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Boombox

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For the box set by No Doubt, see Boom Box (No Doubt box set). For the album by Armand Van Helden, see Ghettoblaster (album).
Shogo Tsuruoka shows off one of many vintage Boomboxes at "TurboSonic", Tokyo's only Boombox store.

A Boombox (or Boom-box) - also sometimes known as a Ghettoblaster - is a name given to portable stereo systems capable of playing radio stations and recorded music (usually cassettes and/or, since the early 1990's, CDs), at relatively high volume. As befits its portability, Boomboxes can be powered by batteries as well as by line current.

Origin

The first boom boxes were introduced by various companies in the late 1970s, when stereo capabilities were added to existing designs of radio-cassette recorder; more powerful and sophisticated models were subsequently introduced. However, they are often associated with 1980s phenomena such as breakdancing and hip hop culture, having been introduced into the mainstream consciousness through music videos, television and documentaries. It was during this time that the major manufacturers competed as to who could produced the biggest, loudest, clearest-sounding, bassiest, flashiest and/or most novel boomboxes.

Features

An assortment of early boomboxes.

Technically a Boombox is, at its simplest, two or more loud-speakers, an amplifier, a radio tuner, and a cassette or CD-player component, all housed in a single plastic, or metal, case. Most units can be powered by AC or DC cables, as well as batteries. Larger, more powerful units may require as many as 10 size-D batteries, or more.

Many boomboxes were quite heavy and large, and some high-end models had features and sound comparable to some home systems.

The most basic features included volume, tone and balance (Left/Right) controls. More sophisticated models had features such as dual cassette decks (often featuring high-speed dubbing), separate bass level control, five- or 10-band graphic equalizers, Dolby noise reduction, analog or LED sound level (VU) meters, larger speakers, 'soft-touch' tape deck controls, multiple shortwave (SW) band reception, burglar alarms, disco lights, mini keyboards, auto song search functions for cassettes, Line and/or Phono inputs and outputs, microphone inputs, loudness switches and detachable speakers. Some models even featured an integrated vinyl record player or a (typically black and white) television screen, although the basic radio/cassette models were by far the most popular.

A few of the most modern boomboxes have integrated (or removable) satellite radio tuners for services like XM or Sirius.

Some of the largest, most fully-featured boomboxes measured more than thirty inches in width, could weigh twenty or thirty pounds, and had more than two speakers.

"Ghettoblaster"

The synonym ghettoblaster or ghetto-blaster is a term that can be considered insulting or complimentary depending on the context. The word ghettoblaster originated in the U.S., apparently reflecting the belief that such systems are popular in poor inner-city neighborhoods (ghettos), especially those populated by black Americans, whether as a sign of economic power or simply to play some music or throw a party. 'Ghettoblaster' rather than 'Boom-Box' became the common term in the UK and Australia for large portable stereos, perhaps because the pejorative connotations were not as present or apparent in those countries.

The term usually carries a connotation of power and disregard of social rules, shown in the ability to blast music to overwhelm those around you, as portrayed in the film Do the Right Thing by director Spike Lee. Dispute over a ghettoblaster plays a central role in that movie's culminating riot.

The word is racially inflammatory in some circumstances but has also been embraced as a term of black, urban pride — and, like many such terms, has been adopted by parts of the non-black American community. It is used as the name of at least one magazine and one recording company, and is also a popular stereotype element typically associated with funk, hip-hop and rap, African American culture, 1970s and 1980s culture, breakdancing and even racist jokes.

In relation to the derogatory US term "ghettoblaster" and its connotations, the urban United Kingdom has the even more unfavourable term, "wog box", which has long since fallen from favour in social discourse. Another term popular in the UK was "Brixton briefcase", which referred to the suburb of south London, and is another example of these devices being associated with a predominantly black inner-city neighbourhood.

The "Ghettoblaster" is also the name of an apparently alcoholic beverage that appears in an episode of the Professor Brothers web cartoon by Brad Neely. It consists of what appears to be whisky and lemon-lime soft drink.

In the James Bond film The Living Daylights, during the customary trip into Q's workshop, loud music is heard emanating from a large portable stereo carried on the shoulder of a passing technician. A missile then fires from the end of the stereo at a human dummy target, which is destroyed by the resulting explosion. Q turns to Bond and says, "It's something we're developing for the Americans. It's called a ghettoblaster."

The town of Willimantic, Connecticut has started a popular tradition called the "Boom Box Parade." No "real" bands are allowed. Participants and spectators are urged to bring radios (boom boxes), tuned to local radio station WILI (1400-AM). It is the largest parade of its kind in the world.

The Transformers toys featured a boombox robot. The Autobot Blaster transforms from a robot into a red and yellow boombox. He also has an array of cassettes which eject from his chest compartment and transform into helper robots.

Notable models and brands

Some notable brands and models from the early to mid-1980's include:

Other manufacturers also worth mentioning include Toshiba, Pioneer, GE, Magnavox, Sony, and Yamaha.

Aesthetics

The popularity of large portable stereos declined in the early 1990s, and few models are currently manufactured. The rectangular, angular, chrome aesthetic of many 1980s models were replaced with black plastic in the 1990s, and modern designs are dominated by curves instead of right angles. The designs of older models are a source of much interest amongst enthusiasts and collectors.

Compressed digital audio and the future of boomboxes

Sony boombox circa 2005

Even though many boomboxes had dual cassette decks and included dubbing, line, and radio recording capabilities, the rise of recordable CDs first and of high-density MP3 players later have further reduced their popularity to such an extent that it's difficult to find a new dual-decked boombox.

While modern boomboxes include a CD player compatible with CD-R and CD-RW, which allows the user to carry his own music compilations on a higher fidelity medium, most boomboxes still lack direct support for MP3 or other similar compressed digital audio formats such as AAC, Ogg Vorbis, and WMA.

The simplest way to connect an older boombox to an MP3 player is to use a cassette adapter, which interfaces an MP3 player's output directly to the cassette player's heads. The 'Line In' (also known as 'Aux In') can be used if the boombox has one.

Some modern boombox designs provide other connections for MP3 (and sometimes other digital formats) such as a USB connector for use with a removable USB drive, slots for various flash memory media such as Sony Memory Stick, SmartMedia, MMC and SD, or even a CD drive capable of reading MP3s directly from a CD, thus allowing for a relatively cheap and large music storage to be carried and played back at full volume.

  • Functional Soundsystem in Tokyo made out of fourteen Sharp GF-909's
    Functional Soundsystem in Tokyo made out of fourteen Sharp GF-909's
  • The extremely rare "Robo Disco" Boombox, made famous by Afrika Bambaataa
    The extremely rare "Robo Disco" Boombox, made famous by Afrika Bambaataa

References


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