![](article_thoughts-boomboxes/entradilla-boomboxes_2.jpg)
I've always loved boomboxes, especially when I was a teen. I had a difficult puberty and music has always been (and will be) a haven of calm and enjoyment.
I have already had a few boomboxes, starting with a couple very tatty, reaching an excellent one, passing through several intermediate.
I think I have a good "ear smell": seeing the look of a specific model and its specifications I can quickly have a pretty good idea of its quality. This smell hasn’t failed me, I have hit pretty well most of the times.
Actually I always have been more interested in Walkmans than in boomboxes, for one simple reason: I care so much about sound quality. In my case, to have a listening room with excellent acoustics, a high-end stereo and total isolation is simply impossible. Instead, enjoy a similar sensation thanks to high-end headphones, it is possible (and I think today I already have a set-up that meets enough my needs in music terms).
It is also true that intimacy and isolation that provides a Walkman with good headphones is something that in my opinion is unbeatable.
![](article_thoughts-boomboxes/sony_headphones_mdr-3000_&_wm-dc2_02.jpg)
For these situations where you just want some background music while doing some daily tasks at home, but not looking for extreme quality, a boombox is perfect. Still, I’d no take any sardine can.
Right now I have no boombox at home. I have my HIFI ONKYO stereo in the living room, and my little Cambridge Soundworks speakers connected to my sound card X-Fi in my PC which both satisfies me needs enough.
But I recently acquired a very special radio cassette: the extraordinary AIWA Strasser SR8, which for me is the best boombox ever made, for many reasons.
![](article_thoughts-boomboxes/boombox-aiwa-strasser-csd-sr8.jpg)
The AIWA Strasser CSD-SR8. Photo: Unkown.
I have had a Japanese friend at ’92 which had one of this at his room, and I always was very impressed about it’s quality. I was at the university, living in a student residence, and I could hear and play a bit with almost all student’s boomboxes then, of many of my colleagues (about 100 in total) and, believe me, this SR8 beated them all by a BIG margin, even with bigger boomboxes in size (I remember there were some big Panasonic also).
I would like to explain why do I think that this is the very best boombox ever made, and which are (IMHO) the weaknesses of many other models that are very popular. First of all: because of it’s high sound quality, closer to a small HIFI than to a boombox.
Definitely, for me the most important characteristic is the sound quality. If I had to put on a scale of 0-10 different sound sources, would underscore the natural sound:
![](article_thoughts-boomboxes/chicago_symphony_orchestra_2005.jpg)
The Chicago symphony orchestra. Photo: unknown
And in the last position, the sardine can:
![](article_thoughts-boomboxes/boombox_sony_sardine_can.jpg)
So, this is how I score their audio quality:
![](article_thoughts-boomboxes/boomboxes_2.jpg)
(all models are in approximate scale)
Again: this is my particular view on all these devices. If I'm wrong at some point, I'll be happy to hear comments.
|