Cassettes are so fun and highly durable! I still play my old mixtapes and prefer them over streaming media.
@Ryan96se
4 жыл бұрын
I have the ION also. My feelings are the exact same. I have most all of the heavy hitters when it comes to vintage boom boxes (JVC M90/M70 - Conion C100 - Panasonic RX-7000, etc.) but I do not take them anywhere where there are folks that do not have knowledge, appreciation, respect or even know what they're looking at. Your average person is usually ignorant when it comes to the value of a true collectors icon boom box. They'll set a beer on top of your M90 and not think anything about it as if its a 25 dollar item. That is where this little ION shines.
@claudiaalejandrapradinesfa7388
3 жыл бұрын
4
@SantiagoTwelvePack
4 жыл бұрын
Most thorough review I’ve seen on this. Sounds like a good product for working outdoors or BBQs at the beach.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
Thanks! I try. :)
@soesterbergblue
4 жыл бұрын
I just bought one of these today based on your review. I have to say, so far it suits my needs just fine. It allows me to play my cassettes and brings back fond memories of my early 80s days. It's definitely not comparable to my old JVC boombox but, for 69 dollars it's a good value. I appreciate your detailed review.
@Fidelis94
4 жыл бұрын
Thanks for bringing in another Boombox review, it's interesting to know how these cheap new boomboxes perform. To me the cassette part sounds fine, the only thing you can very clearly notice is the speed difference between the Box and your tape deck. That's really a shame for a boombox that actually sounds good, or at least better than the ones Techmoan has reviewed through the years :)
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
Yeah. Thankfully for a tapehead like myself, I can probably "fix" the speed issue pretty easily if I wanted to.
@bongonoise
4 жыл бұрын
"If you were that critical you wouldn't be using Bluetooth in the first place" Great line! Laughed out loud.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
Too many elitists out there need to hear that, lol.
I bought one of these boombox deluxes. I LOVE IT SO MUCH, that I bought ANOTHER one! I posted my thoughts about it on youtube as well. Best Buy still have a load of these for sale. And they are still $69
@DriveInFreak
4 жыл бұрын
Thank you so very much for posting this. I picked up the model without the battery pack (already had rechargeable D cells), and I love the thing. Alright, so it's far from perfect (it's as wimpy as the boxes from back in the day that ran on just 6 Ds, and the AM out of the box is a bit deaf), but it's so much fun that it's become by go to. The tape speed was slow out of the box, but that's an easy adjustment as there's access to the control under the ION metal sticker on the back. The AM improves greatly with a longer ferrite rod (it's as simple as sliding the coil off of the short one, sliding it back onto a longer one, finding the sweet spot (by sliding it back and forth) on a weak station around 600, and gluing the rod down). After putting in 8 inch rod it went from almost deaf to much, much better than average. Next we mod the VU meters to read the center of the volume pot, so they'll actually do something more than take up space..lol The little box is just too much fun for me not to mod it a bit. Thanks again. If it wasn't for you video I wouldn't have bothered with one, and I'm really happy that I did. Oh...and yea, yea yea...fake tweeters. It's not like they're really needed with this one, anyway. If anything; real ones would probably make it too "bright", if not shrill.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
I'm glad you found my video helpful! I'm also still enjoying mine! It's not the best sounding, but good enough to haul around to enjoy and not sorry about damaging something actually vintage. :)
@DriveInFreak
4 жыл бұрын
@@TechieZeddie BINGO! I wouln't be upset if I dropped it in a lake, or someone stole it...though I'd be uptight at loosing the 8" ferrite rod...lol
@8bitesquivel349
4 жыл бұрын
I recently picked one up from Best Buy. Initially, I had to exchange it because the first unit was squeaking loudly. No issues since. I love it. Cassettes made me appreciate music all over again :)
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
I guess some squeak and some don't. Sounds like they need to up their QA game. I'm glad the second unit works great. I had the exact same experience as you probably already know. Happy to hear you're enjoying the boombox!
@mico5654
4 жыл бұрын
Hey bro how did you buy? Im from philippines i dont know how to buy it for best buy...
@sting64az
4 жыл бұрын
Just finished viewing and nicely done..At this point I get a better perspective on what its strength and weakness...I didn't expect too many expectations being the brand ION and my first time ever buying anything with that name....I'm like you about my vintage boomboxes or vintage radios I have..I rarely take them out of my house exception when i'm out chilling in the front or backyard alone or with a friend...This one I would take out to the parks and public events just to show it off and play music...At night it will be on my night stand to play some tunes..I was thinking the "bass" boost was like a "loudness" button to use at low volumes just like some vintage receivers had to play at night at low volumes that gave you a boost bass/treble as I remember...Well gonna have to wait till Christmas morning to enjoy it...Keep up the great reviews and discussions on your videos...
@bongonoise
4 жыл бұрын
Thanks very much for doing this review. I have one coming as a Christmas gift. There is a niche for this machine for sure. Back in the heyday of Boomboxes, I would venture to say that most of them were used by average working people, even those that had high end gear too. Although they have a reputation for being used on the streets of inner cities, most people that had them were just average working people. Boomboxes were ubiquitous in all types of workshops, places of business and bedrooms that lacked large stereos systems. Mine will go out to my workshop and anywhere else I want cassettes with me. Heck if I want to be "Critical", I'll go to my music room. Great job. Thanks for opening the unit up and sharing your thoughts at the end.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
You already know you're getting one for Christmas? Been a good boy, have we? Lol. Yeah, see this is what I mean. It's still a good purchase over real vintage equipment when you want to take it into the real world where it can get banged up, dusty, cruddy. Maybe we use to treat 1980s stuff like that...sure...in 1980-90. These days, those boomboxes have sentimental or financial value. We're not going to want to take it to the workshop.
@MajesG
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for the detailed review. I could not find enough info on the digital record feature, you have answered all my questions :)
@vwestlife
4 жыл бұрын
Sounds like the azimuth alignment is off on the ION's tape head. That's why it sounds fine when playing back its own recordings, but tapes recorded on other decks sound muffled when played on the ION or vice versa. But if you can adjust that to correct the azimuth, it's really not too bad for the price -- at least they use a stereo tape head, unlike a lot of the cheap QuantumFX boomboxes being sold these days that are completely mono.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
Omg, VWestlife commented on my video! ❤️ I didn't even notice it was dull playing cassettes from another deck. I'll look into it. Thanks!
