resigned Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Seems like i'm stuck in a time warp... I find myself needing an old-fashioned boombox for practicing and general use. I'd like it to have 10+ watts, decent sound, CD/CD-R/MP3 capability at minimum. Nice options would be line-in aux input, iPod compatibility/charging, tone controls, flash drive compatibility. I don't need Bluetooth but I'll take it if it has it. Would take DV player and a remote control also but that's not the main things I need. Prefer a legit brand name - there is a lot of trash out there. Price goal is not more than $250 but would splurge if the cause was just. I've already ruled out the Bose Wave. Now here's the thing: i have already found the perfect boombox: the JVC Kaboom RV-NB70 , but I can't find one for sale. Seems like it' s been discontinued. Too bad because it allows you to plug in an instrument and play along with tracks.... that's something many boomboxes don't do. Ideas? Suggestions? I am especially interested in hearing about a boombox that you currently use. Or am I the last boombox musician in the 21st century? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesG Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 I use powered speakers now, since they are already at hand. If you want to be super fancy, you can hook an Airport Express to your keyboard amp or whatever, the wirelessly stream your iTunes or iPod music to it. I sometimes also use an old 5 disc CD player because I can seek easier... Although there are practice products for iPod which are even better. Hammond: L111, M100, M3, BC, CV, Franken CV, A100, D152, C3, B3 Leslie: 710, 760, 51C, 147, 145, 122, 22H, 31H Yamaha: CP4, DGX-620, DX7II-FD-E!, PF85, DX9 Roland: VR-09, RD-800 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Beaumont Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 These are quite handy: Beats Pill Boards: Kurzweil SP-6, Roland FA-08, VR-09, DeepMind 12 Modules: Korg Radias, Roland D-05, Bk7-m & Sonic Cell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resigned Posted November 3, 2013 Author Share Posted November 3, 2013 Obviously I can wire together devices from my studio all day long that would give me what I need, but that's not what I am asking. A boombox would be handy at band practice where people show up with different media, handy for listening on my back porch where I have no audio devices or speakers now, handy on a picnic, handy for just recreational use where I don't feel like dragging out my EON's, media players and wiring. I've owned several over the years but they all died somewhere along the way. I'll find what I want eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resigned Posted November 3, 2013 Author Share Posted November 3, 2013 These are quite handy: Beats Pill Again, I need something with a CD-R player. People still show up for practice with commercial and home made CD's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 No ideas here. We show up to practice with everything on the iPad. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgiles Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Jim, this should be 95% perfect. You can plug a $20 CD player into it and it'll handle everything else. http://www.costco.com/Block-Rocker-Bluetooth-Speaker-System.product.100056580.html BTW, are you still in Kennesaw? There's a Costco there I believe. I'm in Woodstock. chas Legend Exp,NC2x,Crumar Seven,KeyB Duo MK111,Nord C1,Nord C2D,Triton Classic,Fantom G7,Motif ES,SonicCell,BK7m,PA1x pro,VP770,TC Helicon,Leslie 3300,MS Pro145,EV SXA250(2),Traynor K4,PK7a,A70,DM10 Pro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DulceLabs.com Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 I am especially interested in hearing about a boombox that you currently use. http://www.beigerecords.com/media/images/fashion/casio.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resigned Posted November 3, 2013 Author Share Posted November 3, 2013 Jim, this should be 95% perfect. You can plug a $20 CD player into it and it'll handle everything else. http://www.costco.com/Block-Rocker-Bluetooth-Speaker-System.product.100056580.html BTW, are you still in Kennesaw? There's a Costco there I believe. I'm in Woodstock. chas Hi Chas... yes I live in Kennesaw. I'm just not interested in a powered speaker, even if it will do everything including waxing my car and fixing my lawn mower. I might as well buy a $20 boombox and run it through the PA. I was hoping for a nice all-in-one boombox with some power and multimedia capability but again, in a Bluetooth-everything world I may be asking too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Stranger Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 For a decent sound in a portable unit check out the JVC Kaboom series. Depending on the model, some have line inputs and play CDRWs and MP3s as well as featuring hookups for iPods. PCLinuxOS user Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opdigits Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Have you considered one of the "trainer" devices like this Tascam? A couple of cables and you can connect out to any PA/stereo/amp combo, and in from an iPod, etc. Plus it has pause and flashback and FF/Rewind and loop functionality, always great for rehearsal practice/purposes. There is this Sony. Nobody told me there'd be days like these... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawback Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4205489 ? ____________________________________ Rod Here for the gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resigned Posted November 3, 2013 Author Share Posted November 3, 2013 For a decent sound in a portable unit check out the JVC Kaboom series. Depending on the model, some have line inputs and play CDRWs and MP3s as well as featuring hookups for iPods. As i said in my first post, the JVC Kaboom, especially the RV-NB70 is the perfect boombox for my needs. There's even a Bluetooth model, the RV-NB90... But I can't find anyone that is selling them! May be discontinued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawback Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Okay, okay. We'll hold your hand one more time. http://reno.craigslist.org/ele/4167715746.html ____________________________________ Rod Here for the gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Stranger Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 As i said in my first post, the JVC Kaboom, especially