Boombox

   Growing up I loved the early 1980s boombox. The designs, the features, and the ability to listen to music away from home. Some were as big as a suitcase and required great arm strength or a hefty shoulder strap. The only thing else needed were cassette tapes and 6 to 8 D-batteries.

    I could never afford one of the great boomboxes of the day such as the JVC RC-M90, Conion C100F, Sharp GF-777 or the monster Vela Discolite DK990R which was way too flashy for me. I had a modest midsize Panasonic RX-5085.

   Fast forward to today and most likely the only place you'll see a real vintage box is on Ebay for a ridiculous amount of money. I haven't seen a working model on the street in almost a decade and that was a small no-name brand at a bus stop when I was working on my "Welcome To Market East" project.


    During the pandemic, when people were cleaning out there basements I came upon boomboxes being thrown out in the trash. These photos where taken a year apart and separated by a mile. I got lucky of being in the right place at the right time to take these photos. 80s versus 90s boomboxes. The compact disc changed and ruined everything.



Today there is no such thing as the boombox. Yes there are a couple companies that tried to make cheap knock offs but the cheap Chinese electronics and flimsy plastic parts made them fail in months and sometimes only weeks, while the sound wasn't even close to a good vintage box. And no, a portable bluetooth speaker linked to smartphone is not the same thing. Besides the portability, the allure of the boombox was the tactile buttons, knobs and switches. The meters, lights and the great designs.





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