Panasonic RX-FM40

The RX-FM40 is a "mini-boombox" from Panasonic. It was sold during the mid-late 1980's. It has a total of 5 speakers: Two 10cm midrange speakers, two 2cm pizeo tweeters, and one 13cm by 6cm rectangular woofer called XBS or "Extra Bass". This XBS woofer is hidden and cannot be seen unless you shine a flashlight into the big vent under the tape deck.

The RX-FM40 features Panasonic's famous "Ambience" setting, which expands the sound and makes it sound like the speakers are further apart than they are. Other brands call this "Stereo Wide", but Panasonic did a better job of it. There are also 4 buttons on the front of the boombox which allow you to customize the sound. I personally turn on High Boost, Low Boost, and XBS, but not Middle Boost. Once you've got it set up correctly, it provides a brilliant, expansive sound quality with crystal clear high notes. There isn't a lot of bass, but that's to be expected for a boombox of this size and weight. According to the service manual it is only 4 watts per channel RMS. But it still sounds better than the vast majority of "mini" boomboxes.

The tape deck features autoreverse, which means you can change sides whenever you want, even while it's still playing. There is also, of course, an AM/FM radio, but unfortunately there are no input jacks for your MP3 player.

The RX-FM40 measures 496 x 156 x 148mm, and weighs 3.1kg (6.8 lbs) without batteries. For power it takes 120 volts AC, or six D-cell batteries.