Customer Ratings & Reviews

The internal battery fried when I took it out of storage to use it after only one use! And ofcourse it’s out of warranty

Its garbage . It doesn't work at all. I even installed six batteries but it didn't work.

Being a child of the 80's, I've owned my fair share of boom boxes. This Ion boom box brings back a lot of good memories. This boom box has it all, BUT... with one major exception, it sounds terrible. It sounds muffled, and muddy. The bass, treble, and bass boost only exaggerate how bad it already sounds. This is very unfortunate because it has killer retro looks, fully functional tape deck, bluetooth, usb/card reader playback, rechargable battery, and a tuner that works really well. You have all this great stuff but used the worst sounding speakers I've ever heard on a boom box or bluetooth speaker.

I saw this on Best Buy’s website and immediately wanted it. But, while I bought this Ion boombox based largely on its cool retro look, when I got it home I found that the appeal goes far deeper. It has powerful sound and great features that make it as suitable for streaming audio or listening to your MP3s as it is for making and playing cassettes. And, if you dust off an old tape and find you want to turn it into an MP3 you can do that, too. Upon unboxing this unit I was impressed with the quality feel of the controls and the smooth, well-finished appearance. The traditional tuning dial is large and easy to read, and it’s flanked by twin LED output sound level indicators, as well as dual VU meters that show the audio level when you’re recording. Rated at 14 watts per channel, the audio from this is impressive, making it perfect for outdoor or indoor party use when you might be supplying entertainment for many people who want to feel as well as hear the music. This boombox Is worthy of its name - it gets very loud. And, you can customize the sound with a Bass Boost feature as well as separate bass and table controls. I like having Bluetooth conduct connectivity in a device this powerful. Most Bluetooth speakers that you could buy are far less powerful than this and don’t sound as good. This Ion boombox paired instantly with my iPad and connects back up with it whenever I flip the mode switch to Bluetooth/SD/USB. You can also play or record music on a micro SD card or a USB flash drive. One downside to the old-time boomboxes was that they would drain costly C or D alkaline batteries very quickly. No need to spend a fortune on batteries here, as there is an internal rechargeable battery pack that you charge up just by plugging the boombox in for a few hours. But you can also choose to use six D size batteries instead. Regular disposable batteries would be helpful as a backup source if you were camping or using this unit during a power failure when you wouldn’t have access to AC power to charge the internal pack. AM and FM reception is outstanding, and the big tuning knob makes stations easy to zero in on. The cassette deck plays at the proper speed, sounds very good on playback, and gives you the ability to record radio programs, audio saved on a micro SD or USB drive, Bluetooth audio, sound that comes in through the auxiliary input jack, or your own voice or ambient sounds through the built-in stereo microphones. I’ve bought a few other retro boombox models but they were always disappointing. Either they didn’t play tapes at the proper speed, sounded weak, or only had a few features of this one but lacked some important capability. Here is everything you could want all in one. If you want to enjoy an 80s-style retro boombox that’s just as good with today’s audio sources as it is with the tapes popular a few decades ago, this is the answer.

This is junk! Do not purchase! It sounds horrible. First time used and it wanted to eat my cassette. Just don’t waste your money.

This is very easy to use. The ability to digitally record audiotapes and radio easily makes this product very valuable. The internal battery is fantastic, as well as the ability to use replaceable batteries. The vintage look makes this a fantastic product. It sounds great, and the radio stations seem to hold up just fine.

Poor sound and quality. Whether using Bluetooth,radio, or tapes it all sounds cheap. Will be returning for a refund.

