The boombox is back in the form of the We Are Rewind GB-001, a modernt take of the stereo cassette boombox but with extra features like Bluetooth and a karaoke function.

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There’s an old saying that good ideas never go out of fashion but is that strictly true? Those boombox cassette players that many of us carried around in the 1980s eventually went out of fashion. They were eclipsed first by the Sony Walkman and then by Apple’s iPod, but now the boombox is back in the form of this French-designed We Are Rewind GB-001; a boombox with a little extra.

Sporting a retro look and incorporating the latest tech, this new boombox could spell a revival for the cassette tape in the same way vinyl has enjoyed a new lease of life with a new generation of music lovers. The We Are Rewind GB-001 boombox follows on from the global smash of the company’s original WE-001 portable cassette player. A Walkman for the 2020s.

Currently, cassette tape sales have been experiencing a revival. Sales have risen over 400% over the last decade. Okay, so that’s starting from a fairly low bar, but the cassette tape is enjoying something of a resurgence and well it might. The Compact Cassette — to give it its proper name — was introduced in 1963 and invented by Dutch electronics giant Philips and the format enjoyed massive success.

The We Are Rewind GB-001 boombox has two woofers and two soft dowm tweeters and a total output of 104W.

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The Most Popular Format

From the early 1980s until the early 1990s, cassette tapes were the most popular audio format and almost every car was fitted with a cassette player. The format is capable of excellent audio playback and high-end electronic brands like Nakamichi sold Dragon cassette decks costing thousands of dollars.

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A well-mastered cassette can sound excellent and be almost indistinguishable from a CD but with a warm analog tone. So, if you’ve been hankering after a way to play those old cassettes under the bed, this boombox could be a way to show your kids just how you used to listen to music when you were there age.

The We Are Rewind GB-001 isn’t just a cassette player for recording mix tapes; it also delivers a fulsome sound with a wide stereo soundstage, thanks to separate left and right channels playing through separate woofers and tweeters. Some of the cassette players still on the market may look like they have two speakers and are capable of stereo reproduction, but they are actually mono devices. There aren’t many serious cassette players left on the market.

The GB-001 has four loudspeakers consisting of two woofers which have an extended bass response and there are a couple of soft dome tweeters which play the treble frequencies. The boombox has a built-in amplifier has an impressive 104W of total output.

There’s a few old-school vibes with the We Are Rewind GB-001 boombox including two illuminated analog VU meters.

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Proper Stereo Signal

Power is nothing without control so We Are Rewind has included special features like dynamic power control to reduce distortion, refined equalization for a natural sound signature and a spatialization function for a wider and more immersive stereo image.

This boombox is built around a top-of-the-range cassette mechanism, complete with a user-adjustable motor with internal speed regulation. When it comes to recording and playing tapes, the GB-001 supports both Type I and Type II (chrome) cassettes with optimized biasing. To ensure recordings are low noise and have the best possible frequency response, the player has an active AC erasing head.

The GB-001 includes two backlit analog VU meters for monitoring the recording levels and they also look super cool. There’s even a microphone input with an adjustable level for creating live recordings. This is a reimagination of those iconic 1980s boomboxes but with a sleek neo-retro design.

There are plenty of manual controls on the We Are Rewind GB-001 just like a 1980s boombox.

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Bluetooth Included

Beneath the GB-001’s retro appearance, there is some up-to-date technology, including a Bluetooth 5.4 receiver so you can stream music to the boombox from a smartphone, tablet or computer. There is also an onboard rechargeable battery that can be easily replaced if necessary.

Users can connect almost any audio source to the boombox and use it as a speaker to listen to favorite tunes via a 3.5mm aux input, which can be used to play music form an analog source like a vinyl turntable or an FM radio. There is a full range of controls for functions like Bluetooth pairing button, power on, tape-type selector, bass, treble and balance.

Finally, the GB-001 has a built-in microphone input, which can also be used to plug in an electric guitar, so it works just like a portable amplifier. Finally, there’s a dual wireless microphone system that lets you create your very own karaoke or rap battles.

Pricing and Availability:

The We Are Rewind GB-001 Cassette Boombox is available now from We Are Rewind and is priced at $579 / £379 / €449.

The We Are Rewind GB-001 is a modern take on the 1980s boombox but with a few extras like Bluetooth and inputs for mics or guitar.

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