Weighing up Panasonic’s latest boomboxes
This week I’ve been moving the contents of my old locker into my new locker. It cost me three days, a rented van and a bad back.
With that thought in mind, I recently bought two new ‘boomboxes’ just so I could make this video. That goes a long way towards explaining my Indiana Jones-esque warehouse full of stuff.
Anyway here’s the video - not the most enthralling or polished thing I’ve ever assembled, but it has been a bit of a crazy week. I suppose if this career path doesn’t pan-out I’ve now got some practice in driving a van.
Take care.
Comments (66)
Nice rant, and justified. Watching you handle the new units, I already knew what to expect in the sound quality department, compared to the old tape-based unit, which was clearly a lot heavier. Had a Chinese manufacturer brought this out, the display would be bright and show every imaginable piece of information - it is after all just software. It certainly seems like Panasonic are counting on their brand reputation to sell these units, which, as you pointed out, are sadly lacking in many areas..
Do they make anything that records onto anything anymore? Even playlists seem to be going out of style with everybody preferring to stream things now.
Greetings, Regarding the RX-D55 (the good boombox with an allegedly decent tape drive), I posted the following (more or less) on Youtube but the post seems to have disappeared. a. The multi-mains voltage version of the RX-D55 is still listed as a current item on Panasonic’s Middle East & Africa website (https://www.panasonic.com/mea/en/consumer/home-entertainment/audio/cd-radio-cassette-recorder/rx-d55.html). Tip: not all versions of the RX-D55 operate on US mains voltages (120VAC, 60HZ). I think the global/US-friendly version to look for is RX-D55GC-K. Buyer beware. b. Though a US friendly version of the RX-D55 is no longer available from BH Photo (bhphotovideo.com), the RX-D55GC-K is still being sold by a seller via the US Amazon site. (Since the video came out, the price has increased by about ten dollars and the quantity available also seems to have also increased. Matt really should demand a commission. ;-) c. Anyone interested in a non-boombox-format tape player with a (presumably) lower quality (but “full logic”) tape drive, a 5x CD drive, AM/FM radio, and Bluetooth/etc. *might* want to consider the Sharp CD-BH950 bookshelf stereo (or a CD-BHS1050 if one prefers three speakers).
I’ve posted a pic of it on the community page 😁
The puppets were funny and I liked the fact that, they were just there, with no comment from you, before or after! On boom boxes, I have a Goodmans (I think) minidisc boombox. It weighs a ton but has tape,cd,radio and minidisc elements. However, it’s before MDLP so only some of my discs work!
The florescent-colored background on your thumbnail is certainly eye-catching. I like it.
It needed something to stand out. I don't think it's worked, but I tried.
Nice to see the Pedants return; and mid-video 😊
Built down to the level of “It’ll do”.
I just nabbed a NIB Panasonic RX-D55GC-K. I can hardly wait to have it delivered.
Is it just me, or are there WAY more DAB units available than HD Radio? What is it about the American system that makes it so scarce... or is it just market forces?
Frankly, as an American I know little and care even less about HD radio. As long as FM is there when I turn on the radio, I'll remain oblivious to it. My guess is a lot of people here feel the same. If I can't listen to what I want on the radio, I have abundant formats at my disposal. 😉
DAB transmits two sets of station names: "program label" for the whole name up to 128 or so characters and "short label" that is 8 characters. The short label was meant for exactly this kind of devices with small displays and yet they used the full name with scrolling. That's just sad. If Panasonic can't get this right, who can? Oh, you can see the short label when you switch stations on the second device, it says "BBC R1"
I find it annoying that the Sony WH1000XM3 won’t charge and play at the same time. The video was very enjoyable. I like the touch of nostalgia of a time of better consumer electronics.