@daveandreahoward8203
4 жыл бұрын
VWestlife is the best. Big fan!
@hitmangwapo4293
Жыл бұрын
Yeah, vwestlife is great awesome...
@pokepress
4 жыл бұрын
Looks like these things are slowly improving with each iteration. It’s not really possible to make a great tape player with currently available parts, but it’s getting pretty close to decent. The best option is still (IMO) to get a fixed-up unit from someone who does that kind of thing.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
The Tanashin mech isn't that terrible. It's how the manufacturer uses it. The Tascam 202 MKVII deck uses the same mech, but it's pretty good for a modern deck. Probably better than entry level decks from the late 2000s as cassettes were going away.
@jeffwolfe4058
2 жыл бұрын
I just ordered it's on the way and was curious I played your music part thru my 90s Harmen Karden receiver home system and it picked up your bass and my subwoofer thumped so happy I chose this one. Thanks
@TechieZeddie
2 жыл бұрын
The output is much better through the headphone jack than the built in speakers, for sure!
@michaeldewane2002
4 жыл бұрын
I have a Panasonic RX-5090 from 1980 and this looks like they either licensed the chassis from Panasonic or just flat out copied it.
@DriveInFreak
4 жыл бұрын
Yep, it's a clone. They more than likely just used old molds. There's a couple of mono Panasonic clones out there as well. www.crosleyradio.com/radios/product-details?productkey=CT100B&model=CT100B-SI Panasonic RQ-517S www.radiomuseum.org/r/panasonic_rq_517s.html
@randyharrigan4790
4 жыл бұрын
Agreed with you on the bass boost it sounds distorted and un-natural. Really liking the looks of that boombox I only wish the VU meters were more sensitive!
@UrOpinionsSucc
4 жыл бұрын
Wish it had the LED Meters like the lasonic trc models. That would've been cool!
@jpdominator
4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for both your reviews on this!
@chicosuave1984
Жыл бұрын
You were great on this video. I just bought one and waiting to arrive. And will be testing like you. I also have a vintage Sanyo boombox. Thank you.
@TechieZeddie
Жыл бұрын
I'll have to subscribe to your channel then because I'd be interested in your take!
@spytromics
4 жыл бұрын
I bought one yesterday. The left channel no longer works after playing it about 90 minutes. Oh well....
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
OMG! That sucks! Get that ish exchanged! My first one was making squeaking noise during playback, and found out it was actually wrinkling my tapes! Second one is fine though.
@davidhunt240
4 жыл бұрын
I was wondering what the market for this "boombox" was? Maybe when my mother needs a replacement for her old Hitachi stereo radio-cassette, that would be the thing she would buy? There aren't many other options, ION seem to have the market to themselves. Thanks for the video :-) It was amusing to see what corners have been cut, what parts are fake and above all how it sounds.
@jaha_trini_2
4 жыл бұрын
Hey Nicole! So, we see that the tweeters were indeed fake. I am very much disliking the fact that it digitizes cassettes to only 128 kb/s, and we're not so sure if it's using an acceptable sampling rate (like 44.1 kHz). I'd very much recommend that you tinker around with the azimuth on that ION, because, while the recorded tape sounded somewhat acceptable in that boombox, it wasn't sounding as good in the higher end deck as a notable amount of treble was missing. So, seeing that it has an optional mono output, it should be easier to do an azimuth adjustment. It might also improve the overall quality of the cassette playback also. Also, whenever you have the time, check out the 'GPO Brooklyn Portable Boombox.' I'd quicker gravitate towards this one, rather than the ION.
@BigEpinstriping
4 жыл бұрын
So, I saw it mentioned elsewhere in the comments, but since you opened it up and your images don't show it well, the tape head is Stereo, correct? Most of the modern tape mechs don't do stereo anymore. Just got one of these for Christmas and so far I'm liking it.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
Oh yes, it has a stereo head. :) I showed it in the first video (the unboxing). If you have a recording that has good stereo separation, you can probably hear it for yourself. Or you can connect your phone via Bluetooth and go to one of those KZitem videos that test left and right channels, and record to a blank tape. Rewind and listen back - prove out the stereo head. :)
@DriveInFreak
4 жыл бұрын
Kind of small AM antenna bar, but it looks like it could easily be modified to a bigger one..so, BONUS. Why would I worry about the AM? I'm an AM broadcaster, and, yes, I still spin music. One small gripe: why just one microphone on a stereo recorder? Thank you so very much for posting this, especially the looks at the inside.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
You’re welcome! Glad you enjoyed it. It’s not a good recorder at all. The Sony boombox that’s still being sold records much better. I made a video on that too.
@HamtaroEL
4 жыл бұрын
As long as if the deck has an AC erase head and AC bias, it is considered good for me and should be the one people get. Obviously a manual record level knob is a step ahead, with separate level knobs being another step ahead, like with separate decks.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
Unfortunately after using it to record, I think it has DC bias for recording. You can already tell just by looking it's a PM erase head, not AC. :( The Sony CFD-S70 boombox sounded much better. It also has a PM erase head, but I think it uses AC bias for recording. It seriously surprised me considering it is still currently sold! And it also uses the same Tanashin mechanism as this ION... so the mech is not to blame at all!
@hitmangwapo4293
Жыл бұрын
I have SONY CFD-S70 three years ago, I dissamble for cleaning/repair, the cassette preamp especially recording system it uses AC BIAS (even it uses permanent erase head) unlike mostly cassette recorders including ion boombox it uses DC BIAS and the result is very poor recording sound quality and lots of hiss background sound... I still prefer SONY CFD-S70 or any SONY BRANDS because their recording circuitry uses AC BIAS... But is still the best is uses ELECTROMAGNETIC ERASING HEAD just like earlier cassette desks
@romelmiller2864
16 күн бұрын
I got a ion too and i like it
@CassetteComeback
4 жыл бұрын
Hey, it's stereo and doesn't sound like W&F hell. That makes it well worth buying in my book. Sometimes you just want something to play cassettes in, away from the house and as long as it doesn't sound terrible, then it's a good buy. Cheers for the video.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
Thanks! Yeah, I'm pretty surprised. I remember you asked for a decent stereo player. This is it! I only wish it had real tweeters because it still sounds a bit flat, but completely serviceable for most people. Lots of hiss, though, but I think that's what the average Joe want from a cassette, lol. I hope it makes it out to your side of the pond.
