If car stereos can have awesome speakers and amps running off DC, we should have had more powerful, bassier boom boxes a long time ago. These homemade boom boxes members have been posting is proof of this. And now with tape, cd players and fm tuners being gone, there's even more compartment room and even less of an excuse.
There really is no excuse
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It's all a question of efficiency. Car stereos are powered by a battery that is continually being charged by an alternator. An old style Boombox runs from D cells. An amp drawing power like a car stereo would flatten 10 D cells in an hour or less so it's just not practical.
Members like my myself who have built multiple DIY boomboxes tend to utilise modern and efficient D class amps that draw around 1/7th the power of a traditional AB amp. This modern tech is the only way big power can be had in a portable package without the requirement of a huge car sized battery pack!
James....
Members like my myself who have built multiple DIY boomboxes tend to utilise modern and efficient D class amps that draw around 1/7th the power of a traditional AB amp. This modern tech is the only way big power can be had in a portable package without the requirement of a huge car sized battery pack!
James....
With one app,(Equ) I have transformed what was already an excellent bassey box (Panasonic rx-dt680) into a true bass beast. Same batteries, same battery life, but due to the excellent, but flawed Equ app, I can crank up the low frequencies (32 hz and below and the dt680 just pushes it out with ease, making even the faintest bass passages audible. This is just one example where manufactures have no excuse for not really producing a bass box. The app didn't do anything that manufactures could not have already done, at least with today's technology.
Both AC and DC. The only thing the app did was bring software (lines of code) into the equation. That was enough to completely transform the bass into hyper bass. That's the innocent power of software. Like I said, manufactures have no excuse today. More compartment realestate, better amps, better battery packs better technology, software power, there's no excuse for them not producing the ultimate bass box. If there r any manufactures who read this, please give us a box that has no compromises in the bass department. Find a way to incorporate a specially designed rotary subwoofer for the truly deep bass. Bring it!! Trust us, we WILL buy it if u do.Reli said:
You're talking about a big boomer. People these days are all about convenience. The idea of carting around a 12+ kilo booombox is not what the youngsters want these days - if it doesn't fit in a handbag or a manbag then forget it!!
People these days just won't pay the $$$s either. The 680 retailed at $699 AUD back in 1990. You won't see buyers these days paying the inflation adjusted price for a Boombox ($1310)!!
People these days just won't pay the $$$s either. The 680 retailed at $699 AUD back in 1990. You won't see buyers these days paying the inflation adjusted price for a Boombox ($1310)!!
I dunno know what's all the complaining about no excuse for. Where were you and your app 35 years ago. Or where was your smart device for that matter 35 years ago? And what were YOU doing 35 years ago to bass up those boomboxes? And who even said bass was all that important 35 years ago?
Want a bassy boombox? Just get a kaboom and it'll pump out more bass than any app(icized) 680 will ever pump out, all factory produced..... yep, long long time ago. Runs on AC and Batteries. And for that matter, it still reins amongst the very top of the heap even compared to many boxes produced today armed with modern software and the full complement of DAC/ADC sound-shaping distorters.
Want a bassy boombox? Just get a kaboom and it'll pump out more bass than any app(icized) 680 will ever pump out, all factory produced..... yep, long long time ago. Runs on AC and Batteries. And for that matter, it still reins amongst the very top of the heap even compared to many boxes produced today armed with modern software and the full complement of DAC/ADC sound-shaping distorters.
mellymelsr
Member (SA)
I have greatly inmproved the sound and output from my boomboxes by doing one thing...playing hi res flac files through a hi res audio player with a true line output. I couldn't believe how loud and clear my boomboxes now sound on volume level 3! It's louder than fm radio at the same volume level. An iphone or regular mp3 player is no comparison.
I believe bass has always been important. Advertised PMPO numbers and BASS BOOST features. Bass has always been a hype manufactures have used to sell their boom boxes.Superduper said:
That's my point. If that's "all" it's doing to net such a good result, then that's "all" manufactures need to do to enhance their own products, among other steps. .Reli said:
The problem with bass boosting everything is that you end generating fat bass in songs that never had big bass to start with. In other words, the songs never 'play right'.
I did a little comparison with my current HiFi set up that boasts some very nice $2500 big arse tower drivers etc. The bass my home setup generates is very similar in tone to my Yamaha PC-8. The 680 in comparison sounds overly boomy in comparison - that's without any app manipulation.
I love bass, don't get me wrong, I just don't want bass where it was never intended.
