Party time...

[isolator42]

My eldest daughter Mia was nine not long ago. We had rented a hall & needed music for the party.
Fot ther first time in ages, none of my boomboxes came out - my son Sam got it sorted with his Nano in his Lasonic i931.

No pics, but I can tell you that thing does crank. Not beautiful smooth hifi sound, but in your face & impressive - the essence of a boombox, if you ask me.
A few of the dads were asking him about it as they dropped off their daughters for the party. He was proudly showing them how his iPod goes in there & telling how you can't get them in the UK, showing the RDS radio, the USB & SD card slots, the flashing lights...
...that's my boy

No, it's not the best boombox ever, for many reasons. However, it gives me hope to think that any company can market something like this today.

Here's a pic of one... just because:

 

[Fatdog]

Awesome story, Iso! It's even cuter that your son came to the "rescue." You SHOULD be proud of him; he's a chip off the old block.

 

[isolator42]

Proud as can be

I usually use the Panasonic RX-DT610, & it gets no comment at all, with it's relatively uninspired black shelf-system looks.
I think we've now found the party boombox to use in future...

 

[r o y a l ®]

All good man ! ! ! Volume and looks to get the party jumpin ! ! !

 

[ViennaSound]

The 931i is an party machine, no doubt!
I love it too. :vespa:
Congrats to your children for the good taste.

 

[oldskool69]

I also "Keep Hope Alive!" as well.

To create a boombox with todays technology with an awasome sound is not impossible, nor hard. It's really a matter of marketing. With the costs of durable materials down (i.e plastics, etc.) versus what it would cost if adjusted for inflation from say, 1983, there is no reason to avoid it.

There would absolutely be some compromises. We would have to accept digital tuners, possibly no cassette, etc., but to produce the sound desired with the cheap cost of DSP's and IC's now guts aren't really expensive. Look at some of the great sounding executive shelf systems out there for around $150. Slightly different packaging adding a handle and battery capability and 'Voila!', a boombox is born.

 

[MasterBlaster84]

OS, with todays tech a very nice boomer could be produced for far less than years ago. The Lasonic was a good starter but the big names could improve on this dramatically just like they did in the 80's.

 

[ahardb0dy]

I like digital tuners, I remember when all these types of big boomboxes started coming out, they may be loud, but back than I remember thinking they felt cheap and were getting gaudy looking, not like the one's that came before them.

I do think it's good to have the next generation interested in things from our pasts, if the youngin's forget no one will be around that remembers.

 

[jaetee]

Cool story! Thanks for the encouraging write-up! Your son rocks! Literally!

Ok, so maybe it might be worth it to pony up the $160 to get one of these and leave it in the box for years and years. Maybe by 2050 or so it will be worth $175! (j/k)

Seriously, though... it might not be a bad idea to get one and shelve it for posterity... On that note, have you guys seen that STARS & STRIPES edition that is selling for $275 on eBay? Supposedly they only made 300 of those and there's two of them for sale right now...

I just wish they hadn't plastered stickers all over it to give it some faux substance! But, for $160 or so, you really could do a lot worse!

EDIT: OK, I JUST LOOKED AT IT AGAIN, AND THE STICKERS/COLORS ON THERE DON'T LOOK THAT BAD....

 

[Jovie]

Not beautiful smooth hifi sound, but in your face & impressive - the essence of a boombox, if you ask me.

Does this box really have bright highs? I miss the boxes like that."In your face" is the definition of old school sound so far as I'm concerned. Can you actually dial in that type of sound? If so,I'll have to look further into getting one of these

 

[MasterBlaster84]

Very cool story Isolator!

No matter what the faults are of the i931 it kicks A$$ more than any boomer I had when I was growing up.