

Thx Trabsistorized.
It helps. I had the Lasonic i931X. I ended up selling it. The 8" woofers were ok. But they are sealed cabinets which just suck the life out of those speakers. There just is not enough internal volume. I'd prefer Lasonic had left the rear open, to allow the large woofers to breathe.

I've seen the ion. It does have the 80's look. Emerson also has a boombox out, with a front vertical CD player and analog VU's. I have yet to fins one in a store to audition.

The Lasonic i931BTW, in white, is currently on sale at $156. I'm tempted lol. Still debating tho

 

[Reli]

I had briefly owned the JVC M90. That is probably my fav of all the old style large one-piece boomboxes. The look. The feel. The quality. I loved the VU meters. All the specs.
However, I never could swallow the JVC ANRS and Super-ANRS noise reduction circuitry. It bugged me that my cassette recordings would not necessarily play as well on most other decks employing Dolby Lab noise reduction. I also did not like the 8" so-called woofers. They were actually only cheap large PM speakers with a latex coating and no cone suspension to speak of, other than an accordian-type treated paper edge. Looking back, I should not have cared. I expected too much at the time. I was foolish to let it go.

The M90 is regarded as one of the top 5 best 1-piece boomboxes of the 80s. While it's true that the woofers are kinda stiff because they lack cloth/foam surrounds, this makes them capable of reproducing vocals and guitar very accurately. Many boxes with softer surrounds (like Lasonics) just produce bass and little else. Excursion is overrated IMO.

The Sanyo MX920 you mentioned was high-quality too, but it lacks bass. They just didn't give it very good amplifiers. It's a good "looks" box for the style and all the metal trim.

The Aiwa CS-880 is a mixed bag. The tape deck is outstanding, very smooth, very low wow & flutter. But the passive radiator is actually not a "true" passive radiator. True passive radiators have a spider behind them, which controls and dampens its movement. The one in the Aiwa doesn't, it's just a flat disk with a foam surround. So its movement isn't very refined. And when you replace that surround you gotta do it perfectly, or else you will get "farting" noises with certain R&B tracks. I owned one that had been restored with a new surround, and it LOOKED like they had done a good job, but it kept making those fart sounds during certain songs. I found myself constantly having to adjust the bass and the DSL button to compensate. It was irritating, so I sold it.

As for the Aiwa EXOS-10, I have never experienced one, but I really doubt it's as good as the previous EXOS-9. It only has 3 active drivers and 4 passive radiators, unlike the EXOS-9 which had 5 active drivers.

 

[BoomBoxStash]

I have to agree with the response about the GPO Brooklyn. I like that the deck has auto stop on rewind and fast forward but the W/F makes it not enjoyable to listen to. The permanent magnet erase head makes recordings sound horrible. The CD player does okay but sometimes it distorts if a recording is a little hot, even on a factory disc. The level meters are just for fun. Not accurate at all. Battery is dead in 2 to 4 hours of use and dies even when sitting overnight. Doesn't go very loud IMO. I really don't have much good to say about it. The only thing it has going for it is the looks.

I have a Lasonic i931x model. This one doesn't have Bluetooth. It has the iPod docking door on the front. Now, it goes loud and looks really nice. I like it way better than the GPO for sure. The only thing about the newer Lasonics are, the decals will curl up and peel if left in the hot sun or in the car. Mine did this but fortunately, It was new enough at the time to where I was able to replace them through Lasonic. I wish they had a real tuner dial like the GPO, even if it is a digital tuner chip versus a true analog tuning capacitor. I also wish it had a cassette deck but, who other than us is interested in such a thing?

The other models you mentioned I do not have, but I do have the ION Boombox Deluxe. It has an analog (style) tuner and a decent working cassette deck. I favor it more than the GPO. I just wish it had auto stop on Rewind and Fast Forward. It will sit there and slip the belt if you go off and forget about it. Techmoan gave it a crappy review, but it actually sounds decent and has a built-in Rechargeable battery. You can also run D batteries which makes it nice if you do not have the ability to charge it when on the go. If you can find one new for 80 bucks or so, it's not a bad little box. It's Bluetooth and has a microSD slot for MP3s, etc.. Just like the GPO, you can record from Bluetooth onto SD card or cassette. You can also record cassettes onto SD card as well. Radio can be recorded to cassette or SD card. It doesn't go as loud as the Lasonic, but it does have more of the 80's radio vibe. It has analog meters but you have to just about crank it to the max to get them to swing.

I also Love my mini M90s by replitronics. The new ones have AM/FM and Bluetooth. They run a good long while between charges with a huge battery. They sound decent for their size and look cool. They have auxiliary input so you can also run a walkman through it etc.. Consider it more of a novelty item, but very cool in their own way.

I'm not sure at this point if I have helped in any way, but this is my experience with modern boomboxes.

