The B&Oombox (UPDATED)
Added 2025-02-05 16:39:23 +0000 UTCAs 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
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!)
David Fulton
2025-02-24 01:07:37 +0000 UTCJust 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.
Johan Eriksson
2025-02-11 21:39:44 +0000 UTCTwo worthwhile additions, Mat. Nicely slotted in. 👍🏻
Stephen Bell
2025-02-10 12:38:03 +0000 UTCIf the Dremel had a microfiber-tipped bit and soap and water it would be quite effective. 😁
Grace Robbins
2025-02-09 20:24:29 +0000 UTCThe 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
Vladi Ivanov
2025-02-09 18:18:20 +0000 UTCExcellent as always. Really like that shirt!
Marc Grondin
2025-02-09 15:02:25 +0000 UTCIt 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.
Techmoan
2025-02-08 21:43:25 +0000 UTCI was waiting for a deep clean of all those buttons 😂
Nicolas B
2025-02-08 12:10:56 +0000 UTCGreat 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?
cmr_pateron
2025-02-08 12:06:25 +0000 UTCMine is called Proseptine. Never tried it on transparent plastic, don't know if it would have helped.
CheeseParis
2025-02-08 07:44:05 +0000 UTCIt'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.
Techmoan
2025-02-07 23:36:07 +0000 UTCI was tempted...but I know the viewing audience wouldn't approve of any shortcuts.
Techmoan
2025-02-07 23:33:18 +0000 UTCWonderful 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.
CheeseParis
2025-02-07 23:29:06 +0000 UTCMatt, beautiful repair. Thank you for adding that on!!!
Stephen Hamme
2025-02-07 22:19:51 +0000 UTCHere'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.
Funkmon
2025-02-07 22:10:13 +0000 UTCThe music works very well, for some reason in this video. I cannot explain why but it also got my attention
Raul Ramos
2025-02-07 21:10:58 +0000 UTCSatisfactory update!
Raul Ramos
2025-02-07 21:08:12 +0000 UTCI have tender memories of B&O thanks to a wealthy relative having a sleek setup in the 70s. He really awakened my appreciation for music and good gear to play it on.I’ve been lucky to thrift a few pieces (my main turntable for years was a B&O) including that boombox. I suddenly remember I have a second one with a terribly bent handle. That’s sturdy aluminum so I don’t know how it happened or how to fix it, but fortunately a second one came into my life.
bohus blahut
2025-02-07 18:28:16 +0000 UTCYAY! Update!
antzpantz
2025-02-07 17:57:07 +0000 UTCYes 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.
Techmoan
2025-02-07 17:56:08 +0000 UTCI would have done the same. great it worked out and great you could put it into the video. A nice addon to the Video.
MJFJ
2025-02-07 17:24:01 +0000 UTCIf it had snapped, I’d have kept it to myself.
Techmoan
2025-02-07 17:17:42 +0000 UTCThanks - 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.
Techmoan
2025-02-07 17:17:04 +0000 UTCNicely 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.
Grace Robbins
2025-02-07 17:03:46 +0000 UTCA good update Mat and the cassette door working perfectly. It's great when these things work out. Great satisfaction !
MJFJ
2025-02-07 16:41:14 +0000 UTCI’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.
bohus blahut
2025-02-07 16:30:54 +0000 UTCI 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
Lee Coles
2025-02-07 10:05:12 +0000 UTCAt least the buttons seem to do what you expect them to do, unlike that B&O upright CD player.
Brad Jones
2025-02-07 00:05:28 +0000 UTCJust had a look at the photos I took when refurbishing and found the date May 86.
Mav
2025-02-06 22:42:23 +0000 UTCIt'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.
Gary Bleads
2025-02-06 22:38:28 +0000 UTCHigher-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!”
Andy Ihnatko
2025-02-06 19:57:30 +0000 UTCYes there were definitely radios with digital tuning and presets in the early 1980s e.g. the Sharp GF8. However, digital tuning was a selling point in itself and those had a few foibles like needing a couple of extra AA batteries for the tuning to work at all.
