Nice! It is a classic. I remember when LL Cool J's "Radio" album first came out. Even before that time, there were radios all over the playgrounds in the USA. Sometimes, you would hear the same song coming out of them and out of car stereos if a song was a huge hit on the radio. "The Rapping Duke" would be an example of that.
I wanna see a homebrew boombox scene that ends up like PC building where people argue about the best repurposed car speakers to use inside, the best case assemblies, the best lithium-ion battery assembly, and the best 3.5" compact cassette module to install.
A colleague correctly described it as a "Nostalgia Wave". The same colleague who imported a vintage Korg MS20 synthesizer from Japan, just before Korg did a re-issue. Many the people who lusted after Boomboxes as teenagers now have enough money to bid high for them. Have you looked at the price of Amiga computers (high) and Digital Cameras (ones that cost $700 twenty years ago are worth about $15 now) as two other examples of "Supply and Demand" in action
*It's definitely the popularity factor, for sure.* But the prices go up as supply goes down (and the old solid companies aren't really around anymore & therefore, these vintage machines are no longer being made). *Therefore, ★supply is dwindling & always will be★.* And yep, I remember seeing these fairly often at (pre-eBay days) yard sales/Goodwill stores for no more than $40! Dang, I should have bought at least one of them. : (
I've had a jvc m90.the best I ever EVER had.nowadays i have to settle with a sharp gx300.from 1982.boomboxes were at their peak between 1980 and 1985.great video matt.miss my m90 so very much.
The video I was waiting for, This is the best video of RC M90 in TH-cam, Thank you very much. Infact 4 years back one of your old videos made me search for my old RC90 which was given away in 2002, I found it and I'm in the process of restoring it. The moment you put that thing on the table, I was sent back to my childhood. I have so many memories with this device. When I was a 10 year old kid this particular machine tought me what is stereo, bass, treble, balance, dolby NR and so on. During the mid 90s, Somebody gave this to my father free, and I realize now that this was the most expenisve thing at my home back then. I always knew this was a great boombox. But I came to know that this is an iconic machine only after watching one of your videos. Thank you Techmoan.
I remember my uncle receiving a JVC boom box with the dual cassette set up for Christmas in probably 81 or 82. It was stunningly heavy! Awesome sound! It lasted ( after being treated very roughly ) for about 25 years . I am still amazed by those older machines. Great video!
9:04 _"...looks like I need to reduce the caffeine intake..."_ 9:09 _"BothUSandJapanesmodelshavethesamecontrolontheright-forthemicrophoneandvolumeyoucanusethem..."_
Firstly, Thank you for the nostalgic feeling. Growing up in Brooklyn NY in the 80's and 90's this radio was the crown jewel of boom boxes. I wish I could afford one of these today. Secondly, Thank you for the excellent TH-cam content. I have seen a few videos made by you prior but this video absolutely got my sub. Keep up the amazingly great work. You and your family stay healthy.
I jumped up and hit the pause button when I saw the picture of the boombox I used to own during my college years. No, not the venerable RC M 90 but the JVC RC M 70 JW. I purchased it for about $350.00 USD from an electronics store on West 14th Street in Manhattan NYC in 1980. It was my freshman year, I was about to turn 18, and was home from college for the Thanksgiving Holiday. I loved that box, it sounded great and it really had punch whenever I maxed out the volume. I paired it with a Technics SL D3 turntable and began buying LPs to record and make compilation tapes with at home that I would play whenever I hit the streets with my box. The handle on the M 70 was nearly as wide as the body and I didn't like the way it flexed whenever I carried it by the handle so I took to carrying it inverted with the handle open, my arm over the front with the back of the unit leaning against my side. This position turned the open handle into an improvised shock absorber. Sadly, my M 70 was stolen in the summer of 1984. I still have the turntable (somewhere in my house) and I still have a few of the cassettes I recorded from that time although I haven't played those tapes in well over 20 years. Thanks for getting the M 70 in the picture!
@@bobthebrick1988 That's an interesting thought. How many Xs constitute a collection. Three pottery frogs or corkscrews isn't really a collection, three Ferraris is a collection. A collection is more than a normal person might just happen to have acquired.
@@LordWaldema No, we all need a Ferrari or two but most of us can't afford one. But even most people who could easily afford three Ferraris won't buy three or more because they aren't collecting them.
I have nostalgia for the days when “made in Japan” really meant something! ( rather than modern built to minimum price, regardless of country of origin ) How I’d love to turn up somewhere with that behemoth...Classic one upmanship😂 that’s awesome thanks for featuring this 80s monster!
@@kristoffer3000 that's true, All my Chinese branded items that cost money never had a problem. Iphones and other electronics made in China that I have owned never had issues. It's the cheap stuff, regardless where it's made that go bad. I just think China earned a bad rep from making cheap imitations and counterfeits.
I love your videos! It's always like an adventure; you show a boombox, use an album cover to navigate through, stop in the middle of the video to give extra information and so on... Thanks a lot for all the effort! :D
I have an Akai from the same era, I don't know if this has it, but mine has a button you push and a light illuminates the dial, if you release the button the light goes off so its not meant to be left on probably to save batteries. Its a little incandescent bulb, definitely not a LED.
I miss the days when your cassette player would have a metal tape selector. Of course when I was a kid I had no idea what metal tapes were but I knew if I had a switch that said "metal" I was going to turn it on regardless! 🤘
Yes, I bought the Panasonic RX-D55 after watching the review on this channel, and I'm pretty happy with it overall. However, I do wish it would properly playback Type II (CrO2) tapes. I mean, you CAN still play them, but it's just not the same.
Great video! I also collect these old Boomboxes. I think my favourite one I own is the Sanyo M9994 made in 1978. I bought it from a friend who owns a record store. He got it clearing out a hoarders home. This radio was filthy and non functional. I fell in love with it instantly and bought it for the 30 USD he asked. When I took it home I opened it up and completely cleaned every part and got new belts for the cassette deck. It now works and it's bright and shiny. The sound is incredible. I then managed to also find the original 2 microphones and mic stands that attach to the body of the radio. I found the original Demo cassette it originally was sold with and I also found a repair manual for that model. Strangely, I see this radio sells for asking price of up to 4 thousand USD on eBay. Insane. I remember about 20 years ago in Brooklyn New York in Coney Island there used to be street vendors in shipping / storage containers that sold useless crap. One of those venders was strictly these vintage boomboxes. No higher priced than 40 USD. I was almost going to buy the one you featured for 30 UDS but the thing that really turned me off were the dead cockroaches inside the tuning dial. Maybe I was right for not buying that one, but I sure regret it now that those vendors across the street from the Cyclone Roller Coaster are all gone now. Especially at those low prices I could have bought quite a few just in need of a good cleaning. Then again, 20 years ago, eBay wasn't really a huge thing yet and the peices of these relics weren't unreasonable yet as they are today. I also collect vintage Sony Walkman and Soundabout models from the early 80's.
