Vintage Sears Solid-State Stereo for Less than $10

I recently ran across a very cool little stereo at my local Goodwill.  It was a vintage solid state stereo from Sears.  It had an all in one AM/FM receiver and turntable and two vintage speakers.  In truth, it isn't much of a stereo.  It's just a little bedroom stereo that kids from the early to mid-1970s probably had for entertainment.  However, in testament to this cheap little stereo, I hooked it up and the radio receiver worked just fine.

Vintage Sears Stereo

Of course, this stereo was pretty old school in its execution.  You have to manually dial in the station and a red light will glow if you are locked in.  But, the sound was okay from both speakers and the balance knob seemed to work just fine.  You had to play with the speaker wires to make sure that you had a good connection when plugging them in.  However, once it was plugged in the speakers put out decent enough sound.  Best of all, this little stereo was priced at just under $7.

Of course, I let this treasure remain on the shelf.  I don't have the room and it's not that great of a stereo.  However, it might be a find for a collector or for someone with a kid or a garage that needs music.  If you like the look of this system, but want something that is more modern in 2024, you might check out this retro system from Victrola.

Victrola 50s Retro Bluetooth Phonograph, CD, AM/FM Media Center

Thrift Store Stereo Find: Realistic Clarinette 104 Compact Stereo

I recently came across an interesting find at a local Goodwill.  It's a Realistic Clarinette 104.  It's a portable stereo from 1974.  It has a cassette tape deck, a phonograph, and an AM/FM tuner built in.  It's a pretty simple stereo.

Apparently Realistic (the Radio Shack stereo brand) continued to make various versions of the Clarinette up through the mid-1980s.  Here is a look at the dusty turntable on this thrift store unit.  If you ever need a needle for an old unit like this, check turntableneedles.com.

Ultimately, I didn't buy this old stereo because it stayed powered up even when I turned off the power switch.  When it comes to old electronic gear, you have to be cool about fire safety.  Plus, this has no CD player and it is fairly bulky for an old stereo.  Here is a clip from Youtube from a guy who was putting his grandmother's old stereo through its paces.

Old systems are always intriguing.  With a modern portable stereo, you can connect all sorts of modern devices using bluetooth, but vintage stereos take you away to another time.

Thrift Store Find: Vintage GPX Stereo

Everyone has seen GPX brand consumer electronics in retail stores.  They make inexpensive stereos, alarm clocks, radios and the like.  You would never think of them as a long-lived brand.  You would never think of them as a maker of products that become vintage.  Yet, I recently came across this vintage GPX Stereo in a thrift store.  It has an AM/FM receiver, turntable, cassette deck, and 8-track cassette player integrated into one convenient system.

Vintage GPX Stereo

According to the GPX website, the company was founded in 1971 and originally imported electronics and sold them under the Grand Prix brand name.  They started using the GPX brand name in 1986.  Since this stereo has an 8-track, it's a little hard to believe that this GPX stereo was created that recently.  Nevertheless, it was surprisingly well-preserved.

I walked on and left it to be discovered by a family who need a stereo for a kid's bedroom.  GPX stereos are great for that and this one looks cool!

Today, you can still get a nice little GPX stereo for a bedroom or dorm room.  I have this one below and it's can do quite a bit for a very low-priced stereo unit.