Thx Trabsistorized.
It helps. I had the Lasonic i931X. I ended up selling it. The 8" woofers were ok. But they are sealed cabinets which just suck the life out of those speakers. There just is not enough internal volume. I'd prefer Lasonic had left the rear open, to allow the large woofers to breathe.

I've seen the ion. It does have the 80's look. Emerson also has a boombox out, with a front vertical CD player and analog VU's. I have yet to fins one in a store to audition.

The Lasonic i931BTW, in white, is currently on sale at $156. I'm tempted lol. Still debating

Thx Trabsistorized.
It helps. I had the Lasonic i931X. I ended up selling it. The 8" woofers were ok. But they are sealed cabinets which just suck the life out of those speakers. There just is not enough internal volume. I'd prefer Lasonic had left the rear open, to allow the large woofers to breathe.

I've seen the ion. It does have the 80's look. Emerson also has a boombox out, with a front vertical CD player and analog VU's. I have yet to fins one in a store to audition.

The Lasonic i931BTW, in white, is currently on sale at $156. I'm tempted lol. Still debating tho

As for you mentioning the heat causing decals to curl up. Inhad considered a couple of the Studebaker models. I really dislike the name, Studebaker, tho. And They look cheaply made, to me.
But, I read of others having similar heat related issues. One owner said the FM station decal curled up, inside the tuner display, blocking the tuning pointer, making the tuner useless lol. That's terrible lol.
I have yet to buy a Studebaker.

 

[BoomBoxStash]

The M90 is regarded as one of the top 5 best 1-piece boomboxes of the 80s. While it's true that the woofers are kinda stiff because they lack cloth/foam surrounds, this makes them capable of reproducing vocals and guitar very accurately. Many boxes with softer surrounds (like Lasonics) just produce bass and little else. Excursion is overrated IMO.

The Sanyo MX920 you mentioned was high-quality too, but it lacks bass. They just didn't give it very good amplifiers. It's a good "looks" box for the style and all the metal trim.

The Aiwa CS-880 is a mixed bag. The tape deck is outstanding, very smooth, very low wow & flutter. But the passive radiator is actually not a "true" passive radiator. True passive radiators have a spider behind them, which controls and dampens its movement. The one in the Aiwa doesn't, it's just a flat disk with a foam surround. So its movement isn't very refined. And when you replace that surround you gotta do it perfectly, or else you will get "farting" noises with certain R&B tracks. I owned one that had been restored with a new surround, and it LOOKED like they had done a good job, but it kept making those fart sounds during certain songs. I found myself constantly having to adjust the bass and the DSL button to compensate. It was irritating, so I sold it.

As for the Aiwa EXOS-10, I have never experienced one, but I really doubt it's as good as the previous EXOS-9. It only has 3 active drivers and 4 passive radiators, unlike the EXOS-9 which had 5 active drivers.

Right on all counts. The JVC M90 had excellent mids. Very clean clear sound. Like I said, I should have forgone the bass and accepted it for what it was. That was my mistake.

idk if I agree about the passive cones. I get it that the cloth spider aids in controlling diaphragm movement. But, I've used plain flat drone cones with some success. If matched and weighted properly, excessive movement can be kept to a minimum.

I'm taking your word that the Sanyo MX920 lacked bass. In that event, I am glad I returned mine, way back when.

In that case, the JVC M90 is still the king. Altho I also bought a large Crown boombox not long after I had the JVC M90. The Crown was the same size. Big! 8" woofers. Nice VU meters. Nice tape deck. More bass than the JVC. Not sure about midrange clarity. I cannot remember any more. Really nice overall. Idk why I got rid of it. I cannot remember the model number. I think Crown may have been affiliated with Denon or some other more esoteric brand, back then.

 

[BoomBoxStash]

The M90 is regarded as one of the top 5 best 1-piece boomboxes of the 80s. While it's true that the woofers are kinda stiff because they lack cloth/foam surrounds, this makes them capable of reproducing vocals and guitar very accurately. Many boxes with softer surrounds (like Lasonics) just produce bass and little else. Excursion is overrated IMO.

The Sanyo MX920 you mentioned was high-quality too, but it lacks bass. They just didn't give it very good amplifiers. It's a good "looks" box for the style and all the metal trim.

The Aiwa CS-880 is a mixed bag. The tape deck is outstanding, very smooth, very low wow & flutter. But the passive radiator is actually not a "true" passive radiator. True passive radiators have a spider behind them, which controls and dampens its movement. The one in the Aiwa doesn't, it's just a flat disk with a foam surround. So its movement isn't very refined. And when you replace that surround you gotta do it perfectly, or else you will get "farting" noises with certain R&B tracks. I owned one that had been restored with a new surround, and it LOOKED like they had done a good job, but it kept making those fart sounds during certain songs. I found myself constantly having to adjust the bass and the DSL button to compensate. It was irritating, so I sold it.

