Sharp GF-515
The GF-515 was a heavyweight, high-quality boombox from 1980 I believe. In Japan it was called the GF-818. It weighs 19 lbs, which was 3-4 lbs more than most boomboxes of its size class. This was due partly to its 3-part chassis, consisting of a front case, rear case, and an inner chassis holding all the electronics. And it's also because the tape decks are very robust, with lots of metal parts. They're a joy to use, because the keys operate with a solid clunk....no flex at all. The wow and flutter is only 0.06% WRMS, which indicates very stable tape transport. And the frequency response is 30 to 17,000 Hz when using Metal tape, which again was better than most other boomboxes.
The woofers have fake tweeters suspended in front of them. The real tweeters are mounted in the rectangular horns on each side. Strangely, the woofers aren't mounted directly behind the chrome trim rings. Instead, they're offset towards each other, which unfortunately makes them look like they've broken loose and are floating free. It's a really odd design. Maybe the rings were intended to trick people into thinking the woofers were further apart than they really are? If so, it wasn't a very effective trick, because you can easily see the woofers behind the grill. If it bothers you, you could spray them black so they match the black plastic around them.
Specifications:
- 543mm wide (including the tuner knob)
- 323mm tall with the handle down (or 372mm with it up)
- 156 mm deep
- 16cm woofers, 2cm tweeters
- Model variations: GF-515C, GF-515E, GF-515H, GF-515Z