Cheap but good 1991 Realistic Clarinette 125 stereo system 

It never ceases to amaze me when VWestlife demonstrates how the cheapest entry level black plastic crap from 30 or 40 years ago was vastly superior in both performance and reliability to the majority of what's being produced nowadays.

Just like when a stray dog follows you home, it was nice of you to give Clarinette a clean, a feed, a place to stay and love it back to life. She'll keep you good company

I got a flashback of something I have not thought about in decades, as you skipped through the radio stations. Me and my brother used to ask the t.v. random daft questions then change the channel and the first thing we heard was the answer. "What's the meaning of life?" *click "...a lovely bed of chrysanthemums..."

When I was younger and got myself out of homelessness, I went to a car boot sale and picked up something very similar to this for £10, complete with speakers. It served me well for over a year.

"Listenin' to the radio, drivin' in your car: radio gets results"

I forgot that AM radios used to sound... less than FM, but nowhere near as terrible as today. Thanks for this!

That's why I love this channel, you find "junk" h-ifi and bring it home and try to find some redeeming features to it.

I bought a slightly older Realistic STA-785 receiver new in '89. It still works perfectly. Don't underestimate the shack, they sold decent stuff back in the day

Hey, I got a Sanyo black plastic crap stereo for my birthday when I was a kid in the 80's and it was awesome! As a kid you don't care. It looked cool, sounded good enough, could play radio, casette and records. Served me well into my late teen years. No complaints here. I even did an "upgrade" by adding a CD player I bought from my own pocket money in 1990 or something and connecting it to the aux input. The CD player was branded just as DIGITAL but it did its job also good enough. The CD player I still have somewhere in storage. Never could do it away as one of the first things I bought with my own money.

I remember lots of people having turntables like this. My first turntable in the 80s had a ceramic cartridge as well. People freak out over Crosley's like that was the first time these plastic turntables were used. Few of us could afford nice Technics and got by with this type of cheap stuff.

9:39 - "Damping fluid"? This is the FIRST I've ever heard of such an animal!

6:04 Arrow actually points from 2 to 1.

Make vinyl snobs mad with this one simple trick!

I liked it when you suddenly became Techmoan for a couple seconds.

I remember when I had a 1000$ technics Cassette Deck with all the fancy stuff, Dolby B,C, DBX, HTX, pro-this-pro-that. I remember buying an expensive metal tape for it, and recording it with Dolby C - and pinning it up against my Hard earned Denon DAT recorder. Me and my friends could NOT hear the difference (and the DAT player were better than CD at that time), so it was absolutely amazing how far you could stretch a cassette player. Sadly today's kids will never experience that.

It sounds much better than anyone would guess by just looking at the unit. They got something right back in the day, even at a budget price.

Made to a price but clearly well engineered and did not treat the customer like a chump.

I'm into 80s stereos and boomboxes - always a joy to see such a 'system'. Not everything is junk. This totally suffices in a garage or workshop, even suffering decades of dust and grime - but still playing (the radio at least)

Old tech will never die. It was just so much fun.

In the UK we had Amstrad that made quality looking Hi-Fi (well perhaps from the other side of the room) that used the cheapest components imaginable and sounded bad. I remember Realistic stuff was sold in Tandy and looked cheap and nasty, but always performed well for the money.

Never underestimate true ceramic cartridges. Firstly, they don't need RIAA-amplification. Due to nature, they deliver quite some voltage and they roll of as the frequency gets higher, almost resembling the RIAA-curve, so I'm all in for them. They play absolutely well and it's HiFi. What are these cartridges though ? Ceramics also ? Or Moving Magnets ? And yes. If you connect some very high quality speakers to systems like this, you're in for a BIG surprise. It's actually amazing and telling. The sound quality would appease most people. Your main priority should be buying very-very good speakers. At least 50% of the budget.

The Radio Shack (Realistic), Sears, Wards, and other house brands of consumer grade audio equipment that were made in USA, Japan, Korea, Malaysia ,Taiwan, England & Germany in the 60s and 70s were usually quite good (except for the cheapest models) and under the cosmetics were also sold as well-recognized audio brands. The Radio Shack, Wards and Sears catalogs are on line; it is fun to look at what was available. My favorites were the great four-in one compact systems that had AM-FM, a record changer, a cassette player-recorder and an 8-track player-recorder and a set of matching speakers. That combination only lasted about 3 years, when dual cassettes replaced the 8-tracks, record changers were replaced by single play turntables and then CDs replaced the cassettes. Wood grain simulated genuine walnut vinyl finally got replaced by the all black plastic models made in China. Thanks for rescuing this $8 wonder. 👍

Considering the price and the intention of casual listening in the living room, garage, or bedroom this is fine. It never was made for audiophiles but it is fine considered on its own for someone who had/has a few records and a nice collection of tapes to listen to and is on a budget. Even the radio seemed pretty good.

