It's about that time of year again 
.
December is coming to an end and you suddenly realize how fast those 12 months went by again.
So just as last year, I wanted to do a quick write up of my 2012 acquisitions. I just took half an hour to get some order in the whole thing and was quite shocked that the average of two boxes per month was exceeded this year. 25 big new ones in total.
So let's begin in January when one BIG package arrived at my door: The infamous Masterblaster!
With the help of Blasterpunk, it was complete again in no time and now fills up space in my collection.
The second box that found its way to me came from the great member bredgeo who sadly decided to part with many nice boxes from his collection including an SK909 and a National RX7200.
While a traded the Pioneer to Peter later that year, the National stayed with me (and will stay with me). It has become one of my favorite boxes instantly when I first heard it.
If you ask me for the king of kings from National, it is probably not the 5350 but this one.
Another really nice addition earlier this year came all the way from Bulgaria - you guessed it: stormsven!
Tony is one of those guys who really became a friend who I would have never met without this great hobby.
He sent me a Toshiba WX-1 (which I later on parted with because I decided to not keep any 3-piecer boxes) and a like new GF575
When I was in Berlin over the winter break, Peter gave me a visit again and had some nice boxes for me with him. One of them was my first Toshiba S90. I never owned or really played with an M90 before so when I turned the S90 it was a massive shock for my ears!
For not having 20cm speakers, this thing sounds sweeeeet! Probably the best sounding box I heard until then. 
Of course that was not everything Peter had with him. To make the drive worth it, he also dropped off a Continental 20/20 and one of the rarest little birds in the boombox world.
He actually decided to part with his über-rare Conion CityBoy . (I had no clue his silver 550 would also find its way to my collection later this year).
Peter, you can be sure that the good old CityBoy is still well taken careof and definitely one of the best looking minis I own 
I think it was March when it was finally time for me to play with the big boys. After over two years of looking for one, I fonally got hold of a mint JVC RC-M90LD
When I turned it on, I knew that all the rumors were true. This is the one and only KING of boomboxes, no doubt. It has been used quite a few times since then and Blasterpunk saved it from the drunk me when I turned it up too loud at the boombox meeting
. I also posted a photo of it on LL Cool J's Facebook wall earlier this year and the man himself gave it a like, now that's someting! 
In April it was time for something i had been waiting for for a long time
. My first package from Japan arrived. While the boombox itself was really cheap, the shipping REALLY was a deal killer with approx. 200$ for fast service 
. The boombox that arrived was a visually mint Vicotr RC-M70 . I bought the unit as untested though so my heart skipped a beat when I put batteries in and NOTHING worked at all...it powered on but that was it. . Then I realized I put in empty batteries .
After filling it with full batteries, everything, even the tape, worked perfectly . It is still one of my most used boomboxes for outside because it has proper line in and delivers a fantastic sound
The next one requires a bit of explaination. Brian and I made the plan earlier this year to get two Pioneer SK900s from Japan to save on shipping. I already knew that Peter really wanted to own my SK909. So I figured, I might as well go with the SK900 since I do not use the radio a lot. . The package with the two SK900s arrived at my house exactly one day before the Boombox meeting in Dessau so I also had to take my new SK900 there of course .
Here is the only picture I found of both SK900s before I wrapped one up and sent it to Brian
In July, I made my last big catch in the local ads in Hamburg. A like new GF767H had been listed for quite a while for 500€ obo. Of course it did not sell quickly so I thought I should just go ahead and check it out. My problem is that once i stand in front of a really nice box that is for sale, I cannot leave without it .
After an Auction Hunter worthy discussion with the owner, I got it for 370€ but it was absolutely worth it. It is in mint mint mint condition, probably one of the best ones in my whole collection .
Here is the last group pic of it with my old 767Z which I also had to part with later on.
This one was listed for sale in this forum by joeladamkruger. After a few PMs we agreed on a deal.
Then we got into talking about some other boxes he was looking for and I offered to help him with a few of them. Astonishingly he then said that the Maximal CSC945 was for free .
Dude, once again thank you so much! All it needed was some cleaning and contact spray
"And the beat goes on".
For the next one, I basically made the deal at the Boombox meeting but it did not fit in Herbie anymore next to three hung over boombox collectors and their boxes .
So I drove to Dessau again not only to pick it up but to spend one of those nice summer evenings with a few people at Peter's blaster storage where we had BBQ and basically partied all night long . The box I drove home with the next morning was the GF999, still the nicest one of the GF series imo
Now, let's come to the reason why I gave up my SK909 .