Duncan
2025-02-06 17:52:03 +0000 UTCThe styling is very similar but there are two many differences to make me think it is the same machine. The only question left now is who copied who ?
Duncan
2025-02-06 17:37:50 +0000 UTCB&O actually sold a wall mount for doing that.
Duncan
2025-02-06 17:31:47 +0000 UTCMy mate Vince did fix one also 👍🏻
Jørn Birkeland Rosengren
2025-02-06 17:12:37 +0000 UTCQuality 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.
MrHammond
2025-02-06 15:42:38 +0000 UTCGreat 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.
Brad Hood
2025-02-06 15:42:26 +0000 UTCI'm a bit late to this one but I'd suggest one reason for the high price was the thinness of that device. Obviously nowadays we accept nothing less but for that point in time, that would've been referred to as wafer thin, especially compared to all the chunky other boomboxes.
Keir Thomas-Bryant
2025-02-06 14:07:26 +0000 UTCIn 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.
Asaf Sagi
2025-02-06 13:56:31 +0000 UTCI have Ukrainian colleagues, and they told me about an identical phenomenon in their country, which even before the war, Ukraine wasn't considered "rich" by western standards.
Asaf Sagi
2025-02-06 13:54:28 +0000 UTCPerhaps for the English translation they should have used ‘knackered old caravan’.
Techmoan
2025-02-06 11:58:44 +0000 UTCLiving 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.
Richard Bevan
2025-02-06 11:13:07 +0000 UTCNicely 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. 🤍
Grace Robbins
2025-02-06 09:30:30 +0000 UTCCompletely unrelated, but how awesome is the music on his test cassette? 👍🏻 But I'm baffled why B&O would use adhesive tape on anything.
Grace Robbins
2025-02-06 09:19:13 +0000 UTCCould hang on the wall
Thorben Julin Nielsen
2025-02-06 09:10:04 +0000 UTCB&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.
Chas Large
2025-02-06 05:44:28 +0000 UTCA 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!
Mark Paterson
2025-02-06 04:41:19 +0000 UTCNever seen anything like that tuning dial. Quite interesting.
Don Eitner
2025-02-06 00:58:01 +0000 UTCI’d like to compare this to fashion. Some people feel the need to buy a £1,000 cotton shirt from Louis Vuitton, even though Aldi’s own-brand options technically fit just as well.
Tunix
2025-02-05 23:43:10 +0000 UTCI love this tuning dial! This is the best selling point for this device... -- Look, you can do this. -- take my money!
CheeseParis
2025-02-05 23:33:33 +0000 UTCBEAUTIFUL!!!! EXACTLY what is needed. Kudos to Laurent for the win!
Stephen Hamme
2025-02-05 23:25:14 +0000 UTCDefinitely 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?🤔
Mark Hesse
2025-02-05 22:29:19 +0000 UTCHere is a better look at it. https://i.imgur.com/0HWq6vI.jpeg
Mav
2025-02-05 22:24:30 +0000 UTCYes, mine has that. It also has AUX input and Dolby unlike the D8892.
Mav
2025-02-05 22:23:06 +0000 UTCPye were owned by Philips and that looks to be a rebranded Philips D8892. Does your Sanyo have a "swing arm" CD mechanism ? Those were unique to Philips and a few HiFi manufacturers who bought mechanisms from them.
Duncan
2025-02-05 22:19:02 +0000 UTCSanyo 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.
Techmoan
2025-02-05 22:13:19 +0000 UTCIf you haven’t already seen it - you’ll probably like the way the presets work on this radio too https://youtu.be/3CARjPj6lFE
Techmoan
2025-02-05 22:06:10 +0000 UTCWow, 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?
Mav
2025-02-05 21:59:57 +0000 UTCI might be adding a section in later in the week if I can get the door fixed, if so I’ll add in another mention of the thickness earlier in the video.
