What attracts you to boomboxes?
- Thread starter blacksnake
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petergriffin
Member (SA)
besides the amazing sound and looks of the boomboxes, it's just the fact that I can look at one, and I'm back as a teenager. All the memories just flood back, and I'm in a happy place 
I am an attention whore. 
I like the reactions from people when they see a box of mine or the collection. They wonder "why" 
. Then I remind them that they probably collected base ball cards, pogs, rocks, and other dumb **** like that. Then they understand that this is an interactive collection that I get to share with everyone!
I'm in it for the hunt, the "aww" factor, the reminder of when I was 6-8yrs old when I got my first BBX, and because I like shiney stuff
. I also like things that other people just don't find appealing until they see what they really are all shined up and thumping.
And, I like them because of a lot of other member's reasons too.
Basically, they just make me happy.
I like the reactions from people when they see a box of mine or the collection. They wonder "why" . Then I remind them that they probably collected base ball cards, pogs, rocks, and other dumb **** like that. Then they understand that this is an interactive collection that I get to share with everyone!I'm in it for the hunt, the "aww" factor, the reminder of when I was 6-8yrs old when I got my first BBX, and because I like shiney stuff
. I also like things that other people just don't find appealing until they see what they really are all shined up and thumping.And, I like them because of a lot of other member's reasons too.
Basically, they just make me happy.
DoktorHoliday
Member (SA)
mellymelsr said:dokstarr41 said:
...love that avatar......and you are holding my favorite box...
Thanks! I saw the Blue one you Refinished, and lost my breath..! .Nice Work! Very Nice,,,
mellymelsr
Member (SA)
dokstarr41 said:mellymelsr said:dokstarr41 said:
...love that avatar...
Thanks! I saw the Blue one you Refinished, and lost my breath..! .Nice Work! Very Nice,,,
...thank you, and welcome aboard!!
BENDYCAT
Member (SA)
I grow up in the south of England in a small village in the 80's - there was a place with swings and slides and other such stuff to hang around on, next to that was a big green pitch of grass for football/cricket - each side of that was hills and woods
So we would all meet up there to play on our bmx's and kick a football around - i would bring the sounds with me - can't remember what box it was, but it was passed down to me from a older mate down the road - i would carry it (struggle) and play the cool tapes till the batts went down
You are gauged by how cool you were with the gear you had at the time - rocking a big box and a cool bmx won top points
so for me - big - flash - and with a cool touch it's got to be
cheers B
So we would all meet up there to play on our bmx's and kick a football around - i would bring the sounds with me - can't remember what box it was, but it was passed down to me from a older mate down the road - i would carry it (struggle) and play the cool tapes till the batts went down
You are gauged by how cool you were with the gear you had at the time - rocking a big box and a cool bmx won top points
so for me - big - flash - and with a cool touch it's got to be
cheers B
mmcodomino
Member (SA)
When I first got in touch with boomboxes, everything that mattered to me was that I can put my tape in and hear something out of that box.
I remember I actually could not wait for my first small cassette recorders (yeah, the colored ones I had as a small child) to break so i could take them apart and see what is inside.
I guess I have always been fascinated by the simplicity of complexity. (are those proper words to use?)
When one day one of those systems broke again, my dad and I went in the deep winter to get a new cassette player for me. I remember him pulling me on the sleigh to the electronics store. I cannot remember picking something there at all! I have no clue what systems were standing there but I know we left with a Sony boombox that also played CDs and had this "bass reflex body" of which I had no idea what its purpose was so I started storing my crayons in there
.
I needed something heavy duty so it would hold for quite a few years.
Well, to be honest, and I am still ashamed for that, I was so excited when I got this new boombox also because it was bigger than any one I ever had before and I could not wait for it to break and take it apart.
It is running and fully working until today.
I think I as a child abused it quite a lot...put stickers on it and left the tape door open for weeks sometimes
. Messed around with the CD player when I figured out how to let it run without the door being closed...somewhere in that time the battery cover and the antenna must have gone bye bye .
I recently dug it out again and had it as workshop radio when restoring my VW. Boy, it really was not a bad radio but I kind of had to smile when I thought of my collection at home, all well treasured and never abused.