I have the same issue or annoyance with the WH-XB900N as well. But I've had them as a daily driver for more than a year now and it's been about 2-3 times that this annoyance has come in the way of using them. A larger issue for me is the terrible microphone while using them for a phone call. The mic is just fine while using them on like a Zoom or Signal call (so any call/video call through anything other than a normal phone call). But the earphones works great in either situation and has a great sound when using them for music and videos. I'm looking to replace these now due to other factors, and was looking at the WH-1000XM4, but when reading the comments I found that people are experiencing the same issue with the microphone as I have, so no time has been spent from Sonys end to try to locate and fix this issue. So I think it finally was the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay HX I requested to purchase instead (through work). First the EOPS | Sennheiser Adapt 660 was looking like the perfect headset, great sound with a Sennheiser headset, then EPOS takes these and mix that together with some great mic and Jabra supported stuff, so great connectivity with different softwares on a computer. But the Sennheiser headphones they're basing the headset on was released a couple of years ago (not that long ago though), nothing wrong with that, but they're unfortunately charging though micro-USB... That was a deal-breaker for me, I'm not going back to keeping several cables again. I hope that EPOS can release an update to this headset that's using USB-C, that would be awesome. I'm really sorry for the wall-of-text though....
Totally random question: Around 24:40 you show what looks like a set of Sony WH1000XM3 headphones -- great set which I also own. But I can't help but notice your USB-C charging port seems like it's got something in it, and my first thought was "Is that some sort of magnetic charging cable adapter?" So, is that some sort of magnetic charging cable adapter? If so, can you share which one? I didn't even think those existed but it makes sense that they would. Thanks Mat. Great video as always!
I couldn’t find a normal USB C charger lead for the headphones despite owning a few hundred…so I used one of my magnetic leads that come with a set of interchangeable ends. The bit you see on the headphones is the end plugged in without the cable attached. I power my camera while recording with a micro usb magnetic attachment for the same lead and leave that in the camera’s socket too.
Hooray, my name is now at the end! You've a lot of us Brads as Patreons!
There definitely appear to be some names associated with generosity.
I just moved. Feeling that pain.
I'm really not understanding why these would be released at all, when there was clearly no effort put into making a quality product. And when these may very well be last "boom boxes" ever made- save for a Indiegogo release or some such. What an inauspicious end.
It’s funny but originally in the end section I said pretty much this same thing verbatim, but I cut it out for length…and I was trying to stop things getting too negative. But it’s odd how similar our feelings about these were.
Thanks for the video, Mat! I would have liked to hear the headphone out on the cheaper one; maybe it's better than the speakers as far as frequency response goes? Loved hearing the Moans again.
It should sound as good as your headphones can sound. I may well be alone here, but to me every headphone output sounds pretty much as good as every other one - unless there’s a fault like a weird buzz or something.
I'm having real trouble expressing just how happy seeing the 'Moans* again makes me (*it feels like the puppets need a name else muppets will keep calling 'em 'Muppets').
me too!! i just paused and switched back to patreon so i could say i was so happy to see the 'moans!!
It isn't anything new, but I hate when having the remote is required to access certain functions because the buttons just aren't there on the main unit. I've been shopping for used micro hifi systems on eBay lately and more often than not the remote will be missing. I ran into an extreme version of this problem a few weeks ago - the primary "monitor" for my home office setup is a 40" Samsung TV. I sat down to start working one morning and discovered that the batteries in the remote had died and I didn't have any spares. No problem, all I need to do is turn it on, it's otherwise set up how I need it, I just need to find the power button... and at that point I discovered that there was no power button on the TV. No buttons at all. Unplugging it and plugging it back in didn't turn it on, it remembered what power state it was last in. Couldn't cannibalize batteries out of another device (it used AAAs, everything else I had used AAs). I ended up downloading the Samsung remote control app for my phone, had to do a password reset on my Samsung account (which I had to register to set up the TV in the first place and hadn't used since), and then finally I could turn it on. Likely would have been faster to go to the store and buy new batteries.
Ugh, that's terrible. I really do worry about a future where it isn't posisble to operate anything without a phone and/or smart home device.
Thank you Both. Grace you are totally awesome!
I would love to learn a bit more about the music you play for the intro and outro of the show along with some of the music you play that sounds a bit familiar. I watched so many of your videos last night I cant remember the musical group you mentioned. Take care Robert Fort Worth TX
The video description indicates 1 artist matched as Patrick Patrikios 'Know Myself'. The CD is by the group Candy Apple Blue. The intro is something created my Mat with a Korg Kaossilator, I think. The puppets song is, of course, 'Cuba Baion.' The closing credit theme is 'Over Time' from YouTube music library.
