New Boombox Generation Reveiws and General Information

OK.. stick with me as this might be quite a long post..

i just received the Pioneer Steez Crew.. and made a video comparing it to the new Sharp GX-M10 boombox.. link will be at the bottom.. sorry about the "thrushing" sound in portions of the video.. the mic was on the bottom of my Xoom and forgot it was there.. so my fingers would brush over it..

ALRIGHT! LETS GET THE PARTY STARTED!

i am lucky enough to have owned most of the new generation boomboxes.. these include..

ALTEC LANSING IMT-800
JVC RV-NB50
TDK LIFE ON RECORD (ALL 3 MODELS)
SHARP GX-M10
PIONEER STEEZ CREW

group photo (minus Altec and JVC)



ok lets get to the meat and potatoes.. i could go into great lengths describing the sound of each.. but what we all want to know.. what is the best of the modern boomboxes?
well if your a big bass hound like me.. then pretty much all of them will fill that request.. but how do they sound next to the King of Bass? the "vintage" JVC Kaboom? most of us have heard one of them and nothing has come close to putting out the clean low bass the Kaboom is known for.. untill now that is..

SHARP GX-M10

lets start with the newest of the "next generation" of boomboxes.. the Sharp GX-M10.. yea yea.. your probably tired of me praising this orange/bronze monster.. sure it's odd looking.. but that odd look serves a point.. you think Sharp didnt do thier homework on the design? obviously it's a design that works.. and works excellent.. the Sharp takes many hints and clues from the JVC Kaboom.. if it aint broke.. so the JVC uses 6-1/2 inch subs.. the Sharp uses 5-1/8 inch subs.. is there a difference in bass? nope.. none at all.. if anything the Sharp exceeds the JVC Kaboom but it's awefully close.. at low volumes they both turn out the bass.. but the Sharp turns out just a hair more.. at higher volumes.. the Sharp destroys the JVC.. yep i said it.. the JVC has met it's match.. the JVC will always have a place in my heart.. i have owned to many to count.. but now there's a new sheriff in town.. i honestly didnt think that any company was going to bother making anymore decent modern boomboxes.. well kudos to Sharp.. not only did they make a new boombox.. but one that is of high quality and great sound.. (not biased am i) to sum up the Sharp in one word.. FUN!

PIONEER STEEZ CREW

yep this was out of my price range for quite awhile.. finally it reached a price i could justify buying one.. am i happy with it? weeelll.. not really.. if you watch the video you will see some things that really throw me off about the Pioneer.. laptop based power supply.. USB in the back covered by a removeable and easily lost cover (only the power jack has the rubber piece attatched to the main unit) the other cover just comes right off.. and since most of the things you need are behind the cover.. anyways lets move onto the sound.. one thing i do give Pioneer kudos for is the inclusion of real tweeters.. sure the TDK and Altec have tweeters.. but in this form factor.. niether the JVC or Sharp has these.. bass was not as exciting as from some of the other modern boomboxes.. and there is no EQ controls or bass settings.. kinda disapointing.. sure with an IPOD you can adjust the sound through there EQ.. but if you use a USB drive your SOL.. also it uses foam surrounds for the subs instead of rubber butyl that the JVC and Sharp use.. and there are no bass ports.. without these 2 things bass just isnt as profound.. mids and highs are fine though.. sorry Pioneer.. your Steez is no bass machine.. to sum the Pioneer in one word.. STYLE..

ALTEC LANSING IMT-800/810

ahh Altec.. many praises befall you.. and for good reason.. the IMT-800 is in it's own league.. tiny but nasty! (in a great way) lets face it.. Altec got it right.. small.. easy to carry.. remote.. 3 way speakers.. last forever on batteries.. 7 band EQ.. oh and the SOUND! mad props to Altec.. if there was only one other that can compete in the tiny bass machine catagory it would be the TDK Sound Cube.. and the TDK gets most of it right.. biggest issue with the TDK? remote.. never thought it would be a big deal.. but my old ass does not like gettin up to lower/raise foward/reverse anything! dont get me wrong.. the TDK Sound Cube is a very impressive little boomer that i will go into detail when i get to the TDK's i'll sum it up the Altec in one word.. PERFECT..

TDK LIFE ON RECORD SERIES

TDK.. whoever imagined they would make a kick ass line of boomboxes? certainly not me.. lets face it.. the 3 speaker Tower of Power is a fantastic/impressive looking black beast with tons of chic/sophistication.. great looks with great sound? check.. bass in spades? check.. where it falters is in the lack of remote.. also the bass can be way to powerful.. wierd to say that but it's true.. also in order to hear it at it's best potential you need to crank the volume past the halfway mark.. love the sleek touch screen and spectrum EQ.. it is also the heaviest of the lot.. nearly 34 pounds!.. but alot of quality went into that 34 pounds.. solid alunimum handle piano finish front.. heavy duty speakers.. i'll sum the TDK 3 speaker in one word.. POWERFUL..