So cool and so many memories. I remember LL having a big mocked up version of one that seemed the size of a van on stage when he was opening for Run DMC on their Raising hell tour. Awesome show BTW.
"I don't think anyone needed to know any of that" Techmoan. There was so much in the video I did not need to know, but none the less, I really enjoyed it. Thank you.
@@wisteela no, but it's a TOTAL badass i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzY4WDEwMjQ=/z/vYMAAOSwE9pb5Y5J/$_86.JPG Twin tape, and 8 giant speakers. Every feature of the JVC and MORE, it's absolutely HUGE too. My sister had one Look at the dual tape decks to get an idea of how big it is! And 10w on the JVC? PAH! 90w with the Sharp! (you can even connect EXTERNAL speakers to it! 10 speakers!) it sounds fooking EPIC, no distortion, bass up the wazoo! All of those are REAL speakers, no blocked off moulding, or fakery, I know, I've heard one. Oh and you can connect a turntable too!. 😃
I was excited to hear a mention of Super ANRS. I use a JVC deck with this and even with prerecorded tapes it adds in a spectacular amount of brightness and headroom that ANRS/ Dolby B eats up. That setting always stays on for me.
Back in the day when something was built for quality. Today, manufacturers make the cheapest crap possible because people don't want to pay for quality anymore. That cassette mechanism was awesome, soft touch button controls and has a ton of cool features. You've got a nice machine!
Japan has a radio morning exercise. Rajio Taiso (ラジオ体操). So the trainer can use MIC. over it when do group exercise. That's one of the reasons, I think.
@@KairuHakubi That's exactly right. Nowadays there are lots of people who speak English in Japan, so newer loan words tend to get "kana-ized" based on their pronunciation. But in the past it was less likely there would be anyone around to say the word aloud in English, so the spelling (and thus Japanese pronunciation) was more likely influenced by how the word was written. :)
@@coreyfellows9420 By the way, you forgot to add a comma after "not" and you put a space before your end quotation mark rather than after it. Lastly, you failed to include a period at the end of your (incomplete) sentence. You're welcome. ;-)
Techmoan you have good taste in Japanese boomboxes. I repair electronics from 1970s and 1980s as a hobby and side hustle. Panasonic rx5200 from '82 Sansui Au517 from '77 Much respect from SF!!!
Well done! I love these old JVCs, the quality was superior. I couldn't afford these back in the day, but I had a lovely Toshiba RT 7170S that was amazing. cheers, and thank you!
I remember my brother bought the Sharp GF-990 boombox during the early 1990's. What made it stand out for me was that it had a music processor built into it. Maybe it was the only boombox model ever made to include a music processor as I have never seen any others since.
My friend (in Hungary) had one of these, it's was like a miracle from the future, with great sound and features, settings. Thanks for making a presentation!
Got one. It was the king of boom boxes because it was the bassiest, best sounding and loudest out there. Blew away all the rival Sharp boxes. Even the one Run DMC had on their back cover. Thanks for the nostalgia trip
In 1999 I was 14, I saved up for most the year to buy a $300 JVC "kaboom" box. Its was a weird looking tube with 52 watts of power. I loved that thing till i built my component system. At the time that was about the last big battery operated boombox around at the turn of the millennium.
Sometimes basic simplicity is just the best way to go...👍🏼 Something with power and that's straight to the point on playing cassettes or the radio without tons of frivolous bells and whistles sounds idealistic and practical to me...👌🏼💯✔
Hey, I even found my old JVC RCM70 on that boom box wall from when I was a teenager in the early 80's! That was a great boom box, and today it's considered one of the best there were. At the time it was like $400, and I bought it for $295 at Crazy Eddies in NY, saved a long time for that beast. Big but not the biggest, it was all about sound quality and solid volume, took 12 D batteries, but I never once walked around with it, it was land based but still movable. I loved that thing, that model is sometimes available on Ebay and it's way expensive, even saw a new old stock RCM70 in the box for $1500 if you can believe it. Nostalgia almost grabbed me, but then I thought what would I do with it now anyway, so it'll just live on in my memory. Good times. EDIT: Geez, just looked on Ebay, $2400 $1800 $1500, the cheapest one are $500 can't believe my old baby is so coveted today, it was one of the best and time has bared that out.
I bought a toshiba rt-sx3 in 1985 when I was 11 years old for the price of $200 aud. For that sort of money, it was about the best you could get here in Australia at that time. These are definitely a nice looking machine. Thanks again for your excellent content I always enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work!
I laughed so hard at "using the very latest in augmented reality technology" that I had to stop and go back because I missed the next 3 things you said!
I doubt it was the same model, but I recall that on a school outing in about '81 someone brought along a large JVC blaster. All I remember is that it has astoundingly good sound at astoundingly loud levels. JVC were truly the kings of this sort of thing
I still own my 80s JVC jambox. Its a black version and has an EG to the right of the C-deck.. i forget the model. I use it in my shop jammin out! I modified it tho with a nice BT receiver, the tape area is full of dust and EG needs cleaned but sounds just as good as day one. I bought a bigger one with 12" speakers, and it used 12 D batteries! Needless to say it wasnt fun carrying around loaded with all those batteries. And it eat them up really quick. I cant remember the make or model but i wished I'd kept it. But i sold it and bought the first gen Sega Genesis which still works. They sure dont make things like they used to! Thanks for sharing a trip down memory lane.
Found one at an electronics recycling box about two years ago. Was in bad shape but I fixed it up and I take it to the beach with me now! Beautiful piece of kit!
