Sep 10th, 2011 Posted in 7980, Clairtone | 2 Comments »
This is the Clairtone 7980 which is really a re-branded Conion C-100F. Apparently the Clairtone brand was marketed mostly in Canada. There doesn't seem to be any difference between the two other than the badge. The same box was issued under the Helix brand as well. Nonetheless, this is one of the more iconic boomboxes of the era and is highly sought after these days.
Released in the mid 80's it had all the features a boombox should have including a burlger alarm. It can get pretty loud with 22.5 watts per channel. they are fairly difficult to find in complete condition. Many are missing a knob or two and the battery compartment door and cassette door tend to break or get lost as well.
As mentioned above the Conion and Clairtone boomboxes are in very high demand and can fetch some good money at auction. One recently sold (9-2-2011) for $810.00 in pretty good condition. Tape 1 did not work and it had some mild cosmetic issues.
Tags: Clairtone, Clairtone 7980
Sep 7th, 2011 Posted in Dynasty, ES-555 Disco Lite | 19 Comments »
From the mid-80's came the Dynasty ES-555 Disco Lite also called the Dynasty Personal Disco Component. I guess if you wanted to get that disco club feeling out on the street then you had to get one of these boxes. Definitely designed more for the visual appeal then the audio appeal it can put on quite a show when lit up. It was released in 1986 and was on the market in the U.S in the late 80's. The lights flash and pulse to the beat of the music being played.
The Dynasty ES-555 weighed in at around 20 pounds which is fairly light for a box this size. It was featured in a Madonna video called "Hung Up" in 2005 and her "Sorry" video as well. Lady Gaga recently used it in her video "Just Dance".
- Dimensions: 72cm x 37cm x 13cm
- 22W Maximum Power
- Twin Tape System
- 7-Band Equalizer
- AM/FM/SW1/SW2
- 10 Segment VU Meter
This boombox was branded under a few other names as well including the:
- BREAKDANCER BD-8000
- DIAMOND FL-990
- VELA DISCO-1
- COUGAR JR-800
- SPACETECH ST-701
- SKITRONIC
These boxes don't come up for sale too often. Especially in fully functional condition. One recently sold for $1850.00 that was in excellent condition and fully functioning (7-29-2011).
Tags: Disco Lite, Dynasty, Dynasty ES-555, Dynasty ES-555 Disco Lite