@davidhunt240
4 жыл бұрын
@@TechieZeddie sounds like a mod project! Getting the noise level down will take a lot of effort though...
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
@@davidhunt240 I'm not an electronic whiz. Even if I was, I'll probably be more digital than analog. Studied a bit of EE, but couldn't wrap my mind around analog circuits (so much math!).
@davidhunt240
4 жыл бұрын
@@TechieZeddie the tweeters would be an easy mod, usually just a small capacitor to a small speaker, usually a piezo for boomboxes. A "proper" crossover circuit would have inductors and capacitors connected to both the low and high frequency speakers, but there's no need for that complexity here 🙂
@mhmrules
4 жыл бұрын
@@davidhunt240 I'm glad you said that, because I would have been dumb enough to get a tweeter for a diy stereo and try to wire that up.
@tarstarkusz
4 жыл бұрын
5 below sells (or used to sell, I don't know if they still have it) a FM transmitter that sounds pretty good. As long as you have a line of sight from the transmitter to the radio, the range is OK for streaming into a backyard radio. That's a really easy way to let you use an older boombox with no blue tooth. For $5, you can't beat it.
@sebastianchibrac4877
4 жыл бұрын
wow this thing sounds good for a modern cassette player. good job ION!
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
I agree!
@mtnnoonan
4 жыл бұрын
There's a some good and even more bad with this boombox. But I think the overall aesthetic is the selling point, and I gotta say it looks magnificent. However, with a decent amount of modding, I bet this boom box could be incredible. It would be awesome if someone knew how to add real tweeters to replace the fake ones. I'd also like to add real metal grills to mine, if it's possible - I'm sure that wouldn't be too hard.
@santioriginal
4 жыл бұрын
I think ION needs you as an independent supervisor when they develop the Deluxe Mark II. 😌 Subscribed!
@bugstomper4670
9 ай бұрын
FYI. All the new cassette boomboxes, cannot licence DOLBY A, B, & C, because the inventor is deceased. So these new boomboxes, will have higher tape his than 1980s & 1990s boomboxes. Still with a quality tape, the 'tape hiss', will be reduced. ... Also you need a tape head demagnetizer, to be used once per year. It keeps the tape head from getting magnetized. If the tape head becomes magnetized, and you do not demagnetize it, it will erase all the high frequencies off any tape you play. Then all you'll hear is muffled music permanently from those tapes.
@codebeat4192
4 жыл бұрын
You need to align the heads to match your tapedeck, sounds a little dull to me.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
That's how it came from the factory, so that's how I test it. I'll probably do an alignment in the future.
@tarstarkusz
4 жыл бұрын
It's pretty fascinating how empty the inside of that thing is. The magnets on the speakers are probably what is giving it the heft. Thanks for the review. Maybe someday they will make something for us.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
I think you're right about that!
@UrOpinionsSucc
4 жыл бұрын
It's a shame that the tweeters are fake.
@aris95
7 ай бұрын
Does this have real stereo cassette sound heads?
@peacearchwa5103
4 жыл бұрын
At 12:00, during the tour of the insides, you played heroic-themed atmospheric music typically used during a science fiction film. This was a whimsical and fun touch! Your ION unit is light-years better than its very-cheap competitor, the QFX J-22U. I acquired a J-22U new-in-box at a thrift store for $6 (!), probably donated to the thrift store by a gift recipient who knew the poor quality. I'm not ready to provide a video review. Maybe I can gift it to you for a review? The QFX's buttons, switches and knobs are the cheapest, lousiest quality I can ever recall finding in a new or recent electronics product.
@christronicsdereksrandomness36
4 жыл бұрын
I've got a QFX J-21U and the only difference is the one i have doesn't digitally record to SD or USB. I've seen the J-22U from youtuber "the 8-bit guy" and i'm glad i don't have the one that digitally converts. its a crappy 64kbps and the sample rate was (i cant remember) maybe around 21000hz but it was so crappy. i don't mind mine. yes its mono but using a stereo tape you get L/R playback through both speakers.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
The music is actually the Overwatch opening theme. :) It's one of my favorite games right now. Figured it won't be copyright-striked because a lot of people stream video game footage. I have seen the QFX on the 8-bit Guy's channel. It turns out it has a mono tape head. :( kzitem.info/news/bejne/qISd02x5p195o44 I think he even ran over it with his car because he deemed it junk, lol. Very amusing watch.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
@@christronicsdereksrandomness36 Really? So only recording to MP3 it's mono. But it actually has stereo heads and plays back to speakers in stereo? 8-Bit guy didn't mention this, did he? Or maybe I missed it.
@christronicsdereksrandomness36
4 жыл бұрын
@@TechieZeddie the whole thing is mono. but playing a stereo tape you will hear the left and right channels on both speakers because the mono head is reading half the width of the tape that both channels are recorded on. resulting in L/R being heard on a single mono channel. he did mention that the whole boombox is a mono player. and he did have someone run it over with a steamroller. ill paste here what i got from the internet: Mirrored mono Mirrored mono sound is the opposite of merged stereo, since it can be a case where media with mono sound that stereo playback devices automatically mirror it with are played on both channels of the receiver. It can also mean having a mono input mixed down to stereo amplification circuitry, or a mono system with a headphone output compatible with stereo headphones. An example of an application where both merged stereo and mirror mono apply is when a compact audio cassette respectively plays back "summed" stereo channels on a mono reading head, and when a compact cassette recorded with mono sound is played back with a stereo tape head. Other instances of "mirrored mono" also include using the right stereo channel in lieu of a "left" one (or vice versa) where both channels are wired to mirror only one. Both Instances of both "merged stereo" and "mirrored mono" can occur when the stereo channels are merged to a mono system with stereo headphone compatibility or when a mono system has "twin speakers" (or "pseudo-stereo").
