Boombox

Call it a jambox, ghetto blaster or whatever, but a boombox is just a portable radio-casette /CD player with stereo system features which when played at full volume fully justifies its hip-hop alias.

The hip-hop culture of street break-dancing during the 1980s is mainly responsible for the boom in this type of radio electronic equipment. Portable, kids on the block could easily carry this decibel-pounding contraption anywhere they hang out to do their thing.

On the technical side, a boombox houses in a single unit two loudspeakers, an amplifier and/or CD–cassette player. Batteries and alternative cables for DC outlets is the power source for this workhorse for break-dance artists. The major players in the electronics industry, recognizing profits from the demographics of this particular young market segment, raced in manufacturing models with the loudest and flashiest of these iconic street contraptions.

The offerings extending up to today come in various shapes and sizes. Models that weigh over 20 pounds and powered by no less than 10 size-D dry cells are not unusual. Sound feature too vastly varies, but the more expensive models could put to shame the audio quality of more advanced home entertainment sets.

These high-end models are also likely to carry most if not all the latest extras in audio technology, such as five or 10-band graphic equalizers, sound level meters, dual cassette decks for high-speed dubbing. Some of the latest boombox offerings seen are also equipped with satellite radio tuners and ipod docks, making this amazing machine some kind of a Swiss knife for break-dancing.