The original post asked if the 8600 normally sounds like the example shown in the video. Somehow then, the original intent of the question has degraded to a perception of this model being a crappy sounding boombox. I've always said that it is a mistake to categorically blanket declare any model based on one example. While it is true that this model is a bit on the brassy side, still it is not at all like it has absolutely no bass. In fact, many years ago, it was widely accepted that Sharps in general sounded very...... sharp (brassy). Suddenly, folks have started making statements that the GF-9696 is a bass monster. No one I know is unhappy to any appreciable degree with the Sharp GF line up. Also, the JVC M-70 is also not known for deep bass when in low volume mode. The reason is that this model does not have a loudness button, which refers to bass-compensation circuitry. The reason it is needed is not because bass is actually any less when in low volume, it is in how our ears perceive bass. Thus, the inclusion of loudness buttons to shape the sound (distort) in order to compensate for the human ears lack of sensitivity to bass frequencies in low SPL's.
This model is one of the better sounding one-piece hitachi boomboxes. It is not at all a crappy sounding boombox and I don't think you'll find any owners wanting to chuck or cull these from their collection due to poor sound. It sounds very much like many of the other one piece Hitachi's, if anything better sounding and more powerful, than the 80xx, 81xx, 82xx series boxes. So before coming to any conclusions about this model, I suggest that one should instead rely on experience. The TRK-8600 is a decent quality boombox with the same primary output amp setup as the GF-777 which are common to many other boombox models of the era.