@MusicBoxVinyl
2 жыл бұрын
When recording cassettes do you ever get distortion? I have one of these and I’ve had some distorted playback ever since I bought it. Nice review btw 😃
@TechieZeddie
2 жыл бұрын
Honestly the only recording I've done with this boombox is for testing only. I have better equipment to record with. I did use this to record at my friend's Christmas party once where we did a bit of Karaoke. Sound quality isn't very good, but it was with the built-in mic.
@Ale.K7
4 жыл бұрын
Great review!
@talongodin2253
3 жыл бұрын
I just bought one of these, but I can't get any my tapes to play. It's fully charged and on tape mode, but when I hit "Play" nothing happens. At least bluetooth and aux both work and it sounds amazing, but I really wanted to play my old tapes again. I wonder if I just have a defective unit.
@UrOpinionsSucc
4 жыл бұрын
I have the same boombox. And i do get the interference noise but it's nothing too bothersome. The bluetooth works fine as well, either way i'm happy with it. I also have an Aiwa boombox that i got for free and surprisingly the tape decks work just fine after 20 years.
@christronicsdereksrandomness36
4 жыл бұрын
Ive got a Panasonic stereo from 1999 (model # is SA-AK47) and the belts for the cassette decks have never been replaced. and the damn thing still plays tapes great!
@UrOpinionsSucc
4 жыл бұрын
@@christronicsdereksrandomness36 i hear ya! The aiwa i have has higher quality cassette decks, which is good too. However i gotta figure out a way to reduce the interference with the Ion.
@christronicsdereksrandomness36
4 жыл бұрын
@@UrOpinionsSucc could the interference noise be from your phone being too close to it? or the boombox being too close to something in the house thats causing interference?
@UrOpinionsSucc
4 жыл бұрын
@@christronicsdereksrandomness36 probably my phone. However it doesn't happen with my Aiwa boombox.
@christronicsdereksrandomness36
4 жыл бұрын
@@UrOpinionsSucc i have noticed that some audio electronics are more sensitive than others. but im not quite sure whats causing that interference with yours. i was using mine yesterday to listen via bluetooth and i was also recording to usb and forgot to turn airplane mode on so i wont be disturbed and mine got no interference from my phones service.
@bob7872
4 жыл бұрын
Thanks for this review. I saw one by vwestlife, and another guy I that I'm not familiar with, but yours goes into more depth. I went to BJ's with a friend for food shopping, and they had this radio among other electronics, and I was thinking of buying it because it looked interesting, and I love the old style VU meters with the needle. (the next time I went, they were sold out- but they still have some in other locations.) I grew up with all the old technology, including reel-to-reel from the 50's my dad bought. I'm glad you talked about the digital recording, cause I'm interested in that- I don't want to use the computer- it'll only use more electricity.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
You're still going to get a better sounding digital recording if you have a dedicated cassette deck and a PC with a good sound card. But yeah, this can do in a pinch. The level is pretty low on the digitized file though. If you end up amplifying the file and re-saving it in MP3, you'll further degrade the recording. It's not going to be a serious equipment to digitize tapes. It'll be okay for casual users.
@bubbaschwartz
3 жыл бұрын
All the reviews about this item have been horrible, this review you made is very professional. Can you tell me if you found any defects in eating tapes. I have good and bad tapes for years and I don't want them destroyed. Do you recommend playing them or is this ion for just casual person.
@TechieZeddie
3 жыл бұрын
It's for casual use. I haven't had it eat any tapes yet, but I still don't feel safe putting in a vintage Maxell XLII or TDK MA-R in it. I've been using decent type I cassettes. Things that I wouldn't feel bad if things go bad but still good tape like the last gen Maxell UR.
@bubbaschwartz
3 жыл бұрын
@@TechieZeddie Thanks for the advice Merry Christmas.
@TechieZeddie
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks! Merry Christmas to you too!
@Trance88
4 жыл бұрын
What deck did you use to record your KZitem mix tape? I wonder if the azimuth is a bit off on either this boombox or your recording deck. Unfortunately it sounds like the Bass Boost switch on tape playback is seriously over-driving the amp. I still love the way this unit looks and how it sounds overall. I'm probably gonna get one.
@christronicsdereksrandomness36
4 жыл бұрын
if i had to guess is that her tape deck is fine and that its the boombox's speed is a bit fast making the song sound slow on the tape deck. but it could be the other way around. The azimuth sounded fine so i dont think ether head is outta alignment.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
Recorded on my Nakamichi ZX-7. The boombox speed is a bit fast, which I can tell when listening to music I'm familiar with on pre-recorded tapes. Chris&Derek is spot on. Thanks!
@leane-z3082
4 жыл бұрын
I was listening to mine hooked to the blue tooth and the sound went real low all of a sudden and still is low. Idk why this happened, do you have any idea why this might have happened?
@johnaddler8026
10 ай бұрын
Been having a problem its been playing my cassettes very slow and kind of warped any advice?
@TechieZeddie
10 ай бұрын
Might be dirty capstan or pinch roller. Could also be the belt. Warp sound (wow and flutter) is usually related is these components.
@WillWise808
3 жыл бұрын
Hi , Excellent review, I was wondering, if you think they use the same Tanashin tape mechanism in the Ion retro rocker?
@TechieZeddie
3 жыл бұрын
All of today's modern tape players uses the Tanashin mechanism, even this boom box. The Tascam 202mkVII cassette deck is also a Tanashin. It can be done well or cheaply.
