I have to make space as the wife is getting on my beck for filling the spare room with boomboxes over the last 2 weeks, so the RX-9800 is up for grabs.

I have asked around a few of the local BBX shops in tokyo to get an idea of its worth... and none had one in stock and one had never even heard of it before. The others said its pretty rare, even rarer to find one in this good condition.

Due to its condition and rarity, I will be asking about $500 for it.

Its in very good, clean shape for a 35 year old BBX. No cracks, noticeable scratches, corrosion or damage to the (what I assume is) leather case.

I am going to get my wife to translate all the function buttons, but so far I have discovered it has music search up to 9 tracks, Metal Tape, back lit battery/tuning/volume meters, 3 band radio SW/MW/FM (FM is 76-108 MHz), what I assume is L&R mics on the top along with the headphone socket and power button under the handle! Very James Bond!
The antenna ejects up when pushed down and is 112cm long! The outer dimensions are 49.5cm x 30.5 x 12.5cm.

Tape playback is good, music search works well, FM radio tunes in strong and both the sound and volume level is quite good! It has good clarity and nearly no distortion at full volume! The bass level is nothing to brag about but considering its size and age, I think its quite respectable. The volume and balance knobs crackle a little sometimes, but its nothing that a bit of Dioxit wont fix... from what I hear

Power stats are 100v/15w/50/60Hz. I have tested it with batteries (it takes 8 D-Cells) and the mains power cord and both work. It also has a 12V DC input but I don't have a power supply for that.
There are pics here - I havent given it a real thourough clean in these pics
More info and stats can be seen here!

Sweet Box i love that Design !!!1

What??? No offers?

Rom,thats a nice looking machine..thought someone would have gone for that..

quote:

Originally posted by gettoman:
Rom,thats a nice looking machine..thought someone would have gone for that..

Yeah, I thought so to... there was a few nibbles but they were a bit short of cash (I think).

Hey Rich, I was one of those nibblers that spoke about wanting it in the beginning. However, I think we were talking different numbers back then. It's all relative.

Still would love to have one, if nothing other than for it's uniqueness. However, $500 USD in todays economy and market is in the range of some top grails -- and that is before the overseas shipping that is almost certainly going to be expensive. There are boomboxes that are not very rare, yet command high prices. Then there are boxes that are rare as can be and no-one seems to want them. What makes a box one that gets fought over is a combination of rarity, performance, looks and size and reputation. That crown is definitely a rarity. However, with cash a little hard to come by right now, I think I'd personally have to reserve those funds for a select few boxes higher up on my wish list right now. Just speaking for myself, of course.

Some serious collector with deeper pockets than mine might want it. Why not ebay it?

Still, that is one great looking box, highly unique and obviously quite rare. Quite a catch Rich -- you should hang on to it.

SB - yeah, we were talking different numbers, but the was before I got it and found it worked!

Thanks for all that info and suggestions!

I may put it on ebay now they have free listings, although I am in no real hurry

Ebay has the greatest number of prospective buyers compared to any other venue that I'm aware of. It's probably the best way to get a "high" price.

You're the first person I've ever seen with that one, looks damn cool.

Im not having any luck with the link to photos?

Can someone post one up please?

Thanks!

hmmm... thats odd, the link still works for me and I checked my photobucket account and thats ok too...
try again here