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Boombox



 
 
A boombox, also known as ghetto blaster, jambox, or radio-cassette, is a name given to portable stereo
Stereophonic sound

Stereophonic sound, commonly called stereo, is the reproduction of sound, using two or more independent Sound recording and reproduction channels, through a symmetrical configuration of loudspeakers, in such a way as to create a pleasant and natural impression of sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing....
 systems capable of playing radio station
Radio station

This article is about radio broadcasting, for other uses see Radio .Radio broadcasting is an audio broadcasting service, traditionally broadcast through the air as radio waves from a transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device....
s and recorded music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
 (usually cassette
Compact Cassette

The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape Sound recording and reproduction format....
s and/or, since the early 1990s, CD
Compact Disc

A Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store Data , originally developed for storing digital audio. The CD, available on the market since October 1982, remains the standard physical medium for sale of commercial Sound recording and reproduction to the present day....
s), at relatively high volume
Loudness

Loudness is the quality of a sound that is the primary psychological correlate of physical strength .Loudness, a subjective measure, is often confused with objective measures of sound pressure such as decibels or sound intensity....
. Designed for portability, most boomboxes can be powered by batteries
Battery (electricity)

In electronics, a battery or voltaic cell is a combination of one or more electrochemical cell Galvanic cells which store chemical energy that can be converted into electric potential energy, creating electricity....
, as well as by line current.

boxes were introduced commercially by various companies in the late 1970s, when stereo capabilities were added to existing designs of the radio-cassette recorder, which had appeared earlier that decade; more powerful and sophisticated models were subsequently introduced.






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A boombox, also known as ghetto blaster, jambox, or radio-cassette, is a name given to portable stereo
Stereophonic sound

Stereophonic sound, commonly called stereo, is the reproduction of sound, using two or more independent Sound recording and reproduction channels, through a symmetrical configuration of loudspeakers, in such a way as to create a pleasant and natural impression of sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing....
 systems capable of playing radio station
Radio station

This article is about radio broadcasting, for other uses see Radio .Radio broadcasting is an audio broadcasting service, traditionally broadcast through the air as radio waves from a transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device....
s and recorded music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
 (usually cassette
Compact Cassette

The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape Sound recording and reproduction format....
s and/or, since the early 1990s, CD
Compact Disc

A Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store Data , originally developed for storing digital audio. The CD, available on the market since October 1982, remains the standard physical medium for sale of commercial Sound recording and reproduction to the present day....
s), at relatively high volume
Loudness

Loudness is the quality of a sound that is the primary psychological correlate of physical strength .Loudness, a subjective measure, is often confused with objective measures of sound pressure such as decibels or sound intensity....
. Designed for portability, most boomboxes can be powered by batteries
Battery (electricity)

In electronics, a battery or voltaic cell is a combination of one or more electrochemical cell Galvanic cells which store chemical energy that can be converted into electric potential energy, creating electricity....
, as well as by line current.

Origin

Boom boxes were introduced commercially by various companies in the late 1970s, when stereo capabilities were added to existing designs of the radio-cassette recorder, which had appeared earlier that decade; 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 produce the biggest, loudest, clearest-sounding, bassiest, flashiest and/or most novel boomboxes. As the decade progressed, manufacturers tended to compete more on price (often at the expense of quality) and smaller designs (often designed for simple background listening) became more popular.

Features

Ghettoblaster Family
Technically a Boombox is, at its simplest, two or more loudspeakers, an amplifier
Amplifier

Generally, an amplifier or simply amp, is any machine that changes, usually increases, the amplitude of a Signal . The "signal" is usually voltage or current....
, a radio
Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals, by modulation of electromagnetic radiation with frequency below those of visible light.Electromagnetic radiation radio propagation by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space....
 tuner
Tuner

Tuner may refer to:* Someone or something which adjusts or configures a mechanical, electronic, or musical device* Antenna tuner, a device to adjust the resonance frequency of an antenna or transmission line...
, and a cassette
Compact Cassette

The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape Sound recording and reproduction format....
 and/or CD player component, all housed in a single plastic, or metal, case, often with a handle for portability. Most units can be powered by AC
Alternating current

In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. An electric charge would for instance move forward, then backward, then forward, then backward, over and over again....
 or DC
Direct current

Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as battery , thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type....
 cables, as well as batteries
Battery (electricity)

In electronics, a battery or voltaic cell is a combination of one or more electrochemical cell Galvanic cells which store chemical energy that can be converted into electric potential energy, creating electricity....
.