Of course I did not visits Peter only once this summer. The next time we met, I took Sharp's masterpiece with me: The GF1000 .
It is one of the most living room style boomers I own . The dark blue around the woofers, the white speakers, the brown back cover . It is just very royal That is the adjective i always think of. Thanks once again Peter! I probably have half your collection now
And as if you would not have gussed it - the next one came from Peter again
When the Berlin mini meet went down this year, Peter brought his latest acquisiton with him - his Vela Discolite DK9000 .
It instantly convinced me because the sound of it was so much better than the Madonna job's one. After getting on Peter's nerves for a few hours, he agreed to let me have it in a trade for my old GF777 . So it did not exactly come cheap but it was well worth it .
Then in September it was time for my next package from Japan . That one contained a nice RC-M70 I got for a good friend and a box I have been curious about for a while: The Toshiba RT-S93 .
It was dirty as hell so I gave it a big clean the very same night and now it is definitely a looker. . Everything works just as it should but the right channel. Gotta take it to a tech some time but it really is more of a toy than a very good sounding box. The one channel I ehar sounds decent though...mid size sound
A few dys later I got the package that will go down in history as the worst packed boombox I ever got. The seller wrapped it in a plastic bag, one layer of bubble wrap (that was mostly already popped) and then made one box out of two wobbly boxes that did not even hold together quite well.
When I got the package, I was too shocked to take a picture...I was SURE to unwrap a broken boombox but miraculously the GF777H survived without any damage .
It was a very cheap BIN from eBay and was worht the gamble (thank goodness)
Well, the next one was by far the luckiest catch of 2012 - no doubt about that.
After getting the S90 earlier this year, I knew I had to get one in good condition for my collection. So after watching the Japanese market for a while, I gambled BIG TIME on a nice S90. The auction pics were horrible and blurry but I saw that there was no corrosion on any screw or chrome and the description said something about it being stored for 25 years .
It also said it was UNTESTED .
Well, I had to bid 150€ on it and won it for 120 . Then the waiting began and the longer it took, the more I was sure I just blew my money out the window for a defective box 
.
Well, when I opened the package I literally started at the content for over a minute before I took it out .
I am not exaggerating when I say it is in NEW condition. There is really NO sign of use on it whatsoever. The only thing that needs work is the deck but everything else works like a charm
I still look at that box once in a while and think to myself "What the f.....?!"
For the next one I have to make a big shout out to bklyn sound aka Jimmy who helped me with the stupid seller of this Sanyo MR-V9 who did not want to ship to Germany.
And not enough with that - Jimmy also had his tech fix the box for me Thanks so much!
This one came from member docs aka Dave in a deal in which he got my beloved RX7000 .
I did not regret the deal though. The Sanyo BigBen is truly an amazing concept of a boombox. Looking like a TV from the back, it reveals its subwoofer from the front and damn, the sound is outstanding for a one piece unit!
For the next one, I sent a box to Bill that was actually one of my keepers - the Intersound Super Jumbo. But he offered me his TRC-931 first edition for it so I could not decline the offer. It is a total win/win after all considering how rare those Intersounds are in the US and how rare those Lasonics are in Europe. .
The 931 has become one of my most used boomboxes for just listening to all kinds of music. It's by far the best soudning black plastic box imo.
The following two ones are the absolute highlights of this year. They are these kind of boxes to which I say "from my cold dead hands" when somebody asks me for a trade or sale.
The first one is probably the rarest box in my whole collection. I think I never cleared up the whole story on how it found its way to me.
I had always been keen on getting Peter's silver 550 and remember that two years ago he told me his ashes would be buried in it.
Then when I visited him in October, I held it in my ahnds again and once again asked Peter "What do you want for it?". Surprisingly he said "Bring me an M90 and it's yours."
But I just could not convince myself to give him my mint and beloved M90...soo I got call from a fellow collector the next day saying "I found a way for you to get the silver 550"
I got my first first edition Lasonic TRC931 from Floyd just a few days ago and the same was true for my Vela 3 piecer discolite. but that collector on the phone (his name is Andreas) asked for just those two boxes in exchange for his JVC M90. . Of course I agreed to the deal and so I had two M90s for a very short time but also had owned a 931 for only a few hours.
Anyway, a few days later, Peter came to Berlin with his silver 550 and we made the deal. It all still seems quite surreal but it really is here.
Thanks so much to Andreas and Peter for making this happen . The silver 550 surely has a loving home and is happy next to his brothers.
Yup, the fun doesn't stop. Just a few weeks after getting the 550, I got a call from a Russian collector who said he had a Victor RC-M70GX .
