Crown is a long time audio component manufacturer. Rumor has it they may even be responsible for selling the very first boombox back around 1971 or so. Our friend Jens from Germany was nice enough to send us a pic of his massive mid ’80s Crown SZ-5100, laden with graphics and LEDs. Check out the tiny condenser microphones mounted up top!
Category Archives: Boombox Decline & Fall
Late ’80s Tecsonic
Hacked Helix
What a shame–Dave found this defaced Helix for cheap, but will require great effort to restore. We’re guessing this was modified for some sort of theatrical production, as the lower cassette has been covered and painted. The Helix name is a well-known one for boomboxes, but we have yet to find the brand on anything except portable stereo.
Crown SZ-8801
World’s First CD Boombox, Sony CFD-5
Sony’s CFD-5 is true craftsmanship in an otherwise dying boombox world. This was the boombox to have as it was the first to offer a CD player. Jeff in San Francisco bought this in 1986 and admits that he, like the rest of us became caught up with the “one-upsmanship” that proliferated in that materialstic age. This gorgeous example faithfully provided music poolside while Jeff and his friends lounged the day away, sipping margaritas. Thanks Jeff!
Emerson Twin Cassette
Master Blaster MI-J8080
No-name brand boomboxes proliferated the 80s from places like Taiwan and Hong Kong, that’s why this obscure MI “Master Blaster” boasting its Japan manufacture is unusual. It’s a pretty large system (2 feet long!) but lacks the quality of the Sonys and Sharps of the era. This particular model offered left and right volume control, five band graphic eq and shortwave tuning. It was dubbed the “Master Blaster;” we’re not sure Stevie Wonder would be honored by the tribute.