the RV-NB70 is the perfect boombox for my needs. There's even a Bluetooth model, the RV-NB90... But I can't find anyone that is selling them! May be discontinued. I am pretty sure the ones in the link I posted are available even if the one in your original post may not be. I just don't know which stores carry them unfortunately. PCLinuxOS user Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bif_ Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 For a decent sound in a portable unit check out the JVC Kaboom series. Depending on the model, some have line inputs and play CDRWs and MP3s as well as featuring hookups for iPods. As i said in my first post, the JVC Kaboom, especially the RV-NB70 is the perfect boombox for my needs. There's even a Bluetooth model, the RV-NB90... But I can't find anyone that is selling them! May be discontinued. RVNB70 available on amazon for $259. Kurzweil Forte, Yamaha Motif ES7, Muse Receptor 2 Pro Max, Neo Ventilator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resigned Posted November 3, 2013 Author Share Posted November 3, 2013 For a decent sound in a portable unit check out the JVC Kaboom series. Depending on the model, some have line inputs and play CDRWs and MP3s as well as featuring hookups for iPods. As i said in my first post, the JVC Kaboom, especially the RV-NB70 is the perfect boombox for my needs. There's even a Bluetooth model, the RV-NB90... But I can't find anyone that is selling them! May be discontinued. RVNB70 available on amazon for $259. That $259 unit on Amazon is for a used or open box/returned unit that may or may not be "blemished". I'd rather invest in a new unit, but thanks for playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABECK Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Bose Soundlink Mini. Bluetooth, but has an aux in. I absolutely love mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Stranger Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Bose Soundlink Mini. Bluetooth, but has an aux in. I absolutely love mine. I wonder how it compares price wise and sound quality wise with Panasonic, Sony and JVC. After auditioning many boomboxes in the last several years I find JVC and Panasonic are better quality and better value than the Bose offerings. PCLinuxOS user Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icarusi Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Bose Soundlink Mini. Bluetooth, but has an aux in. I absolutely love mine. Was thinking of that too! I know Bose can get much base from small boxes, but that's black magic. I have a couple of vibration speakers which sound similar, http://www.awd-it.co.uk/images/detailed/5/resonance3-photo1.jpg but they need to be placed on a larger surface to sound that good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resigned Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 http://resources.jvc.com/Images/02/77/27777.JPG I found what I was looking for: the JVC Kaboom RV-NB70B. They are hard to find but I managed to score a new one locally. What makes the Kaboom series especially cool is that you can plug in an instrument and play along to backing tracks from iPod, flash or CD. That makes it great for practice and maybe even small gigs. Thanks for all the discussion and advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bif_ Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Sounds interesting. What did you have to pay for it? Kurzweil Forte, Yamaha Motif ES7, Muse Receptor 2 Pro Max, Neo Ventilator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resigned Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 $215 new in box. I'll try it out over the next day or two with my keys and post my thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Clark Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 I still have my original Kaboom, although the cassette door broke off. I use it more as a practice amp these days. I don't even think the CD player works. But it is great. Soul, R&B, Pop from Los Angeles http://philipclark.com Cannonball Gerald Albright Signature Alto, Yamaha YC73, Fender Rhodes, Roland Juno-106, Yamaha MX61, Roland VR-09, MicroKorg XL, Maschine Mikro, Yamaha Reface CP, Roland MKS-50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resigned Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 I've spent a couple of days trying out the JVC Kaboom RV-NB70B and found that it has strengths and weaknesses. It sounds good when playing back media via the CD, iPod etc. and has power and bass to spare (it's LOUD) but it sorely lacks EQ control. It has presets for Pop, Beats, Flat etc. which helps, and at least it has a volume control for the subwoofers. The guitar/mic input is cheezy. It's noisy, it buzzes, and it sounds like crap... definitely an after-thought. The Aux input sounds better but my keys plugged directly into it sound muffled and lifeless. This might work better if you use a small submixer as a keyboard preamp. It works well enough for plugging a keyboard in and and practicing with music (very few boomboxes do this) but I was hoping it might be good enough for playing an intimate gig with backing tracks or the like... it's not really up to the job. Verdict: a knockout for a party boombox. Great for band rehearsal - no trouble hearing the bass lines. Good dorm shelf stereo if you aren't overly critical. As far as using it as a keyboard amp - it sucks but may work in a pinch. Yeah it's a musician's boombox but barely - I will keep in in my practice studio. Better to say it's a boombox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana. Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Around here, we call them ghetto blasters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 http://planetill.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/radio_raheem-radio.jpg "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana. Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 http://planetill.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/radio_raheem-radio.jpg Exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthoid Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Around here, we call them ghetto blasters. [video:youtube] When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana. Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Around here, we call them ghetto blasters. [video:youtube] (though I prefer License to Kill) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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