If there were a single boombox you could own, one that had nice looks, performance and lots of features you’d probably select either the Panasonic RX-7700 or this JVC RC-M90. It’s the RC-M70’s big brother, making this one a holy grail among grails. It’s large, it sounds great, and has a knob for just about everything. Tune AM, FM and many SW bands. Coverage must be impressive, because I’m counting eight buttons (on the left) for band selection. That large hole toward the bottom is for a remote. We must thank Ed for the photo and info on this rare system. He keeps this on his desk at work, right next to a JVC DC33. Hmm, my co-workers complain about my loud typing, wonder what they’d say if I strolled in one day with one of these on my shoulder?

This system was Aiwa’s gift to the mix tape makers everywhere, their top-of-the-line system in ’84. This is not your everyday double-cassette boombox, it’s a home editing studio. Single-touch double-speed dubbing, random programmable auto dubbing of up to 10 music selections, .04% wow and flutter, Dolby NR, and record muting are just a few recording features. This system also has Acoustic 3-D sound, a wireless speaker connection, variable DSL (dynamic super loudness) and line in/out & phono jacks. I gotta get one of these!

Beware, our friend Dezzy in Minnesota will subdue you with his Conion if you fall out of line.

North Bay’s Chris shows us a rare make among ghettoblasters, an Eaton-Viking. Looks a little like some of the earlier Sanyos. A quick scan on the ‘net shows they appeared to be a manufacturer of home appliances and tabletop radios. Chris describes, “This Eaton-Viking has a FM/AM/SW1/SW2 4 band tuner, CrO2/Metal cassette, stereo-wide sound processor and four speakers. It uses 6 C batteries. The LED meter displays audio output or recording level. The weight is about 10 LB. The size is 15″ wide by 6″ high. For its small size, this is a very high-quality, solid unit which was made in Hong Kong. Audio is loud and clear, but without bass due to the limitations of 3″ woofers.”

Dave was on a road trip through Indiana and spotted this not-so-portable boombox. How many of watts of power are we looking at here?

Chris in North Bay, Ontario shares another Canadian exclusive, a Candle JTR-1286. Says Chris, “This Candle has a LW/FM/AM/SW 4 band tuner, cassette, four speakers and stereo-wide sound processor. It uses 8 D batteries. The LED meters can display audio output or recording level. It has a full set of inputs and outputs. The weight is about 15 LB. The size is 19″ wide by 12″ high. The quality is acceptable, about as expected from Jutan International ( JiL ). This plays really loud, but doesn’t have the deep bass or sound quality of a similar-sized JVC unit.” Thanks Chris!

Vassilios from Greece collects radio equipment of all kinds, but is partial to these compact Aiwas that seemed contrary to the trends of the day. This is the CS-R10, sold around 1984. Of course, the large circular logic controls are cool, but have ever heard of a system from this period that had auto-reverse playback and recording?

What’s the likelihood of finding a “new” 1983 Panasonic RX-5250, with the ad sticker still attached? Pretty low, and that’s why Joe in New Haven, CT leaves this on his dresser, just for show.

Thanks again to Dezzy for this Realistic SCR-8, probably offered around 1983. This was undoubtably Radio Shack’s largest boombox and had all the glimmer and flash of the big brands from the period. Take a look at those loooonng LED meters! Functional unit with AM/FM tuning, wide stereo effect, line-in & mic jacks, and beat cut switch for the nasty AM noise. And it looks great too!

We need to thank our friend Bill in Tennessee for contributing this monster by Conion, the TC999. Coney-Onkyo was the parent company for Conion and yes, it’s the same manufacturer for the audio gear you see today. The system has similar capabilities as the famous C-100F, but is gold in color with matching switches and knobs. This model is also equipped with an alarm system.