As soon as I saw the LA 1805 IC I knew that this is a SANYO OEM. BtW it's a FM/AM/MPX functions contained on a single chip. The other one is a LA1186N again manufactured by SANYO. It's FM Front End for Recorder!

17:39 VWestlife, I agree with you 100% regarding how the current generation of designers of all-in-one systems by Crosley, Victrola, etc. grew up only knowing Discman CD players, iPods, and streaming and have no idea how good vintage equipment could sound in terms of turntables, cassette decks, reel-to-reel decks, and even a number of 8-track players back in the day. Heck, I was watching RU-vid videos recently of a young woman who collects vintage VHS VCR's, but when she played 'Titanic', the VHS tape had all sorts of glitches in the image and aside from it having been demagnetized at some point in its life, she hadn't even adjusted the tracking of her VCR. She probably initially thought that those of us who grew up with Beta and VHS simply tolerated bad playback or that the visual interference from not adjusting the tracking was how viewers normally watched VHS. These new generations have a lot to learn, particularly if they are nostalgic for all things 80's, but didn't live in that era and don't fully understand the technology. :)

As I've said before, I do the electronics function testing at a charity shop. It's very rare that we get a micro stereo system like this where everything works. The radio is usually fine (no moving parts), but often the drive on the turntable motor has failed or the cassette deck is shot. Even had CD trays fail to open completely. Though last week I did actually do a Sharp CD-MPX880 where everything functioned correctly. That's still stuck in a corner, as nobody can work out the correct price because they have so little experience with them actually working.

I grew up using systems like this. Even as a kid, nothing close to an audiophile, I knew these systems sounded like absolute garbage, especially the record players. I think that’s why vinyl fell out of favor so quickly after cds were introduced - because so many people just assumed records and tapes were subpar since most people only heard them through cheap equipment. Now that I’m grown and can afford good hifi components, I have really come to appreciate vinyl and to a lesser degree cassettes. The fidelity is amazing and the physical aesthetic is quite satisfying.

I have for some reason always liked cheap old stereo system from the 80s- early 90s as cheap doesn't mean junk. Some places you don't need or want a big HiFi just something that plays music with reasonable quality and is durable.

Other than the lack of an AUX input, this stereo system actually isn’t bad at all, especially for what it is! Thanks again!!!

The thing I like about your reviews is you do take into consideration the price point of the product. Most people will look at that and go black plastic crap. Don't even bother. You have to take into consideration that this isn't $1,000 stereo receiver. It works well for its place in the market. People that think this is going to perform like $1,000 stereo are quite honestly idiots.

I love that you actually serviced this even though it was still working for the most part. You made some great observations and were giving an honest appraisal of this considering the era it was made in. Thanks, Kevin, once again.

I still love radio - I always have. Such a simple concept and easy to build. But there is something very nostalgic and romantic about radio. Thank you for the video.

Great video as always! I have a generic Panasonic piece of black plastic garbage in my non-climate controlled shop where the temperature fluctuates between -10 F and 150 F depending on the time of the year that was set up by the previous owner in 1991. To this day, both tape decks work as does the stereo. The record player also works, but I do not use it as I do not want to ruin my records. The same stereo has a pair of Sony speakers from the 70s wired to it. The sound isn't anywhere near my listening station in my house that combines Sansui, Marantz, Technics, Magnavox and Polk Audio, but it is a work horse and gets the job done. There's something to be said for older low end stereo equipment.

$8 for all of that. Amazing! Thanks for the video, this was really insightful

Thank you from my ❤ The loss of knowledge about formats is a fact, as well analogue as digital. You are part of a precious archive. People know all about distant stars, but lack knowledge about present history. You make a difference, thank you so much!

14:28 Shocking, lol. Another success with someone's throw away. You never cease to amaze!

"He who does not honor the small cheap audio is not worthy of the great high end audio." Being an audiophile I do appreciate the lower price ranges also very much. Many of them sound really good for that price range. And it's nice to have them into the collection too.😊

13:50 I've seen one procedure that a mexican sound engineer repair man makes for all the motors when restoring vintage audio equipment. His name is Christian Tutoriales here in YT. He says that you have to take the motor out and check the voltage. If the voltage is 6 Volts DC you connect it to a 9 volt DC battery with a drop of oil and let it run one day or two depending on how dirty the motor is. The centrifugal force will clean the contacts removing the gunk inside the motor and then you install it. If the motor runs with 12 Volts DC you connect a 12 volt battery and do the same. I might have to try it on my vintage Goldstar Cassette Deck. This is what I liked about Realistic and RadioShack audio equipments. They were cheap but well made. I mean, AC Bias cassette recorder with an electro magnetic erase head for 179.95? Sign me on!

