What makes a Grail?

[jaetee]

As a community, we throw the word "grail" around quite a bit. That got me kind of scratching my head... and asking myself....

WHAT REALLY MAKES A BOX A "HOLY-GRAIL"?

The obvious and simple answer is any commonly sought after boombox. But in my mind, I boiled it down to what I think are three major types of grails...

Performance-Grails: These are the powerhouse boxes. They can look like ass, but as long as they thump, who cares? (like maybe the WX-1 perhaps? While I like the untypical look of that box, I've heard that many don't... but it sounds loud and good. I want one for sure.)

Looks-Grails: These epitomize (to each of us individually) what a boombox really "should" look like... And if they happen to sound good, so much the better... but in the end, power or sound quality just don't matter nearly as much as how these look. (Sharp GF-9696 perhaps? Looks 110% bad-ass, but doesn't come even remotely close to the M70, much less the M90)

Personal-Grails: These are the ones you seek out because you or a good friend might have had that model back in the day, or it's the box you always wanted but couldn't afford then... Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about that box, you simply gotta have it for your own personal reasons. (me & the GF-9292)

Some boxes may fit into all three of these categories (like the M90 perhaps) and others maybe only one...

So, what boxes do you think fit in what categories? And why???

And if you have one, what is, or was your personal grail??

 

[Fatdog]

Most of my "grails" fall into the Personal and Looks categories that you mentioned. My huge Clairtone and the GF-777 are personal grails because friends of mine had those boxes when we were growing up in the 1980s. My GF-9494X is definitely a Looks grail. I can only think of one last grail I need and it's the M90 - that one is a Performance and Looks thing.

Let's not forget that a grail to one person, might be just a "so so" box to someone else.

 

[ford93]

No need to say more my av will speak for me.

I had one before in the 80's. Sold it like an idiot, but I got one again and this time she's not going anywhere!

The M-90 is my HOLY GRAIL!

 

[redbenjoe]

good idea for a thread , john

agree about the three types of grails -
like a big kaboom is a sound grail to some of us --
but perhaps a looks grail to nobody

our personal grails can be any box --
and can change from month to month --

to me -- i think of personal grails as 'not-to-big'
carry type boxes ....
mine (this week) ...is a 15" lasonic #909 with a factory dial lamp

 

[Radio raheem]

Best box in the WORLD m90 lol no suprize there

personal grail i couldnt afford back then pc55 have 6 or 7 now

Personal grails i had when younger rxc52 akai pj33 jvc dc33l

lates holy grail to me that i couldnt afford in 1991 the sony CFDk10 cost £350 in 1991 i have 2 now fark i need these little 3""cones reafoamed

 

[MasterBlaster84]

I think most agree that the big boys like the M90, C-100F's, S90's, etc. qualify as "Grails" but then from there we use the term to describe boxes that light our fire such as 9990, 9595, Blockbuster, etc. So once you clear out the boxes most agree qualify as grails your left with everything else and I agree at that point the three types jaetee mentions are absolutely true. That really means the word "Grail" has more than one ultimate meaning and that's okay, in one way or another most boomers are grails to somebody.

 

[Radio raheem]

Nother personal grail to me and i have never seen one on any ebay or no member has one so it's like 10 times rarer than iras tosh 40 is the panasonic FD 80 i would pay a grand for a fully working one IF I HAD THE MONEY but never seen one in 7 yrs of looking not on stg or here

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

Really good thread....

I think when I was younger (13-14 years old) and was window shopping it was all about the looks. To some extent that is still the case, but as I read so many threads of people talking about quality of some of my "Dream Boxes", boom boxes I've wanted since the 80's but never owned and I hear that the quality of construction and quality of sound is poor (thinking Lasonic TRC-975) that I have become turned off to some extent.

The more I read about the real performers, the Conion C-100F, the M-90 and some of the Panasonic's and Sharp's, the looks start to take a back seat.

When I first saw a picture on line of the Lasonic TRC-920 that I owned back when it was new, the memories flooded back so hard into my mind that I was then on a straight line quest to get one. I was really bummed at first to find out that this was considered by some to be a "Grail" because it meant it would cost me to get one. And to some extent it did. But that's OK.

From there I started on the "Personal Gail" quest, looking for some of the models I used to dream of getting in the 80' but never did. I have been working on that list now.

Last but not least, I am using these radios, not just collecting them, So I really want them to perform. There are some I really would like to have but I read that some of them are total crap, so if they come up at the right price I "Might" get one, but I think I'm going to focus my energies in other places right now.

Sound and performance quality.

 

[Superduper]

I think I've read someplace where a grail is a "must-have" boombox that belongs in every collection regardless of whether it is for looks, performance, or whatever. Some boomboxes are so common they can even be coined ubiquitous, such as the M70, but they are definitly grails because their importance and impact to boomboxing simply can't be ignored. I imagine this is one boombox that no collection should ever be without.

 

[Master Z]

What makes a Grail?

