Today, Apple iPod music players are an icon in the audio market. But it all ends sometime. No, iPods will be popular for more than one year, but it's hard not to notice that the portable audio player market is gradually becoming more modest: more and more users are now satisfied with the musical capabilities of their smartphones and tablets. Once upon a time, similar to all the childhood boomboxes, also known as getter blasters, passed through a similar stage.The first boombox was created in 1975 by the brothers Stacy and Scott Welfel, who used a wooden case with built-in speakers and an 8-track radio. In the late 70s, large companies began to present their models, but boomboxes gained real popularity only in the 80s. Slowly boomboxes became more and more functional. The Conic device boasted detachable speakers, which allowed to expand the stereo base. The number of models grew by leaps and bounds, more and more features appeared in them: backlighting, color music, the number of speakers grew, switches like tape, noise reduction and even graphic equalizers appeared up to 10 bands. And now back to the beginning of 2015. The era of cassette boomboxes has already passed, but this does not mean that the patient is dead. On the contrary at American flea markets and auctions, this type of audio technology is still in demand. To verify this, just go to the well-known eBay and enter in the search box “tape boombox” or “Ghettoblaster”. Let's go over some of the legends of the 80s.
Authority among authorities - Conion C-100F
This device was born back in 1984, and literally from the start, it began to work its way not only into low-income quarters of American cities, but also to Hollywood. The model managed to star in a number of films, including The Breaking and the Police Academy, well-known to all Russians. Successful tests in the cinema ordered the Conion C-100F to become one of the most popular and respected getter blasters of its time. The authority of boombox by default extended to young people who “tear” their favorite music through it. The passage of time and technological progress forced the Conion C-100F to disappear from the shelves, but it can still be found on the market. Finding a device in good condition is not a problem even in 2015. Its estimated cost is now at
$ 1,000.but with a successful bid, you can snatch a more reasonable price.
Getter blasters from JVC
It is no secret that one of the strongest players in the gett blaster market was Japanese manufacturers. The aforementioned Conion, JVC, Aiwa, Panasonic, Sony, Sharp and similar offices at that time pulled everything from the market that was possible. However, now we’ll dwell on JVC in more detail. The portfolio of JVC cassette boomboxes was presented by such models as the RC-M70, RC-M80 and RC-M90. They remain in demand among enthusiasts now. However, the JVC turned out to be a truly masterpiece of the RC-M90 blaster (in the photo it is surrounded by some young guys), released in 1981. This model was crammed full of all sorts of technical twists: an 8-wave receiver, a proprietary noise reduction system Super ANRS (which successfully competed with Dolby B and C), etc. But the main advantage of the RC-M90 is its ultra-low knock coefficient (WRMS) of 0.05%. Finding a JVC RC-M90 on sale is a little harder than finding the Conion C-100F, but on eBay it does sometimes skip. Do not expect to buy this model in good condition.
for less than $ 1,000 .
The legendary Sharp GF-777
1981 turned out to be generous with solid boomboxes. This year, Sharp released its legendary model GF-777. It was simply huge even by the standards of the then gett blasters: in addition to the two cassette compartments, there were four large speakers (one pair was responsible for the bass). Without batteries, the "three sevens" weigh more than 12 kilograms! However, numerous buyers were attracted not only by the power that the Sharp GF-777 was able to give out, but also by its low (of course, in relative terms) retail price - it amounted to about $ 400. True, now for such a price you are unlikely to find a
copy in decent condition.
Second half of the 80s: Crown SZ-5100 and Lasonic TRC-931In the second half of the 80s, the color accent of gettoblasts shifted from gray to black. Another distinguishing feature of the blasters of the late 80s - early 90s was their inverse reduction. Apparently, American teenagers by that time were already quite pumped up, and now they needed a little rest from 12-kilogram colossus. And, perhaps, this was one of the first omens that the golden age of boomboxes is already running out.
Among the most significant models of the second half of the 80s, it is worth noting such radio as the Crown SZ-5100 and Lasonic TRC-931 (in fact, these are two direct competitors). Finding the first model (pictured above) is now
problematicbut with the Lasonic TRC-931 (pictured below) things are a little better. Nowadays, these “lasonics” cost less than a thousand US dollars (we mean copies in good condition), therefore they are most accessible in comparison with other models from this article.
It is worth noting that the 90s were also not stingy with the production of getter blasters, but still the most interesting models were seen by the market from the late 70s to the end of the 80s. Boomboxes are produced to this day, but they have practically no success, although they correspond to the latest fashion trends (they are equipped with CD drives, built-in memory, wireless modules, etc.). Maybe 30 years ago, manufacturers really invested a soul in each product, and did not pursue profit exclusively? In the end, I want to add: listen to good music and love high-quality sound!
