
11-16-2020, 07:10 PM
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1,616 posts, read 3,850,557 times
Reputation: 1858
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I'm looking for 2 - one for a gift and one for me. My old Sharper Image CD player died.
I don't care about fancy bells and whistles -- just decent sound, AM/FM radio (what's the deal with some products that have ONLY FM radio??) and CD player. No need for cassette player.
There's an Insignia cheapie from Best Buy (under $40 I think), and a few Sony Boombox versions on Amazon.
Thoughts? Thanks!
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11-17-2020, 07:44 AM
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19,699 posts, read 59,595,835 times
Reputation: 36591
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I have an ancient Sony boombox with an RCA "line in" connection that I use with a Roland keyboard since one of the channels on its original amp crapped out. Sound is decent for something in that price range. The bass is there (using bass boost), but with less power. Those boomboxes simply can't put enough power into inexpensive speakers without clipping and distortion, but the Sony engineers did the best they could. A lot of radio uses compression and other degradations, so I don't worry about super hi-fi. Radio is going digital, and a boombox is unlikely to have the circuits to decode that, but should still be useful for a few years.
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11-17-2020, 09:17 AM
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Location: Cleveland, Ohio
13,016 posts, read 15,122,402 times
Reputation: 9124
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I was like "No one sells cassette players any more....then I looked... wow. I'm wrong!"
Quote:
Originally Posted by catfancier
I don't care about fancy bells and whistles -- just decent sound, AM/FM radio (what's the deal with some products that have ONLY FM radio??) and CD player. No need for cassette player.
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It's cheaper to not include the AM antenna.
Quote:
There's an Insignia cheapie from Best Buy (under $40 I think), and a few Sony Boombox versions on Amazon.
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You get what you pay for.
Pay a little more for the Sony.
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11-18-2020, 10:13 AM
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Location: McAllen, TX
4,927 posts, read 3,420,449 times
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There are several Sonys on Amazon, these two look good.
CFD-S70 B, $56, CD, AM/FM etc.
https://www.amazon.com/Sony-Stereo-C...dp/B01DUF3UVC/
MAIN-87930, $84, Cd, AM/FM, this one comes with bluetooth and a USB port for flash drives, playback and record.
https://www.amazon.com/Sony-Portable...dp/B00V3U5D6W/
I would get the more expensive one.
Just keep in mind, these types of devices do not provide earth shattering or heavy bass. They sound good enough though. I have no idea how the Sharper Image unit sounded. It's all subjective anyway.
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11-19-2020, 12:39 AM
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Location: Cleveland, Ohio
13,016 posts, read 15,122,402 times
Reputation: 9124
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Agree with GG... don't buy the 'cheapie'. Not if you care at all about quality. You live once. Get good stuff. Or gooder at least. 
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11-19-2020, 09:59 AM
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19,699 posts, read 59,595,835 times
Reputation: 36591
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When the weight of the unit is ONE pound, and the output is only 2 watts RMS, I don't think I would elevate that unit to "quality." It might be time to hit a thrift store or pawn shop for an older generation of ghetto blaster.
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11-19-2020, 10:27 AM
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Location: McAllen, TX
4,927 posts, read 3,420,449 times
Reputation: 5835
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Quote:
Originally Posted by harry chickpea
When the weight of the unit is ONE pound, and the output is only 2 watts RMS, I don't think I would elevate that unit to "quality." It might be time to hit a thrift store or pawn shop for an older generation of ghetto blaster.
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These days, they make ghetto blasters that will knock your socks off.
The issue is the CD Player.
If you could get one of those small portable discman type players and hook it up to BT "Boom" Box, then you could play CDs and get great sound.
Not up to me obviously. I play music from my phone to a variety of devices. I haven't touched a CD in years, literally.
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11-19-2020, 10:37 AM
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2,270 posts, read 521,944 times
Reputation: 3594
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If it helps any, be aware most stand alone dvd players can play cds. The problem you have is getting the Ghetto Blaster that one way or other handles cds. If you find such, guessing either radio or player isnt going to be great quality. You might want to look for a good radio (especially if long range AM is important to you) and separately a good portable cd/dvd player. Or move along with the times and rip your cds to mp3 files. Lot easier to find something that can play mp3.
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11-19-2020, 11:24 AM
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Location: 5,400 feet
3,577 posts, read 3,178,544 times
Reputation: 5214
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My advice is don't go cheap, as I think you will regret it later.
I have a Bose Wave, about 10 years old, with a single CD player and AM/FM. The sound is still excellent and remarkable for the size. They are not cheap, but I see that they're on sale at $275, which is less than I paid a decade ago.
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11-19-2020, 11:27 AM
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Location: McAllen, TX
4,927 posts, read 3,420,449 times
Reputation: 5835
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Well then OP, I think the question is do you want/need portable or not?
If not, there are many good options to play CD's
If yes, the choices are limited and the sound will not be that great if you want everything in one unit.
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