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A Boombox (or Boom-box) - also sometimes known as a Ghettoblaster or Jambox, or (in parts of Europe) "radio-cassette" - 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 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. Although 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

Technically a Boombox is, at its simplest, two or more loudspeakers, 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. 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 were by far the most popular.

Read more at Wikipedia.org