Awesome Boomboxes

The smallest of JBL’s Partybox speakers still kicks out some impressive volume. It offers 100 watts of amplification, excellent sound quality, and thumping bass. Its built-in LED RGB lighting syncs up with the beat of your music, and you can connect two for stereo sound. It runs for 6 hours per charge and is IPX4 splashproof.

London-based candle maker CENT.LDN painstakingly handcrafts these detailed boombox replicas in candle form. The candle is modeled on the iconic JVC RC M90 boombox, featured on LL Cool J’s Radio album cover as well as by the Beastie Boys. It measures appx. 11″ w x 5.5″ h x 2.6″ d and features a triple wick design.

Techmoan is always digging up examples of strange old-school tech, and this episode does not disappoint. What you’re looking at is a wonderful specimen of cassette futurism. Sony’s Chordmachine is a 1982 device that combines a boombox with a synthesizer that plays chords and rhythms and records sounds to tape.

Techmoan takes a look at one of the stranger boomboxes ever made, the Mitsubishi TX-L50. At first glance, it’s a perfectly ordinary-looking boombox, but this one has a mechanism that lets it play both sides of up to five cassettes for up to 10 hours of continuous music when used with 120-minute tapes.

Inspired by 1980s boomboxes, but updated with modern audio tech, the Flare6 cranks out 150-watts of power via its three speakers. It offers 12 hours of wireless playtime, and has a 1/4″ microphone input, SD and USB ports for playing MP3 files, and five EQ settings. For even more power, check out the 200-watt Flare 8.

New Wave Toys expands their lineup of retro-inspired miniatures with a pair of detailed, working boomboxes. The M90 Mini is about 40% of the size of its muse, with dual 2.5″ speakers and 16w of amplification, while the teensy M90 Micro is a 1/6th scale replica that looks perfect alongside Replicade arcade machines.

This ridiculously powerful boombox cranks out up to 1000 watts of power via its two 4″ tweeters and four 8″ woofers, for seriously banging bass. It’s got built-in Bluetooth connectivity, runs for up to 12h per charge, and doubles as a guitar amp. Our favorite style is the graffiti pattern.

We love the retro ’80s looks of ION’s boombox, which pumps out big sounds from its dual full-range speakers. In addition to playing and recording cassette tapes, it can stream music via Bluetooth, and archive cassettes to a USB stick. Available now at Best Buy.

Maker Laura Kampf teamed up with her friend Patrick, whose audio expertise helped her build an earthshaking sound system for the back of her 3-wheeler. The battery-powered audio system has six full-range speakers and a giant subwoofer. She should have named it “Boomtrike” though.

Celebrate the sounds of the 1980s every time you sit down to eat lunch, with Toynk’s playful tin lunchbox that looks like a squatty little boombox. It’s got lots of neat little details, like embossed speaker grilles, VU meters, and faux inputs on the side. We suggest keeping a small Bluetooth speaker inside for added effect.

Techmoan dug up another relic of unusual tech from the 1980s, a boombox from Japanese electronics company National that sported not one or two tape decks, but three. It’s basically the “this one goes to 11” of cassette players. Also, once he cracked it open to perform some repairs, he discovered a mechanical nightmare.

An oversize tribute to the classic boombox. It cranks out 440 watts of power, and supports Bluetooth, 3.5mm, guitar, microphone, MicroSD and USB audio sources. Measures a whopping 35.5″ across and weighs 26 lb, including its built-in rechargeable battery.

It looks like the creators of this throwback boombox just dusted off plans from an old ’80s model. But this one has one big difference. In addition to its AM/FM/shortwave radio and cassette player, it can convert your old mixtapes to MP3s via SD card or flash drive.

Pyle just took wraps off what could the baddest Bluetooth speaker ever. This beast blasts out an impressive 1,000 watts of power to turn any space into an instant dance party. Supports NFC pairing, and has an FM tuner and 3.5mm input. Plays for up to 5.5h on battery power.

A wooden blaster with a modern spin. Instead of cassette tapes, you can swap mods such as a USB port or a Bluetooth receiver. It has two 5.25″ woofers, two 1/2″ tweeters and a 50W amp.

Made of recyclable cardboard, the boldly graphic Berlin Boombox is a DIY portable speaker with stereo amp that’ll be easy to carry while you bump your tunes around town. Just don’t get it wet.

Take your tunes traveling and start a party virtually anywhere with the Eco Terra, an mp3 player case with built-in speakers. It’s waterproof and will always float right side up when in water.

A limited edition of the successor to the TRC-931 boombox, the I931X Gold has an iPod dock, USB, SSD/MMC, auxiliary and headphone/microphone inputs, AM/FM radio and alarm clock.

You’ll be jammin’ with House of Marley’s reggae-inspired boombox with dual 1″ tweeters, a pair of 4.5″ woofers, and a built-in iPhone/iPod dock. Made from birch and canvas. Out this February.

You won’t miss this bag rolling off the luggage belt at the airport. With a durable impact resistant shell, racing wheels and a TSA compliant lock, it’s ready to (rock and) roll. Measures appx. 21″ x 14″ x 8″.

Not as sexy as TDK’s boombox, but not as pricey either. The iMT810 has a 5.25in subwoofer, FM radio, two AUX in jacks, and can run on AC or eight D batteries. Dock works with iPods and iPhones.

Liked the looks of TDK’s retro-mod boombox? Their Sound Cube is equally cool, with dual 5-1/4″ coax drivers and two passive reflectors on the sides, filling rooms with sound from the inside out.

TDK will release two sweet retro-futuristic blasters in 2011. Both speakers have USB, 3.5mm and RCA ports, touch-sensitive buttons and analog knobs. In addition, the three speaker model has a subwoofer.