As for the Aiwa EXOS-10, I have never experienced one, but I really doubt it's as good as the previous EXOS-9. It only has 3 active drivers and 4 passive radiators, unlike the EXOS-9 which had 5 active drivers.

Reli,
So, out of curiousity, what are the 5 so-called top one-piece boomboxes?

I agree the JVC M90 is one.
I'm guessing the large Conian is another? I never did see or audition that one.
I'm guessing one of the older Akai models? I liked Akai products. But I only remember Akai only featuring 6" woofers, which was, unfortunately, a turnoff for me, back in my younger days.

I'm interested to know lol.

 

[Reli]

Everyone's got their personal opinion, depending what kind of music they like and how loud they like to play it. But to me the top 5 are the Sanyo Big Ben, the M90, the National RX-7200, the Crown CSC-980, and the Panasonic RX-5350.

My next best 5 would be the Sanyo MX-820, Toshiba RT-S90, Crown CSC-970, Pioneer SK-900, and Sharp GF-9696.

The Conion and the Sharp 777 series are nice too, they're extremely loud and bassy, but to me they lack precision.

 

[BoomBoxStash]

Ok. I had the JVC M90. Agreed.
I think the Crown CSC-980 is the Crown I referred too. I looked up the pic. If so, Agreed again.

The National was an Akai, was it not? I'm sorry I never bought an Akai. I always liked the Akai with the bottom mounted analog tuner. I never found it locally, tho. Their decks were excellent. I had an Akai 3-ac motor component deck with single and double speed recording, which may have been the best deck I had ever owned. I remember their glass'n Xtal patented tape heads being among the best in the business.

I also auditioned the Pioneer Sk-900. I've always kicked myself for not buying it when it was available, locally. I owned a Pioneer SK-71, I think. Very nice balanced sound. Very cool LCD VU's. Removable cloth grill covers. Good quality deck. The others I never saw offered locally and thus never heard.

I agree the Conion may have not been the same level, technically speaking. idt I was ever interested in that one. As you say, max volume wasn't everything. I preferred the big boomboxes which offered specs approaching those of home components.

Well, was a nice discussion, Reli. Hard to find someone with an authentic interest and knowledge of the old hi-end audio.

LOL, I once went over a neighbor's house party, many years back. The owner bragged about his Bose table top radio (which looked like a clock radio, to me). He turned up the volume and bragged of its brand name and fidelity. All I heard was horrible distortion. I had to walk away. I recall commenting to my wife later on that evening, telling her I've owned boomboxes that blew that piece of crap away. Was never a fan of Bose, anyway.

 

[Reli]

No, the Nationals are Panasonics. Akai was a different company, they made a couple nice boomboxes but nothing really loud or powerful.

Bose has always been a joke. I interviewed for a job with them back in the 90s when they were pushing the Wave radio. They were sending guys door to door demo'ing that radio. They would blindfold people and ask them if they could tell which system was playing, the Wave or their home stereo. They would manipulate the settings and the speaker placement to try and fool people. It was such a joke.

 

[BoomBoxStash]

No, the Nationals are Panasonics. Akai was a different company, they made a couple nice boomboxes but nothing really loud or powerful.

Bose has always been a joke. I interviewed for a job with them back in the 90s when they were pushing the Wave radio. They were sending guys door to door demo'ing that radio. They would blindfold people and ask them if they could tell which system was playing, the Wave or their home stereo. They would manipulate the settings and the speaker placement to try and fool people. It was such a joke.

LOL. I am not surprised about Bose. Their products were overpriced and not impressive at all. I never understood their following.

I forgot, National was Panasonic. My bad. Been a while since I heard that brand name. I think I am indeed mixing up the Akai and Panasonic big boomboxes. Yes, Akai was not too great for boomboxes. But, my Akai component deck was really top notch. I think the deck response was around 25Hz to 19Khz at +/-3dB at double speed recording with metal bias tape.

Panasonic had many really nice boomboxes. I had the 3 piece component with the 3-way speakers. That had very good sound. Another one I should have kept. I actually found one, brand spanking new, in the late 1990's, while visiting Canada. I happened to stop at a hifi store, and there it was. I was just plain stupid not to keep that one. The woofers were true woofers. Large excursion cloth roll suspension. A midrange and a tweeter. And bi-amped to boot. Very smooth overall sound. Deep bass. Good power output and volume.

I also had the Panasonic RXDT75. That was one of the coolest one piece smaller boomboxes I have ever owned. Very sophisticated. With very small 3" woofers. Also 3-way per channel. But, it did not get very loud. And I cannot remember if it had manual recording. It was a nice show piece. Great for near-field listening. That may have also been a bi-amped design. I cannot remember for sure, anymore.

 

[Reli]

Here is the mack daddy of Panasonics:

National RX-XE520 | The Boombox Wiki

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