Chatter in another thread I can't find about the batteries. I can't help but think that 1) the cost of the battery and needed BMS would mean it couldn't be sold at their target price and that 2) people who buy "boomboxes" in 2022 are probably the type who understand D-cells but not 18650 Li-ion cells.
I wouldn't complain about D cells. I have had about four Li-ion cells swell up. One was in a Lidl power bank I had only ever used once to test. Someone had a Lidl power bank explode. In all four instances the common factor was that the equipment had been sat doing nothing (apart from swelling up) for a couple of years.
Thanks for the video Mat. Good to see "The Moans" again. I don't think I will throw out my 1980s boom box with Dolby B & C. I like VHF and Medium wave stations.
The cheap one reminds me of the Bose Wave Music System. After looking it up, it is definitely not the same, but there are similarities… https://usavshop.com/Bose-Wave-Music-System-II-Platinum-White-p175306948
Producers of these cul-de-sac electronics must be navigating some interesting variables. The market's apparently big enough to support the product, but not big enough to support investment in product development. There are fewer remaining factories that manufacture these increasingly niche components, but the market for the product wants "old and familiar," not "new and improved." Part of me wonders if we'll see a brief renaissance of CD-cassette boom boxes in ten years or so, when 80s and 90s kids retire. It's a generation that would appreciate big sound coming from a big box with real stereo separation, features that they can access directly via toggle switches instead of navigating the layers of a touchscreen, and all of their music sources accessible (including streaming and digital music files) through this one box without having to pair/unpair/reconnect depending on what you're trying to play.
Great video, Mat. And of course Facebook started trying to sell this to me minutes later. It's AU$259 out here by the way. I wanted to recommend an actually good Panasonic device, the SA-PMX92 mini hifi - still in production. My mother had a specific need for a small table-top hifi that she could plug a modern line-level turntable into, would play CDs, radio (FM + DAB) and at a stretch play music from her laptop. This unit does all those things well, and at 120W it does them loudly with great clarity. The bluetooth streaming of her Bon Jovi youtube videos from the laptop never drop out, and there is an extra optical input if she needs it. Cost under AU$500 on special and maybe something you'd like to take a look at one day.
I noticed that the woman in the demo track was singing along to the same lyrics sheet that you were using when you demoed that Korg personal karaoke machine a while back.
You mean the award-winning, 'Passion fruit, blip blop bloppid blip, every night' song?
It's depressing the amount of rubbish that name brand manufacturers are making today, and charging a fortune for it.
Another winner of a video. I had forgotten how much I missed the Moans. I am drinking coffee from my "Flippn Heck" mug.....
For anyone who doesn’t want DAB on the D552, the white version of the D550 is currently £38 cheaper than the black version of the D550 on Amazon. The only difference is it has FM instead of DAB. This is a bargain because it’s only £12 more than the D500 which is basic lacking Bluetooth/remote control/USB playback. The D500 has a USB port on the back, but it’s only for software updates, and 500mA is useless for charging anything. I wouldn’t pay the full price of the D552 unless you want DAB.
I'm completely confused by a modern audio system having literally no means to play back to any kind of headphones. "The built-in speakers or nothing" is Game&Watch level of product design.
Is it odd that you can buy really good Bluetooth speakers with excellent built-in batteries but these things still use old-fashioned disposables with a fairly poor lifespan?
Yes I'm befuddled. They finally had a chance to create an all new boombox using 2021 tech and they went with 1990s bargain bin cast-offs instead.
I completely understand why the Moans are on hiatus (at best) and am not trying to guilt you into rehiring them, but I realized that I missed them when they made their cameo! For the record ... DAB was tried in Canada (on a different band than the UK/EU so no radios in the market that could be leveraged) and failed. Not because DAB is a bad thing, but it was poorly implemented by an industry who still wants it to be 1974. In the US, we have HDRadio (currently owned by Xperi) which runs in a variety of modes including hybrid modes where there is still an analog signal. Provides stereo audio on both bands and on "FM", it provides up to (I think) 4 separate streams including a digital version of the analog signal (which is still there). It can run digital-only and a few AM stations are testing that. Obviously it runs on both bands (MF and VHF) but is mostly gone on MF ("AM") because, again, IMHO, the industry wants it to be 1974 where you could throw up a transmitter and watch your bank account fill up. It took a long time for the North American industry to take your RDS, rebrand it RBDS, and implement it over here ... of course, the station automation is often screwed up and you don't get artist/title or sometimes even things like the station name. But the industry is sure that it's the internet that's killing them. Or heavy-handed regulation. Or high wages. Or inflation. Or COVID.
