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Thursday, July 26, 2012

Yorx And Soundesign Stereos



They were cheap, made of plastic and.......Well, they were cheap and made of plastic.

They sounded tinny and weak too. But for a generation of kids who grew up in the '80s, this was their first actual stereo. They sold for less than $100 (often far cheaper.)

The cassette players were infamous. Often calibrated off speed (as were the turntables.) The radio reception was often limited to the most local stations, buttons and switches would fall off or break on a whim and the entire layout of the control panel was confusing even to the most tech savvy person. 

But they somehow saw a generation through. Even though they were embarrassing compared to your buddy's full blown KICKASS Pioneer system, the one you really wish YOU had. But the only one you could AFFORD was this crappy thing.

It was REALLY embarrassing when the girl you've always wanted came to see your place. What was your excuse? "Ummm...er, my REAL stereo is in the shop getting fixed, I...um....had to borrow this from my kid sister...Yeah, you know, just something to listen to while......" as she's walking out the door. Probably to see your buddy with the Pioneer stereo and you KNOW he's gonna rub it all in your face the next morning......

 

8 comments:

  1. I remember these junk systems. I had an Emerson that I used to make mix tapes and the sound was horrible. My grandpa was from the depression era and bought a soundesign because it was cheap. I recall the graphic equalizer had the appearance of 8 sliders but they moved in pairs. It was all for show.

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  2. I got an old soundesign sterio that is 45 years old that is awesome and I understand the panel layout. It weighs about 35 pounds and it is industrial. The only things going on it are the beat up paper cone subwoofers and tweeters in it in a separate wooden box. They will be replaced by modern speakers. I like my soundesign sterio.

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  3. Yorx used to be a pretty high-end brand, but had devolved into a entry level one by the 1980s.

    I considered a Yorx back in 1987, but eventually my dad agreed to shell out $120 (before tax) for a Sanyo boombox with dual-cassette and detachable speakers. That turned out to be a good investment because it later served as the speakers for my computer.

    I actually bought a small Soundesign boombox for $30 from Kmart, which worked adequately, if not spectacularly. I don't remember what happened to it.

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  4. Ah, my dad had both a yorx "New Wave" and a Soundesign I remember growing up. The SD was a all-in-one mom got him for christmas, 5-disc, dual cassette. one day, it was knocked out of its cabinet and it shattered. the Yorx hung by wire in the basement. it eventually stopped working.

    I had A Soundesign from the 1970s (with turntable/Cassette/Clock/8-Track that i got for free from a family friend. it was my room stereo growing up, and I still have the unit today, and still use it, now hooked into a home theatre system.

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  5. Had a yorx in the mid 80s.Wasn't bad for a bedroom. Kind of miss it.Fryed it out using it as a guitar amp.

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  6. I justo buy a yorx 8 tracks,tape and vinilo player forma $44.47 USD, and find that mover these years of the late 70's yorx electrónica it was a high end equipments but they go con decline by the 80's the modelo i bought it sounds quite well for a brand that it was crap by the late 80's and 90's 35 watts per channel 2 speakers that sound quite well volumen at five its loud enough to rock! What the hell! When this company lost the way?

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    Replies
    1. Edgar - What's the model number of your System? I'm looking for a yorx system, silver color, 3-deck configuration with 8-track down left, tape down right and vinyl on top. It has three knobs on the middle deck. Your help would be greatly appreciated!

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    2. I have an M2762 that sounds exactly like what you described. The 8track and cassette are inoperable, but the phono and receiver are perfect. It is currently listed on Birmingham, Alabama Craigslist. Vintage Yorx Stereo

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