Scott Campbell Has One of the
Coolest Boombox Collections
Learn more about Scott Campbell’s collection of over 30 vintage boomboxes.
Though he grew up in Minneapolis, Scott Campbell is a classic New Yorker. He lives in Brooklyn, and works as an event producer — his company manages the annual Sept. 11 memorial, beaming two lights into the sky where the twin towers once stood. Campbell studied music in college and will still get on stage and play the saxophone whenever his friends, who are members of the New Orleans jazz outfit Mama Digdown’s Brass Band, come to town.
I just love staring at them for a few minutes every day. They look so cool. They’re fun, they sound great, and they bring me happiness.
Scott Campbell
Campbell is an avid collector and owns a handful of instruments as well as more than 3,000 vinyl records. However, his collection of 30 vintage boomboxes take up most of the wall space in his apartment.
“The reason I set up that wall across from my couch the way I did was so I could just sit there and look at them,” Campbell said. “I know that might sound kind of cheesy, but I just love staring at them for a few minutes every day. They look so cool. They’re fun, they sound great, and they bring me happiness. They’re a good thing.”
In late 2020, a picture of Campbell’s boomboxes made the rounds online. He stacked 14 of the chromed-out classics on his stoop during a move. The gritty concrete against the flashy speakers set the perfect NYC scene — like something ripped out of an ’80s movie. Discogs posted the photo to Instagram, and it got the whole Discogs community talking. So, Discogs gave Campbell a call to learn more about his boombox beauties and how he keeps them in working order.
Discogs: When did you first get into music and when did you get your first boombox?
My brother got a boombox in 1984 and would constantly play the Purple Rain cassette. I got my own, but it was just a single speaker Magnavox. I brought it with me like a Walkman.
Scott Campbell
Scott Campbell: “My family is pretty musical. My brother and I — people will laugh at this — but we were pretty avid recorder players. My brother went on to be a bit of a prodigy and a professional [musician] in his early adult life. I switched to saxophone because I found it to be more interesting.
“I was into music from a performing aspect, but also from a listening aspect. Prince was definitely one of the big hometown heroes and big influences. He was everywhere. That was one of my first boombox experiences, because my brother got a boombox in 1984 and would constantly play the Purple Rain cassette. I got my own, but it was just a single speaker Magnavox. I brought it with me like a Walkman.
“I didn’t really get into the big boombox world until I moved to New York in 2000. I found one just sitting on the street. One of the benefits of living in New York is that people don’t bring a lot of things to thrift stores. They just put stuff out on the street. You can get amazing items. I got a very good one, one of the biggest ever made — a Conian C-100F. That grew to another and another. Over 20 years, it developed into a pretty big collection.”
Discogs: What made you take that first one home?
Campbell: “I’ve always been interested in audio equipment. I have an interest in all things that are kind of audio related, and it also looked really amazing. I love the design, the big chromed switches and speakers, and the electric light volume unit meters that bounce to the beat. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it.”
Discogs: Is that a vintage piece? Are boomboxes still being made?
Campbell: “Most of the ones I have are pretty old. My oldest is probably [from] 1978, and my most recent one is maybe [from] 1986 or ’87. There has been interest in redesigning or re-releasing some models, but nothing I’ve seen mimics or is as good as the design that were released in the ’80s. They’re pretty special.”


Discogs: How many boomboxes do you have?
Campbell: “I believe I have 30.”
It’s really fun to see how people react to them. I think it’s the nostalgia factor. People usually have a story about their first boombox and always say they wish they kept it.
Scott Campbell
Discogs: Where do you store them all?
Campbell: “They do take up a lot of room, and it’s hard living in New York finding storage solutions for big pieces of vintage audio equipment. My most recent solution was creating a wall of radios in a corner of my living room. I had stacked them all on top of each other to the point where they’re at least seven or eight feet high. It looked really great, but I recently took them all down and started building custom shelves. I like to use the radios, pull one out and bring it somewhere. Having them all stacked up on top of each other made it really difficult to grab the one on the bottom.”
Discogs: I like to hear that. I’m a collector of different things, vinyl included. I believe in using things and not just staring at them.
Campbell: “I bring the radios to picnics, birthday parties, and stoop sales. I brought one to a protest earlier this year. I bring them to the beach. Every year, a good friend of mine and I do a Prince birthday brunch where we play his music from 12 noon until 10 p.m. at our favorite restaurant in Brooklyn. This year, we weren’t able to do that. Instead, we bought a boombox outside the restaurant, played Prince music, and hung out socially distanced. Because of the pandemic, I’ve been trying to think of creative ways to celebrate friends’ birthdays. I took one outside of my friend’s house and did a little mix of Peter Gabriel’s ‘In Your Eyes’ with a version of ‘Happy Birthday.’ I held it above my head. It was socially distanced, and they filmed the whole thing, which is pretty funny. I did it in cahoots with her husband.”
Discogs: Do you get a lot of reactions from strangers?