I have discovered that if you want to shrink rubber belts, that have stretched over the years, you take ice water and put the belts in this for a couple of minutes. Then, you take these out, dry on a paper towel thoroughly and once dry, you spray the belts with tyre gloss or something similar you spray on car tyres to give it that shine. Thoroughly spray the belts and leave it for a few minutes. This immediately revives the tension and elasticity of the belts. This worked for me on one of the many record players and cassette decks, I own and repeated the steps above on these units as well. 👍👌

Great information. The LA1186N is Sanyo part number for the FM front end IC. They described it as "Monolithic LInear IC - FM Front End for Radio Cassette Recorder Use". It included the RF amp, Mixer, Oscillator, and AFC Diode.

I miss my Radio Shack catalogues. I had them all from 1983-1998. I do go to that cool website that has then which is handy.

I had a couple of these types of systems as a kid in the late 80s/early 90s. I had it made! I had graduated from a kids' suitcase record player and suddenly I had (1) tone controls (2) DUAL tape decks (3) ability to RECORD direct from LP or radio or another tape (4) actual stereo speakers. It may have been black plastic crap but dammit it was MY black plastic crap and I loved it.

The turntable motor was made a week to the day after my 16th birthday, when I got a Sony midi system with CD :) 1991 was a great year...

14:30 Belts displayed out on the table in the shape of a gasping emoji at the suggestion of being boiled.

I'm amazed by how good the turntable sounds for a budget turntable!

I think it's awesome that you've kept up this channel. I don't remember exactly when you started it but it was at least ten years ago, and probably more.

My great-grandma got this when her old console record player finally gave out, and sat it right on top. It was branded Soundesign and came from Kmart. Slightly different appearance, more 80's futuristic fonts, red and green LEDs, four big buttons to change functions instead of the switch. I went over to listen to it a lot. I too was impressed by that tuner, it grabbed a lot of stations my other cheap radios had difficulty with. Thanks for the memories.

This was the last "cheap" stereo with a turntable (and the last Clarinette) Radio Shack marketed. There was a more expensive Modulaire model with a CD sold along side this one through 1993. For 1994 they brought out the Optimus System 7xx series and no more turntables. After 1998 RS ditched all the compact stereos (except a few boomboxes.)

I had a similar Realistic Clarinette as kid, but it was a bit sleeker and I used it to play tapes and vinyl in my bedroom, I used to listen to lots of children music on that stereo.

Beautiful classic Realistic stereo system.

I remember the black plastic fantastic stereos in the late 80's and 90's we had a replaced the Century radio from the 70's for a Quasar entertainment center. Yep, a quasar all together unit, with an optional CD, or standard Phonograph. Quartz locked. Let's not forget the 19 inch Quasar color TV. That Realistic Clarinette 125 is not bad

Great video. Everything sounded better than I expected with it, too. Even 1.2 watts per channel is enough if matched with the correct, efficient speakers. I do think it looks cool.

Nice review. I remember seeing these in the catalog and in the store back then. It's a shame that even the "cheap plastic crap" of years past is in many ways better than new reproduction stuff of today for the reasons you mentioned in the video. Makes me wish I had been able to keep more of my old gear from then.

To add, the Jersey music radio scene is so much better than NYC.

I love these videos so much !!!!

I got the Clarinette 104 back in 1982... I was on Cloud 9 as I didn't have any 'stereo' at all and I played records and tapes until the unit died about 5 years later. I think I wore out the tape head playing AC/DC all the time...

Another gem of a video. Thank you!

Loved listening to the radio back then

Your closing comments were spot on! 👍

This is a nice piece of BPC you've got here. An example of cheap but decent. My 1984 cassette corder has a Mitsumi motor - still works.

The chip is an A1186N - an FM front-end for radio cassette recorders and music centres - made by Sanyo.

4:08 - I don't know what you do in terms of the sound mastering of these but I'm really impressed how clear this sounds through my Logitech X220 speakers. This 1991 Clarinette radio tuning sounds very clear compared even to some digital music I've listened to...

As a kid I'd want to put my fit through it. As a middle aged person I appreciate that everything was built to a purpose. Some of these basic systems do work really well. I enjoy hooking up and checking out just about anything. Some components work extra well together.

Very detailed review, thanks!

I love the fact that you referred to pressboard as "wood-like material" 😂

Great video…I wish I could identify all of the circuit board components like you did.

I love these old radio shack stereos.. I buy them whenever I see one.