TDK 2 SPEAKER

Well describing the TDK 2 speaker model is quite easy.. think of it as a modern version of a JVC M70/panny 5150.. right size.. easy to carry.. smooth not harsh sounding.. the perfect modern boombox to take to the beach/park.. not a bass machine in the least.. think of it as the porrage in the red riding hood story.. just right.. i'll sum up this boombox in one word.. CHILLIN

TDK SOUND CUBE

you know when you go to the park and you see a cute little squirrel and you want to just pet and snuggle it.. then it turns into a pitbull? well thats the TDK Sound Cube in a nut shell.. sure it looks tiny and innocent.. then you turn it on and WOW! yep this little momma can crank! 2 5-1/4 inch co-axial woofers and 2 passive radiators.. phhhfft right.. no way that can put outt the bass.. oh yes it can.. big time.. dont let the little size fool you.. it actually has better smoother bass than the 3 speaker model! i kid you not! i know.. i know.. you think i'm on crack.. but i really mean it when i say this little monster has some serious bottom end.. the only reason it loses to the Altec is the lack of remote.. i use this liitle guy most of the time at my job.. and everyone is shocked at the bass output.. and to make it even sweeter is the price.. you can buy one now on Epay for $105.. best.. deal.. ever.. so if you have a few bucks to spare.. this little momma will not disapoint.. if i can sum this TDK in one word.. GGGRRRROOOWWWLLL!

JVC KABOOM (NEWER SERIES)

Well of all the modern boomers.. this is the one i really was very disapointed in.. i did a review on this in Febuary 2010.. as soon as it arrived in the states i snagged one from Amazon.. i was soo excited! JVC with enclosed IPOD dock and USB sweet! well lets just say JVC seriously took a dump on the Kaboom series with this turd.. Made in China... sure some items like the Altec are made in China.. but there standards are vastly better than the JVC.. JVC went cheap plain and simple.. cashing in on the Kaboom legacy.. shame on them.. here's the link to my review viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3502&hilit=rv+nb50 if i could sum up one word for the JVC Kaboom ASHAMED

OK so there you have it.. i hope you enjoyed my views on the new generation of boomboxes.. i do not nor expect to own the other new boomboxes including the next gen of TDK bluetooth models or the only other decent boombox the IHome Ip4 (has gotten pretty good reviews) so sorry..

so as far as quality vs. price
these are must haves..

Altec Lansing IMT-800/810 go for under $200 as of this post..
Sharp GX-M10 $250 w/ free shipping form ABT Electronics (currently out of stock) bummer.. $150 in europe (lucky bastages)
TDK Sound Cube $99/105 Ebay.. various online stores also
TDK 3 speaker boombox $250 on Ebay

i cannot recommend
PIONEER STEEZ Sonic Elecronics $280 w/ free shipping if goes under $200 then yes..
JVC RV-NB50/70 $250/300
TDK 2 speaker model $140/160 (further price drop say to $120 would make it a excellent deal..

hope you enjoyed my post!

link to Sharp vs. Pioneer video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_DanmoLsfk (again sorry for the thrushing noise in the video)

some random pics..

Thread. Of. The. Year.....well done, son!

THANKS

great to watch and listen to

Well done and to the point. I'd like to know what makes up the guts though. But that being said I know these are NEW so no need to open 'em up.

Boombarrels..

Awesome you actually sold me on both the Pioneer and the Sharp

thanks for the kudo's guys very appriciated.. did more work on this than at any point in high school..

yea Bill.. the Sharp is awesome.. just wish you could buy it.. and at $250 bucks.. a real bargain.. not sure if i mentioned it.. but the Sharp was manufactured in Malaysia.. same as the older Kabooms.. i already cracked it open and compared to the new gen JVC's no contest.. Sharp did not skimp at all.. not the prettiest looking or very vintage looking.. but to get the sweet boomin sound you get from it who cares right?

please no post saying "where's the cassette deck.. or no cassette me no interested..

Nice review!
The Altec is ugly, it looks like any other "docking station" (i.e. ugly), so that's out.
The Sharp is even more ugly, and too thick, and does not have a top handle, so that's out.
The TDK 3-speaker is nice but too heavy.
The TDK 2-speaker is too girly looking.
The Pioneer is sleek looking, and has tweeters, but too expensive
Guess it's the Sound Cube for me

I saw this thread yestarday and took a quick peak at it, but knew I wanted to sit and read it with out any interruptions...so I waited till today.

TMR, you went above and beyond for your buddies here on Boomboxery THANK YOU

Like many here on Ye Old Boomboxery, I'm here for the love of the late 70's and 80's stuff and have had trouble looking past the design of these new gen blasters. To be honest, I have only heard a few of the older Kaboom's, including Superduper's Raccoon Kaboom. I have heard the 3 speaker TDK in the store, but that's in a store where you get to turn it up for a second, then look around to see if your in trouble and that's no fun.