Various boombox designs differ greatly in size. Larger, more powerful units may require 10 or more size-D batteries
D battery

File:Mono Battery.jpgFile:BaterieR20.jpgA D battery is a type of electrochemical Battery , the largest in the D, C, AA, and AAA family. Each D-cell is cylindrical with electrical contacts at each end; the positive end having a nub or bump....
, may measure more than thirty inches in width, and can weigh more than 20 pounds.

Audio quality and feature sets vary widely, with high-end models providing features and sound comparable to some home stereo systems. Most models offer volume
Volume

The volume of any solid, liquid, plasma, vacuum or theoretical object is how much three-dimensional space it occupies, often quantified numerically....
, tone
Tone

Tone may refer to:...
 and balance (Left/Right) controls.

More sophisticated models may feature dual cassette
Compact Cassette

The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape Sound recording and reproduction format....
 decks (often featuring high-speed dubbing
Dubbing (music)

In sound recording, dubbing is the transfer or copying of previously recorded audio material from one medium to another of the same or a different type....
), separate bass
Bass (musical term)

Bass , when used as an adjective, is used to describe Pitch s of low frequency or range . Played in an musical ensemble/orchestra, such notes are frequently used to provide a counterpoint or counter-melody, in a harmony context either to outline or juxtapose the progression of the chord s, or with Percussion instrument to underline the rhyth...
 level control, five- or 10-band graphic equalizers
Equalizer

Equalizer or equaliser may refer to:*An equalization filter*An audio processing tool used for equalization*A blind equalization used in digital communications...
, Dolby noise reduction, analog or LED sound level (VU
VU

VU may refer to:In country codes:* VU is the country code of Vanuatu* .vu is Vanatu's country code top-level domainIn companies:...
) meters, larger speakers, 'soft-touch' tape deck controls, multiple shortwave
Shortwave

Shortwave radio operates in the frequency range of 3,000 kHz to 30,000 kHz . In radio, short wavelength corresponds to high frequency given the inverse relationship between frequency and wavelength, thus, ?shortwave radio? is denominated so, because its wavelengths are shorter than the long wave-lengths used in early radio communications; m...
 (SW) band reception, auto song search functions for cassettes, Line and/or Phono
Phono

Phono may refer to:* Phone , speech sound, gesture or segment* Phonograph, regularly abbreviated to phono on buttons and jacks of audio equipment...
 inputs and outputs, microphone
Microphone

A microphone, sometimes referred to as a mike or?more recently?mic, is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal....
 inputs, loudness
Loudness

Loudness is the quality of a sound that is the primary psychological correlate of physical strength .Loudness, a subjective measure, is often confused with objective measures of sound pressure such as decibels or sound intensity....
 switches and detachable speakers
Loudspeaker

A loudspeaker, speaker, or speaker system is an electroacoustical transducer that converts an electricity signal processing to sound....
. A handful of models even featured an integrated vinyl record player or a (typically black and white) television screen, although the basic radio/cassette models have historically been by far the most popular.

A few of the most modern boomboxes have integrated (or removable) satellite radio
Satellite radio

A satellite radio or subscription radio is a digital radio signal that is broadcast by a communications satellite, which covers a much wider geographical range than terrestrial radio signals....
 tuners. Also in many cases with newer versions of the ghetto blaster, ipod docks have been put in place of cassette players, creating a fusion of new technology and old personaliity.

"Ghettoblaster"


The synonym
Synonym

Synonyms are different words with identical or very similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy....
 ghettoblaster or ghetto-blaster is a term that can be considered insulting
Political correctness

Political correctness is a term applied to language, ideas, policies, or behavior seen as seeking to minimize offense to gender, racial, cultural, disabled, aged or other identity groups....
 or complimentary depending on the context. The word ghettoblaster originated in the urban
Urban culture

Urban culture is the culture of city. Cities all over the world, past and present, have behaviors and cultural elements that separate them from otherwise comparable rural areas....
 of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, apparently reflecting the belief that such systems are popular in poor
Poor

Poor is an adjective related to a state of poverty, low quality or pity.People with the surname Poor:* Charles Henry Poor, a US Navy officer...
 inner-city neighbourhood
Neighbourhood

A neighbourhood or neighborhood is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town or suburb. Neighbourhoods are often social communities with considerable face-to-face interaction among members....
s (ghetto
Ghetto

A ghetto is described as a "portion of a city in which members of a minority group live especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure."...
s), especially those populated by black Americans
African American

African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the Black people populations of Africa....
, whether as a sign of economic power or simply to play some music or throw a party. "Ghettoblaster" rather than "boombox" became the common term in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 (especially among the black community in London), Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 and Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
 for large portable stereos, perhaps because the pejorative connotations were not as present or apparent in those countries.

