Your (not positive) thoughts on the PC-55

[DustyK47]

Good morning, all!

Several times in my life, I've owned five JVC PC-55s. While overall a really cool unit and many people discuss the positives, there were three things I didn't like about them.

These are my thoughts;

1). While a nice clean (boring?) design overall, the unit sorely lacked any VU meters of any sort other than the tape deck. It would have been nice to see a set (backlit analogue would have been really neat) placed in the amplifier section or even a spectrum analyser.

2) The backlight lamp holder for the tape deck LCD display. Since the lamps were incandescent, they would get hot after a while which made the plastic holder gradually becomes brittle and break in spots when changing the bulbs. Of course now, LED fuse bulbs eliminate that problem. And that darn ribbon cable gets in the way. Of which...

3) That @#$&!?! tape deck ribbon cable. Very thin and cheap in my opinion. Now, if JVC would have made one sy triple the thickness with thicker wires for durability, I think the LCD display would not have problems as much as they do. I did read and see somewhere this guy replaced all those cables with individual soldered wires. He said it took him over two weeks to do but the display is without any problems now.

 

[Brutus442]

1. I do like the look of the PC-55 as it was perfect transition from old school one piece box into a technological showcase 3 piece unit. It was the swan song of old school boomboxes square designs. JVC really tried and were successful in some areas with this box. The cassette deck is probably the best in any portable. A powerful amp that can power home hifi speakers with ease. The LED VU's were more show than go however. The segments have jerky movement and really are not great

2. No argument with the heat from from the LCD bulbs. Calling that plastic brittle is an understatement. Having replaced the bulbs in a 55 I can a stiff wind would knock the whole thing down (never mind the blue-green sleeve that fit over the bulb was a bitch to remove and re-install.

3. The ribbon cable was ridiculously thin but JVC probably never thought anyone would crack it open, let alone last 40+ years

 

[Radio raheem]

Should have used 10 d's to reach full power outside like the 90 to heavy

 

[Brutus442]

Should have used 10 d's to reach full power outside like the 90 to heavy

That's another good point I forgot was the weight with batteries. the 55's weight was considerable given the wood speaker cabinets. Calling it a portable was bordering on ridiculous. (see also Sony FH series) lol

 

[RoZyBoom]

If I may add a few thoughts on the 55. Personally, I think it is as perfect of a boombox as you can get.

Every product is going to have some flaws or things we wish it had. But every product is going to have to be designed to a set of goals. This includes a price target for starters. If you have been inside a PC-55 then you know where your money went at the time. This boombox was a deal, and I would enjoy reading the BOM cost detail and knowing the dealer cost etc. of the unit - if anyone has, please share. Each time I look inside a PC-55 I am amazed at the Japanese hands that put that beast of components together for me to enjoy, and I want to extend my thanks to the people on the production line. There are Seniors walking around Japan right now doing their daily shopping who made these PC-55s for us - THANK YOU!

Inside, the deck guts of PC-55 are fantastic. We know it! The display - OK, I get the points (as a side note, I'm about to try a hopeful fix idea, to be shared if it works), but let us all admit the truth about that display - it was awesome then, we were all impressed by it, and we still stare at it today like moths. Meaning: It is beautiful and unique. There is no boombox with one like it. Heck...most home decks at the time WISH they had a display like it. We like it and we want it! The display design logic makes perfect sense for a boombox too. It had to be backlit so that the backlight could be OFF when in battery mode, and this is how the backlight was done at the time. This provision of course applies to the whole boombox, which was all about portable use as a primary design purpose. Do you want more displays draining your precious Ds or do you want sound for longer? Looking inside the receiver, the transformer is huge for a boombox, and construction is very solid...again for a boombox. This thing is a quality piece of hardware top to bottom. If you think about things deep enough you realize nothing is perfect, and nothing can be - there are always compromises made and design or functional flaws and of course limitations...as Homer found out when he designed his ideal car.

So to conclude, sure, we could want more. We could want 7 band EQ, spectrum analyzer, power meters, VU meters, digital tuner, 3-way speakers, but an MSRP target had to be hit, and already this thing cost more than RC-M90 - at least the deck and sound quality justify it. The JVC PC-55 is a work of boombox art. It's historic, epic, under appreciated to be honest. We all want one in our collection. JVC PC-55 is a first-ballot-hall-of-famer, not even a discussion. What more can a boombox wish for?