But it's been more than a few years now of listening to members praise these radios...It's really hard to ignore them. Mix that with you posting ACTUAL prices of what they go for now Maybe it's time

As for the radio's....is it really that surprising that the Sharp dominates the field. They did it back in the day and it's clear they still got it. It actually means allot to here it's NOT made in China and that it's solidly built. And $250 is way cheaper than a 777 was back in 81

Here are a questions regarding the Sharp. The "Tube" design, much like the Kaboom, look like they would be uncomfortable to walk around with. Much like the way a J1 is so FAT that it's funky to carry. It doesn't hang down next to your leg like a 975 or 777 does. Do you get that with the Sharp? Does it have a strap option like the Kaboom?

Again, thanks for the killer reviews! Kind of a drag to here about the Pioneer

Awesome review and I agree with everything you said about the Lansing and the TDKs. I havn't heard the others so I will take your word for it

oldskool69 said:

I'd like to know what makes up the guts though. But that being said I know these are NEW so no need to open 'em up.

Click to expand...

No need to open them up?!?!?!?! Yeah right .

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13771&hilit=inside+tdk

TDK 2 speaker guts :

rookie question

do these ' new fangled ' boxes all take D cells -
or have built-in rechargeables ?

Reli said:

Nice review!
The Altec is ugly, it looks like any other "docking station" (i.e. ugly), so that's out.
The Sharp is even more ugly, and too thick, and does not have a top handle, so that's out.
The TDK 3-speaker is nice but too heavy.
The TDK 2-speaker is too girly looking.
The Pioneer is sleek looking, and has tweeters, but too expensive
Guess it's the Sound Cube for me

Click to expand...

A great review indeed. I agree with Reli on these boxes...except that Sound Cube...that is hideous IMHO! It may sound good but it looks like nothing I'd tote around I certainly wouldn't show this to my freinds

That looks like a cut and paste from a Hi-Fi Magazine review.
Well done and thanks a lot for publishing such an experience!!

Great thread and review!

However… Am I the only one NOT to be impressed with the sound of the TDK 3-speaker?

I have owned the Altec IMT800 and I was extremely impressed with the sound, especially the bass!
When it broke I bought the TDK 3-speaker. It does look awesome - but the second I turned it on I discovered the bass to be quite a disappointment! I need to set the unit to max bass, and then set my iphone EQ to “rock” to get at least some bass power. Shure - the overall sound quality, clarity and treble of the 3-speaker is great, but where is the bass? I have later tried other samples of the 3-speaker in stores and found them to sound the same as mine.

Since I was a bit disappointed I tried to sell my 3-speaker and had a guy coming over to my place to try it out. However he walked away after trying it out – “bass to weak”…

I have now bought the TDK Cube – and I am finally satisfied! The cube is simply amazing! Trying it out side by side with the 3-speaker makes it clear that the cube has got way more bass!

So if you are in doubt on which one to buy – the TDK cube is the answer!

//

Great review
My Pioneer is waiting at home for me and am anxious to play with it.
Got it on ebay for 180.00 shipped so it sounds like i didn't do to bad so far
as price vs value.
I was really hoping for a better review though
Are you sure there are no tone controls at all???
I thought I read somewhere that there were
Anyhow, I am still excited about un-boxing mine in hopes that it wont disappoint in the sound
department. It certainly doesnt disappoint in the looks department so far as I am concerned
BTW Tempo, DJ mix and Battle features only work in conjunction with the built in 4gb of memory.
and you do have to use the mixtrax software (PC only) provided by pioneer to load to the memory.
Edit I just looked on Pioneers website and software is available for mac as well !!!

Oh and Redbenjoe yes the all take "D" batteries.
I guess you can use rechargeable ones

Brutus442 said:

A great review indeed. I agree with Reli on these boxes...except that Sound Cube...that is hideous IMHO! It may sound good but it looks like nothing I'd tote around I certainly wouldn't show this to my freinds

Click to expand...

Well it looks like a mini guitar amp........pretty common device for musicians.

At least you wouldn't have to hide it in a duffle bag like you would with the Sharp and JVC

Well it looks like a mini guitar amp........pretty common device for musicians.


Reminds me more of 50's make-up case...

It's too bad that Pioneer has the looks but not the uuumph...

Who knows...maybe a lot of these concerns will be addressed in the Second Generation boxes

Well at only $105 shipped on Ebay, I think I'll buy one and connect it to the Line Out of one of my boomboxes that's weak on bass, lol

thaks for all the replies.. Hemi at $180 bucks thats certainly doable.. man i wish more of you folks could grab the Sharp.. anyone in Europe snag one of these beast care to chime in? i mean i cant be the only one who has bought one of these.. lol just turned it up on a bass heavy part of a song.. man i love the bass it has! i want hug the whole Sharp developer team for designing this awesome orange bass machine! for gods sake get more in stock damn it! lol sucks praising this boomer and having no place in the U.S. that has any for sale.. grrr.. man if you guys could just hear what i'm hearing..

glad someone else has the cube and can confirm the bass it produces..

also kinda scratching my head on the 3 speaker not having enough bass.. i find it has to much bass.. in fact even after turning the bass control all the way down the bass is still to much.. i'm sure Hemi and Bill can chime in on that one..

and thanks for the praises.. you guys are cool!

Looks like there's a new Cube called the "Wireless Cube", don't be fooled it doesn't have the same speakers as the original cube