He needed a VZ2500 badly at that time and so he came to Berlin and we agreed on a deal. He got my mint RC-M70L and a defective VZ2500 I found earlier and I got the GX .
It is fully working and simply beautiful. . I guess you can call me an M70 fanboy
On we go with a rather bad deal for. I am not going to call any names but it was a German member on this forum here who got my WX-1 in exachange for this mini and even though I got 100€ on top, the Sanyo was not as described and the tape deck is not rescuable I think.
Anyway, the Sanyo M7950 is still the king of minis and I am happy to own one after all. . Maybe it will get fixed some day. It already sounds amazing on radio and line in.
For the next one I was really lucky again. The Crown CSC-970 came from Italy . I got it for relatively cheap and sadly the condition is not that good but it is a 970 after all .
The sound is good but not M90ish after all. It's defnitely the top of the line model from Crown and I am happy to have one. It looks outstanding with its dial lights and LED VUs.
Yeeaaahh....I could not live without one
.
So I traded my last 3-piecer unit for a really nice Intersound Super Jumbo.
I go it from the great member Fresh_Bacon who packed it really well for me. Thanks a lot!
Just in time for Christmas, I got my eBay steal of the year: a mint and fully working Vela discolite for only 200€ .
It is the one on top in the picture. The other one went to a good friend who is also a collector and always wanted a discolite. .
An interesting thing to notice is that the new one's lights were brighter and the LEDs blinked faster. I like it much better that way and believe it has something to do with one being 240V and one 220
. Anyway, I kept the better one
The next one came from Bredgeo again. He listed it for sale here when it just quit working under his hands. .
I got it at the beginning of December and convinced mom and dad that it would be great gift for me to have it fixed in a workshop .
SO what I found under the Christmas tree was a fully working National Panasonic RX-5350F .
The amps had to be replaced according to the tech... Anyway, it sounds great again now and easily is one of the best boxes of my collection.
So, that kind of concludes this year's recapitulation. If you read until here, congrats. I barely made the write-up until here .
What can I say in conclusion?
In the end, it is not the boomboxes that make this hobby great but it is the many great people you meet of which some even become great friends with who you can talk about many more things than only old radios .
All i can say to the forum at this point is: Keep on being as cool as you are and thanks for another great year.
.December is coming to an end and you suddenly realize how fast those 12 months went by again.
So just as last year, I wanted to do a quick write up of my 2012 acquisitions. I just took half an hour to get some order in the whole thing and was quite shocked that the average of two boxes per month was exceeded this year. 25 big new ones in total.
So let's begin in January when one BIG package arrived at my door: The infamous Masterblaster!
With the help of Blasterpunk, it was complete again in no time and now fills up space in my collection.
The second box that found its way to me came from the great member bredgeo who sadly decided to part with many nice boxes from his collection including an SK909 and a National RX7200.
While a traded the Pioneer to Peter later that year, the National stayed with me (and will stay with me). It has become one of my favorite boxes instantly when I first heard it.
If you ask me for the king of kings from National, it is probably not the 5350 but this one.
Another really nice addition earlier this year came all the way from Bulgaria - you guessed it: stormsven!
Tony is one of those guys who really became a friend who I would have never met without this great hobby.
He sent me a Toshiba WX-1 (which I later on parted with because I decided to not keep any 3-piecer boxes) and a like new GF575
When I was in Berlin over the winter break, Peter gave me a visit again and had some nice boxes for me with him. One of them was my first Toshiba S90. I never owned or really played with an M90 before so when I turned the S90 it was a massive shock for my ears!
For not having 20cm speakers, this thing sounds sweeeeet! Probably the best sounding box I heard until then.
Of course that was not everything Peter had with him.
To make the drive worth it, he also dropped off a Continental 20/20 and one of the rarest little birds in the boombox world.He actually decided to part with his über-rare Conion CityBoy
. (I had no clue his silver 550 would also find its way to my collection later this year).Peter, you can be sure that the good old CityBoy is still well taken careof and definitely one of the best looking minis I own
I think it was March when it was finally time for me to play with the big boys. After over two years of looking for one, I fonally got hold of a mint JVC RC-M90LD
When I turned it on, I knew that all the rumors were true. This is the one and only KING of boomboxes, no doubt. It has been used quite a few times since then and Blasterpunk saved it from the drunk me when I turned it up too loud at the boombox meeting
. I also posted a photo of it on LL Cool J's Facebook wall earlier this year and the man himself gave it a like, now that's someting!