Actually JVC made something called the Kaboom Box And it is definitely the most awesome one out there. It looks like a giant bass tube and it has base speakers in either end and it hits like super hard. They still make the things
I had a Panasonic model that looked similar to that They were all the rage back in the day like phones are now. One was loud enough but get a bunch of friends together and we would all stack them in a wall tune in the same station and rock the whole area !!
This is A BOOM BOX Panasonic Platinum RX-DT680! I would love to get my hands on this again. A remote with 21 buttons, 4 AMPs= 80WATTs volume control on remote servo turns volume dial ! Mind Blowing!
Just after watching your video I went to the basement, just to see my old JVC RC-M70JW I've got since I was a kid in the beginning of 1980s. So many memories... Thank you!
Really interesting review. I had the pleasure of owning numerous JVC models in the late 70s and early 80s. I can add a little more information regarding costs. In date order: JVC RC 545 LB JVC RC 656 LB £120 new. JVC RC M70 LB Top of the range at the time. Retailed £254, although I paid less. I also purchased the M70 red carry bag and also the shoulder strap that buckled into slots near the handle. Great sound. 30 watts. JVC PC-5 LB Heavy, separated into components. Not the best sound. You could buy a matching set of larger bookshelf speakers to couple up. JVC RC-M90 LB Definitely the best sounding. Deeply regretted selling, especially considering value nowadays. Retailed around £350. 40 watts JVC PC-55 Very heavy. Another that separated into components. Fantastic cassette deck with Dolby C and great LCD screen with timer start/stop on record. Great for recording radio shows whilst you were out. High Ceramic speakers. Price was around £350. 54 Watts The LB denoted UK model. I will say the M70 and M90 ate all 10 Duracell batteries in a short time, so were expensive to run. The PC-5 and PC-55 only held 8 batteries and they lasted even less. The last four models, M70 onwards were purchased along Tottenham Court Road, which used to be a Mecca for tech, cameras and hi fi. The shop was called Saray’s, a very busy place where they piled them high and sold them fast. Prices were always negotiable and they loved to haggle. I distinctly remember paying £190 for the M-70, an absolute bargain. Sadly, I own none of these any more. I sold each model as I purchased a new one. However, I sold the M90 and M70 to an old friend who I believe still owns them in mint condition. Worth a small fortune now!
Man I loved the JVC MX GT90, and the JVC HX-Z3. JVC has a name written in my heart. JVC always have made monster systems. Though the ones I mentioned came from their spaceship phase.
NICE I own the same things!! I wish I had the jvc hx-z3, I have the jvc hx-z30 and I love it. I want to collect the jvc mx-j900 and jvc hx-z3 next. GT90 is a beast of a system though. If you look at the subwoofers in them, they are really good quality subs too. nice big magnets on them. Here is a video of my gt90: th-cam.com/video/qpVoWvtETiU/w-d-xo.html
That through-hole construction is what catches my eye, although there were bits of simple PCB as well. Lovely machine. This is what electronics means to me, not Arduino's and RaspberryPi's!
OMG THE FLOOD PICTURE DISK!!!! thanks so much for including that little snippet, while i do own it i don't have any equipment to actually play it on so seeing it in motion is such a treat!!!
Thanks for the terrific video! Quick tip, DeOxit D5 is recommended for metal contacts, and also for wire-wound potentiometers such as those found on a speaker tweeter level control. However, D5 can sometimes destroy a potentiometer. Caig Labs FaderLube is recommended for carbon and plastic film pots. FaderLube was formally called MCl. It is available in 5%, 100%, and grease forms (for restoring the feel of a slider after cleaning with 5%). That said, D5 is magic for restoring old switches and contacts!
"You're left fiddling around with your knob in the dark." Thanks, Techmoan. I was drinking a soda when the video hit that bit. Now I have to clean up far more of my desk than I really planned to.
JVC RC M90-KING OF BOOMBOX!!!-МЕЧТА ВСЕХ КОЛЛЕКЦИОНЕРОВ ВО ВСЕМ МИРЕ!!!!!! Чудо аппарат - двухмоторная протяжка уровня кассетной деки среднего класса, мостовой усилитель мощности, НЧ динамики 20 см. По звуку превосходит недоработанный Sharp GF-777. Шедевральным у JVC получился бластер RC-M90 выпущенный в 1981 году. Эта модель была под завязку напичкана всяческими техническими наворотами: 8-волновым приемником, фирменной системой шумоподавления Super ANRS (которая успешно конкурировала с Dolby B и C) и т.д. Но главным преимуществом RC-M90 является сверхнизкий коэффициент детонации (WRMS) - 0,05%.
For those searching for a vintage boombox, the Sharp GF-9696, Panasonic RX-7700, Clairtone 7979, Citizen JTR-1292, Aiwa TPR-990 and Conion C-100F are up there with the kings of the street, and offer the size, style, features, and early 1980s build quality. (and may or may not be more affordable than RC-M90). Also, if you essentially want the same features as the RC-M90, and gain lighted dial scale, the RC-M70 is the one (and it allows searching more than 5 songs on the cassette), although it has a different appearance with slide controls on the top, instead of rotary controls on the front.
I recall when Best Buy opened near me and the first visit i made there. There was an entire aisle filled with boomboxes lining both sides! Safe to say this is no longer the case.
I bought a rather similar JVC RC-M70WH (similar to one pictured in a brochure in this video) back in the early 80s. I paid 400 Australian dollars. Like the M90 it had line in, line out, VU meters and adjustable recording levels but 4 shortwave bands. Many of the controls were on the top including recording and volume controls. The tape actuation was manual rather than the servo-driven M90. I used to regularly demolish a set of ten Energiser D-size batteries over a camping weekend with the lads. Great unit.
Wow it both have a DC-jack and Mains-connection. Although you mention that later models had more feature, i think the amount of connectivity is impressive and could easily replace a mini-hifi setup.
In my workshop, in Italy, I have a JVC RC M90, dented, scratched, full of dust and with broken antennas, but it still sings very well. I didn't know it was such a great value radio. I will try to keep it with more care. :-D
6:40 The loudness control adjusts the frequency response to account for the nonuniform reduction of sensitivity in the human ear at lower volume levels. Basically our ability to hear the lowest and highest frequencies falls off more quickly than the ones in the middle. I saw a Yamaha amp once that had a loudness knob, not just a loudness switch. You could set the volume to maximum and lower the loudness instead, to maintain an apparent broader frequency response right down to low volume levels.
