Bumpbox is fully embracing the nostalgia with its latest boombox, the BB-777, which is closely based on the famous Sharp GF-777. A real deal GF-777 will set you back over $2,000 for one in working condition. Plus, that older unit lacks modern features like Bluetooth or a rechargeable battery. Heck, it doesn’t even have a CD player.
The BB-777 carries over the core of the GF, right down to the dual cassette decks, control layout and speaker specs printed above the subwoofers. It’s undoubtedly a gorgeous piece of gear with its vintage silver finish and extensive physical controls. But then it adds a replaceable battery pack, Bluetooth, and an LCD screen. One unfortunate loss is the analog VU meter, which We’re Rewind managed to include in its Blaster Boombox.
There are six speakers: two super woofers with dedicated gain controls, two coaxial speakers and two horn tweeters. They’re producing a total of 270W, so volume shouldn’t be a concern. Of course, unless you’re worried about it Very loud. The speaker has also been ported to aid bass response.
In addition to dual cassette decks, the BB-777 has a slot-loading CD player, an AM/FM/shortwave radio, USB audio playback (MP3/WMA/WAV/FLAC/ACC), an aux input (with an included RCA adapter), plus Bluetooth. It can also record directly from tape decks, CDs or radios to USB drives for digitization and archiving. Basically, the only thing it can’t do is stream audio directly over Wi-Fi.
There are also two microphone inputs on the front if you want to get really old school and use the BB-777 to host a rap battle or MC break dancing competition in the park. There are also two built-in mics for reasons I’m not entirely sure about. But it can come in handy when you want to quickly record your child saying something funny on cassette.
There’s a handle for carrying it around, but if you’re going more than a few yards you’ll probably want to use the shoulder strap, as the BB-777 weighs 28-pounds. Instead of going straight to market, Bumpbox is taking the BB-777 to Kickstarter first. When they start shipping, likely in June, a pledge of $649 will secure you one. After that, they will cost $1,049 at retail.
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