@WillWise808
3 жыл бұрын
@@TechieZeddie Thanks for the info 👍. I had a Riptunes RACR 510 bt. Boombox, Only lasted 3 months it wasn't the tape player that broke, When turn the power on, The led lights would start working. But thats it, The sound would take about 45 seconds to come on, Very weird. Definitely a defective unit. What a shame , It was a cool looking unit,
@Ryan96se
4 жыл бұрын
Excellent. Nice to see the insides. Still not sure exactly why the AC selector switch is there. Maybe just for UL? Really doesn't seem like it is necessary and only cuts the AC power to the step down transformer. Looking at the circuit, it appears that from there its still AC current at a lower voltage and then they run that through a bridge rectifier diode circuit on the amp board to get their DC. The AC socket itself on the side has a disconnect from battery when the AC adapter is plugged into it so (shrug) on the AC switch unless it is used to keep the battery power from bleeding back into the Lithium battery when D batteries are inserted.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
I'm still not 100% sure on why the needed the switch either. I'll investigate further.
@richardtar847
3 жыл бұрын
Hi Nicky...Super review...this boombox is so cute and it has very powerful sound..I don't know how much money is this product(may be is cheap,may be is not)...but I want this....
@TechieZeddie
3 жыл бұрын
You can still get this at Best Buy for $80 USD. www.bestbuy.com/site/ion-audio-retro-boombox-with-am-fm-radio-silver/6347179.p?skuId=6347179
@rk5rk5rk5
3 жыл бұрын
Nice review! What song is the 2nd one? 🙂
@TechieZeddie
3 жыл бұрын
What's the time stamp?
@johnnysmile01
4 жыл бұрын
The style is good and sounds great
@Vertigoneardeath
3 жыл бұрын
What is the distortion percentage at higher volume?
@SteveGuitarDuckett
3 жыл бұрын
Nice video! Thank you for posting.
@TechieZeddie
3 жыл бұрын
You're welcome!
@lugoj7181
4 жыл бұрын
Can you record from sd card to cassette and how good is it on that?
@hitmangwapo4293
Жыл бұрын
ION BOOMBOX is not recommended for cassette recording (from line in, radio, cd or USB (mp3) mode)…. It uses DC BIAS (even uses permanent blue erase head)... Resulting to very poor recording sound quality and lots of hiss background noise... It is better to get cassette decks earlier uses AC BIAS RECORDING as well ELECTROMAGNETIC ERASE HEAD
@hanpada
4 жыл бұрын
Is it possible to use 220v instead of 110v?
@jimmiesmith5811
4 жыл бұрын
their coming out with a larger one that has a cd player on it this year
@UrOpinionsSucc
4 жыл бұрын
Do you know when? Late 2020 maybe?
@BRZguy
4 жыл бұрын
Where’d you hear that?
@jimmiesmith5811
4 жыл бұрын
@@BRZguy The guy at record-ology went to the consumer electronics show in las Vegas this year and ion had on display go to his site you'll see it
@vinnieperez1326
3 жыл бұрын
@19:48 the red soldered wire on the top right. Do you by any chance know what it connects to on the backside. I can’t for the life of me find a wiring diagram for this model. Thanks.
@TechieZeddie
3 жыл бұрын
In this video I did not adjust the azimuth, but in a newer updated video I did.
@bloodybanner7167
2 жыл бұрын
How does the tape recording sound? I think mine is broken, it doesn't record blutooth or aux good, it really phases out and almost skips the track. I have to return it because I was hoping for a decent tape recorder boombox
@TechieZeddie
Жыл бұрын
I have recording samples in the video.
@manoelmessiasjosedeataides8357
2 жыл бұрын
Gostei muito desse vídeo ,e bastante informativo, Manoel , Brasil.
@interccessorful
4 жыл бұрын
130 at best buy with the rechargeable battery. I needed a radio for our local drive in. I didn't want a big party speaker. I love it. The bluetooth sounds good from my apple music.
@herby4215
Жыл бұрын
Sounds good
@evilrangel
Жыл бұрын
Do you know what the size of the rechargable batteries are inside the boom box?
@TechieZeddie
Жыл бұрын
I'm not sure. I don't have the motivation to open it up and look right now, lol. It lasts pretty much the whole day though. I opened it up in the video, so maybe I may have captured something that may give you a clue.
@ramanandroy4357
8 ай бұрын
I PURCHASED THIS SEAT.WHO IS PRICES.pelisse YOU GIVE CONTECT NO.
@ramons9056
2 жыл бұрын
My ion boombox started eating my tape awhile ago and i don’t know how to fix it, any advice?
@TechieZeddie
2 жыл бұрын
The first thing I'd do is to make sure the take up spindle has enough torque. Open the door without a tape in, psuh play, and put your finger on the take up spindle to feel if there's enough torque. The second thing is make sure the tape path is clean. Capstan and heads can be cleaned with 99% Isopropyl alcohol and q-tips, but the pinch roller you'll want to use naptha so it won't dry out the rubber.
@TechieZeddie
2 жыл бұрын
Also since this is a new product, see if you can get support if it's still under warranty.
@wrestletube1
3 жыл бұрын
Bass Boost and Mono did nothing to differ the sound on the line out or headphone out version. Strange as on the built in speakers they were all different output is Mono whilst the device stuff makes it sound Stereo. Edit maybe not afterall there is a slight difference in panning thats all on the output version but the quality is same between the 3 settings muddy, hissy and low quality.
@elaguila421
Жыл бұрын
Is rechargeable?
@TechieZeddie
Жыл бұрын
Yes, it has a built-in battery. Did you watch the video?
@wrestletube1
3 жыл бұрын
Dropout city on the 3 head but sounded better than what it did whilst played back on the real thing it was recorded on. lol There was kinda a warmth to it on the JVC though rather than sounding pure crap with the dropous and huge hiss on the start.
@raymondmartin6737
4 жыл бұрын
Thanks for your two video reviews. They were very good. I brought this unit several months ago, but at the regular price. I agree with the faults you found. I find these retro made boomboxes are not too good at recording onto cassette from say the radio or from BT out of my Samsung Galaxy S10+. The cassette playback was very irregular say compared to my TEAC cassette deck, so that I could not enjoy the sound quality of the tape I did record on my retro boomboxes, with cassette, of which I have several.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
I brought it to a friend's house for a Christmas get together, and while it was impressive sounding as a BT speaker (we streamed Christmas music from phone), when I used it to record our karaoke session, it sounded really bad. Too much hiss and much quieter than most recordings I've done. I bet it's just a DC bias recorder. Shame. The Sony CFD-S70 sounds much better in recording, so I think it uses AC bias. Both uses a PM erase head though.
