The B&Oombox (UPDATED)
As soon as I found out that Bang & Olufsen (the high-end Danish audio company) had once sold a lowly portable stereo radio cassette recorder, I just had to try it out. I’d feel much the same way If Rolex had made a plastic calculator watch. Of course the B&O name meant that their take on this common device wasn’t cheap, but is it worth a premium now?
Here’s the video https://youtu.be/0_gyA_qfZz0
In other news, a couple of people were wondering how my garden studio was coming along. There’s nothing to report yet, the build is only in a few weeks. All that’s happened so far is the site clearance. As soon as there’s anything new worth talking about I’ll make a video just for patrons. It’s possible though that I’ll do another regular update before then, we’ll see. Take care
UPDATE: I’ve added in an extra five minutes showing a repair on the cassette door, this starts at 20:37
I also added in a few seconds at 07:04 to mention the slim case and the wall bracket as these features were considered especially noteworthy.
The updated video is the one embedded and linked to above
Comments (63)
I suspect the extra money was for the brand flex, but also, it doesn't "look" like boombox, it looks a bit like a brief case. And in a class-conscious consumer market, that would have made this unit stand out for that sub-set of a sub-set of folks who, as Mat points out, wanted to fill the utility void of "a little radio for the kitchen" without having to slum down to Radio Shack or whatever the equivalent of Best Buy would have been back in 1989. Maybe Best Buy was the equivalent come to think of it! I remember buying one of those CD cleaning kit there!)
Just loved the design of this thing when it came out but as I was yet to get my first proper job I of course had zero money to purchase one. The Beosystem 10 was a true B&O product though - the design was the main thing, while the sound quality was a distant second. Not bad, mind but nowhere near matching the price tag.
Two worthwhile additions, Mat. Nicely slotted in. 👍🏻
The moment dremeling the cassette lid cover was suggested several thousand heartbeats were skipped worldwide. 😱 I have destroyed the plastic finish on a Sony Walkman by using isopropyl alcohol prep pads (wipes), so indeed, thread with those very carefully
If the Dremel had a microfiber-tipped bit and soap and water it would be quite effective. 😁
Excellent as always. Really like that shirt!
I was waiting for a deep clean of all those buttons 😂
Great video The obvious rabbit hole (to me) is to find some B&O speakers to connect up to the external speaker outputs and try a modern streamer in the auxiliary input. Vintage vs modern etc. Was it expensive?
It was a good price, but it’s something that can cost 5x or /5 what I paid - it’s all down to what it costs on the day.
Wonderful update! Your product looked good to remove glue. After my pilonidal cyst treatment, i discovered the product they use to gently remove bandages works _perfectly_ to unstick and collect wine labels.
It's likely to be very similar stuff. As a child it was called Zoff, came in a bottle and smelt amazing. It's still called Zoff in some regions but for some unknown reason now uses the rather generic name "Remove' in the UK - which is a devil to search on. Might as well have called it WWW - I have no idea if it smells the same though.
Matt, beautiful repair. Thank you for adding that on!!!
Here's how lazy I am: I would have gotten that front off, saw the glue was still sticky, realigned it, added more glue, and just shoved it on there again. I HATE cleaning adhesive. But it's such a cool looking product I can't say that for sure. The fact that it sounds okay is very much a bonus. It's futuristic looking. I'm not sure a better way to say it.
I was tempted...but I know the viewing audience wouldn't approve of any shortcuts.
Satisfactory update!
YAY! Update!
Nicely done update and repair. I now realise how young you were in '89. I can understand how unappealing this item would have been at that time. Something like a Victor RC-X90 or Casio CD-RX700 would have been more eye-catching - and exceeding the budget.
Yes in 1989 I had a twin tape JVC with a digital tuner that I used to record hip hop from the radio. I’m uncommonly confident about the year as many rappers liked to mention it….”1989 the number, another summer” etc.
A good update Mat and the cassette door working perfectly. It's great when these things work out. Great satisfaction !