I have said goodbye to boomboxes or to my one boombox for quite a while wanting a home stereo wjhich I got for Christmas when I was 14 I think. It looks butt-ugly but I really loved it back then. A center piece with 2 tape decks, a 3 CD changer and radio and two speakers made by Philips. It had a nice punch but eventually well, I don't know, it was really flashy with its LED display and the 3 CD changer had its own mind. So I went back to tapes on it, audio dramas mostly. One day we had a power out and since it was a tape deck that is not like on most boomboxes, I could not get the tape back out so I paniced and ended up breaking off the roll that controls the tape speed. Big fail on my side.
I kinda let it go away and did not really listen to anything that much anymore...I know, quite sad.
Then, in 2008 I accquired the full cassette collection of my favorite audio dramam series I still collect until today.
I always played it with a modern elta egg I got for some class trip. Sound equals cell phone and the CD door broke off very shortly after purchasing it.
One day it ripped apart one of my tape, meaning it kept on turning although the tape was over so the tape is stuck in the cassette now and i cannot open the case of it. That was it, over and out. I needed a GOOD cassette player. Not meaning the one that was left in my basment, my first Sony, I went on eBay and looked for almost a month, studying the market and ended up with my Crown 935 for 20 euros. I loved it! I was so excited to recieve it in so much bubble wrap and then test it out to the limit. I got a little disappointed when I found out it had no line-in. So, off we go again to ePay. Suince i studied the marlet a bit, I knew BIG ones were cool. So I went for one that looked very big on the photo. WOW! A VINIX!!! 
Size-wise i was disappointed of this 100 euro purchase but the looks and the radio alarm really made it pretty awesome. But still..no line-in.
Then I found some articel about the VZ series. Since I also had vinyls of the audio drama series, I really wanted one. Searched eBay for 3 months without a good one coming up, I really wantd a working one...most of the time just the turntable is broken.
So I got a minty one for 300 bux, a lot but it was well spent money! My first GRAIL was there.
Somewhere between the Sony one in the middle of the winter and the VZ in early spring, I fell in love with those units. I mean what can be better than tranporting music out on the streets, everywhere? Why has that become "noise", why is it aggravating people?
I don't know why those awesome units went away and they only sell eggs nowdays. I grew up in the 90s and early 2000s and still I am in love with 80s boomboxes as playing units. I admit i have an iPod but I love tapes, I love to have something in my hand that has the music on it, to put it in the tape door that slowly opened, close it with the famous sound and press play and see the wheels turn.
I love it to gt a hold of something you cannot hold: music. It feels so great to grab that boombox and not have the music fade as you move away.
People may think I am a riot walking down the street cranking up or even listening to something in moderate volume.
Lately a kid asked me "Why do you have to play the music loud and not listen to it for yourself?".
A lack of understanding I think. It is about bringing good feelings to people with music, music makes everyone feel better.
I also got positive reactions like people wanting me to play the sing they like louder.
The calculation is easy: Music + portability = Boombox.
Fascinating is what those boxes do, bringing not only music to people but also positive feelings. You could say good vibrations but I don't know if that is the right thing to say.
It is a small miracle how wires and plastic gears put together the right way can make your day, can cheer you up.
LL Cool J defined it pretty good: I can't live without my radio.
He's just...right.
Sorry about that novel by the way
I remember I actually could not wait for my first small cassette recorders (yeah, the colored ones I had as a small child) to break so i could take them apart and see what is inside.
I guess I have always been fascinated by the simplicity of complexity. (are those proper words to use?)
When one day one of those systems broke again, my dad and I went in the deep winter to get a new cassette player for me. I remember him pulling me on the sleigh to the electronics store. I cannot remember picking something there at all! I have no clue what systems were standing there but I know we left with a Sony boombox that also played CDs and had this "bass reflex body" of which I had no idea what its purpose was so I started storing my crayons in there
.I needed something heavy duty so it would hold for quite a few years.
Well, to be honest, and I am still ashamed for that, I was so excited when I got this new boombox also because it was bigger than any one I ever had before and I could not wait for it to break and take it apart.
It is running and fully working until today.
I think I as a child abused it quite a lot...put stickers on it and left the tape door open for weeks sometimes
. Messed around with the CD player when I figured out how to let it run without the door being closed...somewhere in that time the battery cover and the antenna must have gone bye bye .I recently dug it out again and had it as workshop radio when restoring my VW. Boy, it really was not a bad radio but I kind of had to smile when I thought of my collection at home, all well treasured and never abused.
