[QUOTE="... For me the missing grail would be the Sony CFS 99. I fell in love with it after seeing it here at S2Go. It's avant garde design really says something to me. The other "pure lust" item would be a minty Sony WM-10. It was the object of my desire when it first came out but then I discovered the WM-101's. Still the 10 left a scar in my audio heart![/QUOTE] Hey G., I just read this reply of yours and obviously I immediately got curious about your missing grail, and I googled it! The Sony CFS 99... it's got some cool features and it must sound amazing. Let me know if you do get it one day, or rather I shall keep my ears and eyes in tune for this one... but I will direct it to you! I will post some new stuff soon! Yes!
@Tony, you got me right from the start! Your story with the M90 resembles mine with the Clairtone. Go ahead, keep hunting, sooner or later you'll catch your M90. The Denon, btw, is a hell of a box. And definiteely a much rarer sight than the JVC flagship. Hope you'll find one too [/QUOTE] Hey Sal! My search for the Aiwa CS-880 will be over soon I am hoping! My Pioneer Sk-95 will always be my first preferred box, for reasons I've explained already, but the Aiwa was the one that back in the spring of 1981 I truly envied! A classmate of mine in grade 10 had one (Sam!) and brought it to school a few times and put some AC/DC (his favourite) on everyone just loved it! It was no easy feat for anyone at that age to walk into school with a box that may have cost about $800 CAD (by Sam's account... but Idk). My Sk-95 was a box that went for ~$449 CAD, again if I'm not mistaken. The CAD$ was then, about 83 cents to the US$. As far as the elusive M90, it may end up being the last box I'll ever get, if ever. I agree with you the Denon H-5 is looks like a phenomenal box, but so far my eyes have only seen one... on eBay! Funny story here too, I bought it for $299USD on "buy it now", and immediately paid the seller by PayPal, then I asked him if he'd ok to ship to Ontario? He's from the Chicago area, said "NO!, I do not ship to Canada or outside of the USA!" WTF!!?? The distance between us is so short that if I were to scream loud enough he'd surely hear me, but no, wouldn't ship it!! So, I got a US address in Portland and asked him to ship it there! The arrogant #@*&% refunded me the money!! Very rude and unpleasant, a pretty miserable and angry guy! What's he doing on eBay? Just there to pay fees, but not sell? Anyway, I haven't seen another H-5 since then! This happened about this time last year.
@Ω SK-95 Your stories make for an entertaining read as usual, Tony. The one concerning the Denon H-5 reminds me of a recent misadventure I've had with a Sanyo M-X 920. I own one, but when I run across a specimen for sale on a local board for just 30 euros (!) I couldn't resist. I phoned the seller & he agreed to sell it to me. But he didn't show up at our appointment and didn't answer my subsequent calls. You can imagine my disappointment when afterwards he wrote a pm to me saying that the box was not anymore available! Either he realized how much it was worth or he received a superior offer & went for it (damn!) Which box to identify as your missing link, according to your post? Idle question, I know; you may say all of them! But the game suggests that you pick up one, and one only. According to your story, I'd call the Pioneer SK-95 your grail & the Denon H-5 just one of the boxes you're after. Which leaves the question open with the other two blasters. I'd choose the Aiwa CS-880 because 36 years of waiting should count for something, shouldn't they? I'd say that the JVC RC M90 is next in line as soon as you grab one of those amazing units with the blue grill & a passive radiator You'll forgive the above classification, but I happen to like typologies. Case in point (but only in this case, as we're talking of our dreams and not of real life), even more so when they produce stereo-types...
Aiwa CS-880 I forgot all about that model as all it needs is the woofers redone - ok they are going here in Dallas next time I have some extra boombox cash http://freemantuell.com/ as then have been in business a long time and I just got 2 Panasonic and 2 Aiwa woofers repaired there recently maintaining the Original woofer cones but with new surrounds.