Campbell: “It’s really fun to see how people react to them. I think it’s the nostalgia factor. People usually have a story about their first boombox and always say they wish they kept it. Then there’s the people who’ve never really seen something like that before, and they have a lot of questions. People usually ask how many batteries they take. They end up wanting to take a photo with it and that’s fun. There’s a lot of Bluetooth speakers you can bring out to the park and they’re fun. They sound good, but it’s nothing like having a boombox. People engage with it more. I’m a big proponent of the communal music experience, whether it’s a concert or just hanging out around a radio.”


Discogs: Do you have a large cassette collection? What are these boomboxes capable of playing?
I recently searched for [my first boombox] and found it on eBay. I might just pick it up for nostalgia purposes — but I am running out of room.
Scott Campbell
Campbell: “I do have some cassettes and I do play them, but I will admit that I cheat. I have a couple Bluetooth adapters that you can plug into the back of anything with an RCA input. Then, you can play anything from your computer or phone. I prefer that part of the technology that’s available, but I prefer to use it on things that are vintage.”
Discogs: Do they ever break down? Is there a go-to person that fixes them or do you know how?
Campbell: “I’m against spending a ton of money on these. You can buy them on eBay for thousands of dollars in perfect condition, but for me, part of the fun is getting one that needs work for a cheaper price and spending time fixing it up. I’m pretty good at the cleaning and more aesthetic stuff. I recently fixed a big hole in one, repainted the whole unit, and polished everything. It looks great, but the electronics need some work.
“I do, fortunately, have a guy. His name is Frank at Hi-Tech Electronics on Canal Street in the Lower East Side. He can pretty much fix anything. I bring it to him, and a few days later, he gives me a call and it works great. He’s one of those classic figures with the shop that has hundreds of cameras, radios, turntables, and amplifiers. It’s a very New York-looking establishment. If people are in New York and they need something fixed, he’s the guy.”
Discogs: Is there a style of music that plays best on a boombox?
Campbell: “When I’m testing them, I mainly listen to hip-hop because I want to see what it can do bass-wise. A lot of classic hip-hop can really test the speakers, but I play everything from hip-hop to classical music.
“I like to sit on my stoop with one of the smaller boomboxes and listen to jazz, and they sound great. It really depends on the context — a lot of block party music from the late ’70s and early ’80s, funk, R&B, and house music sound great. Whatever people are in the mood for.
“Because I’ve had a lot of time recently, I’m taking all the radios that light up and wiring them together, then hooking the up to my turntables. You can play records through all the boomboxes and they’ll light up to the beat. I’m planning on doing some webcasts. It would be really fun to see hip-hop going through all those speakers lit up.
“I’m also thinking about doing photoshoots in front of the wall. It’s a natural backdrop. I’m think about putting the wall on a couple of site like Peerspace, where you can rent portions of apartments or unique spaces. I used to rent them out for music video and commercials, but they’d often come back damaged or missing parts. As tough as they do look, they’re actually really, really fragile. They have lots of tiny pieces and people charge a lot of money on eBay just for a little knob. I like finding the little pieces and everything, but it can end up being an expensive process.
“I prefer to clean it up and make it look great, but not have to spend $10 on a little knob or $50 when it ships from Tokyo. I recently restored the same model radio that was used in Do The Right Thing. I had always wanted that radio — it’s a good example of a radio that is normally in good working condition and more than $1,000 USD. I just refuse to pay that much, but I found one that was missing the tape mechanism for one of the tape decks and an antenna. I found the radio in Israel, missing the parts, and I got it for a really cheap price. They very same day, I was able to find the tape mechanism in Korea and it wasn’t too much. I got all the parts, brought it to Frank, and he put it all together — now, I have a working Radio Raheem.”
Discogs: What other famous boomboxes have you found?
Campbell: “I have the one from Say Anything — a Sharp DGF-7600 — which took me years to find. I found the radio Prince uses in Purple Rain to rehearse and learn songs — that’s a Toshiba RT-80S.
“There was a Madonna photoshoot in 1983 by a photographer named Richard Corman. I think it was before she was famous, before Like a Virgin. She had this really long, skinny radio — a very unique design — a Sanyo M-7830. There’s another one Madonna used, a light-up version in two of her videos from the Confessions on a Dance Floor album. I had one before that album came out, but it blew up in 2005 and everyone wanted one. I really wanted to have another — one on either side of the Radio Raheem — but the price skyrocketed. I finally found another and I did a bunch of work on it. I brought it Frank and he fixed the lights.”
Discogs: Do you have a favorite?
Campbell: “I really like the original because that’s what got me into collecting. It has all the characteristics of a classic boombox — lots of big speakers, chrome details, all the knobs, and it’s really loud and heavy. It’s got tons of bass. It’s just iconic. It weighs like 25 pounds and takes 10 D-cell [batteries]. That one is pretty awesome.
“I have a few other favorites that I like to carry around because they’re a little smaller and a little more manageable. Plus, the disco light ones.”
Discogs: Do you still have the first boombox you got as a kid?
Campbell: “I don’t think my parents kept it, but I recently searched for it and found it on eBay. I might just pick it up for nostalgia purposes — but I am running out of room.”
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