rx dt690

[bill]

i had one of these back when they were new and was pretty amazed with how it sounded back in the day.
today i happened to come across a pristine used one at the value village.
there was also a really nice platinum series panasonic from a much earlier vintage there too. i passed on it tho.
the original 690 i had was stolen from us back in the day.
it was the only boombox i had purchased new aside from the kaboom i bought a couple years ago.
so is it still as good as i remember. well it is excellent.
the eq is quite good and works quite well for balancing out the sound. tuner is hohum seems to me to be a bit on the weak side for picking up stuff. i checked to make sure the antenna was tight and everything. still just ok reception.
cd player is pretty good on this one. nice sounding.
what about the bass. its really good nicely presented and hits pretty hard.
the mids and highs are there in a very musical way. while playing back the tape you notice it is a very decent sounding tape deck. it would appear this didnt have dolby on it. i dont know why they would have omitted that on such a high end portable.
the styling is cool. square and big. i bet they would have looked great in silver i wonder if they ever were offered in silver. double auto reverse decks nice stuff. the unit sounds really rich and full.
nothing like a kaboom. in fact the two couldnt sound more different too my ears. ones a one trick bass monster on steriods the other is a pretty well balanced snobbish kind of boombox flirting with audiophile aspirations.
i have had my eyes out for one of these for a while now. a few times i have come across them that were to munched up to warrant opening the wallet or others where they just wanted too much cash. sorry bout the crap picture but i am lazy today.

 

[Radio raheem]

If this box is anything like the 680 bill you got a cracker i have always wanted one but i dont think they were distrabuted in the uk, cracking box mate well done.

 

[MasterBlaster84]

Great pick bill, I wouldn't pass that one up either.

 

[skippy1969]

I had one of those Bill. They are a great sounding unit for sure. Here is an old picture of my Panasonic Biamped models.

 

[bill]

i am pretty happy with it. it was super cheap. i wont lie i was tempted to take the other one there but i already have one like it so it was a no go.
it does sound really really good.

 

[Uncle Ed]

Excellent machines, DT's ......

Nice pick-up .

So best not to curse out Value Village.

 

[oldskool69]

The DT-690 followed the DT-680. The main differences is that, at least to me anyway, the 680 has a richer sound since you combine a five band eq with the XBS versus the four of the 690. The piezo tweet on the 690 is the other difference. It is not noticable by me with them both playing side by side. A winner no matter how you slice it though. Great catch!

 

[bill]

the thrift stores up here have been super flush lately. i dont get it. its a good thing tho. there is so much used electronics in my main haunts that i cant even take all the stuff i want. i even copped a really nice marantz vintage reciver today for under twenty bucks.
back to the dt690. it is a very nice boombox. one of the best ever in terms of sound i think.
i still do prefer the dt707 to it. the690 is for sure worth grabbing if you can get one. i would have paid a lot more than 17,99 for this boombox.
i think its probably the last really good boombox panasonic put out. i am not entirely sure what came after this one.

 

[Jovie]

i am not entirely sure what came after this one.

Precise release chronology for boombox manufacturers has been a very neglected study.Though the Boombox Database does a nice job of presenting us with the different models,it describes the dates of manufacture only by decade.It would be great if we could get our hands on complete sets of old supplier and/or manufacturer catalogs.You know plenty have to still exist.Unfortunately they're probably in cold storage because people assume no one is interested in them :'-(

 

[Radio raheem]

i am not entirely sure what came after this one.

Precise release chronology for boombox manufacturers has been a very neglected study.Though the Boombox Database does a nice job of presenting us with the different models,it describes the dates of manufacture only by decade.It would be great if we could get our hands on complete sets of old supplier and/or manufacturer catalogs.You know plenty have to still exist.Unfortunately they're probably in cold storage because people assume no one is interested in them :'-(

The ed 90

 

[panabox1]

I rccommend going for the 680 over the 690. The 690 dosen't hit the deep bass anyhwere near the way the 680 does. Plus I think the 680 has a better soundstage.

 

[bill]

i have two 680s. theres not a huge ammount of difference but the 680 is bassier.

 

[redbenjoe]

the 680 is one of the boxes that everybody loves --
and soundwise - it has no faults --

for me --the digital tuner --
keeps me from using it --
in fact - its in storage

which is a STUPID place to keep a great sounding box....

so--
never one to hijack a thread........


here is the deal -
its MINT --or about mint

it works perfectly -
it has no remote or papers or OEM box-
----
if some member with some money and some taste
wants it --
please send me a pm offer --(no trades)

or --do i have to put it in our for sale section -
and make a huge promotional effort