If it had snapped, I’d have kept it to myself.
I’ve got one of these and it quite simply blew me away with its beauty and power. I got it in the early 2000s and simply wasn’t ready for such superlative sound, despite B&O’s reputation. Nice work with your video’s logo BTW.
Thanks - I’m happy with the logo too, when I came up with the idea of using the B&O at the start of boombox I didn’t realise in their logo they’d shifted the ‘&’ out of the way which made it work much better than I’d imagined.
I quite like the understated devices. Look at it up close, and looks classy, but from afar it’ll be very unassuming. Reminds me of Knight Rider, just needs a red light bar somewhere, scanning side to side 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 Cheers Matt. Lee
At least the buttons seem to do what you expect them to do, unlike that B&O upright CD player.
It's still working well after 30 or more years. Yes, it's a lot more expensive to buy, but pretty good value in £/year I'd say.
Higher-end vintage audio has two contradictory aesthetics. The product either says “This must be FANCY. Look at all of the knobs and buttons and dials and STUFF on it!” or “This must be FANCY. Look at how uncluttered and CLEAN it is!”
My mate Vince did fix one also 👍🏻
Quality instead of quantity clearly! The trick with the volume knob producing a more bassy sound in the softer regions was also used a lot in the earlier past by Philips: by using a potentiometer with a middle tap. It uses the amplification power available quite optimal: in the softer region, you get a more powerful sound but it still can go loud without distorting too much.
Great video, Mat! My local mall had a B&O store back in the 90s, and I used to just go in there and drool. I remember that I considered buying a landline phone from them just to own something B&O, but even that was outrageously expensive. It would be like going into Louis Vuitton today and buying a $300 key fob.
Living in a Nordic country, the mention of "weekend cottage" doesn't imply great wealth since they are very common here and often quite basic (no running water, no inside WC). In Finland almost everyone either owns one or has a close family member with one.
Perhaps for the English translation they should have used ‘knackered old caravan’.
Nicely done video. I think I saw one of these on eBay a while back and my brain shut down briefly, confused by the confluence of what looked like black plastic crap from B&O. Good to see I was incorrect. That flywheel is impressive. Initially I thought the compartment door was intentionally meant to be opened before inserting a tape and then closed - one of those eccentric things only understood by designers. Glad to learn it was simply showing its age instead. Take care. 🤍
Could hang on the wall
B&O actually sold a wall mount for doing that.
B&O = Big & Opulent (IMO - toff stuff) I once had a B&O VHS recorder brought into my workshop, the customer had wrapped it in bubble wrap and swore me to take "extra care as it was such a highly valued piece of equipment. When I took the fancy brushed chrome panels off it, it turned out to be a cheap Hitachi machine inside. All looks and no substance.
A rich mate of my Dad's was a big B&O customer back in the early 2000s. I went with him one day to the shop, and whilst the assistant was filling out his personal details for the warranty on his latest super expensive black and silver box, I had a nosey at the screen. On the drop-down list of honorifics, there was the usual Mr, Mrs, Miss, etc, then Dr, Rev, Prof. Even higher up the list was The Right Honourable, H.R.H and President. That told me everything I needed to know about B&O's customer demographic!
In El Al, the national Israeli airline, when you sign up to their frequent flyer program, you can choose from a variety of honorifics. My mate chose Lord, and that's literally what it says on his frequent flyer card.
I love this tuning dial! This is the best selling point for this device... -- Look, you can do this. -- take my money!
Never seen anything like that tuning dial. Quite interesting.
Definitely surprising on how well this B&O unit operates and sounds after so many years. I have to assume that this is because it was either rarely used or has been refurbished. Is it possible that this is actually due to its superior design and build quality? Or was it actually lovingly handcrafted by Elves with just a little dash of magic?🤔
Wow, at 17:46 you showed us a photo of a catalogue and that PYE boombox caught my eye, it's very similar to my Japanese domestic market Sanyo V2 CD that I've been unable to find any information on. The grills are the giveaway. I posted in the community tab about a month ago. Did PYE at this point rebrand Sanyo stuff?