Back when they made real boomboxes. I remember my cousin had a ge boombox that sucker was heavy. Until i had A JVC Kaboom series in the early 2000's it had two subwoofers on the side. That thing sound great. I miss that big thing!
I got one in 1999 or 2000 when i was around 14. Took me a whole year of saving up to afford that $300 thing. There was just nothing like before or since.
@@cjmarsh504 i loved that thing but damn was that 10 D battery monster heavy. I think it was like thirty pounds with batteries. I consider it the last boombox. I still have the remote for mine some where. Wish i had never sold it.
@@justinpipes85 Yeah, that boy was heavy. I'm glad it had a strap, however, still a beast to carry. It carried 10 D's, plus the AA's for memory. I loved it when it came with a remote.
@@justinpipes85 Those were the last of the true boomboxes 4 sho. They later came with one model that you can remix on it too, I was pissed when they came out with that one.
I still make tapes for fun I have a big stereo 1 portable dual that works Panera purple do that half works A portable radio A pocket recorder are the size of a brick
My New Wave Toys kickstarter Bluetooth micro M90s arrived this week! The sound quality and attention to detail on these little BoomBox’s are incredible!!!
I was working for JVC since 40 years ago in Japan.
And I was producing that model.
I'm excited to see a nostalgic model.
Nice! It is a classic. I remember when LL Cool J's "Radio" album first came out. Even before that time, there were radios all over the playgrounds in the USA. Sometimes, you would hear the same song coming out of them and out of car stereos if a song was a huge hit on the radio. "The Rapping Duke" would be an example of that.
Где сейчас JVC?
@@ВАЛЕРИЙВЛАСОВ-ъ9л , Компания? Он находится в Иокогаме, Япония.
@@biggerduke почему в продаже нет видеокамер, акустики, усилителей, телевизоров и т.д...? Эта организация ещё работает?
@@ВАЛЕРИЙВЛАСОВ-ъ9л,
К сожалению, я не работаю в JVC, поэтому больше ни на что не могу ответить.
“You’re left fiddling around with your knob in the dark.”
Ain’t that the truth?
I was beginning to question what kind of video I was watching.
"but like all discerning gentlemen, we generally don't fancy feeling for a knob sight unseen" Vincent Teoh @ HDTVTest .
Ooohhhh Matron! 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Mum Techmoan : wot chu duin locked in your room son? nuutin mum it's only un-illuminated retro street HI-FI
The Pun-master strikes again!
I wanna see a homebrew boombox scene that ends up like PC building where people argue about the best repurposed car speakers to use inside, the best case assemblies, the best lithium-ion battery assembly, and the best 3.5" compact cassette module to install.
I definitely think there is as I've been planning a bluetooth speaker build and there's a lot of inspiration of DIY makes.
Im trying to make one lol
How is this not a bigger scene already. I just don't get it. Is everyone else really as lazy as me?
_Impossible_ *_`: ?_*
@@EggBastion I'm pretty lazy
@@MilesPrower1992 is that 'lazy with a capital L' or 'lazy with a capital D' - either way, good on ya champ!
God, I remember seeing these for sale used at my local Goodwill for $15 back in the 90s, crazy how popularity can drive up prices of old used stuff.
A colleague correctly described it as a "Nostalgia Wave". The same colleague who imported a vintage Korg MS20 synthesizer from Japan, just before Korg did a re-issue. Many the people who lusted after Boomboxes as teenagers now have enough money to bid high for them. Have you looked at the price of Amiga computers (high) and Digital Cameras (ones that cost $700 twenty years ago are worth about $15 now) as two other examples of "Supply and Demand" in action
I don't see them anymore or much and instead the crappy modern Memorex boombox are floating in Goodwill
And vinyl LPs are on track to outsell CDs this year. Weird times.
@@MartinOmander Oh good...I hate CD!!
*It's definitely the popularity factor, for sure.*
But the prices go up as supply goes down (and the old solid companies aren't really around anymore & therefore, these vintage machines are no longer being made).
*Therefore, ★supply is dwindling & always will be★.*
And yep, I remember seeing these fairly often at (pre-eBay days) yard sales/Goodwill stores for no more than $40! Dang, I should have bought at least one of them. : (
8:40 “Ladies and gentlemen, I wanna present to you the amazing popping and locking crew” *jazz music intensifies*
I've had a jvc m90.the best I ever EVER had.nowadays i have to settle with a sharp gx300.from 1982.boomboxes were at their peak between 1980 and 1985.great video matt.miss my m90 so very much.
"Ladies and gentlemen... may i introduce the Popping and locking crew" man i love this dude. :D
Thats classy my man. Carry on. Love this channel
You just know techmoan was a pop and break dancer😂
The video I was waiting for, This is the best video of RC M90 in TH-cam, Thank you very much. Infact 4 years back one of your old videos made me search for my old RC90 which was given away in 2002, I found it and I'm in the process of restoring it. The moment you put that thing on the table, I was sent back to my childhood. I have so many memories with this device. When I was a 10 year old kid this particular machine tought me what is stereo, bass, treble, balance, dolby NR and so on. During the mid 90s, Somebody gave this to my father free, and I realize now that this was the most expenisve thing at my home back then. I always knew this was a great boombox. But I came to know that this is an iconic machine only after watching one of your videos. Thank you Techmoan.
I remember my uncle receiving a JVC boom box with the dual cassette set up for Christmas in probably 81 or 82. It was stunningly heavy! Awesome sound! It lasted ( after being treated very roughly ) for about 25 years . I am still amazed by those older machines. Great video!
"While my JVC vibrates the concrete..."
So many memories...
LLCJ!
I heard it on Stereo2go ..... JVC always solid gear, good sound
Damn you! I just posted that then noticed someone beat me to it!
@@danr2652 ikr? came to make the same..lol
@@dadigitechman, "but I need a radio inside my hand".
In this epsiode of retro awesomeness: I used my L L Cool J cover to translate the labels of my boombox.
XD
Legendary 😂
9:04 _"...looks like I need to reduce the caffeine intake..."_
9:09 _"BothUSandJapanesmodelshavethesamecontrolontheright-forthemicrophoneandvolumeyoucanusethem..."_
Lmao
Lol
"And now a word from our sponsor, No-Doz..."
