Peak Portable Stereo? Victor RC-X90

Dual deck Auto reverse, digital tuner, cd player, graphic equalizer, fully functional remote control. That would have sent me over the moon as a youngster.

I am watching from Japan. The RC-X90 was released right around the time I was a child; I actually used the RC-X75, a mid-range model from the generation that followed the RC-X90. As mentioned in the video, Japan was in the midst of the "bubble economy" era back then, so high-performance models like the one featured here were often found in friends' rooms or used in classrooms to play educational CDs. Regarding the motorized volume control, that was a fairly common feature on mid-range and higher-end models at the time. Regarding the features of the RC-X90, the fact that Dolby Noise Reduction operates during both playback and recording is noted in Japanese near the top right of the image shown at the 4:50 mark of the video. Also, JVC (Japan Victor) assigned model numbers starting with "PC-" to units with detachable speakers and those starting with "RC-" to units with integrated speakers; strictly speaking, they were treated as distinct series. At the time in Japan, integrated-speaker models were more popular, and there were fewer variations of detachable-speaker models; however, about two years after the RC-X90 was released, the PC-DX95 hit the market. This model was equipped with not only a cassette recorder but also dual CD players, allowing users to select tracks from two different CDs and record them onto a cassette tape. It was a machine that—even in Japan at the time—was considered exceptionally high-spec, or perhaps even bizarre. I recently acquired a PC-DX95 myself, but although it has some functional issues, I haven't yet found the time to repair it. Regarding the fact that the RC-X90 features English labeling: With the exception of budget models or those designed for the elderly, Japanese audio equipment often uses English for its markings. I feel this stems from a long-standing admiration for the West among Japanese people, who tend to view English labeling as stylish. However, as the release of high-performance portable audio devices has declined in recent years, it seems there are fewer devices with English labeling as well. On the other hand, devices intended for use by the whole family—such as televisions and video recorders—often featured Japanese labeling, even in high-end models. I have even seen instances where the internal components were identical, but the exterior was modified—using Japanese labeling for the domestic market and English for overseas markets—before the products were sold.

This thing figuring out how to juggle CD tracks around to fit on cassette is something I've never seen before. Very impressive unit indeed.

The motorized volume knob got me! Also, I like that CD 😉

That thing looks so clean. Its looks brand new👍

With CD playback, Dolby NR, and even a VF display, this is a boombox in a league of its own!!

Perfect boring Saturday Techmoan upload! Makes the day more enjoyable!

If you did want to receive more uk radio stations you could try using a ATD RBE-34505 Car Radio FM Band Converter For Japanese Car Radios FM88-108MHz to 76-90MHz. This shifts the incoming frequency down by around 14 mhz. It was sold for japanese import cars to make the the radio more useful in the UK.

Imagine having this in the UK in 1989 and having to restock it with all those batteries! Everready batteries in the 80s were expensive and would have lasted about 45 minutes in that beast.

What an impeccable looking unit

Oh wow, this brings back memories. I had a PC-V2 in the US in I think 1988. I got it with an insurance settlement after my main stereo was stolen, as sort of a temporary replacement. Since the speakers were detachable and the amp put out 40 watts when plugged in, I quickly realized you could use it as sort of a tiny rack system and hook it up to much larger speakers. I got a pair of Canadian SPL 3000 Monitors (from Paisley), which were notorious for being extremely high-efficiency. Like 96.5dB. The Canadian government had apparently spent a ton of money helping their speaker manufacturers with then cutting-edge computer modeling - I guess the government thought Canada could become a leading loudspeaker producer, since they had ready access to a lot of cheap wood. Never entirely panned out for them, although they did maintain an outsized presence in the speaker market for many years. The SPL 3000s used a pair of bass/mid drivers and an offset tweeter in an enormous tower enclosure, and the PC-V2 could drive them to remarkable volume - more than enough for my bedroom, anyhow. The JVC ended up being my main stereo for several years while I was a broke college student and on into the Bush Pere recession. For awhile it and the giant tower speakers even did double duty in the living room with the VHS Hi-Fi VCR hooked up to it for watching cable and tapes, before I replaced it with a cheap Technics receiver, one of the earliest with a motorized remote-controlled analog volume knob. (Guess what element on that receiver finally failed about 6 years later...) As for the JVC, the CD player proved short-lived and died after about 4 years. "Junk, Very Cheap" as 12voltvids here on youtube calls them. I gave it to a friend of mine who managed to order a replacement mechanism and swap it out. I'd already gotten a spare Sony CD player from a relative to couple with my receiver, so didn't feel like spending the time or effort myself fixing the JVC. I will say, that Hyper-Bass subwoofer on the JVC made it the best-sounding boom box for the price available from the late '80s well into the 2000s. I think it wasn't until around 2005 or so and the arrival of those giant retro-styled TDK Life on Record boom boxes before I heard something portable that would best it. Now of course you have Bluetooth options from everyone from JBL and Bose to Anker's Soundcore, whose aptly named Boom portable speakers are pretty amazing for the price and size.

The VFD really makes that unit so cool!

I miss the times when products were well made and looked good.

the BEST thing about this boombox?... It still works PERFECTLY! They don't make things like this anymore. Thanks for the look back!

You can copy Dolby tapes by leaving Dolby OFF on deck A while dubbing. The dolby encoding will carry through to the recording on deck B. This is actually the preferred method for copying Dolby tapes.

Oh, it would be like in heaven if I got one of those machines in 80's as a teenager :D

17:35 We're not going to sit in silence

That VFD is a nice touch, dual auto reverse fully logic and cd with remote. Spectrum analyzer is awesome. Shame it was only in Japan.

24:45 WHOA! I have NEVER seen that feature before! Dang, JVC was really on a roll back in the day. I still remember fondly how bad I wanted one of their Giorgetto Giugiaro designed Digifine car audio headunits. They really were something so special and I'm really kicking myself for not getting one back in the day. JVC also worked with Syd Mead with a boombox from the 1970s, and later on in Blade runner as well. Kind of crazy we don't have more collaborations with designers like that today - or at least I have not heard about them. Strange..

This was a neat device. Nostalgia for that era is strong on this one. Thanks for the video :)