I did a little comparison with my current HiFi set up that boasts some very nice $2500 big arse tower drivers etc. The bass my home setup generates is very similar in tone to my Yamaha PC-8. The 680 in comparison sounds overly boomy in comparison - that's without any app manipulation.
I love bass, don't get me wrong, I just don't want bass where it was never intended.
Reli said:
I have a Mark Levinson in my car. That system is THE BEST factory sound system I've ever heard. Everything is balanced, but nothing is lost in the bass department. It's not boomy but nor does it wimp out in the low frequency section. I could listen to a pipe organ piece by Cameron Carpenter and those pedal lows sound AMAZING. imagine taking those speakers and amp, and boxing them up in a boom box. This can be done and I wish manufactures would think like this when approaching their portables, especially the ones that run on AC only. DC is doable too. See that's what I'm saying when I say there reall is no excuse.jimmyjimmy19702010 said:
BoomboxLover48
Boomus Fidelis
Want more bass? Forget boomboxes then.
Once in a while jump to home audio with a Denon AVR X7200 hooked to Martin Logan or B&W speakers.
Want the 80s warm sound?
Turn on a Marantz 2385 with vintage speakers.
Have a shot of bourbon also after dimming the lights.
Once in a while jump to home audio with a Denon AVR X7200 hooked to Martin Logan or B&W speakers.
Want the 80s warm sound?
Turn on a Marantz 2385 with vintage speakers.
Have a shot of bourbon also after dimming the lights.
duckman
Member (SA)
I agree with Super and Jimmy in creating more "bass", I wouldn't want to lose the intended notes of the music. I want to hear the actual drum hit, not some manufactured boomy version of it . Hearing a balanced range is more of an expectation out of a portable than feeling it, unless your in a closet.
Oh yeah, and move the LazyBoy back ! 
BoomboxLover48 said:Turn on a Marantz 2385 with vintage speakers.
Have a shot of bourbon also after dimming the lights.
Oh yeah, and move the LazyBoy back !
mellymelsr
Member (SA)
If the recording or source is of the highest quality added bass boost is not needed. I generally play all my music with bass at +2 and treble at +4...but my source is always flac or lossless.
Lasonic TRC-920
Moderator
I have used App EQ's before and they do boost bass and volume but they don't boost sound quality. Any time you EQ over +-0 you are adding to the track.
MP3 files are 10% of the original. So if you want the best sound quality, FLAC for digital or Vinyl on line in or CrO2 / Metal cassettes. This will provide the best reproduction of what was on the original recording.
Remember, 1985 was the first year of digitally reproduced music. This was the first year the signal could be PUSHED onto the recording media (record, tape, CD). This is where LOUD music came from and also the first time the 808 was really pushed hard. But almost all the radio's we love were built to reproduce music from before this era. The engineers that designed them, did so to reproduce music before the digital PUSH and before the 808 note. The App EQ's might be tricking the radio into playing bigger bass, but IMHO, the sound quality isn't there.
In the end, it's all a matter of taste. As I said, I was using AnEq Free on my cell phone and it WILL push the bass but the sound quality was
However....If you are outside on the basketball court letting it all hang out with the volume on 8, it might be all you need to get your game on!
All a matter of taste
MP3 files are 10% of the original. So if you want the best sound quality, FLAC for digital or Vinyl on line in or CrO2 / Metal cassettes. This will provide the best reproduction of what was on the original recording.
Remember, 1985 was the first year of digitally reproduced music. This was the first year the signal could be PUSHED onto the recording media (record, tape, CD). This is where LOUD music came from and also the first time the 808 was really pushed hard. But almost all the radio's we love were built to reproduce music from before this era. The engineers that designed them, did so to reproduce music before the digital PUSH and before the 808 note. The App EQ's might be tricking the radio into playing bigger bass, but IMHO, the sound quality isn't there.
In the end, it's all a matter of taste. As I said, I was using AnEq Free on my cell phone and it WILL push the bass but the sound quality was
However....If you are outside on the basketball court letting it all hang out with the volume on 8, it might be all you need to get your game on!
All a matter of taste
It's clear that my point is not getting thru. No worries to each their own. If a manufacturer reading this is willing to act on my doable request, I'd be the first customer to buy one.
Reli
Boomus Fidelis
Again, you should be buying a Kaboom, or even better, a Sharp GX-M10 if you want bass at a reasonable weight. Anything heavier than that, and the vast majority of consumers won't buy it. If the major manufactures thought they could sell a lot of 50 pound monsters powered by car batteries, they would, but they didn't, because they knew only a handful of weirdos like us would buy them.
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