aiwa Retro Boombox CD Player with Cassette Recording, Bluetooth 5.0, FM/AM Radio, USB/SD/AUX Inputs, VU Meters, LCD Display, Dual 40W Speakers - Yellow

So 'I've been looking for a decent "real" boombox for a while now. What I mean is, not a Bluetooth speaker. My Aiwa CSD-EL33 quit working some time ago. I've had it since 1999. I took it apart and tried to repair it but it is possessed. I don't know if the caps went bad or if a chip got corrupted. It doesn't respond to the buttons most times, or it does something entirely different. Plus the cassette belts dissolved. I may give up on it. In the meantime while finding out that there are no real brand name boomboxes anymore, I found this. I know this Awia is not the same as old school Aiwa, just the name that some Chinese corporation bought who also makes toasters, but I thought just maybe it would be decent enough. We'll, let me tell you, it is! The only thing that disappoints me is the tape deck. Like all, and I do mean ALL, cassette tape decks in 2025. It's a piece of trash, and the makers should be ashamed of themselves. I could write another thousand words about the awesome technology and quality of tape decks we had back in the 80's and 90's, but it won't change the fact that NONE of them are being made anymore. Just this ONE mechanism in EVERY cassette player made now with its cheap play head and it's permanent erase magnet for recording. It is truly an abomination compared to what we once had, to what is in my 1999 Aiwa CSD-EL33! The tape playback is tolerable and is in stereo, but recording to tape is a nogo. The Aiwa backtrack weighs in at 17.8 lbs with 8 alkaline D cell batteries installed. Its kinda heavy, and its kinda big. It doesn't fit in the front seat of my 1987 Suzuki Samurai big. Which is GOOD! And it sounds good too! Excellent actually. (Except for that tape recording thing) And it's LOUD! On volume 25 with treble set at 4, Bass at 4, and bass boost off from 10 feet away listening to Geddy Lee lament about FM radio on our local FM radio station (Rush-The Spirit of Radio) my free app sound meter on my phone measured 80db. 84db from 5 feet, and 90db right in front of the speaker. Same results from Bono singing In The Name of Love with more noticeable bass of course. That's loud enough for me. The volume knob goes all the way to 32 and still sounds good with no noticeable distortion. The sound is very good, and the bass has an impressive kick for a plastic boombox, a much better frequency response than any medium sized 80's or 90's equivalent that I can remember. The tuner is clear and consice. It tunes in stations very well and 'STEREO' appears on the display when tuned to a stereo station. It also plays in stereo. There is a distinct Left and Right separation and the VU meters coorespond to this as noted by playing Spaced Age Love Song by Flock of Seagulls. CDs sound great also, as does Bluetooth pairing, but the loudest volume I've experience comes from a well tuned in radio station. I have not messed with the SD card or memory stick functions yet. When I do I'll update this review. The microphone inputs work great. The echo effect will make anyone sound like a monster truck event announcer. SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY! A bit of advice if you're going to sing along. Use Bluetooth pairing and the volume from your paired device/phone to adjust music volume while the mic volumes and main volume (I turn the main volume all the way up) can be used for your voice. Otherwise the music will drown out, you. If you are looking for a 'real' boombox. One with a cassette player, CD player, and radio like in the olden days that actually works, and sounds good. Go ahead and buy it. It works pretty good and has the added benefit of Bluetooth plus the SD stuff. Yes its 250 bucks, and while I think its expensive for what it is, so are my groceries! Look at it this way. For the price of half a basket of food you get a rad boombox that will impress the chics, and it won't end up in the toilet in a week. I'll update this review for longevity from time to time.

El sonido es perfecto. Reproduce muy bien tanto CDs como cassettes. La radio también tiene muy buen agarre. Vale toda la pena del mundo.

Me encantó

This reminds me allot of the Sharp Sharp GF-575Z from back in the days. I am not going to sit there and bash this boom box for not being exactly like an 80's boom box , because I feel that for a company to go through the trouble and manufacture a product like this with modern tech is awesome. There is no one making the old-school cassette mechanisms like those of yesterday year. But remembering how I used to record cassettes from the FM radio using cassettes that fit my budget, yeah those Maxwell UR series tapes or even cheaper no name tapes back then. Man this sounds great when playing tapes that I recorded using higher quality equipment then playing it back on this AIWA. Thankfully I have not had any of the issues others have mentioned in their reviews with my copy and I have been putting this boombox though its paces. CD plays with no issues and sounds pretty decent. The cassette player sound pretty decent depending on the quality of the recording and tape. There are sometimes I noticed the wow and flutter minute speed differences (If one pays really close attention.) But hey. Did we really pay attention to that as kids walking our boxes on the streets? Not this guy........ FM radio receives station very well in my area AM stations came in as well but in my area there is allot of interference on that band , this is not the fault of the radio but my are. USB and SD card recored lengthy audio mixes from my computer and had no issues. It does how ever only seem to record MP3s at 128Kbps so there is a noticeable difference from the original when paying close attention but again at a party or walking the streets who will really notice. Build Quality: To me I think they nailed it, styling and feel just like those budget friendly boom boxes of yesterday year. It is not an M90! lol but looks just like a modern take of a SHARP GF-575-Z and that was nice radio for its time. Volume: I compare it to some boomboxes of the 80's it gets loud but it will never compare to a modern BIG USB speaker with plenty of power. It depends on where you are actually , indoors it has nice volume, outdoors its like a typical boombox of the 80's. (AGAIN not comparing to those boat anchor class boom boxes) :-) Taking 8-D Cell 12V boxes of the past. Over all I love it. I would definitely recommend just keep in mind , it will never be the early 80's again.. :-)

It’s costly, but ROCKS OUT! It’s HUGE & gorgeous & blasts out my tunes. Easy to use, sounds divine & so glad I bought it. Just make sure you’ve got a table large enough (mine is not). Retro look meets new audio technology. Chef’s Kiss!