@breakbeats93
Жыл бұрын
What song is that?
@TechieZeddie
Жыл бұрын
Most likely the Overwatch soundtrack.
@BubbafromSapperton
4 жыл бұрын
The vintage machines cost $400-$500 in 1970's dollars, far superior but expensive...
@sting64az
4 жыл бұрын
What cost that much in that time period?..Are you talking about "Boomboxes"?.
@BubbafromSapperton
4 жыл бұрын
@@sting64az Yeah, any of the better ones 😎
@sting64az
4 жыл бұрын
@@BubbafromSapperton I remember paying approx. $145.00 for my Montgomery Ward boombox that was on sale back in later 1981...Not the top brand but it was a nicely built boombox that also featured an 8 track player...That was my high school boombox for a year till the school banned them on campus...I still have it today full restored and plays like it did when new...
@BubbafromSapperton
4 жыл бұрын
@@sting64az 🤣😂😅😂🤣😅😃😀 😉
@EndUser2090
4 жыл бұрын
That's over 400 bucks in 2019 considering inflation.
@loeli1976
4 жыл бұрын
Is this retro-boombox with a real stereo head, or mono head what I saw in few other videos about retro boomboxes. For me it´s a shame, if you can buy retro boombox, looks like stereo, all speaker doing the work, you see, that signed "stereo" on the chassis and if you look at the haed of the tape deck, it´s a mono head. If not sure, take a tape with song, that had different sound that you can hear on left and right speaker chanel like the 80´s song "Electrica Salsa" that the best stereotest is, and record it with a stereo unit and play it on this retro boombox and hear, is the same playback as stereo what you recorded on the sstereo unit or it´s the sound mono (compressed in "middle" withoput right/left different. Maybe you understand what I mean.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
It's got a stereo head. Check out my video if you haven't yet. The first video I did (the unboxing) I zoomed into the head. You can see the 2 distinct tracks .
@christronicsdereksrandomness36
4 жыл бұрын
loeli1976 you do realize that you can identify the difference from a mono head and a stereo head right? A stereo has a line that goes through the center of the electromagnet that reads the magnetized pattern on the tape. A mono has no line its just one solid electromagnet. Just a quick way to determine rather than spending more time by guessing using recordings and playbacks on other decks.
@loeli1976
4 жыл бұрын
@@christronicsdereksrandomness36 Yes. I know the difference of a stereo head and a mono head. I saw this in other video and in one video was the head mono on a retro stereo boombox. Thie is the reason why I asked Techie Zeddie about the head of this retro boombox. But thanks for the answer.
@loeli1976
4 жыл бұрын
@@TechieZeddie I didn't see the video. But good to know it's real stereo head
@christronicsdereksrandomness36
4 жыл бұрын
@@loeli1976 not a problem. just kinda sounded like from what you said that you were unsure of how to visually tell the difference.
@pikotaboada
4 жыл бұрын
I love it. It sounds like it needs an azimuth adjustment though
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
It probably does.
@joshlmccall6294
2 жыл бұрын
Does it have a Ac plug in cord??
@TechieZeddie
2 жыл бұрын
Yes it does. It is used to charge the built-in battery as well. I honestly don't know how long the battery lasts because it outlasts me! I always end up plugging it back in before it's completely dead.
@joshlmccall6294
2 жыл бұрын
@@TechieZeddie .. Lol.. Oh wow.. Thanks you! I was looking into one but was looking on Amazon and it was $49.99 They only sell renewed ones. And now during the holidays My money is kind of low. Wondering if it’s worth getting?! 🥴
@TechieZeddie
2 жыл бұрын
@@joshlmccall6294 For the price, I think so. It's not going to be the best sounding boom box. Just keep in mind that it's an ION, and it's not bad for what it is. A boom box picked up at a Goodwill would probably sound better after some TLC.
@joshlmccall6294
2 жыл бұрын
@@TechieZeddie Okay i see. Thanks so very much for your input and your help. I really appreciate it! Happy holidays!
@raywood1622
3 жыл бұрын
Oh I see your old school I still have my cassette I'm thinking about getting this boombox from best buy it's $139
@TechieZeddie
3 жыл бұрын
It's not a bad boombox... Probably better than most that's available brand new. However, you might want to look at eBay for working models from the 90s or 2000s. They'll sound much better. Reliability will depend on age and build quality.
@hitmangwapo4293
Жыл бұрын
ION BOOMBOX is great for listening, but it is not recommended to cassette recording (from line in, radio, cd or USB).. it uses DC BIAS recording (even it uses blue permanent erasing head) resulting in very poor recording sound quality as well lots of hiss background sound when played back... It is better to get cassette decks earlier to recording cassette tapes because it uses AC BIAS for recording as well AC BIAS ELECTROMAGNETIC ERASING HEAD...
@TechieZeddie
Жыл бұрын
Completely agree.
@matthewbailey6017
Жыл бұрын
Is that a real VU meter? I seriously doubt it.
@TechieZeddie
Жыл бұрын
It’s real as in it bounces with the music. It’s not accurate though, lol. It’s not like you can use it to judge the recording or playback level. It’s affected by the volume control, so… more for a visual flare for the hipsters. In the technical sense, it’s not real. It’s just bling.
@matthewbailey6017
Жыл бұрын
@@TechieZeddie Thanks! That’s pretty much what I figured. People of today have no idea what quality is. I grew up in the age where sound and quality mattered. You should hear my home stereo system. If you’re ever in Virginia and want to spin some vinyl, let me know. BTW, I enjoy your videos. Thanks!
@TechieZeddie
Жыл бұрын
@@matthewbailey6017 thank you for the kind words! ♥️
@jagdippota3811
2 жыл бұрын
Any items of this MFG type record to convert to MP3 audio file cassette record? available in India?
