Big bucks, no whammys! The star of America’s favorite 1980s game show Press Your Luck breakdances to a three-speaker boombox.
Category Archives: Boombox
Sharp VZ2000
Casio KX-101 Keyboard Synth Boombox
We apologize for the poor shot of this Casio KX-101, but pictures of this are hard to come by. Released in 1984, the KX-101 was one of two portable stereos that included a synthesizer keyboard. The other was also by Casio, released a year later (CK-200) and it featured nearly everything the KX-101 did, including shortwave. Here’s a photo from an advertisement showing the portable stereo-keyboard in action.
Sony CFS-99
Sharp TVMate TV Cassette Boombox Combo
Panasonic RX-C52
Radio Shack Stereomate
Sony thought of it first, but Radio Shack followed shortly after in 1984 with this pitiful little thing–a hybrid Walkman portable stereo. It’s hard to define this as a “boombox” or “ghettoblaster” but it was a indicator of things to come. Several brands emerged in later years with boomboxes that included removeable walkmans, including JVC, Hitachi and Yorx.
Breakin’
Hitachi TRK-8600
Hitachi wows us with this model–the TRK-8600. We’re guessing this was released sometime in 1981 or 1982. Unusual color scheme–it appears to have a copper-colored finish around the controls. What would you say if we told you this baby is still available today? Okay, browse here and take a look. UPDATE: Bad news, it’s sold out.
Early Panasonic Boombox
Panasonic Portable FM/AM Stereo Cassette Recorder. Fluid design improves slightly upon the Marantz, but an otherwise insipid format. As you’ll soon see, it wouldn’t take long for Panasonic to come into their own. The Japanese giant’s first offering featured 3 1/2″ speakers, twin volume controls, mic mixing, built-in stereo condenser mics and VU/battery meter. Approx. $150 by 1977.