This Conion C-126F is a close relative of the famous C-100F.  It has basically the same features except that it has a gray colored case. It runs on 10 D cell batteries or an external DC power source. It has two cassette decks and two output light displays at the top right and left corners.  Like it C-100F cousin it has a burglar alarm that is engaged via the large red button in the center of the box.

Overall the C-126F is a very nice looking boombox. The styling is not over the top like other boomboxes and the brushed aluminum and gray case give it a more muted sophisticated look if that’s possible in a boombox. It is not that easy to find and can fetch a good price on the auction market. In December 2011 a C-126F in excellent working condition sold for $450.00.

Panasonic made a few boomboxes that incorporated turntables in the design. This particular boombox is the Panasonic SG-J555. Panasonic called it the Ambience Stereo Music System which definitely sounds impressive though the word Ambience sounds a little passive for a boombox. In reality the Ambience feature was similar to a tone switch or Loudness boost (though it had a Loudness button as well) which would emphasize the mid range frequencies to give the music a fuller sound. This was accomplished by turning the Ambience switch on or off. The more common Panasonic SG-J500 looks very similar to the SG-J555 but does not have the Ambience switch.

The SG-J555 had a single auto-stop cassette deck player / recorder but was really known for its retractable, belt drive, two speed turntable. It could play both 33 rpm and 45 rpm records and was fully manual. It also has AM and FM.

The Panasonic SG-J555 was switchable between 22v and 110v and could also run on 8 D cell batteries. It also came in a gray version as opposed to the black version shown here and was made by the Matsushita Co. in Japan. It put out 15 watts per channel. While boomboxes that incorporate turntables are highly collectible this particular box doesn’t fetch much on the auction market. Possibly because of its dull design or lower quality construction. Nonetheless a Panasonic SG-J555 in very good working condition recently sold for $122.00 (10-8-2011). The SG-J500 is more common and sells from about $40.00 up to $100.00.

Ok, so styling isn’t a strong point with this boombox. Definitely one of the uglier boomboxes I’ve seen – and I’ve seen a lot. This is the Philips D 8303 MDHQ 5 Speaker System boombox. It actually has a few few different manifestations as I’ve seen it badged as a Magnavox D8300 as well. It also comes in different color schemes including green, yellow and white. 

Those who have owned it claim it sounds really good and has a couple cool features such as continuous play from Tape A to Tape B.  From what I’ve seen the yellow versions seem to be the most common but are also the most in demand.

A Philips D8303 or Magnavox D8300 will sell for anywhere from $50.00 in average condition up to $200.00 for a box in excellent working condition.  The Philips versions seem to fetch a little more then the Magnavox versions and the yellow ones go for a little more then the other colors.

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.

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).

The Helix-4633 has the distinctive styling of the disco era with its black, red, and yellow colors. As you can see it has dual tape decks, two woofers and two tweeters as well as FM, AM SW1 and SW2. The speaker grill cover are different on this particular unit then those I’ve seen on other 4633′s. This unit has the X shaped covers with the Helix brand name in the middle. Others I’ve seen do not have the X grill cover at all.

A fully functional Helix HX-4633 in good cosmetic condition recently sold for $180.00 (7-15-2011).

• AM/FM/SW 1/SW 2
• Four Way Integrated Dynamic Sound Speaker System
• Two Vu meters
• Two condenser Microphones
• Telescoping antenna
• Slide Controls
• Tape Counter
• LED’s
• Runs on 4 “D” cell batteries

Recent sales for the GF-9494′s have been around the $300.00 range with a fully functional and cosmetically nice unit going for $330.00 in July of 2011.
 

• Two 6 1/2 inch woofers and two 1 1/4 inch tweeters
• Soft Touch Controls
• Ambience Stereo
• 7 Stage LED Meter
• Rewind Auto-Play
• Tape Program Sensor (TPS)
• Dual Voltage
• Loudness

The Panasonic RX-5150 was also featured in the 1982 movie The Thing by John Carpenter. The character “Nauls” was always skating around on roller skates and listening to his RX-5150 with the volume too high. A definite influence from the urban disco era.

This boombox is the Panasonic RX-5080. It’s a mid-80′s mid-sized boombox with a single cassette. It did however have a two color LED meter and what Panasonic called “Ambience Stereo Sound”. It originally retailed for about $220.00

The RX-5080′s dimensions are 21 x 10.5 x 7 inches and it weighs in at around 13 pounds. It has features such as Dolby noise reduction, soft-touch controls, a two way four speaker system and continuous tape control.


Recently a Panasonic RX-5080 in good working condition sold for $160.00 (5-4-2011) while another in working condition but with some wear sold for $108.00 (5-4-2011).

• 5 Band SEA Graphic Equalizer
• Dolby B / ANRS Noise Reduction
• 6 Segment LED VU Meter
• Independent Record Level Control
• 2 Mono Microphone Inputs
• Normal / Chrome / Metal Tape Selector
• Record Mute Button
• 21.9″ (W) x  x 8.6″ (H) x 9.85″ (D)
• Weight: 21 lb

One of these PC-R11C’s in near mint fully functioning condition sold for $205.00 – 5-8-2011.