DEEP DIVE - GE Silver Signature Collection [HELP!]

Discussion in 'Chat Area' started by Jam_On_It, Jan 13, 2025.

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  1. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    I don't know if this qualifies but it's from 1986. Trust Worthy is a USA Chain of hardware stores similar to ACE or Do It Best.


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    Mister X, Jul 26, 2025
    #21
  2. Jam_On_It

    Jam_On_It Active Member

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    This is the GE 3-5252C. It was not part of the Silver Signature Collection.
    The “C” was a cost-down version of the 3-5252A / 3-5252B. I have owned all three (A,B,C).
    I have never been able to tell any difference between the A &B model, but the C looked and felt cheaper. It’s missing some features and it weighs noticeably less than the A/B.
     
    Jam_On_It, Jul 26, 2025
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  3. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    1981


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    Mister X, Jul 26, 2025
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  4. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    From the Canadian GE Annual Report 1981

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    Mister X, Jul 26, 2025
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  5. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Mister X, Jul 26, 2025
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  6. Jam_On_It

    Jam_On_It Active Member

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    Jam_On_It, Jul 26, 2025
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  7. Jam_On_It

    Jam_On_It Active Member

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    The 3-5285 Silver Signature models states “Dramatic Silver Signature Styling”.
     
    Jam_On_It, Jul 26, 2025
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  8. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    I wonder if it had to do with the coming wave of "BPC" audio. Interestingly, as you probably already know, "Silver Signature" is hard to search and used by several audio companies over the decades. I don't think GE was the first to use it and definately not the last.

    BPC = black plastic crap, what we call the cheapened plastic components in the 80's.
     
    Mister X, Jul 27, 2025
    #28
  9. Jam_On_It

    Jam_On_It Active Member

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    Agree…not a lot of info on their Silver Signature Collection.
    I’ve never heard the term BPC but I LOVE it! Perfectly describes the garbage audio that started around 1986 or so. I started selling audio equipment at The Sound Store (AKA The Appliance Store) in 1987. I witnessed the massacre. Manufacturers (generally) upped the feature content and significantly lowered the build quality and sound quality. It was sad to see this happen. As the decade progressed, boomboxes and other audio gear got cheaper, lighter, and more disposable. I left the industry in 1990 and by then it was all garbage. To my shock, even Harman Kardon (our high-end line) started the fall from grace.
    A few weeks back I opened up a GE boombox from the ‘90’s and literally, the entire thing was held together with hot glue…and the cassette mechanism was 95% plastic. Shameful.
     
    Jam_On_It, Jul 27, 2025
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  10. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    It was a sign of the times, manufacturing was going to automation and plastics were coming into their own. We might not like the "quality" of the BPC but it really was a revolution in commercial products. The Silver Signature Line seems to be a last grasp at the older style.

    The ads are from the Fort Wayne Works newspaper over on archive.org, you might be able to find more stuff, they have several years of issues. With Sony I found their old financial annuals and they mentioned portables for several yeas as they were a huge seller (and profit maker) for them.

    My older brother got a HK System in the 90's, it was still a lot better than something like Sony/AIWA/Sansui which I only saw the move out the door fast versions back then. The sad part was going to an audio store was no longer a destination stop but more for utility.
     
    Mister X, Jul 28, 2025
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  11. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    GE 1983.png
     
    Mister X, Jul 29, 2025
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  12. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Mister X, Jul 29, 2025
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  13. Hyperscope

    Hyperscope Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    Yes, this is some good boombox archaeology, I like it, those old newspaper "clippings" from old archives are just great! Look at those prices and convert them into today's dollars...

    Rant on: We are so lucky to have e-bay since the mid 1990's. One can simply prowl around on there and go straight to the jugular and buy the real good quality stuff after learning about it on forums like this one. I mean, a hypothetical rich kid back in the day, how would he even go about finding high end stuff? A phone book and visit some audiophile shop in the nearest big city? Phone up with his dad's credit card and get them to send a bunch of brochures of everything they got? As I teen in the 90's I collected catalogs and sent for dozens from the back of electronics / astronomy magazines. But it was hard slow work to even find out what products existed in the wider world. Newspaper ads! Fork out that much cash for a boombox based on a thumbnail newsprint pic and a single sentence? I mean... how to make decisions on major purchases? Life was hard back then! :wink: Rant off.
     
    Last edited: Jul 30, 2025
    Hyperscope, Jul 30, 2025
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  14. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    I started my serious boombox collecting a little over 20 years ago when I found a huge AIWA at Goodwill. Someone had it in their hands and as soon as they set it down (I acted like I wasn't paying attention), I ran over and grabbed it. Then found the Pocket Calculator Show and this forum. I had no idea there were so many cool BBX's out there, we just had the crappy Sanyo's, Sony's and a little nicer Panasonics.

    We had very few camera and boutique stereo shops so the cool boomboxes didn't exist, I never saw a nice one outside of the two I saw in the late 70's when they first started coming out. I have a feeling most people are the same and just don't know, they saw the plastic fantastic cheap ones and that's all they can reference.
     
    Mister X, Jul 30, 2025
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  15. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    One of the better ones but I can't tell if it's Silver Signature, 1982 USD. Soft touch with music search, this was a good deal!


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    Mister X, Jul 30, 2025
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  16. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    1982, this is a tiny mini but the 3-5285A is very heavy.


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    Mister X, Aug 9, 2025
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  17. Jam_On_It

    Jam_On_It Active Member

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    Jam_On_It, Aug 10, 2025
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  18. Jam_On_It

    Jam_On_It Active Member

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    I agree with the rant. I am a huge Lost in Space fan. Back in the mid 80’s I started collecting things from the show. I had to scour sci-fi magazines like Starlog and write letters to companies as far away as Japan. No real reviews on the products, no reviews on the companies. I got ripped off a few times monetarily and also ended up with some garbage products. So yes, eBay and collector forums are a gigantic game changer. Nearly all of my boomboxes have come from eBay.
     
    Jam_On_It, Aug 10, 2025
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  19. Jam_On_It

    Jam_On_It Active Member

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    As a kid, I also didn’t know about high-end boomboxes. We lived in a blue collar rural area and had to drive to get to “real” stores. We rarely even saw mid-end units. Lots of lower-end GE, Sanyo, and Panasonics. First and only higher-end radio I ever saw was the Realistic SCR-8 at Radio Shack. I was MESMERIZED by it.
     
    Jam_On_It, Aug 10, 2025
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  20. Jam_On_It

    Jam_On_It Active Member

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    To my knowledge there were only 3 models that were part of the Silver Signature Collection:

    3-5280
    3-5285
    3-5286
    IMG_5269.jpeg
    IMG_5271.jpeg
    IMG_5272.jpeg
     
    Jam_On_It, Aug 10, 2025
    #40
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