COBRA! (Panny-Not G.I. Joe)

[superlew]

Well, I picked this up in NH yesterday morning for pocket change. The idea was to clean it up and flip it. It's not my style at all.
Anyhoo...I brought it to a friends house to see what it could do, since I had never heard one or had a chance to play with one.
Kinda floored me.
After about two hours of rockin' out, I decided that it's going in my personal collection.
I am still "ooh-ing and aah-ing" over this thing.
I am absolutely astounded at the bass it sqeezes out. The Techno Surround is awesome. Motorized flip-top controls with remote. 'Nuff said.
I'm expecting to catch some flack from the purists, but I'm a big boy.

Here's a real crappy iPhone pic. Any advice for re-belting the decks? This is all very new and foreign to me.

 

[BoomboxLover48]

Yes! They sound so good!

I have the National Panasonic RXDT95. It is s 6 speaker, double cassette version, in like new condition with remote. I love that box.

I didn't attempt to open up the box because it looked a bit complicated. For some reason I was not feeling comfortable to open it up.

Let me know if you want the service manual of DT707. I can e-mail it to you.

 

[floyd]

i bought one of these new around 1991 , all i can say is wow! . first modern box i bought and thought it was completely bad ass in every way. these sell for pennies now but back in the day these cost big money . i forget what happened to it .

 

[superlew]

I didn't attempt to open up the box because it looked a bit complicated. For some reason I was not feeling comfortable to open it up.

I thought the same thing after testing the decks. It's not a traditional layout by any means.
I'd love a copy of the service manual.
Shooting you a PM. Thanks!

 

[Matrixambience]

Thats another reason why they are called "cobras"! They strike you with a bass thats incredible and rivals the over rated JVC kabooms. The bass comes thru with precise clarity and doesn't overpower but sounds just right. I had one in 1991 brand new from Silo Electronics and paid like $500 for it! I sold it a few years later and regretted it ever since. Fast forward to 2009 and ebay flaunted at me one that is fully functioning, and I got one again, and won't let it go. The Techno-Surround feature is awesome and gives my tapes and CDs a live echo performance. So its and "egg"....who cares! It rocks hardcore!

 

[BoomboxLover48]

I didn't attempt to open up the box because it looked a bit complicated. For some reason I was not feeling comfortable to open it up.

I thought the same thing after testing the decks. It's not a traditional layout by any means.
I'd love a copy of the service manual.
Shooting you a PM. Thanks!

I am so sorry! When I looked up the file I had was the schematics. Pardone me! The manual I had was that of DT680.

My apologies!

 

[BoomboxLover48]

Thats another reason why they are called "cobras"! They strike you with a bass thats incredible and rivals the over rated JVC kabooms. The bass comes thru with precise clarity and doesn't overpower but sounds just right. I had one in 1991 brand new from Silo Electronics and paid like $500 for it! I sold it a few years later and regretted it ever since. Fast forward to 2009 and ebay flaunted at me one that is fully functioning, and I got one again, and won't let it go. The Techno-Surround feature is awesome and gives my tapes and CDs a live echo performance. So its and "egg"....who cares! It rocks hardcore!

 

[TsEtSoMaN]

Yep,this Panny is on my search list.

 

[superlew]

No problem, Royce.
Thanks for the effort. I'll check with Norm in the next day or so. I have plenty of cleaning to do in the meantime.
What I want to know is where they are hiding the sub. I mean, c'mon, those little 3" speakers are kicking out that much sound? No way!
It's a conspiracy!

 

[TMR]

I have always praised the Cobra's the DT75 is a serious machine.. very high tech for the time period.. gonna get a DT-909 at some point form Japan.. the ED-90 looks bad ass to.. Panasonic made some sweet quality boomers back in the early-mid 1990's and they go for cheap at auction.. even with all the praise they get.. my CT-990 blows me away with the clarity and raw power.. those little 4-1/2 inch woofers are wicked!

 

[retrohead]

awesome box,ive had the dt75,that too was awesome,and would never say no to a dt707....just got back a ds20,which was the first radio i ever bought myself new as a 17 year old in the 90s-so it has true meaning for me....but this one is mega....well done

 

[womble71]

Nice find. I have one of these and a rxdt75, smooth sound and very powerful bass. Still curious how such small speakers can be so loud.

 

[Matrixambience]

I think its the way Panasonic ported the speaker enclosures, and the bi-amp system helps also

 

[MasterBlaster84]

The looks won't win you over but as you found out the sound and even the cool cobra top can. I have this one and the RXDT75, when I look at them I think maybe I'll sell one then I turn them on and change my mind.

 

[redbenjoe]

a few years ago --
and after hating the goofy looks :'-( :annoyed: of my spectacular sounding 707

i made this box to hide it --had side handles --makes it sound even better

 

[BoomboxLover48]

a few years ago --
and after hating the goofy looks :'-( :annoyed: of my spectacular sounding 707

i made this box to hide it --had side handles --makes it sound even better

[ Image ]

707 is very claustrophobic. It might have jumped out of that box.

 

[superlew]

I'm taking a much-deserved break from work for the rest of the week through Easter. That doesn't mean I have nothing to do. I got my hands on the service manual. Here's the link:
http://diagramas.diagramasde.com/audio/RX_DT707_GT.PDF
Once I knew how to get into this thing, it was actually quite a pleasure to work on. I didn't end up replacing the belts. Deck 2 has a round belt that I don't have on hand. Once I got a good look at them, they actually seemed to be in really good shape. After some cleaning and lube, they both perform perfectly!
It got the full "bathtub" treatment, which it needed badly. 3 dead roaches and 1 dead ant! That's a record for me.
I also managed to tap out the dents in the grills. The right grill had a severe dent that you can see in my original picture. It looks like it got hit with a piece of furniture which caused a crease. You can still see the remains when the light hits it just right, but nothing to write home about.
The style has really grown on me, so I don't think I'm going to fashion up any kind of enclosure (redbenjoe).
This was definitely my second best buy - only second to my free C-100!
One thing I have noticed is that the amp runs a little warm. I'm not sure if this is normal, but I always raise the handle slightly when it's powered on, to uncover the top vents.
What a great "Sleeper-Box."
Here's my Egg - all clean and shiny...

 

[redbenjoe]

thats some superb positioning for your great photos
never thought that ridiculous looking pig could look THAT GOOD

 

[BoomboxLover48]

Wow! Great job!

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

Wile in Japan I was looking at the 909....damn near bought one because so many people said they sound so good.

But then I thought to my self...."If I was in this sport for the sound quality, I wouldn't have so many Lasonics "

I bought an M70 instead

a few years ago --
and after hating the goofy looks :'-( :annoyed: of my spectacular sounding 707

i made this box to hide it --had side handles --makes it sound even better

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc219/redbenjoe/MVC-0012-18.jpg

I guess there is still much to learn