Thanks for the tip! I didn’t know that boiling the drive belt would revive them. 👍

i had a couple of 'similar but different' things in the mid to late 80s, here in the UK, one was an Amstrad, cant remember the other one, they worked similar, but gave better results with better speaker than what was supplied,

It is a great occasion for me every time Mr.Fantastic is brought out from the doldrums of history to be played on this channel!

Nice video, Kevin. I had a pretty cheap Philips F1250 music set during my highschool years and I had a lot of fun with it. Bought it new in 1986 😅

It sounds pretty decent!

10 years before this was made, I bought with saved money (I was in early high school) the Realistic Clarinette 105. It came with a BSR automatic turntable, AM/FM Stereo, and Cassette deck, wioth plastic/silver front, and sides of fake wood grain on particle board. Served me well as a teenager for 3 or so years, mostly recording hits off of the local FM top 40 station.

Really enjoy your topics and style. Was just looking around on the Sony site and would like to see you review the ICF-506

Surprisingly good for what it is. Great vid

oooo tuned into a few seconds of marketplace there! great video :)

By FAR.. the most amazing piece of modern technology..

The arrow clearly shows "1

Yes!! Radio 📻 Shack. One of my favorite 😍 former places to shop. Your friend, Jeff.

Another great video 👍🏻😉🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

A couple weeks ago I found an antique mall and one of the booths was all old electronics. It was great lol I was just passing through on the way to the classic car display but I’m going back it’s calling my name 😆 I want to take my kids back and get them some junk to take apart for fun. My oldest has gotten into wired headphones and I got her an old Walkman and some tapes. I’m even more impressed by the ‘92 radio shack catalog. I’d watch a whole asmr flip through of that thing, no comments (similar to the way Revzilla sometimes uploads asmr rebuilds of vintage motorcycles, it’s great). Those speakers are awesome af lmao what great memories!

@VWestlife this was an amazing episode, even better than the usual. I wanted to point out that in regards to the continuous play feature the graphic seems to actually show an arrow pointing from 2 to the left, towards 1. I zoomed and enhanced like in Blade Runner just to make sure ;)

I got one of these in 1992 when I was 11. back then $179.99 was an ungodly amount of money so to me this was "high end" I used it for years and recorded a lot of mix tapes off records with it.

Its a bit 'budget', but far superior to our own 🇬🇧 Amstrad. Great video 👍😁😁

It was made on my bday! June 22 1991. too lazy for modified my previous comment lol! i love when you find neat stereo system!

How you didn't get content matched on this one, I'm amazed! :D

I always am amazed when the cheap stereos fully work and some high end components do not.

Takes me back to being a teenager in the 90's and all I wanted was a quality mid range stereo for Christmas 🎄 but no.......... This here is what my parents gave me. 😂

There is an arrow between the numbers one and two pointing to the left. It's not very visible, but it's there: Continuous Play 1

that 'A11861' chip is likely a LA 1186 fm tuner chip, the LA1805 is an all in one AM/FM IF and stereo decoder, LA coded chips are made by Sanyo 😉 BA chips are by Rohm, the output amp chip 'may' be a LA4183 as i have one of those and uses/needs a heatsink like that and looks same package

😮love the surprised looking belts!!! 😂 enjoyed this video.

Wooooow! It has great radio reception, the tape decks work great, even the turntable section! It is definitely a very good find! Just the cassette decks alone are great, and you can manage to record from external sources using the dubbing feature with one of those car cassette adaptors as the source tape 😅… I probably laughed too loud when you aligned the old belts in the shape of a surprised face hahahahaha 😂… fantastic video, keep up the great work! 😊❤

Radio shack in that same catalog had a mini system model 710 that was also sold by denon as the 700 and I bought it for $399 and it was fantastic

More amazed that you have the original Radio Shack catalogue from that year!!😃

A very cool find at a great price.

The nanoscopic type does show the arrow pointing 1

14:55 forbidden pasta

this is great keep it going

The key is, as you say, the properly matched 'high' impedence amplifier. I like the suitcase record players. Maybe it's nostalgia for me as I remember my M&D had one back in the late 70's. It had valves inside (you could see them glow) Sounded good when I was a kid and I was amazed when the tonearm moved over and knocked the next record onto the turntable. I can guarantee it had a ceramic cartridge in it too. All the cheap turntables these days seem to connect a ceramic cartridge to a low impedence amplifier (doh!) which kills the bass and makes your records sound tinny. I ripped out the internals of my crosley, replaced the speakers, ceramic cartridge and needle (flip over), weighted the tonearm, installed a high impedence preamp and a 10w main amp. It sounds tons better and is ideal for me due to the portability of it :)

The chip with "A11861" on it actually says "A1186N", and is an FM tuner/front end for portable devices and low power devices. Edit: I only with long further scrolling noticed others have also come to this conclusion. I neglected to check that far down, as the 1186N rang an immediate note for me!