The term usually carries a connotation
Connotation

Connotation is a Subjectivity culture and/or emotional coloration in addition to the explicit or denotation Meaning of any specific word or phrase in a...
 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
Do the Right Thing

Do the Right Thing is a 1989 in film written, produced and directed by Spike Lee. The film tells a tale of bigotry and racial conflict in a multi-ethnic community in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York on the hottest day of the year....
 by director
Film director

A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a film. A film director visualizes the Screenplay, controlling a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of his or her vision....
 Spike Lee
Spike Lee

Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated United States film director, Film producer, screenwriter, and actor, noted for his films dealing with controversial Society and Politics issues....
. Dispute over a ghettoblaster plays a central role in that movie's culminating riot
Riot

A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized by disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence, vandalism or other crime....
.

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
Magazine

for quarterly in Heraldry see Quartering Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of Article , generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscription, or all three....
 and one recording company
Record label

In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
, and is also a popular stereotype
Stereotype

A stereotype is a preconceived idea that attributes certain characteristics to all the members of class or set. The term is often used with a negative connotation when referring to an oversimplified, exaggerated, or demeaning assumption that a particular individual possesses the characteristics associated with the class due to his or her me...
 element typically associated with funk
Funk

Funk is an United States Music genre that originated in the mid- to late-1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music....
, hip-hop
Hip hop music

Hip hop music is a music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rapping which is accompanied with backing beats. Hip hop music is part of hip hop culture, which began in the Bronx, in New York City in the 1970s, predominantly among African Americans and Latino Americans....
 and rap, African American
African American

African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the Black people populations of Africa....
 culture, 1970s and 1980s culture, breakdancing and even racist jokes.

In the UK, the term, "wog box", has fallen from favour in social discourse. Another term popular in the UK was "Brixton
Brixton

Brixton is an area of the London Borough of Lambeth, in inner London-South London. It is bordered by Stockwell, Clapham Common, Streatham, Camberwell, Tulse Hill and Herne Hill....
 briefcase", which referred to the suburb of south London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
, another example of these devices being associated with a predominantly black inner-city neighbourhood.

Virgin Games
Virgin Games

Virgin Games is a wholly owned trading division of Virgin.com Limited, that provides online gambling services, predominantly in the United Kingdom. Currently, their games include , and a with games like Roulette and Blackjack....
 released its game Ghetto Blaster
Ghetto Blaster

Ghetto Blaster is a computer game that was released for the Commodore 64 in 1985.See also* Boombox...
 for the Commodore 64
Commodore 64

The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer released by Commodore International in August, 1982, at a price of United States dollar595. Preceded by the Commodore VIC-20 and Commodore MAX Machine, the C64 features 64 kilobytes of Random-access memory with sound and graphics performance that were superior to IBM-compatible computers of tha...
 in 1985; the protagonist walks down a street with a boombox, shooting people with music notes to make them dance.

Notable models and brands

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

  • Hitachi
    Hitachi, Ltd.

    is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology and services headquartered in Marunouchi Itchome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group as part of the larger DKB Group companies....
     TRK
    series (eg: TRK-8080)
  • JVC
    JVC

    , usually referred to as JVC, is an international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927....
     RC
    series (eg: )
  • JVC
    JVC

    , usually referred to as JVC, is an international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927....
     PC
    series (eg: PC-5)
  • Panasonic
    Panasonic

    Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation Under this brand the company sells Plasma display and LCD display panels, DVD recorders and players, Blu-ray Disc players, camcorders, telephones, vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens, shavers, projectors, digital cameras, batteries, lapto...
     RX
    series (eg: , RX-7700, RX-7000)
  • Crown SZ series (eg: )
  • Lasonic series (eg: TRC-931,TRC-320T)
  • Conion (known as Clairtone in Canada
    Canada

    Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
    )
  • Sharp
    Sharp Corporation

    is a Japanese electronics manufacturer, founded in 1912.It takes its name from one of its founder's first inventions, the Ever-Sharp mechanical pencil, which was invented by Tokuji Hayakawa in 1915....
     GF
    series (eg: GF-8989, GF-9494)
  • Sharp VZ series (This model included a turntable
    Phonograph