Sanyo seemed quite open to having their products rebadged in the US based on the two Mission Impossible tape recorders badged as Craig and their Micropack 35 which was sold by Channel Master…so I suppose it’s possible.
Lovely video Mat, you also look great and voice too! Thanks for the video
I'm wondering, is it possible that someone has worked on it in the past and they removed the cover plate off the tape deck, possibly putting it back on upside down? It's the gap above the tape deck that makes me think something isn't right, without seeing photos of another one to compare.
Adam, you're right. https://youtu.be/nRYJcPSuou0?t=1765
Mat, if you look at the video you can clearly see the cassette door is tilted down on the right-hand side for some reason. It looks like this is the door interference you have, and may be repairable so both doors open correctly. I can clearly see a gap on the top of the cassette door from the video. This is a beautiful piece of equipment. Thank you for showing it to us. I had heard of this company before, but never saw any of their stuff that I can recall. As usual, a Most Excellent Video, good sir.
Laurent sent a link to this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRYJcPSuou0&t=1765s …it seems slippage is the issue.
What a lovely device. The sort of thing you would take to a Harrods hamper picnic.
Nice to see the Technics again. Do you still use that turntable? Years ago I've found one locally and it's been my main turntable ever since. I couldn't find anything that matches the footprint and feature count.
I don’t get the chance to use it, but I’m hanging onto it for the same reasons you are. At some point it may well become the main one I use.
Odd comment Mat but can I just say that I love the shirt!
Very cool looking unit!
My Dad had a Beolit portable radio, it was really good, well made and excellent sound quality
Wow, I wish every tuner had that 2-scale device -- very cool! Although I guess it has the potential to let in more dust/dirt along that long slide. Also, even going through your mic and my crappy laptop speakers, I was impressed with the sound quality. And considering its age, the fact that everything worked without adjustment is pretty amazing. Maybe if you were planning to keep it for a long time, the original price wasn't that crazy...
I have one of these "Yuppie Soothers". The person I got it from said that they had got several from an advertising agency that they were refurbishing. When you are spending ££££££££s on executive furniture I guess £250 for an executive radio cassette is insignificant. I'm surprised you didn't mention the fact that you could get a wall mount, and only mentioned how thin it is towards the end. The fact that everything in so crammed in together makes it difficult to work on, particularly getting the circuit board, which has to be removed to get anywhere, to line up with the selector switches. Don't ask how many attempts that took me. p.s. Both the thinness and tuning mechanism are carried over from 1970s B&O radios like the Beolit 600.
I can mention the thinness if you think it would help.
Back in the early 90s my father worked for the danish railroad company. One day he brought home a B&O Boombox from work. It had been thrown of a train and was found while they cut grass. Back then it was still possible to open the windows on a running train. He put it next to the radiator to dry and after a few days we tested it, and it still worked. It was a rental from a radio shop in a neighbor town, but we kept it and it was the kitchen radio for many years.
Is there an equivalent of The Bullingdon Club in Denmark ? That is the sort of thing I can imagine one of their members doing. "£250. That is less than the price of a decent bottle of Champagne." Put it on my Father's account.
Overpriced even for premium electronics of the era, but I'll be damned if the design doesn't appeal to me even today.
Whenever I start questioning if something is overpriced I ask myself "Would Elton John find it expensive ?" Of course that doesn't mean I wouldn't find it expensive.
Couldn't afford them either back then. Very slick, definitely high end in the interface department. I remember getting to play with someone else's set at some point, and being able to rotate the tv towards you with the remote and having it return to a neutral position when you turned it off was a kind of magic that I haven't seen since.
Watch nerd here: back in the day tons of high end watch companies sold high end digital watches. My dad had a GOLD Hamilton Pulsar. Not gold plated. Gold. This is the only comment I have since all I've read is the description.
This is why I was careful to include the prefix Plastic.