Techmoan
2025-02-05 21:57:30 +0000 UTCLaurent sent a link to this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRYJcPSuou0&t=1765s …it seems slippage is the issue.
Techmoan
2025-02-05 21:33:00 +0000 UTCInterestingly that video shows the door is the right way up (otherwise the window wouldn’t line up) but has slipped down on the adhesive tape. Now I know what to do to fix it. Thanks for the link.
Techmoan
2025-02-05 21:31:29 +0000 UTChttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullingdon_Club The sort of people who would throw away a £250 radio in the same way a child might throw away a £2 toy.
Duncan
2025-02-05 21:04:30 +0000 UTCIt is up to you. I did just find https://auctionet.com/en/729284-radio-cassette-tape-player-bang-olufsen-type-1521 which shows the wall bracket.
Duncan
2025-02-05 20:56:41 +0000 UTCLovely video Mat, you also look great and voice too! Thanks for the video
Raul Ramos
2025-02-05 20:29:33 +0000 UTCAdam, you're right. https://youtu.be/nRYJcPSuou0?t=1765
Laurent
2025-02-05 20:02:02 +0000 UTCI'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 Gurney
2025-02-05 19:56:14 +0000 UTCMat, 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.
Stephen Hamme
2025-02-05 19:34:54 +0000 UTCI 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.
Techmoan
2025-02-05 18:54:01 +0000 UTCWhat a lovely device. The sort of thing you would take to a Harrods hamper picnic.
Rick Parsons
2025-02-05 18:46:11 +0000 UTCNice 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.
Steakkilller
2025-02-05 18:45:15 +0000 UTCOdd comment Mat but can I just say that I love the shirt!
Jon B
2025-02-05 18:41:23 +0000 UTCVery cool looking unit!
wulfie1199
2025-02-05 18:05:58 +0000 UTCMy Dad had a Beolit portable radio, it was really good, well made and excellent sound quality
Jonas Otter
2025-02-05 18:02:22 +0000 UTCWow, 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...
MM
2025-02-05 17:58:51 +0000 UTCSorry. I don´t understand Your comment.
Peter Jensen
2025-02-05 17:57:42 +0000 UTCI can mention the thinness if you think it would help.
Techmoan
2025-02-05 17:56:01 +0000 UTCIs 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.
Duncan
2025-02-05 17:41:58 +0000 UTCWhenever 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.
Duncan
2025-02-05 17:33:26 +0000 UTCI 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.
Duncan
2025-02-05 17:22:27 +0000 UTCBack 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.
Peter Jensen
2025-02-05 17:13:25 +0000 UTCOverpriced even for premium electronics of the era, but I'll be damned if the design doesn't appeal to me even today.
Joon Choi
2025-02-05 17:10:04 +0000 UTCOh yeah I knew what you meant. And it's such an apt comparison now that I've seen the video. That tuning function and the radio presets... I've never seen anything like that. What a beautiful design. That's apple iPod wheel control shit. Amazing. But of course...by this time they had digital tuners. It's weird to me to see such an expensive product with such expensive design and engineering just to bypass using a higher tech digital tuners design with saved presets. Maybe it was even more expensive then, but I had a 1987 car with a digital tuner and presets and radio shack used to sell those units for $100 in the 80s. I was BORN in 1989, so my tech from this era and earlier was all hand me downs where people would give me stuff because I liked electronics so I was liable to get more of junk, so maybe this was common in higher end audio, but it seems to me like they somehow made the absolute highest end product possible without actually putting in features and I've never seen anything like it. It looks cool too
Funkmon
2025-02-05 17:07:18 +0000 UTCCouldn'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.
Michel
2025-02-05 17:03:03 +0000 UTCThis is why I was careful to include the prefix Plastic.
Techmoan
2025-02-05 16:52:45 +0000 UTCWatch 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.
Funkmon
2025-02-05 16:45:40 +0000 UTC