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The best part of waking up, is... fiddlingaroundwithyourknobinthedark,... in your cup.
"I don't think anyone needed to know that" OH YES WE DO ! That's why we watch your stuff !!!
Firstly, Thank you for the nostalgic feeling. Growing up in Brooklyn NY in the 80's and 90's this radio was the crown jewel of boom boxes. I wish I could afford one of these today.
Secondly, Thank you for the excellent TH-cam content. I have seen a few videos made by you prior but this video absolutely got my sub. Keep up the amazingly great work.
You and your family stay healthy.
I jumped up and hit the pause button when I saw the picture of the boombox I used to own during my college years. No, not the venerable RC M 90 but the JVC RC M 70 JW. I purchased it for about $350.00 USD from an electronics store on West 14th Street in Manhattan NYC in 1980. It was my freshman year, I was about to turn 18, and was home from college for the Thanksgiving Holiday. I loved that box, it sounded great and it really had punch whenever I maxed out the volume. I paired it with a Technics SL D3 turntable and began buying LPs to record and make compilation tapes with at home that I would play whenever I hit the streets with my box. The handle on the M 70 was nearly as wide as the body and I didn't like the way it flexed whenever I carried it by the handle so I took to carrying it inverted with the handle open, my arm over the front with the back of the unit leaning against my side. This position turned the open handle into an improvised shock absorber. Sadly, my M 70 was stolen in the summer of 1984. I still have the turntable (somewhere in my house) and I still have a few of the cassettes I recorded from that time although I haven't played those tapes in well over 20 years. Thanks for getting the M 70 in the picture!
"I'm no boombox collector"
has more than one boombox in 2020
I've got 2, that doesn't make me a collector
@@bobthebrick1988 A hoarder, perhaps.
@@bobthebrick1988 That's an interesting thought. How many Xs constitute a collection. Three pottery frogs or corkscrews isn't really a collection, three Ferraris is a collection. A collection is more than a normal person might just happen to have acquired.
@@MartinWillett If so then one Ferrari is already a collection :D
@@LordWaldema No, we all need a Ferrari or two but most of us can't afford one. But even most people who could easily afford three Ferraris won't buy three or more because they aren't collecting them.
Who doesn't love a good fiddle around with your knob in the dark?
I should have known that I wouldn't be the only one to pick up on that.
Even better with a friend, I hear ☺️
I literally laughed out loud when he said that.
Index above is missing "22:04 Gratuitous knob gag"
Of the dial variety, of course. We wouldn't want to be rude or anything...
As he says that I go to the comments section to say essentially that; and it's the first comment I can see.
Rim shot
I have nostalgia for the days when “made in Japan” really meant something! ( rather than modern built to minimum price, regardless of country of origin ) How I’d love to turn up somewhere with that behemoth...Classic one upmanship😂 that’s awesome thanks for featuring this 80s monster!
These days "made in Japan" is still a sign of quality. It's the "made in China" that is a sign of junk.
@@SenileOtaku If you pay junk money you get junk.
I've bought plenty of fantastic quality stuff from China, even from sites like Aliexpress.
The Replitronics version completely misses the point- Its gotta be big!
@@Redmenace96 And cassette mechanisms are cheap. I would have replicated one with a tape deck in it.
@@kristoffer3000 that's true, All my Chinese branded items that cost money never had a problem. Iphones and other electronics made in China that I have owned never had issues. It's the cheap stuff, regardless where it's made that go bad. I just think China earned a bad rep from making cheap imitations and counterfeits.
I love your videos! It's always like an adventure; you show a boombox, use an album cover to navigate through, stop in the middle of the video to give extra information and so on... Thanks a lot for all the effort! :D
“you’re left fiddling around with your knob in the dark”
-Techmoan 2020
lol looking through the comments, i see i am WHOLLY original and clever 😎
He moaning all right
I have an Akai from the same era, I don't know if this has it, but mine has a button you push and a light illuminates the dial, if you release the button the light goes off so its not meant to be left on probably to save batteries. Its a little incandescent bulb, definitely not a LED.
We've all been there...
@@freeculture 0
I miss the days when your cassette player would have a metal tape selector. Of course when I was a kid I had no idea what metal tapes were but I knew if I had a switch that said "metal" I was going to turn it on regardless! 🤘
Yes, I bought the Panasonic RX-D55 after watching the review on this channel, and I'm pretty happy with it overall. However, I do wish it would properly playback Type II (CrO2) tapes. I mean, you CAN still play them, but it's just not the same.
Using an LP cover of L.L. COOL J as a translation guide is such a low key flex
Right because Matt is a "mEmE" kid like you. -_- Fucks sake.
@@Skellotronix Oy, cool it with the edgy bullshit, mate
@@Skellotronix well I guess he's not a prick like you.
@@paulheap1982 why do people come on this channel and leave mean replies like that? This channel is chill.
@@NandR who know. Attention? Narcissism?
A friend of mine I think had the JVC version of this machine in 1981. I remember the VU meters on his and it sounded incredible. Thanks for sharing.
Great video! I also collect these old Boomboxes. I think my favourite one I own is the Sanyo M9994 made in 1978. I bought it from a friend who owns a record store. He got it clearing out a hoarders home. This radio was filthy and non functional. I fell in love with it instantly and bought it for the 30 USD he asked. When I took it home I opened it up and completely cleaned every part and got new belts for the cassette deck. It now works and it's bright and shiny. The sound is incredible. I then managed to also find the original 2 microphones and mic stands that attach to the body of the radio. I found the original Demo cassette it originally was sold with and I also found a repair manual for that model. Strangely, I see this radio sells for asking price of up to 4 thousand USD on eBay. Insane. I remember about 20 years ago in Brooklyn New York in Coney Island there used to be street vendors in shipping / storage containers that sold useless crap. One of those venders was strictly these vintage boomboxes. No higher priced than 40 USD. I was almost going to buy the one you featured for 30 UDS but the thing that really turned me off were the dead cockroaches inside the tuning dial. Maybe I was right for not buying that one, but I sure regret it now that those vendors across the street from the Cyclone Roller Coaster are all gone now. Especially at those low prices I could have bought quite a few just in need of a good cleaning. Then again, 20 years ago, eBay wasn't really a huge thing yet and the peices of these relics weren't unreasonable yet as they are today. I also collect vintage Sony Walkman and Soundabout models from the early 80's.