I will hold on to y 1983 Panasonic with auto reverse cassette and Dolby and do what I must to fix it if it comes to that with the offerings available today. It even sports detachable speakers!
When you can buy a UE Boom 3 waterproof Bluetooth speaker with a 15 hour rechargeable battery for £130, you would really have to love CDs to buy one of these wouldn’t you?! Those Bluetooth speakers sound brilliant too. I suppose that’s the world we live in now though. And was that a new The Moans bit?! Or was it just a clip I had forgotten about? I miss The Moans so much! I would gladly pay for some new Moans content .
It was a new clip. I set everything up just for just this bit…but since I’d set things up I then tried to shoot a longer segment, but I’d totally lost my mojo with them so this is all that was worth using.
Always exciting to see a boombox review from you Mat!
i wonder how much of these kind of product are just repackaging/redesign of what's on the market.
Great video. Puppets back, awesome. But I'm completely lost on the Indiana and warehouse references. All I ever saw was a green background.
Great EPSON PX-8 computer for old man puppet!
How do either compare to the Sony you showed ? Some time ago I made the mistake of looking at the 4.5 out of 5 stars reviews for that on the Curry's website. The majority were along the lines of "I bought this for my 93 year old Mother so she could listen to her old Vera Lynn tapes and she is delighted."
I know someone who has that Sony. He told me last month that the CD player and radio no longer work, but the cassette still does. I'll say this for that Tanashin mech - it may not be good, but it doesn't seem to break.
As always, interesting video. And the puppets have returned - yay! Thanks for the laugh.
Bumboxes 😳 They've turned their backs on the cassette (like this CFD-E100: https://www.ebay.com/itm/175367248857 ) Excellent video, Mat. Oh, I saw some green guys interrupting your video. 💚 Before you said it, I said, 'Why don't they mash elements of both together? I prefer the look of the RX-D70, along with the inclusion of the headphone jack. But I like the sound quality of the RX-D552.' I'm also disgruntled - is the trend of the future to eliminate headphone jacks? If so, I don't want the future. As for boomboxes, I much prefer my Panasonic RX-F35: https://ibb.co/2y2cxyR Get yourself a personal masseuse, Mat. 😃
It’s weird how some companies now seem to think the future involves taking useful things away - don’t get me started on the VW group touch controlled car heaters that don’t work with cold fingers, or through gloves and don’t light up in the dark. The future largely seems to have been designed by morons who won’t admit when they haven’t got a clue.
I don't think I will ever see a good boombox again. Maybe you can do a firmware upgrade on those, which will probably remove one or two features.
I can guarantee you’ll never see a good cassette boombox again. If the will was there they could still knock up a good CD/Radio - but it seems increasingly unlikely.
Although they are all marketed by Panasonic I wonder if they were designed and made by the same company. Panasonic's cheap TVs are made by Vestel. Some time ago there was a debate going on as to how many of Sony's portable audio products were made by Towada audio. Is one of these latest boomboxes the audio equivalent of the infamous CityRover ?
Likely a very astute observation - these felt like Panasonic had given up - and I wondered why they even bothered if they had such a lack of interest in making something worthwhile…but if they’re not actually doing anything other than sticking their name on some tat made by idiots for peanuts it might explain it.
Thanks for the video Mat, and more importantly thanks for the tip off on the previous gen. I bought it as I didn't have a working cassette player in the house, but it has found a home and regular use in the spare room where I enjoy sneaking off to when the challenges of daily life become too much and I just want to read and listen to a CD.
I’m glad you bagged one while you could. End of an era.
Fantastic - just in time to watch while eating dinner!
It's beautiful out here in the garden, but I've just raced in to watch. You're doing *something* right.