What are the 3 most ICONIC boom boxes

[JustCruisin]

Got to agree with you Max on the RC550 call, however I also agree with Reli that the M90, as beautiful and sought after as it is probably isn't as iconic to people who dont know about boom boxes. The average Joe is likely to recognise a GF777 though.
My vote in no particular order

Conion c100f
Sharp gf 777
JVC RC 550

Toy makers probably know very little about boomboxes and just resemble what a "Popular Ghettoblaster" looks like, because I have a breakdance toy with positioning joints that comes with a slab of cardboard and a "GF-777" complete with sound effect beats! Another toy I found when helping my mom move was a black "RC-550" which turned out to be a Barbie accessory!
I dunno... Sometimes "Pop Culture" helps determine what is Iconic.....

 

[fresh produce]

If you think about it:
Number one must be the JVC RC-550 just cause it was kind of the first real street warrior and its whole design was laid out to be played outside.
The looks of it are also very very unique in the boombox world.
Number two would have to be the Conion C-100F because in my opinion it is the best looking boombox ever made. The clichee of a boombox is the C100 - you think boombox, you think C100. The GF777 might have been outstanding with 4 woofers but it was never the first thing i thought about when i wanted to get myself an old radio .
Then number three can only be the infamous JVC RC-M90. Not because of its looks or size (okay, it is pretty big and looks pretty much like a ghettoblaster as you would picture it) but because of its appearance on LL Cool J's cover and, most important, its sound. I think only few will disagree when i say the M90 is easily the best sounding boombox out there. And whoever disagrees has never heard one.
So while there are plenty of other boomboxes that are iconic and stand out, I think the top three are the ones named above

JVC RC-550 best box ever

 

[im_alan_partridge]

So for arguements sake, if the C100 and 777 M90/550 are the top 3, whos got the full set?

Also i think crown 950 and gf9494 deserve an honorable mentions.

 

[Reli]

When I hear the word "iconic" I think most famous and recognizable.....As in you could walk down the street and people would say "Oh yeah my brother or roomate used to have one of those"

The odds that someone will say that depend on 2 things:

1) How many of them were sold
2) Styling that really stood out, and was different than other boxes

The Toshiba S90 fails both tests

The RC-550 passes the 2nd test, but it fails the first test. It came out before boomboxes really took off, so not many were produced.

The C100 and the 777 pass both tests

 

[bklyn sound]

with the 777 and the c100 and m90...the sharp happens to be my grail...don't yet own an m90 but the one's i have heard are sweet !! but i can also say the m70 was not to far behind in this pack . .just my opinion

 

[baddboybill]

When I hear the word "iconic" I think most famous and recognizable.....As in you could walk down the street and people would say "Oh yeah my brother or roomate used to have one of those"

The odds that someone will say that depend on 2 things:

1) How many of them were sold
2) How many people today would see it and remember it

The Toshiba S90 fails both tests

The RC-550 passes the 2nd test, but it fails the first test. It came out before boomboxes really took off, so not many were produced.

The C100 and the 777 pass both tests

Don't forget the Lasonic TRC931...

 

[MONOLITHIC]

Even more so now, you see the Lasonic TRC-931 in commercials... Can't say the same for any of those other boxes.

 

[floyd]

#1 jvc m90 = ll cool j album cover ,song written about the radio.

#2 sharp gf 767 = run dmc album cover

#3 techsonic super jumbo = do the right thing =radio raheem


# lasonic trc 931 = been in more music video's than any other box
# conion c100 f = the last dragon
# dynasty discolite = everybody wants one now that maddonna sat on one

 

[Reli]

Now that you guys mention it, I agree that the Lasonic 931 has appeared in tons of videos, movies, etc........Why? because it's so flashy and over-the-top. So is the C100.

Why would you use an M90 as a movie prop, it has absolutely no flash whatsoever. It's a top-quality box, but a movie producer doesn't care about that.

Album covers are kinda meaningless to me. I mean, I have tons of albums, but the cover art just isn't something I remember.

So the answer is:

1) C100
2) Lasonic 931
3) 777/999/1000

 

[lilo777]

I have mixed feelings about Lasonic 931 (and Lasonics in general). The styling seems to be intentionally over the top bordering with grotesque. Obviously, it is a reflection of the era when boomboxes were turning from being a serious business to ... something else. Even Conion styling is a little too strong but the quality is definitely there. With Lasonics, the form totally took over and quality became a secondary factor. It may still be iconic. Being iconic does not mean the highest quality. I am just expressing my own feelings on the subject.

BTW, I never heard about Conions in the 80s. They simply did not exist in USSR. It looks like it's mostly an American item. Out of curiosity I googled .de and .uk web sites for Conion c-100f and the search returned only about 500 hits. It returned more than 70K for .com web sites. Maybe it was sold under a different name in Europe?

And speaking of Google. Here are hit counts for some of the popular models:


Sharp GF-777 115K
Sharp GF-777Z 37K
Sharp GF-1000 54K
Sharp GF-999 53K
Sharp 777 35K

Conion c-100f 76K
Conion c-100 27K
Conion c100 11K

JVC RC-M90 54K
JVC M90 10K

Lasonic trc-931 35K
Lasonic 931 10K

JVC RC-550 22K
JVC RC-550W 3K
JVC RC-550JW 7K

Lasonic trc- 920 23K
Crown 850 7K

JVC M70 30K
JVC M-70 19K

Sharp GF-9696 23K
Sharp GF-9696Z 7K

Panasonic RX-5350 18K (that would be my candidate but the reference count disagrees with me)

And here is somewhat of a surprise:

Sharp GF-9595 105K (should this one belong to the top three?)

 

[mellymelsr]

I think the Lasonic 931 series has to be in the top 3. It can be found in moveis, TV shows and advertisements....and it is the only iconic boombox still in production.

 

[Gluecifer]

As collectors, I believe we're too subjective to work out this kind of thing, for something to be an 'icon' means anyone will recognize it.
It's very hard for us to be objective about this as we're so passionate about them.

I always find it interesting when new people come over to my house with no interest in them whatsoever as to which one's they think stand out
or which ones they remember. By the same token, when I'm out carrying which ones get the most responses.

This is 9 times out of 10 the C100.

If you're lookng at what the 'mass market' thinks, ie what's on tshirts/advertising/videos/etc then the 931 has to come in a very close second, and the DiscoLite not far beind that. I hate to say it, but I'd probably put the DiscoLite ahead of the 777 in regards to how iconic it is the general public.

As a geographical oddity though, in Australia nearly EVERY person I talk to whom I tell I collect boomboxes they most common question is "Do you have the one with the turntable??" meaning a VZ-2000. These were apparently very iconic down here, partly explaning why there are still so many in circulation.

To add more fuel to the debate I'd consider adding the Blockbuster in there too. That featured in a bunch of movies, and is still one of the most recognisable designs in regards to what's considered a classic boombox.



Rock On.

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

I'm gonna say

M90
C-100
TRC-975

 

[Pointdexter1906]

Would have to go with:

GF777
M90
RC550

(in no particular order...)