Love the 9994. And yeh if only we’d bought more when they were still cheap we’d be rich lol. I’ve got 100+ of the damn things tho lol
So cool and so many memories. I remember LL having a big mocked up version of one that seemed the size of a van on stage when he was opening for Run DMC on their Raising hell tour. Awesome show BTW.
"I don't think anyone needed to know any of that" Techmoan. There was so much in the video I did not need to know, but none the less, I really enjoyed it. Thank you.
Omg this is the one my older brothers had when I was a kid! I hooked it up to our TV and used it as a makeshift sub woofer when I was 10 back in 1992.
22:06 "You're left fiddling around with your knob in the dark"
I truly lol'd at that!!
Yeah, I almost choked 🤣
That sounds like something a puppet would say.
Awesome machine, love the way the cassette is almost lost in the huge size of the entire thing. Excellent video again Mat!
What a beauty.
A true symbol of the 80s.
That’s the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time, thanks for showing it and to be honest I’m a little bit envious that you have one, GRRRR!!!! lol
"Walkin' down the street, to the hardcore beat, While my JVC vibrates the concrete".
Cool J
You want the concrete to really vibrate? Get a Sharp GF 777
@@mistermatix8241 That the one with the record player?
@@wisteela no, but it's a TOTAL badass
i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzY4WDEwMjQ=/z/vYMAAOSwE9pb5Y5J/$_86.JPG
Twin tape, and 8 giant speakers. Every feature of the JVC and MORE, it's absolutely HUGE too. My sister had one
Look at the dual tape decks to get an idea of how big it is! And 10w on the JVC? PAH! 90w with the Sharp! (you can even connect EXTERNAL speakers to it! 10 speakers!) it sounds fooking EPIC, no distortion, bass up the wazoo! All of those are REAL speakers, no blocked off moulding, or fakery, I know, I've heard one. Oh and you can connect a turntable too!. 😃
@@mistermatix8241 That's the box I thought he was going to show. My friend had one back in the day and that thing made him a legend
Techmoan loves his hip hop.
One of my fave aspects!
He sure does
mc t-moan
@@heggy_69 lol
I always knew Techmoan was fresh
I was excited to hear a mention of Super ANRS. I use a JVC deck with this and even with prerecorded tapes it adds in a spectacular amount of brightness and headroom that ANRS/ Dolby B eats up. That setting always stays on for me.
Back in the day when something was built for quality. Today, manufacturers make the cheapest crap possible because people don't want to pay for quality anymore. That cassette mechanism was awesome, soft touch button controls and has a ton of cool features. You've got a nice machine!
Japan has a radio morning exercise. Rajio Taiso (ラジオ体操). So the trainer can use MIC. over it when do group exercise. That's one of the reasons, I think.
@@KairuHakubi That's exactly right. Nowadays there are lots of people who speak English in Japan, so newer loan words tend to get "kana-ized" based on their pronunciation. But in the past it was less likely there would be anyone around to say the word aloud in English, so the spelling (and thus Japanese pronunciation) was more likely influenced by how the word was written. :)
Thank you for using the correct term "initialism" for "JVC."
Because had he not all the "experts "would have been sure to let him know
@@coreyfellows9420 By the way, you forgot to add a comma after "not" and you put a space before your end quotation mark rather than after it. Lastly, you failed to include a period at the end of your (incomplete) sentence. You're welcome. ;-)
Pen Jillette and Raymond Teller are very proud, I'm sure.
@@nintendoeats You've seen that too? It's a great piece.
BTW Teller changed his name to just "Teller."
@@excavatoree Yeah, they really burned it into my head. I always try to get it right now.
Awesome video. Been really looking forward to this, thank you
Techmoan you have good taste in Japanese boomboxes.
I repair electronics from 1970s and 1980s as a hobby and side hustle.
Panasonic rx5200 from '82
Sansui Au517 from '77
Much respect from SF!!!
Well done! I love these old JVCs, the quality was superior. I couldn't afford these back in the day, but I had a lovely Toshiba RT 7170S that was amazing. cheers, and thank you!
I remember my brother bought the Sharp GF-990 boombox during the early 1990's. What made it stand out for me was that it had a music processor built into it. Maybe it was the only boombox model ever made to include a music processor as I have never seen any others since.
Matt I love your videos, even rewatch ones I’ve seen and watch ones kitchen utensil related lol - keep it up , appreciation from Scotland 🏴
22:04 oh that pause. Techmoan knew exactly what he said.
Yeah that made me giggle =) Glad I'm not the only one.
I had to go back and listen closer to make sure that what I heard was really what I heard. Lol... It was!
My friend (in Hungary) had one of these, it's was like a miracle from the future, with great sound and features, settings. Thanks for making a presentation!
Got one. It was the king of boom boxes because it was the bassiest, best sounding and loudest out there. Blew away all the rival Sharp boxes. Even the one Run DMC had on their back cover. Thanks for the nostalgia trip
In 1999 I was 14, I saved up for most the year to buy a $300 JVC "kaboom" box. Its was a weird looking tube with 52 watts of power. I loved that thing till i built my component system. At the time that was about the last big battery operated boombox around at the turn of the millennium.
@@danielknepper6884 the fact they had powered subwoofers still blows me away.
First cup of coffee moment 🍵: "Your meter's faded, bro!" would make a great audiophile burn. 🤓
@10:32 Matt explains differences
Sometimes basic simplicity is just the best way to go...👍🏼 Something with power and that's straight to the point on playing cassettes or the radio without tons of frivolous bells and whistles sounds idealistic and practical to me...👌🏼💯✔
Hey, I even found my old JVC RCM70 on that boom box wall from when I was a teenager in the early 80's! That was a great boom box, and today it's considered one of the best there were. At the time it was like $400, and I bought it for $295 at Crazy Eddies in NY, saved a long time for that beast. Big but not the biggest, it was all about sound quality and solid volume, took 12 D batteries, but I never once walked around with it, it was land based but still movable. I loved that thing, that model is sometimes available on Ebay and it's way expensive, even saw a new old stock RCM70 in the box for $1500 if you can believe it. Nostalgia almost grabbed me, but then I thought what would I do with it now anyway, so it'll just live on in my memory. Good times. EDIT: Geez, just looked on Ebay, $2400 $1800 $1500, the cheapest one are $500 can't believe my old baby is so coveted today, it was one of the best and time has bared that out.
