Michael Black:

I guess my point in bringing it is that, although
the quality of the world band experience on
your typical ghetto blasted likely varied compared
to that on a dedicated receiver, it was one of
many features slowly eliminated from boomboxes
from the late eighties onwards.

The dumbing down continued for three straight
decades, with graphic EQs, shortwave, phono
and aux inputs, external antenna posts, and even
the loss of Bass, Treble, and balance on boxes.


Plus, they transformed from relatively straight-
forward, good looks, into something from outer
space! Common-sense layout of volume, tone,
function selector, bands, playback control, and
external sourcd hookups morphed into weird
symbols and icons on an exterior that resembled
a flying saucer or a Maserati.