Palladium 494-550

The Palladium 494/550 ghettoblaster first appeared in the 1980 Neckermann catalog. It measures 55cm wide, and weighs 7.1 KG without batteries. The woofers are 16cm and the tweeters are 5.2cm. There were 3 re-branded versions of it: The Beston 4000, the Stag RR-1048, and the Wilco CRS-1047.

It is loaded with buttons that feel great to use. They click with a smooth "snick". The knobs are nice too. They are smooth and have good resistance. And the tuning knob is flywheel-weighted!

Whoever built it was probably the same manufacturer that built the Clairtone 7979, because it shares the same LED meter technology. See the photo below. When you touch the tuner knob, the meter displays tuning strength. But when you are NOT touching the tuning knob, the meter displays VU levels. So it is a touch-sensitive, capacitive technology.

Another feature shared with the Clairtone 7979 is the FM preset selectors, shown below. See the 4 vertical lines to the right of the digital clock? They help you set each of the 4 preset stations. There are 4 small knobs on top of the boombox, for setting the presets.