Sharp GF-575

The GF575 boombox was made in 1982 and 1983 by Sharp. It's very long (675mm including the tuner knob), which is a good idea because it increases the perceived stereo separation. It is also very attractive. The speaker grills have lateral "structural braces" that look cool. And the tuner glass is removable with thumb-screws.

Its model variations include GF-575Z, GF-575ZB, GF-575C, GF-575H, and GF-575E. The ZB version has a black control panel, while the other versions have silver control panels. The silver panel isn't real metal, it's just chrome-colored paint. And unfortunately that paint is rather fragile, so it's usually scratched and scuffed, or covered with water spots. Ask the seller for close-up photographs to confirm. Another common issue is that the entire rear panel becomes yellowed with age. Probably because of UV exposure.

The speakers include 16cm woofers and "horn tweeters", and the amplifier is a Toshiba TA7246AP. According to the service manual, its output is 2x7 watts RMS. There was a label on the tape door saying 32 watts, but that is PMPO (Peak Momentary Power Ouput), which is nonsense. The sound quality is clear and accurate, but you need to place it against a wall to get good bass.

The tape decks are good quality. They are Dolby and Metal capable, and they have high-speed dubbing and auto/manual recording level with a mute switch. Sharp says the frequency response is 30 to 17,000 Hz when using Metal tape, which is quite good for a boombox tape mechanism.