I bought a toshiba rt-sx3 in 1985 when I was 11 years old for the price of $200 aud. For that sort of money, it was about the best you could get here in Australia at that time. These are definitely a nice looking machine. Thanks again for your excellent content I always enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work!
I laughed so hard at "using the very latest in augmented reality technology" that I had to stop and go back because I missed the next 3 things you said!
I doubt it was the same model, but I recall that on a school outing in about '81 someone brought along a large JVC blaster. All I remember is that it has astoundingly good sound at astoundingly loud levels. JVC were truly the kings of this sort of thing
Techmoan now has more street cred than half of Death Row
I still own my 80s JVC jambox. Its a black version and has an EG to the right of the C-deck.. i forget the model. I use it in my shop jammin out! I modified it tho with a nice BT receiver, the tape area is full of dust and EG needs cleaned but sounds just as good as day one. I bought a bigger one with 12" speakers, and it used 12 D batteries! Needless to say it wasnt fun carrying around loaded with all those batteries. And it eat them up really quick. I cant remember the make or model but i wished I'd kept it. But i sold it and bought the first gen Sega Genesis which still works. They sure dont make things like they used to! Thanks for sharing a trip down memory lane.
Found one at an electronics recycling box about two years ago. Was in bad shape but I fixed it up and I take it to the beach with me now! Beautiful piece of kit!
Love a good "loudness" switch! Seems to drastically improve the richness or fullness of the sound. 👍
Actually JVC made something called the Kaboom Box And it is definitely the most awesome one out there. It looks like a giant bass tube and it has base speakers in either end and it hits like super hard. They still make the things
Yup, I remember that!! Bass was scarce back in the day. My brother had a CRT tv with built in subwoofer in the 90's.
When you grabbed the microphone, I was hoping for a bit of 'Passion Fruit'.
I was thinking of WAP!
Passion Fruit? That 90s pop band that died in 2001?
I had a Panasonic model that looked similar to that They were all the rage back in the day like phones are now. One was loud enough but get a bunch of friends together and we would all stack them in a wall tune in the same station and rock the whole area !!
This is A BOOM BOX Panasonic Platinum RX-DT680! I would love to get my hands on this again. A remote with 21 buttons, 4 AMPs= 80WATTs volume control on remote servo turns volume dial ! Mind Blowing!
"I would like to introduce to you the amazing popping and locking crew" is so English and proper. That is the best
I liked the part at the end where you talked about their settings on the album covers. Maybe LL really stands for Left Louder.
Ladies love lopsided levels.
Ah yes, Mr. Cool James, the famous Japanese to English interpreter.
Is he related to Mr.Cool ICE?
It’s really just James May in disguise.
Just after watching your video I went to the basement, just to see my old JVC RC-M70JW I've got since I was a kid in the beginning of 1980s. So many memories... Thank you!
Really interesting review. I had the pleasure of owning numerous JVC models in the late 70s and early 80s. I can add a little more information regarding costs.
In date order:
JVC RC 545 LB
JVC RC 656 LB £120 new.
JVC RC M70 LB Top of the range at the time. Retailed £254, although I paid less. I also purchased the M70 red carry bag and also the shoulder strap that buckled into slots near the handle. Great sound. 30 watts.
JVC PC-5 LB Heavy, separated into components. Not the best sound. You could buy a matching set of larger bookshelf speakers to couple up.
JVC RC-M90 LB Definitely the best sounding. Deeply regretted selling, especially considering value nowadays. Retailed around £350. 40 watts
JVC PC-55 Very heavy. Another that separated into components. Fantastic cassette deck with Dolby C and great LCD screen with timer start/stop on record. Great for recording radio shows whilst you were out. High Ceramic speakers. Price was around £350. 54 Watts
The LB denoted UK model. I will say the M70 and M90 ate all 10 Duracell batteries in a short time, so were expensive to run.
The PC-5 and PC-55 only held 8 batteries and they lasted even less.
The last four models, M70 onwards were purchased along Tottenham Court Road, which used to be a Mecca for tech, cameras and hi fi. The shop was called Saray’s, a very busy place where they piled them high and sold them fast. Prices were always negotiable and they loved to haggle. I distinctly remember paying £190 for the M-70, an absolute bargain.
Sadly, I own none of these any more. I sold each model as I purchased a new one. However, I sold the M90 and M70 to an old friend who I believe still owns them in mint condition. Worth a small fortune now!
Man I loved the JVC MX GT90, and the JVC HX-Z3. JVC has a name written in my heart. JVC always have made monster systems. Though the ones I mentioned came from their spaceship phase.
NICE I own the same things!! I wish I had the jvc hx-z3, I have the jvc hx-z30 and I love it. I want to collect the jvc mx-j900 and jvc hx-z3 next. GT90 is a beast of a system though. If you look at the subwoofers in them, they are really good quality subs too. nice big magnets on them.
Here is a video of my gt90: th-cam.com/video/qpVoWvtETiU/w-d-xo.html
Sweet dude! I have a bit of a collection of those types of things actually lol.
That through-hole construction is what catches my eye, although there were bits of simple PCB as well. Lovely machine. This is what electronics means to me, not Arduino's and RaspberryPi's!
I remember kids breakdancing in the streetswith their boomboxes back in the 80s, good times.
back when they had dance off, vs. shootout's ;)
The IRRELEVANCE part is actually very interesting. 👍The close up shots of all the bells and whistles makes me grin, amazing content.
OMG THE FLOOD PICTURE DISK!!!! thanks so much for including that little snippet, while i do own it i don't have any equipment to actually play it on so seeing it in motion is such a treat!!!
Boom Boom Boom, lets go back to Techmoan's room
Im afraid to countinue those lyrics
@@Pepsiphopia do it anyway
the best Dead or Alive song that was never a Dead or Alive song
why can i hear this comment?
Ha! Showing your age there. I danced to that in nightclubs when it was released.
When I was a kid my dad had a Sharp GF 9191, it was the monster that sat on top of the fridge in the kitchen. 😎
my god do you have it now?
@@emmareporter Sadly no but I'm looking to replace it though.
@@2ToneWalt good luck on finding yourself a new chonky boi my deck btw is my forst one i am 15 and have a yamaha kx-w 262
Very nice deck, take care.
