In same dumpster that the Panasonic RX-D29 was found, there was this Philips DCM276 "microsystem" as well. Fully working and in good condition. There was the remote control too but I threw it away before I knew what it was for! It took days to start going through all this stuff and by the time I realized the Philips even came with a remote... I recalled that it was one of half a dozen "orphan remotes" that I threw away Replacements are cheap and plentiful on ebay though... Has USB slot for MP3 and a slide out I-pod dock. Not tested. CD works and came with a mix CD in it of Korean music from the 50's and 60's. Actually quite good. There were various Korean CD's and about a dozen cassettes. Kept some and listed to briefly. One of the tapes is quite good too. The Philips DCM276 has "good" sound. Yes it really does sound good. Not bad for a plastic box. There are various EQ presets and Bass adjustments available with the remote control only. May decide to buy the remote from e-bay..doh! Cons: Ugly, reflective black plastic shows up dust, reflections annoying, easy to tip over, unstable, no handle to carry or move around, has wall mounting slots for screws. No classic telescoping antenna just a black wire. If anyone in the area wants it they can have it for free. I don't feel like boxing it up and shipping it though. Pick up only. It's junk as far as I am concerned. Something I would never buy or even look at twice. But I will keep that CD that was in it... FM antenna is just a wire. Full length still held with original factory tie. I held the wire bundle with green tape so it wouldn't get in the way.
Man, I remember systems like this. Schools/churches bought them up to replace the old well-built boomboxes they had invested in a decade prior... it was no surprise to anyone when these started breaking so fast. This one in-particular looks very fragile. It's sad that this is as low as companies like Philips (who used to be an absolute giant in the consumer electronics business) sunk to. I bought a Philips DVD around 2012, and it was *actually* just a Funai rebranded... and it was incredibly unsatisfying to use & look at. Another thing common of this era: insanely misleading product photos: Looks at how clean and expensive they have made it look here! From this photo, it looks like it's made from thick glass, premium aluminum, and is very heavy... except it actually weighs nothing! Also, the screen has no visible black light in this shot... it looks like an OLED with how the boarders of the screen blend perfectly with the rest of the case. Compare this with the actual shots you took... I think it could win in a contest as the worst display ever put on a stereo. I think the silver lining here is definitely what you have already pointed out... yes, it's cheap as all get out, but it does have a lot of features and can be quite useful today. I can see the USB input as being particularly interesting if you had an MP3 stick laying around or in your period accurate car stereo. Truly, most of these systems that were of a certain minimum price were very feature rich and decent... but that all came at the cost of build quality. LOL I can see how it would topple over easily, that could be quite frustrating... and the lid going up vertically with you needing to mount the disc vertically on a clip-style hub ring isn't going to help matters. Do you have to pick the unit up or fumble it as you load the CD?
Press the button up top and the lid / drawer slides up. Then, in order to press the CD onto the "brittle plastic platter hub holder thing" one has to hold onto the unit itself. Or else it might tip back over Have to press that CD on there till it clicks. Also, every time the unit is powered on or off there is a distinct click of an electrical relay. Plus the pop out MP3 / I-pod dock drawer interferes with the slide up CD cover. It catches and gets stuck because the face plate, shiny black plastic, is clipped on with some claws and is wobbling quite a bit. Just junk all around. Want it? I'll send it over via the teleport booth
lol good description of loading a disc... I can imagine that experience. Ya know, taking such a special thing away from you is too greedy of me, I'll just let you keep enjoying it.