I used to own a big 80s style boombox and I still own some cassettes that were simply collecting dust. This boombox caught my eye as a reason to bring out my old cassettes. But more than being just a portable cassette player it has some extra functionality to make it more than a one trick pony. Overall, I am pleased. IN THE BOX In the box you get the boombox and a power cord. Pretty simple, but all you need. SETTING UP FOR FIRST USE This is pretty simple. I plugged it in to let it charge while I figured out how to use it. It has all of the "old school" dials on top for bass, treble, inputs and volume, but it took me a minute to figure out that there's an off/on switch on the back. Once I did that the lights lit up indicating it was on and charging. FEATURES Despite being a cassette player first and foremost (honestly, that's the reason you buy this unless you're really a sucker for nostalgia) it has a surprising number of features that makes it useful. The obvious is the AM/FM radio. I don't generally listen to the radio since I subscribe to Google Music, I actually found myself listening to the radio on this more often than not because of the old school dial with the line that slides left and right to the frequency you want. There was something fun turning the dial and getting some static until you found the sweet spot for the frequency you were looking for. In addition, this big guy has Bluetooth which is much appreciated. The Bluetooth setup is par for the course, meaning it's no different that any other Bluetooth speaker. You change the input to Bluetooth and then add it on your device. What I haven't tried, is trying to add different devices (like a friend's phone when we were out) but I can't imagine it being too difficult or cumbersome given the ease of initial Bluetooth connection. You also have AUX input, which in today's age where more and more phones are losing headphone jacks is less important, it's still nice to have. I didn't try it out (my phone doesn't have a headphone jack) but I can't imagine it would be difficult to use. The AUX input is on the side and the input slider on the top specifically says AUX so it would be easy to use when the circumstances are right. Lastly, the cassette player. Man it was fun popping in an old tape and listening to it. The buttons to rewind, pause, play and fast forward are just like you would remember if your old enough to have lived in the cassette age. As an added bonus, you can even rip cassettes to USB. There's controls on the side to "rip" a cassette and you can capture the audio via the USB drive. Since I subscribe to a music service, this feature is less important to me (since I can stream any song I have on cassette) I could see this as a big boon for anyone who has a desire to digitize their collection. It's an awesome addition that doesn't get in your way if you don't use it, and nice to have for those that want to use it. It's a little clunky to use, and you have to stop and start the cassette when recording, but it's the same steps you'd have to take when "ripping" any cassette. SOUND QUALITY I was pretty amazed with the sound quality. It's not going to blow you away like a Bose or high end brand speaker would, but it has remarkable clarity and bass for such a relatively small device. When playing audio through Bluetooth, I would say it is a run of the mill speaker. Not amazing, but certainly not bad. When playing the radio or cassettes, you get vintage audio that comes with all cassettes. I know that's a bad description, but I don't know how else to explain it. It sounds like a cassette (much like vinyls have their own distinctive sound) and honestly, that's all that matters. Replicating that old cassette sound and feeling. In terms of volume, this gets plenty loud. At louder volume the bass is a bit muted, but it will serve its purpose in any crowd setting, save for maybe a loud tailgate or something like it. I use it primarily in my backyard and gets plenty loud, in fact I don't play it at full volume. BATTERY POWER The battery is rated for 10 hours. I haven't done a run down and counted the hours, but I've used it frequently over a week and it's still going strong on one charge. I feel confident that so long as you charge it before you take it anywhere, it will last as long as you need it to, which is all you can ask for. CONCLUSION Bottom line is that the primary reason to get this is for those who have an interest in collecting old audio media, or those who have a cassette library. It's a treat for those who have cassettes to be able to play them again (and in a portable device) and for those persons, it's also nice to have modern features such as Bluetooth for those times when you're out and you run out of cassettes to play. Plus, the price is pretty nice. It's a good deal for those in the market for a portable music player who own cassettes.

When I open the box and plugged in the boom box and the speaker was making noise without me playing anything. I was so disappointed.

First time eat my original tape then trying second blank tape same thing .... i was going to give as a gift didnt work.

Very cheap Quality... Also didn't know about the 15 day policy For sure i will not be Purchasing at this store.

Was Good For 3 Weeks Then I used And Was Not working No more Idk why ...

It is a piece of C.... made cheaply. the Quality is terrible.

Very poor reception. Who uses cassette tape nowadays.

Not worth $20 let alone $70. Very cheap feeling and a constant buzz from the device.

Was broken and ate our cassette tape. Would not recommend this item.

Solid and weighty with a powerful sound. Very pleasing retro look, simple controls. Rechargeable battery means no A/C hum (except while charging). Bluetooth connection is fast, problem-free and good quality. FM radio sounds fine to my ears - AM not used. All recording modes (multiple and all tested, including tape recording) are at fixed levels, unless I missed something. So VU meters must be just for show. Digital recordings saved at 128kbps except Bluetooth saved at 160kbps -- adequate but not great. Tape recording is very poor quality. For recording (digitally) bits and pieces from the radio a remote would be a nice addition. If you're looking for an enjoyable retro cassette playing experience I recommend this machine highly in comparison with other modern boomboxes out there, but would limit use to pre-recorded tapes or home tapes made on a better machine.

I bought this for the vintage look ALONE when it was on sale for $60. Having tested it a bit with some different music and YouTube video dialogue playback, this is a slam dunk deal at $60. I would definitely not pay over $100 for it though. At first I thought they lied about the rechargeable internal battery, but it in fact continued playing a song without missing beat upon unplugging it! (to think I was about to shell out for 6 D batteries..HA). Not sure how long the internal battery will last, but it's nice to know the Ds are an option to extend that. Having read a lot of the reviews, and seeing people praise the sound quality as a Pro, I thought, "Wow, this is going to be a great music video prop, AND be functionally exceptional?!" Not s'much. While it does get fairly loud, the audio clarity is pretty weak. A weird part of me appreciates that, because although some people like to claim their portable boom boxes of the 80s and 90s sounded great, they really didn't. This brings me back to those boom boxes of the time, but with so much input versatility added. Love the easy bluetooth connection and the AUX port, in addition to the bonus cassette player and AM/FM radio.

It's burn after supply to electricity . Just now I'm in UAE for vacation .

Antenna broke trying to deploy it. Line out was broken.