@Craig Sheppard I agree, it was a monster of a machine and sounded great.
As always excellent revision, didn't know it have so many features, even phono in and RCA output, you make me Wish for one!
Wow, great features on this machine- I had the "3 band equalizer with 6 sliders" models that were just "frontin".
always loved that picture on the cover. pure essence RADIO.
22:04 "You're left fiddling with your knob in the dark..." Mama always said it'd make you go blind XD
"This is what a proper boombox looks like." Yesssssss!!!
No way is that going on my shoulder! Great vid. (I shall have to listen to PM Dawn, and Jesus Jones on my phone) 👍
Thanks for the terrific video!
Quick tip, DeOxit D5 is recommended for metal contacts, and also for wire-wound potentiometers such as those found on a speaker tweeter level control.
However, D5 can sometimes destroy a potentiometer. Caig Labs FaderLube is recommended for carbon and plastic film pots.
FaderLube was formally called MCl. It is available in 5%, 100%, and grease forms (for restoring the feel of a slider after cleaning with 5%).
That said, D5 is magic for restoring old switches and contacts!
Matt. You kill me. The knob pun. Your massive collection of hip hop albums. Your self awareness is top notch. Perfect video. Bravo.
Amazing episode, thanks!
"You're left fiddling around with your knob in the dark."
Thanks, Techmoan. I was drinking a soda when the video hit that bit. Now I have to clean up far more of my desk than I really planned to.
"I don't think anyone needed to know any of that."
But we did, though! We really did!
JVC RC M90-KING OF BOOMBOX!!!-МЕЧТА ВСЕХ КОЛЛЕКЦИОНЕРОВ ВО ВСЕМ МИРЕ!!!!!!
Чудо аппарат - двухмоторная протяжка уровня кассетной деки среднего класса, мостовой усилитель мощности, НЧ динамики 20 см.
По звуку превосходит недоработанный Sharp GF-777.
Шедевральным у JVC получился бластер RC-M90 выпущенный в 1981 году.
Эта модель была под завязку напичкана всяческими техническими наворотами: 8-волновым приемником, фирменной системой шумоподавления Super ANRS (которая успешно конкурировала с Dolby B и C) и т.д. Но главным преимуществом RC-M90 является сверхнизкий коэффициент детонации (WRMS) - 0,05%.
For those searching for a vintage boombox, the Sharp GF-9696, Panasonic RX-7700, Clairtone 7979, Citizen JTR-1292, Aiwa TPR-990 and Conion C-100F are up there with the kings of the street, and offer the size, style, features, and early 1980s build quality. (and may or may not be more affordable than RC-M90).
Also, if you essentially want the same features as the RC-M90, and gain lighted dial scale, the RC-M70 is the one (and it allows searching more than 5 songs on the cassette), although it has a different appearance with slide controls on the top, instead of rotary controls on the front.
Good advice :-)
I recall when Best Buy opened near me and the first visit i made there. There was an entire aisle filled with boomboxes lining both sides! Safe to say this is no longer the case.
When you said Respectable, I immediately thought of Mel and Kim.
I felt that
Take or leave us, but please believe us.
@@frederickleo2386
*Cos we ain't ever gonna be...*
I know exactly what Mr. Techmoan's last words will be: "I'm sure this giant stack of consumer electronics is perfectly stabLAAAGGHHH!!"
I hope he has a barn!
I bought a rather similar JVC RC-M70WH (similar to one pictured in a brochure in this video) back in the early 80s. I paid 400 Australian dollars. Like the M90 it had line in, line out, VU meters and adjustable recording levels but 4 shortwave bands. Many of the controls were on the top including recording and volume controls. The tape actuation was manual rather than the servo-driven M90. I used to regularly demolish a set of ten Energiser D-size batteries over a camping weekend with the lads. Great unit.
I just found my grandfathers old one barely used with the manual! I’m 21 and this RC M90 is awesome.
Wow it both have a DC-jack and Mains-connection.
Although you mention that later models had more feature, i think the amount of connectivity is impressive and could easily replace a mini-hifi setup.
80s bboys weapon of choice, classic
In my workshop, in Italy, I have a JVC RC M90, dented, scratched, full of dust and with broken antennas, but it still sings very well. I didn't know it was such a great value radio. I will try to keep it with more care. :-D
6:40 The loudness control adjusts the frequency response to account for the nonuniform reduction of sensitivity in the human ear at lower volume levels. Basically our ability to hear the lowest and highest frequencies falls off more quickly than the ones in the middle.
I saw a Yamaha amp once that had a loudness knob, not just a loudness switch. You could set the volume to maximum and lower the loudness instead, to maintain an apparent broader frequency response right down to low volume levels.
My Yamaha Natural Sound CR-620 has this feature. It's a little unusual but it works quite well for serious hi-fi listening.
Wow thanks for this review on the boombox, it has now got me thinking about restoration all of my 80s machine's.
"you're left fiddling your knob in the dark."
Phrasing, my guy. Phrasing.
Back when they made real boomboxes. I remember my cousin had a ge boombox that sucker was heavy. Until i had A JVC Kaboom series in the early 2000's it had two subwoofers on the side. That thing sound great. I miss that big thing!
I got one in 1999 or 2000 when i was around 14. Took me a whole year of saving up to afford that $300 thing. There was just nothing like before or since.
@@justinpipes85 I put mine on layaway to get it. Unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina came through and took it later on.
@@cjmarsh504 i loved that thing but damn was that 10 D battery monster heavy. I think it was like thirty pounds with batteries. I consider it the last boombox. I still have the remote for mine some where. Wish i had never sold it.
@@justinpipes85 Yeah, that boy was heavy. I'm glad it had a strap, however, still a beast to carry. It carried 10 D's, plus the AA's for memory. I loved it when it came with a remote.
@@justinpipes85 Those were the last of the true boomboxes 4 sho. They later came with one model that you can remix on it too, I was pissed when they came out with that one.
I still make tapes for fun
I have a big stereo
1 portable dual that works
Panera purple do that half works
A portable radio
A pocket recorder are the size of a brick
My New Wave Toys kickstarter Bluetooth micro M90s arrived this week! The sound quality and attention to detail on these little BoomBox’s are incredible!!!
the bit at the end looking at those covers was the best! thank you very much for that!