    The record player, phonograph or gramophone was the most common device for playing Sound recording and reproduction sound from the 1870s through the 1980s....
    )
  • Sanyo
    Sanyo

    is a major Japanese electronics company and member of the Fortune 500 whose headquarters is located in Moriguchi, Osaka, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo targets the middle of the market and has over 324 offices and plants worldwide, together employing more than 11,000 employees....
     MX
    series (eg: )


Other manufacturers also worth mentioning include Toshiba
Toshiba

is a multinational corporation list of conglomerates manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The company's main business is in Infrastructure, Consumer Products, and Electronic devices and components....
, Pioneer
Pioneer Corporation

is a multinational corporation that specializes in digital entertainment products, based in Tokyo, Japan. The company was founded in 1938 in Tokyo as a radio and Loudspeaker repair shop....
, GE

G? are the people who spoke Ge languages of the northern South American Caribbean coast and Brazil, their society is or was highly egalitarian and anti-authoritarian, because of which they resisted the Incas as well as the Spaniards....
, Magnavox
Magnavox

Magnavox is an United States electronics company founded by Edwin Pridham and Peter L. Jensen. The brothers invented a moving-coil loudspeaker in 1915 at their lab in Napa, California, they named their brainchild "Magnavox"....
, Lloyd's, Sony
Sony

is a multinational corporation list of conglomerates corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest media conglomerates with revenue exceeding US$99.1 billion ....
, Aiwa
Aiwa

was a Japanese consumer electronics company , founded in 1951.It experienced considerable success in the 1970s and 1980s producing audio and video equipment that was sold around the world....
, Philips
Philips

Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , usually known as Philips, is a Netherlands electronics company. It is one of the largest electronics companies in the world, founded and headquartered in the Netherlands....
, and Yamaha
Yamaha

Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
.

Evolution of design

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
CD-R

A CD-R is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-R is a Write Once Read Many optical medium, though the whole disk does not have to be entirely written in the same session....
 and CD-RW
CD-RW

Compact Disc ReWritable is a rewritable optical disc format. Known as CD-Erasable during its development, CD-RW was introduced in 1997, and was preceded by the never officially released CD-RW#CD-MO in 1988....
, which allows the user to carry their own music compilations on a higher fidelity medium, most boomboxes still lack direct support for MP3
MP3

MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a digital audio Encoder format using a form of lossy data compression. It is a common audio format for consumer audio storage, as well as a de facto standard encoding for the transfer and playback of music on digital audio players....
 or other similar compressed digital audio formats such as AAC
Advanced Audio Coding

Advanced Audio Coding is a standardized, lossy data compression Audio data compression and encoder scheme for digital audio. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves better sound quality than MP3 at many bit rates....
, Ogg Vorbis, and WMA
Windows Media Audio

Windows Media Audio is an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft. The name can be used to refer to its audio file format or its audio codecs....
. However JVC
JVC

, usually referred to as JVC, is an international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927....
 Kaboom Boom boxes play MP3 CDs and have a wireless MP3 connection.

The simplest way to connect an older boombox to an MP3 player is to use a cassette adapter
Cassette tape adaptor

The cassette adapter allows one to play music through sound systems with a tape player without the need for an auxiliary input....
, 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
Flash memory

Flash memory is a non-volatile memory computer storage that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It is a technology that is primarily used in memory cards and USB flash drives for general storage and transfer of data between computers and other digital products....
 media such as Sony Memory Stick
Memory Stick

Memory Stick is a removable flash memory memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998 , and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks....
, SmartMedia
SmartMedia

SmartMedia is a flash memory memory card standard owned by Toshiba, with capacities ranging from 0.5 MB to 128 MB. SmartMedia memory cards are no longer manufactured, and there have been no new devices designed for use with SmartMedia for many years....
, MMC
MultiMediaCard

The MultiMediaCard is a flash memory memory card standard. Unveiled in 1997 by Siemens AG and SanDisk, it is based on Toshiba's Flash memory#NAND memories, and is therefore much smaller than earlier systems based on Intel Flash memory#NOR memories such as CompactFlash....
 and SD
Secure Digital card

Secure Digital is a non-volatile memory memory card format developed by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., SanDisk, and Toshiba for use in portable devices....
, 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.

Today there are new lines of boomboxes that utilized Bluetooth
Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a wireless protocol for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks . It was originally conceived as a wireless alternative to RS232 data cables....
 technology known as Stereo Bluetooth, or A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile). They use the wireless Bluetooth technology to "stream" audio to the boombox from a compatible Bluetooth device, such as a mobile phone or Bluetooth MP3 player.

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