In April it was time for something i had been waiting for for a long time
. My first package from Japan arrived. While the boombox itself was really cheap, the shipping REALLY was a deal killer with approx. 200$ for fast service . The boombox that arrived was a visually mint Vicotr RC-M70 . I bought the unit as untested though so my heart skipped a beat when I put batteries in and NOTHING worked at all...it powered on but that was it. . Then I realized I put in empty batteries .After filling it with full batteries, everything, even the tape, worked perfectly
. It is still one of my most used boomboxes for outside because it has proper line in and delivers a fantastic sound
The next one requires a bit of explaination. Brian and I made the plan earlier this year to get two Pioneer SK900s from Japan to save on shipping. I already knew that Peter really wanted to own my SK909. So I figured, I might as well go with the SK900 since I do not use the radio a lot.
. The package with the two SK900s arrived at my house exactly one day before the Boombox meeting in Dessau so I also had to take my new SK900 there of course .Here is the only picture I found of both SK900s before I wrapped one up and sent it to Brian
In July, I made my last big catch in the local ads in Hamburg. A like new GF767H had been listed for quite a while for 500€ obo. Of course it did not sell quickly so I thought I should just go ahead and check it out.
My problem is that once i stand in front of a really nice box that is for sale, I cannot leave without it .After an Auction Hunter worthy discussion with the owner, I got it for 370€ but it was absolutely worth it. It is in mint mint mint condition, probably one of the best ones in my whole collection
.Here is the last group pic of it with my old 767Z which I also had to part with later on.
This one was listed for sale in this forum by joeladamkruger. After a few PMs we agreed on a deal.
Then we got into talking about some other boxes he was looking for and I offered to help him with a few of them. Astonishingly he then said that the Maximal CSC945 was for free
.Dude, once again thank you so much! All it needed was some cleaning and contact spray
"And the beat goes on".
For the next one, I basically made the deal at the Boombox meeting but it did not fit in Herbie anymore next to three hung over boombox collectors and their boxes
.So I drove to Dessau again not only to pick it up but to spend one of those nice summer evenings with a few people at Peter's blaster storage where we had BBQ and basically partied all night long
. The box I drove home with the next morning was the GF999, still the nicest one of the GF series imo
Now, let's come to the reason why I gave up my SK909
.Of course I did not visits Peter only once this summer.
The next time we met, I took Sharp's masterpiece with me: The GF1000 .It is one of the most living room style boomers I own
. The dark blue around the woofers, the white speakers, the brown back cover . It is just very royal That is the adjective i always think of. Thanks once again Peter! I probably have half your collection now
And as if you would not have gussed it - the next one came from Peter again
When the Berlin mini meet went down this year, Peter brought his latest acquisiton with him - his Vela Discolite DK9000
.It instantly convinced me because the sound of it was so much better than the Madonna job's one. After getting on Peter's nerves for a few hours, he agreed to let me have it in a trade for my old GF777
. So it did not exactly come cheap but it was well worth it .
Then in September it was time for my next package from Japan
. That one contained a nice RC-M70 I got for a good friend and a box I have been curious about for a while: The Toshiba RT-S93 .It was dirty as hell so I gave it a big clean the very same night and now it is definitely a looker.
. Everything works just as it should but the right channel. Gotta take it to a tech some time but it really is more of a toy than a very good sounding box. The one channel I ehar sounds decent though...mid size sound
A few dys later I got the package that will go down in history as the worst packed boombox I ever got. The seller wrapped it in a plastic bag, one layer of bubble wrap (that was mostly already popped) and then made one box out of two wobbly boxes that did not even hold together quite well.
When I got the package, I was too shocked to take a picture...I was SURE to unwrap a broken boombox but miraculously the GF777H survived without any damage
.It was a very cheap BIN from eBay and was worht the gamble (thank goodness)
Well, the next one was by far the luckiest catch of 2012 - no doubt about that.
After getting the S90 earlier this year, I knew I had to get one in good condition for my collection. So after watching the Japanese market for a while, I gambled BIG TIME on a nice S90. The auction pics were horrible and blurry but I saw that there was no corrosion on any screw or chrome and the description said something about it being stored for 25 years
.It also said it was UNTESTED
.Well, I had to bid 150€ on it and won it for 120
. Then the waiting began and the longer it took, the more I was sure I just blew my money out the window for a defective box .Well, when I opened the package I literally started at the content for over a minute before I took it out
.I am not exaggerating when I say it is in NEW condition. There is really NO sign of use on it whatsoever. The only thing that needs work is the deck but everything else works like a charm
I still look at that box once in a while and think to myself "What the f.....?!"
