As anyone who grew up in the late ‘70s or ‘80s will tell you, a boombox was the only kind of hi-fi system that the teenager of the time wanted. Featuring a radio, cassette player - sometimes dual cassette players for those naughty homemade album copies - and built-in speakers, it was the perfect bedroom solution.
Now - as with most tech of the time, it seems - it’s back, thanks to a jazzed-up revival from the nostalgia freaks at We Are Rewind. Having previously rebooted the Walkman concept with the WE-001, the company is now bringing us the GB-001.
There’s no radio, sadly, but you do get a cassette deck, Bluetooth compatibility, a carry handle and built-in speakers. These are powered by two 32w amps for the woofers and two 20w amps for the tweeters, giving you a total power output of 104w.
We’re told that the GB-001 has a “top-of-the-line cassette deck mechanism” with a user-adjustable motor that includes internal speed regulation, and there’s a noise reduction circuit with Dolby B emulation. Type 1 and Type II (chrome) cassettes are supported - you can flip between these with a top-panel rotary switch.
It should also be noted that the GB-001 is capable of making stereo cassette recordings, so if you want to capture some of that old-school tape magic, you’re good to go. There are both line and mic inputs and adjustable recording levels; the VU meters will tell you when you’ve hit the sweet spot.
As you’d expect, the GB-001 can also function as a wireless Bluetooth speaker, and there are bass and treble controls so that you can adjust the tone. Power comes from a built-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery that’s user-replaceable: if playing through the speakers you can expect up to 10 hours of life in tape mode and 15 if you’re using an aux source; on headphones, these figures rise to 15 and 28 hours respectively.
A price for the GB-001 has yet to be confirmed but it’s expected that pre-orders will open in July. Find out more and sign up for updates on the We Are Rewind website.