Their Rep. :sin:

 

[Old school Scott]

When I first read the word Grail as meaning a most sought after box,
it was on the Boombox Museum site.
I thought that it meant Boombox collectors all gravitate towards the same kind of box to hail as the most sought after.
But now i feel that as far as true quality goes, like sound and craftsmanship, it can be appreciated by all .
but when it comes to looks, grail is in the eye of the beholder.
Good thread and I agree with the one two three.

Cheers OSS

 

[Boom Shaka Laka]

I agree that performance, looks, rarity and personal preference all can make a boombox a Holy Grail. But, to be a Grail, the box has to be something you pursue, and not just stumble on. The original Holy Grail was a quest.

My Grail quests include (some accomplished, some not)...
Performance: Panasonic 5350.
Looks: Sanyo M-X920
Rarity: JVC M75
Personal preference: any Columbia

 

[Gluecifer]

Like Boom Shaka Laka says, there's no grail without the grail quest.

Whether it's saving, hunting, waiting, scouring, pining, lusting, neeeding or something else, it's when that spark ignites in you. If you were a kid at the time or just saw a BomBeat 40 for the first time last month I think it grabs you instantly and stays with you, that empty part of your display/collection/memories/soul that yearns to be filled.

I do think we bandy the term around a bit, but this is because it's a very individualised notion.
I figure a grail beyond anything else should be an object of passion that is a quest to obtain.

I don't really think the term works as an absoloute for any radio, as it's too subjective and I think it's been cheapened a bit through sites like pocket calculator show that 'tell' us what is a grail, but to be fair that site was written in a very different and isolated time than what we're enjoying on here now. You go back and read it after you've been collecting a while and it comes across as very uninformed to those who genuinely collect. I don't mean that to sound arrogant or come across like I'm dissing pocket calculator show, (hell it was THE site that got me on my way to collecting and I owe it a great deal!), forgive me if it does, but the shared knowledge on here between the long term collectors all around the planet serves as the only genuine balancing point for our hobby and the rarity and value of boomboxes. To me the term 'grail' has been cheapened a bit by ebay sellers in particular who treat pocket calculator show like it's the bible itself and use it as an excuse to pad their prices.

You think of the 777.

A radio that was talked about as legend in hushed tones not that long ago is now a radio that can be purchased on a whim from numerous ebay sellers whenever money allows. Does this decrease it's worthiness of grail-status? Has it lost any of it's cache? Would you now consider trading yours that you pined and lusted forever for? Probably not. But who's to say any other radio isn't sitting in pallette loads by the gross in some warehouse in China waiting to be be discoveted and sold on ebay? And who doesn't wish for this to happen so they can add those grails to their collections??

I see grails as personal quests that don't need to be qualified by performance, cost or rarity but are instead the objects of passion and desire, and who of us really needs to justify any of our passions or desires?

PS
I spent the entire evening putting this together.. I read this thread before I opened two grail radios that arrived in the post today and it made me think a lot about why I wanted them so badly, and the happiness I had listening to them for the first time tonight. I hope this adds something to the topic!



Rock On.

 

[Superduper]

Well said Glue, and I have nothing further to add -- you've said it all, and said it well.

 

[redbenjoe]

Well said Glue, and I have nothing further to add -- you've said it all, and said it well.

what a great piece of 'from the heart' writing

rick - thanks

 

[snoop918]

My personal grail was none other than the conion c-100f. I had it back in high school and worked part time at mickey dees to get it. Sold it a few years later and have wanted one ever since. I found one local and it even came with the instruction manual. I think sometimes we make a box a grail because of movies or commercial appearences, music videos,album covers and the fact that a artist might have owned one but there was nothing like the teenage years walking around blasitng the tunes. I actually still have my first boombox my mom bought me, the rising 20/20. All in all it depends on how bad you want it or the relationship you experienced with it.

 

[jaetee]

Wow! There are some GREAT replies in here!!!!!

And I agree with what BoogieShakaSwanka said about the quest aspect... Stumbling across a desirable box in the wild is one thing, but finding your ever-elusive white unicorn (be it on ebay, in the wild or even from a fellow member here) is a whole other story.

I thik one of the greatest "grails finally found" stories is Oldskool's ever-elusive black Sansui CP-7, and also FD's Clairtone.... but they had some help, didn't they?

 

[Patron]

great topic,
i think we all have a different Grail in mind,
for me a grail is a radio with Looks, Performance and Quality, combined.

 

[blu_fuz]

Grail.... hmmmm

I never heard that word before I came to this site looking for answers about a boomer I knew nothing about.

Come to find out, what I have is a grail to most. Probably not because it is the best sounding or best looking box out ther, but for it's sheer size!

Thank you to this group for making my black plastic box with speakers into my grail. I have learned so much about it and what it represents.

My personal hunts are for some other big boomers than I wouldn't be afraid to take out in public with me. GF-777 or a nice Conion C-100F. Will I ever get them? - probably not. Is it fun to look? - Oh yeah!

 

[ViennaSound]

The look, the size, the sound.......and the price!