If you want to listen to your MP3s with a bit of nostalgia, or maybe you have a stack of CDs but are running out of devices to play them on, then the Keiid Boombox with VW Radio, Bluetooth, Wooden Cabinet, and More may just be your next desktop stereo cabinet, soundbar, and conversation piece. Let’s put it this way: when today we can fit more than a supercomputer’s worth of processing power in our pocket, advertising their 27.5" x 8" x 6.3" boombox that weighs about 20 pounds as “compact” only makes sense if you go back to the future of the 1980s.
In the box you get the boombox, remote control (with battery), 3.5mm-to-L/R RCA audio cable, power cord, test CD, and instruction manual. The boombox has a real wooden cabinet–I have the black finish, though there’s also a light wood finish version available. Inside the cabinet are six speakers and a Volkswagen car radio. On each side of the radio are one 4-inch mid-range speaker, one treble speaker, and one bass speaker.
The center of the boombox is a real VW car radio, retrofitted into boombox format–I suspect therefore this is a limited edition run. The knobs serve as power/volume and scroll/selection. The 5-inch display shows information such as track name, media mode, and even song lyrics if app supported. Just don’t expect 1080p video. On the radio there are also controls for play/pause/mute, track list, media mode, setup, FM/AM, and others. One important note about the FM/AM radio: the boombox comes with one of those telescoping antennas, just like in the 1980s, but to find a channel in FM you have to turn the knob to dial it in–there’s a bit of work involved–and the AM mode does not seem to work at all. The front of the radio has a CD input slot, as well as slots for USB and SD card. The boombox supports Siri with a built-in microphone and has a 3.5mm line-in jack.
The back of the unit has the power cord jack, on/off switch, antenna, and RCA inputs so you can, for example, attach the boombox to a TV to use it as a soundbar. It also supports Bluetooth, so you can wirelessly play your modern sound collection just as easily as your physical CDs. Actually, playing your music via Bluetooth is exceedingly convenient, since the unit had such a great range–I was able to play music standing more than 50’ away from the boombox, two rooms over (though I did have line-of-sight to the unit).
The setup menu has multiple options and configurations. For example, there’s a 3-band equalizer so you can customize your boombox sound, along with multiple presets, such as “rock,” “pop,” and “classical.” And the included test CD comes packed with nostalgia tunes from the Eagles, Kenny Rogers, Andy Williams, and other soft rock and pop crooners.
In general the sound quality is surprisingly good, even at volume. Placing the boombox in a corner really emphasized the bass. Also, sitting 50’ away the sound was not distorted. So it’s a car radio boombox in a wooden cabinet that takes up most of your desktop–we have ours in the corner of our bedroom. In any case, this stereo was more fun than I expected. Relive your faded love, oceans of violets in bloom, or being another brick in the wall.
- Pricing and Availability on Amazon: Keiid Boombox with VW Radio, Bluetooth, Wooden Cabinet, and More
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