For the next one I have to make a big shout out to bklyn sound aka Jimmy who helped me with the stupid seller of this Sanyo MR-V9 who did not want to ship to Germany.
And not enough with that - Jimmy also had his tech fix the box for me
Thanks so much!
This one came from member docs aka Dave in a deal in which he got my beloved RX7000
.I did not regret the deal though. The Sanyo BigBen is truly an amazing concept of a boombox. Looking like a TV from the back, it reveals its subwoofer from the front and damn, the sound is outstanding for a one piece unit!
For the next one, I sent a box to Bill that was actually one of my keepers - the Intersound Super Jumbo. But he offered me his TRC-931 first edition for it so I could not decline the offer. It is a total win/win after all considering how rare those Intersounds are in the US and how rare those Lasonics are in Europe.
.The 931 has become one of my most used boomboxes for just listening to all kinds of music. It's by far the best soudning black plastic box imo.
The following two ones are the absolute highlights of this year. They are these kind of boxes to which I say "from my cold dead hands" when somebody asks me for a trade or sale.
The first one is probably the rarest box in my whole collection. I think I never cleared up the whole story on how it found its way to me.
I had always been keen on getting Peter's silver 550 and remember that two years ago he told me his ashes would be buried in it.
Then when I visited him in October, I held it in my ahnds again and once again asked Peter "What do you want for it?". Surprisingly he said "Bring me an M90 and it's yours."
But I just could not convince myself to give him my mint and beloved M90...soo I got call from a fellow collector the next day saying "I found a way for you to get the silver 550"
I got my first first edition Lasonic TRC931 from Floyd just a few days ago and the same was true for my Vela 3 piecer discolite. but that collector on the phone (his name is Andreas) asked for just those two boxes in exchange for his JVC M90.
. Of course I agreed to the deal and so I had two M90s for a very short time but also had owned a 931 for only a few hours. Anyway, a few days later, Peter came to Berlin with his silver 550 and we made the deal. It all still seems quite surreal but it really is here.
Thanks so much to Andreas and Peter for making this happen
. The silver 550 surely has a loving home and is happy next to his brothers.
Yup, the fun doesn't stop. Just a few weeks after getting the 550, I got a call from a Russian collector who said he had a Victor RC-M70GX
.He needed a VZ2500 badly at that time and so he came to Berlin and we agreed on a deal. He got my mint RC-M70L and a defective VZ2500 I found earlier and I got the GX
.It is fully working and simply beautiful.
. I guess you can call me an M70 fanboy
On we go with a rather bad deal for. I am not going to call any names but it was a German member on this forum here who got my WX-1 in exachange for this mini and even though I got 100€ on top, the Sanyo was not as described and the tape deck is not rescuable I think.
Anyway, the Sanyo M7950 is still the king of minis and I am happy to own one after all.
. Maybe it will get fixed some day. It already sounds amazing on radio and line in.
For the next one I was really lucky again. The Crown CSC-970 came from Italy
. I got it for relatively cheap and sadly the condition is not that good but it is a 970 after all .The sound is good but not M90ish after all. It's defnitely the top of the line model from Crown and I am happy to have one. It looks outstanding with its dial lights and LED VUs.
Yeeaaahh....I could not live without one
.So I traded my last 3-piecer unit for a really nice Intersound Super Jumbo.
I go it from the great member Fresh_Bacon who packed it really well for me.
Thanks a lot!
Just in time for Christmas, I got my eBay steal of the year: a mint and fully working Vela discolite for only 200€
.It is the one on top in the picture. The other one went to a good friend who is also a collector and always wanted a discolite.
.An interesting thing to notice is that the new one's lights were brighter and the LEDs blinked faster. I like it much better that way and believe it has something to do with one being 240V and one 220
. Anyway, I kept the better one
The next one came from Bredgeo again. He listed it for sale here when it just quit working under his hands.
.I got it at the beginning of December and convinced mom and dad that it would be great gift for me to have it fixed in a workshop
.SO what I found under the Christmas tree was a fully working National Panasonic RX-5350F
.The amps had to be replaced according to the tech...
Anyway, it sounds great again now and easily is one of the best boxes of my collection.
So, that kind of concludes this year's recapitulation. If you read until here, congrats. I barely made the write-up until here
.What can I say in conclusion?
In the end, it is not the boomboxes that make this hobby great but it is the many great people you meet of which some even become great friends with who you can talk about many more things than only old radios
.All i can say to the forum at this point is: Keep on being as cool as you are and thanks for another great year.