I have said goodbye to boomboxes or to my one boombox for quite a while wanting a home stereo wjhich I got for Christmas when I was 14 I think. It looks butt-ugly but I really loved it back then. A center piece with 2 tape decks, a 3 CD changer and radio and two speakers made by Philips. It had a nice punch but eventually well, I don't know, it was really flashy with its LED display and the 3 CD changer had its own mind. So I went back to tapes on it, audio dramas mostly. One day we had a power out and since it was a tape deck that is not like on most boomboxes, I could not get the tape back out so I paniced and ended up breaking off the roll that controls the tape speed. Big fail on my side.
I kinda let it go away and did not really listen to anything that much anymore...I know, quite sad.
Then, in 2008 I accquired the full cassette collection of my favorite audio dramam series I still collect until today.
I always played it with a modern elta egg I got for some class trip. Sound equals cell phone and the CD door broke off very shortly after purchasing it.
One day it ripped apart one of my tape, meaning it kept on turning although the tape was over so the tape is stuck in the cassette now and i cannot open the case of it. That was it, over and out. I needed a GOOD cassette player. Not meaning the one that was left in my basment, my first Sony, I went on eBay and looked for almost a month, studying the market and ended up with my Crown 935 for 20 euros. I loved it! I was so excited to recieve it in so much bubble wrap and then test it out to the limit. I got a little disappointed when I found out it had no line-in. So, off we go again to ePay. Suince i studied the marlet a bit, I knew BIG ones were cool. So I went for one that looked very big on the photo. WOW! A VINIX!!!
Size-wise i was disappointed of this 100 euro purchase but the looks and the radio alarm really made it pretty awesome. But still..no line-in.Then I found some articel about the VZ series. Since I also had vinyls of the audio drama series, I really wanted one. Searched eBay for 3 months without a good one coming up, I really wantd a working one...most of the time just the turntable is broken.
So I got a minty one for 300 bux, a lot but it was well spent money! My first GRAIL was there.
Somewhere between the Sony one in the middle of the winter and the VZ in early spring, I fell in love with those units. I mean what can be better than tranporting music out on the streets, everywhere? Why has that become "noise", why is it aggravating people?
I don't know why those awesome units went away and they only sell eggs nowdays. I grew up in the 90s and early 2000s and still I am in love with 80s boomboxes as playing units. I admit i have an iPod but I love tapes, I love to have something in my hand that has the music on it, to put it in the tape door that slowly opened, close it with the famous sound and press play and see the wheels turn.
I love it to gt a hold of something you cannot hold: music. It feels so great to grab that boombox and not have the music fade as you move away.
People may think I am a riot walking down the street cranking up or even listening to something in moderate volume.
Lately a kid asked me "Why do you have to play the music loud and not listen to it for yourself?".
A lack of understanding I think. It is about bringing good feelings to people with music, music makes everyone feel better.
I also got positive reactions like people wanting me to play the sing they like louder.
The calculation is easy: Music + portability = Boombox.
Fascinating is what those boxes do, bringing not only music to people but also positive feelings. You could say good vibrations but I don't know if that is the right thing to say.
It is a small miracle how wires and plastic gears put together the right way can make your day, can cheer you up.
LL Cool J defined it pretty good: I can't live without my radio.
He's just...right.
Sorry about that novel by the way
bytor
Member (SA)
First purchase was Pioneer SK31 from a Goodwill for $5.99 about 3yrs ago. I just wanted something for outside I could hook up my ipod to, the quality of the build sort of struck me as something that would not get made nowadays. Started hitting that same thrift store and got a few more and I got the bug. Then I started checking Craigslist and got a Panasonic 5080 and was hooked.
Started hitting more and more thrifts and I swear I would go months with nothing and then get 2 in one day. I got my studio 1M, jvc pc 55 and pc 550 all from same goodwill within a 2 week span and haven't seen anything good there in at least a year.
Last good thrift score was an Aiwa CS880 for $9.99 in a Valu Village in April 2010.
I like looking at them, listening to them, I rotate them every day, but I think what attracts me most to them, is how hard it is to find them and how great it feels when you finally do..
Started hitting more and more thrifts and I swear I would go months with nothing and then get 2 in one day. I got my studio 1M, jvc pc 55 and pc 550 all from same goodwill within a 2 week span and haven't seen anything good there in at least a year.
Last good thrift score was an Aiwa CS880 for $9.99 in a Valu Village in April 2010.
I like looking at them, listening to them, I rotate them every day, but I think what attracts me most to them, is how hard it is to find them and how great it feels when you finally do..
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