Boombox

At CES Unveiled, we had the chance to sit down with Etón, a company that builds products for entertainment and safety that can rely on hand cranks or solar power to keep them running. In addition to the FRX series and the Rukus and Rukus Solar it was also spruiking at last year's show, the company is displaying its new ZoneGuard series alongside a couple of additions to its Rukus line and the new BoostSolar Mobile Charging Solution.  Read More

TDK chose IFA 2012 to showcase the next step in the evolution of its Life on Record range of audio products. The new Boombox and Sound Cube models include Bluetooth technology for wireless audio streaming from mobile devices, and have been joined by a weatherproofed portable speaker.  Read More

I would hazard a guess that most readers haven't given very much thought to what happens to trusted and faithful luggage when it's retired from frequent use. If they're not exiled to the basement for storage of odds and ends, old suitcases could very well end up just being dumped in the trash. If they're lucky though, brothers Ezra and Alex Cimino-Hurt might get hold of them for conversion into stylish and powerful Case of Bass boomboxes.  Read More

Liquipel nanocoating may well keep moisture from damaging the inner workings of mobile devices but if you're looking to share your tunes with friends at the beach or pool, you need something with a bit more output than the resident speakers. Grace Digital has just announced the release of a fully waterproof boombox for smartphones or digital music players that was first seen as a limited preview at CES 2011. The Eco Terra Boombox is fully submersible, waterproof and shock resistant, and can even keep cash and valuables safe and secure as it pumps out the music while bobbing on the surface of the water.  Read More

The House of Marley recently celebrated a certain Reggae legend's birthday with the release of the Bag of Rhythm portable stereo speaker system. Topped by a solid piece of FSC-certified Birch wood and coming in its own durable cotton canvas bag, the device can output 32 watts of sonic power through two 1-inch tweeters and two 4.5-inch woofers, and features an iPod/iPhone dock that can charge while playing.  Read More

Music lovers wanting to listen to digital music files on the move are pretty much spoiled for choice these days, whether keeping things personal with players like the Cowon C2 I reviewed earlier in the month, or sharing with friends using something like the FoxL v2 wireless loudspeaker. If commercial designs don't really appeal, though, there is another route - you could always build your own. Matt Keeter's Fab Boombox is just such a device, designed and built for a final class project and featuring laser-cut, snap-together panels housing stereo speakers (said to be loud in a quiet room and quiet in a noisy room), a custom main control board with an MP3 decoder and a 9V battery power source. Digital music is fed into the player via an SD card slot, with the user controlling playback on a touch-sensitive interface.  Read More

TDK has announced the release of its Life on Record range. The new line of premium audio gear includes two- and three-speaker Boomboxes and a 360-degree Sound Cube. Each member of the line-up mixes retro styling with modern functionality, and even allows users to plug in an electric guitar or microphone for some play/sing-along fun.  Read More

For millions of commuters around the world, motorcycles are a compact and cheap way of getting around town in congested traffic. The Victory Vision is the absolute opposite - there's only been a handful of production bikes ever made that are bigger and heavier than this 400-kilogram, 1740cc American behemoth. It's built to eat up thousands of open-road miles with Harley-beating performance and buttock-coddling luxury - but in a surprise twist, this retro-futuristic mammoth can actually handle surprisingly well to boot. Loz Blain discovers how 10 days on one of the top five heaviest production bikes ever built can change your perspective on motorcycling in our video road test.  Read More

Get one of these and become the life of the party, that seems to be the message from Altec Lansing with the launch of its new MIX (iMT800) digital boombox for party-goers and ‘unofficial DJ’s’. The MIX lets users connect three music players at once through its inputs – a 30-pin dock connector for the iPhone and iPod and also two front-facing 3.5mm jacks. No more plugging and unplugging devices during songs or arguments over whose music is on next. The unit has a built-in subwoofer, a seven-band graphic equalizer, FM radio and heavy-duty carry handles to enable you to take the MIX from party to party. There’s also a remote control with clip-on carabiner.  Read More