Aiwa CS-J77 MKII Vintage Stereo Boombox 80s GhettoBlaster - RARE
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Aiwa CS-J77 MKII Vintage Stereo Boombox 80s GhettoBlaster - RARE:
$200.00
Thank you for looking at this sale! (See additional note below at Operation after Music Search**)Up for sale is a very rare collectible vintage boombox - AIWA CS-J77 MKII, SN: 11127357
Click here to seeThis boombox is part of original Stereo80s.com boombox collection and is sold as is. Below is my report on this particular unit.
Any references to the perceivedsound quality are strictly personal experience, and should be regarded as such.
As usual, please remember that each boombox is packaged and shipped in a box withsuper tough,8+2-corners and front/back protection cut to size, to assure safe delivery.
If you have any questions regarding this sale please email and I\'ll do my best to get back to you ASAP.
Now before I begin to describe this particular unit, a few words needs to be said about the manufacturer.AIWA is one manufacturer that back in the days was paying serious attention to the sound quality, unlike many other brands that simply wanted to be present on the market, and did not contribute meaningfully to creation of the ultimate boombox sound. This model of AIWA was manufactured in Japan only, and it is a second (MKII) variation of the design of this awesome boombox. The original CS-J77 model,Click here to seewas introduced in 1979 and cost Y64,800 which was a small fortune to pay, back in the day. The MKII version was priced the same Y64,800, but had some additional design features that made it look even more spectacular. In particular, the addition of dark blue plastic inserts for speakers with additional black square speaker grills with angled black tweeter deflectors, and digital meter instead of an analog.Both models feature Dynamic Super Loudness System (DSL) that nicely expands typical \"Loudness\" feature found on other similar boomboxes.Overall, in my opinion, this created a nicer, more expensive look, with the same excellent sound definition that earlier AIWAs are known for.So this particular boombox is among my favorites. Here are the details about this unit:
Exterior:
- Overall the boombox is in great shape - there are no cracks, and no dents, the front top plastic corner has a few small worn out spots, very few small scratches on the top
- The aluminum trim on the front, including a small piece on the left, and the aluminum trim on DSL/MS - is in excellent shape, no scratches or dents
- Radio glass is clear, without cracks, if looked at angle, you can see at a certain light, a couple of hair thin scratches that are not visible otherwise
- Tape door is clear, with no visible scratches, the metal trim has no dents or scratches, door screws are original with tiny spots of corrosion
- Metal speaker grills front and sides look like new, with no dents or scratches, plastic tweeter deflectors are also like new.
- Antenna is original, straight, without visible corrosion or rust, plastic antenna locks behind the case (that are often broken) are in great shape.
- Handle is in good shape, with visible corrosion on side chrome pieces, plastic handle is like new
- All buttons and knobs are original and scratch free with exception of radio tuning button that has 2 very small, hardly visible scratches on the center (black on silver)
- All lettering on the metal trim under the buttons and switches, grills, and plastic, is preserved
- DSL/Music Search plastic panel is like new
- Red music search indicator for 15 songs is operational
- All other lights are in working condition, though I could not verify Stereo FM LED, not sure about it
- Back panel is clean, scratch free
- Battery compartment is clean without visible rust stains, foam on the cover is present, with about 2/3 of it remaining
- AIWA plastic badge on the front is like new
Operation and Etc:On the front:
- Controls (right to left): Tuning, Volume, Balance, Treble, Bass, Mic Volume
- Selectors: AM, FM, FM AFC
- Switches: Function (Phono/Line In, Radio, Tape/Power Off), Mode (Stereo, Mono), Tape Selector (Metal, CrO2, LH/Normal), Sleep (On
- Plugs: Phones (full size), Mix Mics (full size)
- Push Buttons: Dolby NR (On, Off), Wireless Mix (On, Off), Reset for tape counter
- Tape controls including Music Sensor for FF and REW and Mic Mute push button
- Tape Controls are Soft Touch
- DSL/MS Panel Controls: Program Selector (1-15), DSL Control (On, Off) with graphic matrix and slider (20Hz-1000Hz with peak at ~125Hz when slider is on Max/-10db-+10db)
- Phono/Line In Switch
- Composite Phono and Line In connectors
- Ground
- External Mic (R/L)
- Composite Line Out
- External Speakers (4-8Om)
- OSC (3 position)
On the side
- DC 13.5V
- AC 100V
Operation:
- Counter: Works fine, appears to be a bit slow, though this may be just an impression
- REW/FW/PLAY - Work perfect
- REC and REC Mute - not tested, but presumed to be as good as everything else
- Mic Mixing - Not tested, as above
- Sleep switch and function works fine
- MS music search appears to be working, but differently then other versions of music search. Once song selector is set, then usually you press the FF/REW, and it searches for the song, here you have to hold FF/REW (which is also labeled as REVIEW/CUE), and when the song search is accomplished, the FF/REW shuts off and starts playing once you release FF/REW button.
- **1-17-18 - you can see the operation of this particular unit at metacafe dot com, search for AIWA CS-J77. As you can see the MS Search was actually properly operating back in 2011. This makes me believe that the current operation of MS has to do with the unit being sitting on the shelf for the last 7 years, and can be fixed with lubrication.
- DSL is working fine
- External Mics - Not tested, as above
- External Speakers - Not tested, as above
- Phono - Not tested, as above
- Line Out - Not tested, as above
- Line In - works fine
- AC 110V - works fine
- DC (13.5V), and batteries not tested but presumed good based on overall condition
- So testing it, here is what I found:The nice things:
- Design. Blue backing under black speaker grills looks totally awesome, add to it one of the largest, centrally positioned Music Search indicator adds to coolness. Expensively looking, layered, AIWA CS-J77 MKII badge on the front, is another hit with me. Graphic matrix at the center of the DSL panel, contributes to the newest technology look it was designed to produce. Down-angled plastic deflectors on the tweeters - a clearly Japanese invention, (in my opinion), that was copycatted by others, also demonstrates thoughtful design.
- The radio is 75-108Mhz
- Digital meter. MKII gained a single digital meter instead of 2 analog ones. While many prefer analog VUs, including myself, lets face it - they are hard to see from a distance, and unless they are large and lit, you can hardly see and follow it up close. So a single digital meter, that can be seen and followed easily, is a nice addition.
- DSL - is essentially is a souped up \"Loudness\" feature that adds to sound definition.
- Line In allows connection of BlueTooth devices to stream audio from your phone.
- The boombox is not very heavy relative to its size, just the right weight to carry on the shoulder.
No so nice:- DSL - Digital Super Loudness system, is a bit questionable. It is actually quite nice, but feels a bit misguided. While the intent of it is clear - to expand typical \"Loudness\" feature, and combine it with \"Stereo Wide\" feature, the result is a gain in \"Loudness\" at expense of \"Stereo Wide\" feature. This results in my deduction of the 3% of quality sound in comparison to CS-80.
- Periodic static when switches or knobs are used
- Odd music search function
Overall, this boombox is a timeless piece of design and technology, representing one of the best electronic and visual designs that produce an awesome sound even in today\'s world of sound. A definite MUST in any collection, that surely will always attract looks and questions.
Thank you!
Aiwa CS-J77 MKII Vintage Stereo Boombox 80s GhettoBlaster - RARE:
$200.00