Are you sitting comfortably?
Good.
My name is Zach, and I'm a lifelong resident of the state of Maine, in the USA. Up here we say that if you don't like the weather, you simply need to wait five minutes.
After browsing a couple of threads I've decided to join because, despite my multitudes of amps, receivers and speakers I have a great deal of love for good-quality portible audio devices. I'm hoping to pick the brains of some of the brilliant people here and turn the three boomboxes that I own at present into the best they can be.
So here they are, in all their glory.
Many of you (if not all of you) will recognize this as the Magnavox D8443. This is the most recent addition to my collection, and one of the ones I will be returning to its former glory. At present the tape transport section is dead: the spindles and the capstan won't budge at all, but I can hear the motor so I wager that's just fine. I'm familiar with the little plastic gear issue and I'll be buying a replacement one on eBay in short order.
I was a little bit disappointed to discover that the line-in function doesn't really work unless you're recording, but the state of my unit's tape transport seems to allow me to trick it into thinking I'm recording: if I press down that little lever that unlocks the 'record' button, then press 'play' and 'rec' at the same time, the line-in works at full volume. I used it like that with my PSP at work last night and the night before, and it ran like a champ.
Next on the list is my Sanyo C-40. This is the one I decided I wanted to tinker with. The reason why it looks like that in this picture is because I'm intent on replacing the speakers that originally came in them, preferably with something a little more detailed. So far I'm torn between wiring up a rudimentary crossover and making them actual two-way speakers (the 'tweeter' is just a cardboard disc with a black and white wire soldered to it), or purchasing a nice pair of 5" fullrange speakers from Parts-Express.
One of the more useful features of this particular boombox is that it accepts three different power sources: battery power, 120-volt power from the wall or 12-volt power from an AC adapter/automobile adapter. If I ever decide to go camping, I'll either bring the Magnavox or this one.
The last one on my list is the one I've had the longest. Despite being dropped (and reglued) a number of times, consistently left in a hot car during 90+ degree days and taken god-knows-where by its previous owner (this thing was FILTHY, inside and out, and still is to some degree), it still trudges on. Furthermore, of the three I have I still think that this one has the best sound quality. Whereas the other two seem to be a bit shy in the high-end, this one borders on being bright.
I'll probably always hang onto this one, simply because it was my first one. On top of that, considering I only spent $6 for it at a Goodwill, I've more than gotten my money's worth.
Anyway, that's what I have. It's probably not as impressive as the collections some of you people have, but they suit my purposes. And that's all that matters, right?
Good.
My name is Zach, and I'm a lifelong resident of the state of Maine, in the USA. Up here we say that if you don't like the weather, you simply need to wait five minutes.
After browsing a couple of threads I've decided to join because, despite my multitudes of amps, receivers and speakers I have a great deal of love for good-quality portible audio devices. I'm hoping to pick the brains of some of the brilliant people here and turn the three boomboxes that I own at present into the best they can be.
So here they are, in all their glory.
Many of you (if not all of you) will recognize this as the Magnavox D8443. This is the most recent addition to my collection, and one of the ones I will be returning to its former glory. At present the tape transport section is dead: the spindles and the capstan won't budge at all, but I can hear the motor so I wager that's just fine. I'm familiar with the little plastic gear issue and I'll be buying a replacement one on eBay in short order.
I was a little bit disappointed to discover that the line-in function doesn't really work unless you're recording, but the state of my unit's tape transport seems to allow me to trick it into thinking I'm recording: if I press down that little lever that unlocks the 'record' button, then press 'play' and 'rec' at the same time, the line-in works at full volume. I used it like that with my PSP at work last night and the night before, and it ran like a champ.
Next on the list is my Sanyo C-40. This is the one I decided I wanted to tinker with. The reason why it looks like that in this picture is because I'm intent on replacing the speakers that originally came in them, preferably with something a little more detailed. So far I'm torn between wiring up a rudimentary crossover and making them actual two-way speakers (the 'tweeter' is just a cardboard disc with a black and white wire soldered to it), or purchasing a nice pair of 5" fullrange speakers from Parts-Express.
One of the more useful features of this particular boombox is that it accepts three different power sources: battery power, 120-volt power from the wall or 12-volt power from an AC adapter/automobile adapter. If I ever decide to go camping, I'll either bring the Magnavox or this one.
The last one on my list is the one I've had the longest. Despite being dropped (and reglued) a number of times, consistently left in a hot car during 90+ degree days and taken god-knows-where by its previous owner (this thing was FILTHY, inside and out, and still is to some degree), it still trudges on. Furthermore, of the three I have I still think that this one has the best sound quality. Whereas the other two seem to be a bit shy in the high-end, this one borders on being bright.
I'll probably always hang onto this one, simply because it was my first one. On top of that, considering I only spent $6 for it at a Goodwill, I've more than gotten my money's worth.
Anyway, that's what I have. It's probably not as impressive as the collections some of you people have, but they suit my purposes. And that's all that matters, right?
to the forum and congrats for these good boomboxes.