@TechieZeddie
2 жыл бұрын
Sorry I don't understand the question
@jagdippota3811
2 жыл бұрын
@@TechieZeddie any electronic radio or type recorder manufacturing that's it's inbuilt function of the old audio cassate converted to mp3 audio system directly from that's item's namaste like gfx J 22 of USA mfg
@TechieZeddie
2 жыл бұрын
@@jagdippota3811 Not that I know of. There are probably more cassette players that have built in SD card MP3 players that can digitize cassettes to SD card since the parts are all off shelf now (think Alibaba).
@mukeshjangir7097
3 жыл бұрын
It work 230 volt?
@TechieZeddie
3 жыл бұрын
I'm not sure about that.
@edub9930
2 жыл бұрын
Great review. Thank you Techie Zeddie! Not only do you know your stuff, but you're so cute & adorable & funny 😁👏 "he ran it over in his car cuz it was so sh**ty" lol wow
@Lee.Higginbotham
4 жыл бұрын
Good enough seems to be the motto for products made in china. Japan realized good enough only carried you so far. I don't know if good enough will change down the road in a communist country. With no dolby noise reduction boomboxes that play just cd's are probably the way to go!! To make better quality boom boxes they will need better parts which will raise the cost which for price first quality second Americans this will be unacceptable.
@Siri_Sathdamma_Sewhela
4 жыл бұрын
Great informative video 😉😉👍🏻😍😍 Erase head in that boom box cassette mechanism is just a cheap permanent magnet 🧲😂😂😂!! They did easy way out with cost cutting 😂😂 So they never aimed ppl to do any good recordings in this I guess.😉😉
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
The Sony also uses a permanent magnet for it's erase head and sounds better than the ION, in my opinion. Of course it's always better to use an AC biased erase head.
@Siri_Sathdamma_Sewhela
4 жыл бұрын
Techie Zeddie , Yeah, Sony one maybe have better recoding circuitry with (factory setting) tuned bias. 😉😉👍🏻 However, AC bias is used in many decks or hifi systems coz erasing process will be more efficient and (40-150KHz kind of )ac signal wipes the previously recorded audio completely ,so the tape will be good as new to do a recording again.😍👍🏻👍🏻 If you check hand books of some of boom boxes and even entry level cassette decks, which they mention recommended tapes to be used on particular deck for a better recording such as Sony, Maxwell UR or TDK’s coz those tapes were great and did decent recordings without issues 😉😉👍🏻 What is your favorite cassette deck which you owned now? 😜👍🏻 I am big fan of 90s TDK D, Sony HF and Maxell UR Type 01s Coz they were easy to find and less expensive. 😍😍👍🏻 if we do a tape recording with a good sound balance then you can get very good results😍😍👍🏻 (you have to keep or under input signal MOL at 10KHz -5db, then usually you get better stable high frequencies ,( 8KHz to 17KHz -5db) which recorded on type 01 tapes with high levels without Dolby ( of course tape needs to be biased correctly first)😜😜👍🏻👍🏻 This is why it is good to have an extra equalizer with frequency display spectrum in it at sound source, so you can level up or down the sound balancing using the eq on each song , so the tape recordings would be at recommend Levels ( MOL) , so tape recording won’t be distorted mostly😍😍👍🏻 ( it is bit of a work 😉😉) If you checked carefully, many of blank cassette manufacturers mentioned MOL levels on cassette wrapping paper cover coz of this. 😍😍👍🏻 What many ppl do that is , get a CD player and cassette deck and hooked direct CD’s output to deck’s input to get a good flat linear recording with type 01 cassettes with correct tape bias on. It does not work always, if the CD song contains many higher frequencies so recording will distort badly with type 01s if not meet tapes frequencies MOL( Maximum Output Level at given frequencies ) 😜😜 You can get away (somewhat) above mentioned issue with expensive type 02 or type 04 tapes coz they can handle higher frequencies bit better with higher levels😍👍🏻 This was my experience (back in 90s )of doing lots of type 01 recordings( TDK, Sony, Maxwell )from CD to tapes. I did not use Dolby either. 😉😉😃👍🏻 Hope this information helps 😍😍👍🏻
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
My favorite deck I own? No contest, the Nakamichi ZX-7! Thanks for the information!
@Siri_Sathdamma_Sewhela
4 жыл бұрын
Techie Zeddie great choice 😍😍👍🏻!! It is a very good deck to have for any ( type 01,02 &4)tape recording & playback 👍🏻👍🏻
@DriveInFreak
4 жыл бұрын
@@Siri_Sathdamma_Sewhela People hate it when I do this, but: C90 tapes are too thin. In order to fit that much tape in a cassette, the tape itself has to be thinner than C60 tape. C120 is almost useless, and it's just slightly thinner than the C90. Unfortunately a lot of the later '90s tapes (up to now) are C90 tape no matter what length as they quit making the thick stuff.
@AudioElectronicsChicago
4 жыл бұрын
Nice 👍🏻
@madhusudanghodke2690
3 жыл бұрын
Mrp of ion deluxe boombox
@UrOpinionsSucc
4 жыл бұрын
So i recorded my first mixtape via aux mode..and there was too much hiss..
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
It's not a very good recorder. I recorded our holiday karaoke and it also has a lot of hiss.
@UrOpinionsSucc
4 жыл бұрын
@@TechieZeddie yeah..maybe i need a high end double deck.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
@@UrOpinionsSucc What's your budget? And what do you plan to do with the deck? If just dubbing cassettes quick with decent quality, yeah a high end dual deck is good. But a very good single well 3 head deck is so much better and versatile. If you want to dub (or copy) a tape, just play it back and record onto Audacity (PC or Mac), save it, then play it back on the PC and record on the 3 head deck? That's what I've done. I never do tape to tape dubs these days.
@UrOpinionsSucc
4 жыл бұрын
@@TechieZeddie my budget is not as tight. But maybe i can find a used dual tape deck somewhere that's decent for cheap. I wanna put some of my spotify playlist onto tape if that makes sense. I've done it with the Ion, sounds good but the hissing is just annoying. So i'm gonna use it as a bluetooth device. Until i can find a decent dual deck or something.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
@@UrOpinionsSucc if this works or only needs belts, it's a decent price. rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F164010572122
@lesgl
4 жыл бұрын
Panasonic has a Boom box out at moment with cassette with function to record off CD..sound on that isn't too bad
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
What's the model number? I'd like to Google it get find out more about this Panasonic!