**Hey G., I just read this reply of yours and obviously I immediately got curious about your missing grail, and I googled it! The Sony CFS 99... it's got some cool features and it must sound amazing. Let me know if you do get it one day, or rather I shall keep my ears and eyes in tune for this one... but I will direct it to you! I will post some new stuff soon! Yes!** Tony you are a gent! I can't seem to find one reasonably priced, still don't know why I want one, but I do!
So I finally got my Aiwa CS-880 ... but strangely I'm not entirely happy. It does not sound like I expected! I'm not yet sure what to make of it. On a somewhat low volume level up to about 3/10, it sounds very clear and pretty impressive with a tape, but it sounds increasingly distorted as I pump it up. I'm thinking, maybe it is supposed to sound like that. What is really bothering me is that the Aux/Line In is not working well at all. It's damaged (inside), it's pumping out very little sound and distorted as heck. I've got to take it back to technician... I hate doing that! It always comes back with scratches that I don't remember having been there before. The Tech is actually quite good, but these boxes are hard to dismantle and even harder to put back together. Anyway, I am happy for finally getting it, it's not a 10/10 because it has some light dents on one of the side panel, otherwise it is nearly mint. No spots, no rust, simply stunning, good to excellent tape and FM sound, but the crappiest sound from the Aux/Line In. All my other boxes sound amazing because I get beautiful sound out the Aux/Line In with my 320 bitrate tunes. It's a good way to test the best sound quality a box can produce. Anyway pictures will follow soon. Oh, and it cost me a pretty penny! Surprisingly and quite unexpectedly I might also be getting a mint Aiwa TPR-990 for a song and a half! Pictures will be posted as well (if I get it, although the seller and I are now in full agreement with all the transaction details). So, in summary and following your "Game" rules, yes theSK-95 is my Holy Grail and so your "classification" is correct. This Aiwa though confuses this choice, and now I look around and they're all amazing boxes! Once again I thought the CS-880 would finally close the loop, but now a TPR-990 is about to sneak through the door! And... yet again... I've got no space! Geoff... !! Help! Please! Hey... where are my ninja gremlins??! I agree with you that the Denon H-5 is really very elusive! I have not seen it again since that eBay auction! It's pretty nice!! As for the M90 or even a top-notch M70 seem to wish to remain out of my collection! I have never had an M70! I have seen some of the Marantz 3-piece and they are stunning, but the list of beautiful boxes is nearly endless. There is now on Kijiji here in Canada a nice looking JVC 3090 for $400 Cad!! You know, just like the one Geoff has! Anyway, I've got a couple of other interesting items I got a few months ago, which I will share here with everyone, but apart from sneaky TPR-990, it really feels like the door is finally closed. I'd open the door to an M90 but only under the nearly impossible price range I've set as acceptable for me, which is way too low for anyone's reasonable standards. Yet, I've just got no more space! Cheers Sal!
Hey Tony! Great to see you back in business. But... your 880 doesn't sound good? That's too bad and extremely unlucky. The non-working line in suggest that the unit has been vandalized somewhat. Mine sounds terrific, and the line-in is a gem. Imagine that I -- a Sanyo man -- keep the 880 in the sancta sanctorum of my house! Hope that you can do restore it soon -- and successfully. This box, when in working conditions, sounds as good as it looks. The TPR 990 is so elegant and a must in every collection. Glad to read that you're getting yourself a mint specimen. The moment for your M90 will come at some point. Just be patinet and the box will come to you
On the Subject of the Aiwa CS-880 ( U ) I just posted 85 pictures narrated by ME and briefly played all sources in my video up loaded this morning Aiwa CS-880U 85 Pictures Serviced for sale Tape record's Line in, Digital Radio Play Sounds (16:22) minutes www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGRsoMdZgRg I had a Aiwa TPR-990 but I sold it before I ever had a chance to look inside of it as that person whom came to my place back when was only interested in Golden Colored boombox's working or not and so I do not have that model anymore.
