TDK 2- Speaker Boombox

With audio cassettes now firmly confined to the realms of history, TDK has dragged itself into the digital era ... with a product that's oozing with nostalgia for the glory days of magnetic media.

Design & Handling: a few omissions

With its retro design, some critics would say that the TDK Boombox is on venturing into territory already tread by Altec Lansing. The product is made from glossy black and matte plastic, with carbon and golden brown highlights that are relatively stylish and set off its design well. We've got no complaints about the product's finish either. The only flaw we spotted was that the carry handle bends under the weight of the Boombox. It doesn't look like it'll break, but continuous bending could spoil the product's look in the long term.

Some of TDK's design choices have left us rather perplexed. The speakers, for example, aren't protected with grilles or covers. Although TDK seems to think the woven carbon design makes them sturdy enough, anyone who uses the product out and about on a regular basis may soon disagree. Similarly, there's no full, secure dock, ledge or rest to put your iPod/iPhone in—just a slight dip in the plastic on the upper surface. The official reason for that is to ensure compatibility with all kinds of MP3 players. However, a flip-out dock or rest would have helped keep MP3 players in place and stop them falling on the floor.

The good news is that TDK has equipped the Boombox with plenty of connections. There's a USB Host port (Apple cable supplied) that's compatible with most MP3 players and external hard drives, a couple of auxiliary inputs (1 x mini-jack, 2 x RCA) and an INST port (see inset). You can even run the Boombox on batteries (10 x D-format batteries) for hours on end, but this does make the system a whole lot heavier.

Audio: wideband has its limits

TDK has designed and built this product in a very clever way, as to keep things compact, the firm has used two wideband coaxial speakers. This is an effective setup that gives a nice, powerful output.

However, you'll probably need to play around with the equaliser to get perfectly balanced results—especially at low or mid-range volume settings.

The output is accurate and powerful enough so that you don't have to sit right next to the Boombox to appreciate it properly. That said, to fill an average-sized living room with sound, you may want to look to TDK's 3-Speaker Boombox or Soundcube, which are much more suitable for this kind of use.

If you don't mind its bulk and you're not worried about your iPod or MP3 player falling on the floor, the TDK 2-Speaker Boombox provides a powerful, pleasant, precise audio output. It also has a pretty original design.