@lesgl
4 жыл бұрын
kzitem.info/news/bejne/y5x_v32OsoCXl3Y...This is the one I bought...unfortunately it seems the only people doing a review on it seems to be Russians..lol..Sony do one too but only available in the European market..this is a review of it...kzitem.info/news/bejne/2q-c02uQnYx-rWk
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
@@lesgl Ouch... the price! www.amazon.com/RX-D50AEG-S-RADIO-RECORDER-Tragbarer-Radiorecorder/dp/B00ABS4CQ4/ref=dp_ob_title_ce
@jaha_trini_2
4 жыл бұрын
@@TechieZeddie I like the RX-D55 more tho. That has USB, and a whole lot of other features. @lesgl, I'm kinda acquainted with that Sony tho, and I'm from Trinidad & Tobago.
@mrhawk1924
4 жыл бұрын
We black people like all the treble and bass.. I have the CD bluetooth Studehaker boombox 2019
@andrewlittleboy8532
4 жыл бұрын
Speed seems wrong, and plenty of w&f and a horrible magnet erase. It's one of them products that I class as a 'waste of earths resources' and if anyone heard tape for the first time would never get into the hobby but thanks for the review.
@UrOpinionsSucc
4 жыл бұрын
Yeah i stopped using the cassette deck on mine. I mainly use it for bluetooth now and for USB playback.
@jimmiesmith5811
2 жыл бұрын
The speed does go too fast I had to take it part and slow the motor down on it so now plays at the correct speed that's common problem with these new cassette players and turntables nowadays the pitch is too fast
@mustafahussain3
4 жыл бұрын
very good
@mikeshshah1248
4 жыл бұрын
check out BJs.. they are selling this for 49 bucks... not bad.
@BrackenSharp
4 жыл бұрын
BJ's version doesn't have a rechargeable battery. It only takes wall power and batteries.
@user-yv1sg9hn1l
4 жыл бұрын
Nice Power
@nathegotule4666
3 жыл бұрын
Ghetto blaster way.... Now,,hit da street's Hard,,and blast it,,... Go on dont b shy?? Hit it... I,,do gott a E.s.C, 2000,, Like a conion bigg 1,, 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣🆒🆒🆒🆒🆒🆒🆒🆒🆒🆒 🚶 Peace n kindness down under Sydney australia
@dttub
4 жыл бұрын
As inside photos, 2 Tweeters left, right is just for look, no connection, no sound.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
That is correct. :(
@DriveInFreak
4 жыл бұрын
Honestly, it doesn't really need them.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
@@DriveInFreak To me it sounds a bit off still. I feel it needs a bit more bass to round it out. It can sound shrill at times if you adjust the treble up high, but it doesn't sound clean. I think some dedicated tweeters might help that out. Then we would be talking about a better main driver and crossover circuits... and at this price point, we can't expect any of that, lol. Of course, if you're a hobbyist, it would make a good project. :) I wouldn't go crazy on it because I'm sure there may be other limitations such as the pre-amp, amp, and pickup head. This is why I tested through the line-out to bypass the speakers to hear if the speakers are the limiting factor.
@DriveInFreak
4 жыл бұрын
@@TechieZeddie Here's the thing; there's a serious lack of power with 6 D cells. The truth is that 10 will get you 5 Watts R.M.S. per channel. Cut that in half (best case scenario), add to that a low cost design, super efficient open air speakers no longer being available ( the ones in it are rated at about 3X the output power, thus don't make the most of what's available...3.2Ω @ 2.5W would have been ideal), and you can see the problem. Back in the bad ol' days boxes (that were half way decent) were a compromise between available current via D calls, and efficient speakers. not even the best of the best where ":clean". This thing is (IMHO) is as close to what the 6 D cell boxes sounded like ( with the exception on one very expensive Pioneer) as possible in this day and age. Honestly, it's a toy that would have been about $60 in 1983 (price today vs inflation).or about the price of a cheap no frills mono box. More treble would override the lack of bass.
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
@@DriveInFreak So true. It does have a build-quality of a toy, being all plastic and what-not. Of course we have those kind of boomboxes too back in the 80s. In fact, those would be the kind that my parents bought me as a kid.
@madbadger85
4 жыл бұрын
Same mech as the GPO boombox, mine would record on one side of the cassette ok but flipping it over to side B and recording again resulting in A side playback was ok B side was muffled. No idea why probably the head out of alignment. Cheap crap really, my 1983 sharp vz2000 sound miles better
@dasboot5903
4 жыл бұрын
Hello Nicky darling :o)) Thank you for your wonderful review. I am surprised that you ... a nice woman ... is interested in that kinda stuff like audio equipment. WoW ))))) You are really a beautiful girl, and I love the mimics on your lovely face when you are talking with passion about the audio subject you like very much !! Yeah !! Please, keep going !! :o)) Thank you very much, Nicky, for opening this boombox and showing how it looks inside. What I could observe ..... both tweeters are FAKE (wires are going only to both woofers) - because I couldn't see any wires powering those both fake "tweeters" !! So they are NOT the real two-way speakers working in this stereo unit. Moreover, both analog VU~meters have NO backlight or even are not uplighted by any mini-bulb or even small LED. That means they are absolutely USELESS in the dark conditions in the room or outside. Also, the scale has no backlight or uplight, too !!!! >> Just a little effort was needed .... and ION boombox model >DeLUX< and also >Steet RockerStreet Rocker Please, keep smiling !! :o))
@dmitry58
4 жыл бұрын
хочу такую .
@alexdepaula9964
4 жыл бұрын
Turn the goddamn treble control to the fullest! That stupid muddy sound is annoying!
@TechieZeddie
4 жыл бұрын
haha. Sorry, but it sounds too shrill if I do.
@sexytasmin
4 жыл бұрын
Excellent video Nicky. I think you are a lovely girl.
@rotel1111
4 жыл бұрын
Very poor and nasty cassette mechanism. The good days are gone with the wind ...
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