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We Are Rewind goes back to the ‘80s with the GB-001, a cassette boombox that gives you a genuine taste of old-school tape recording

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By ( musicradartech ) published

Bust out your old C90s, because there’s a new portable hi-fi system on the way that looks a lot like the ones we grew up with

As anyone who grew up in the late ‘70s or ‘80s will tell you, a boombox was the only kind of hi-fi system that the teenager of the time wanted. Featuring a radio, cassette player - sometimes dual cassette players for those naughty homemade album copies - and built-in speakers, it was the perfect bedroom solution.

Now - as with most tech of the time, it seems - it’s back, thanks to a jazzed-up revival from the nostalgia freaks at We Are Rewind. Having previously rebooted the Walkman concept with the WE-001, the company is now bringing us the GB-001.

There’s no radio, sadly, but you do get a cassette deck, Bluetooth compatibility, a carry handle and built-in speakers. These are powered by two 32w amps for the woofers and two 20w amps for the tweeters, giving you a total power output of 104w.

We’re told that the GB-001 has a “top-of-the-line cassette deck mechanism” with a user-adjustable motor that includes internal speed regulation, and there’s a noise reduction circuit with Dolby B emulation. Type 1 and Type II (chrome) cassettes are supported - you can flip between these with a top-panel rotary switch.

We Are Rewind GB-001

(Image credit: We Are Rewind)

It should also be noted that the GB-001 is capable of making stereo cassette recordings, so if you want to capture some of that old-school tape magic, you’re good to go. There are both line and mic inputs and adjustable recording levels; the VU meters will tell you when you’ve hit the sweet spot.

As you’d expect, the GB-001 can also function as a wireless Bluetooth speaker, and there are bass and treble controls so that you can adjust the tone. Power comes from a built-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery that’s user-replaceable: if playing through the speakers you can expect up to 10 hours of life in tape mode and 15 if you’re using an aux source; on headphones, these figures rise to 15 and 28 hours respectively.

A price for the GB-001 has yet to be confirmed but it’s expected that pre-orders will open in July. Find out more and sign up for updates on the We Are Rewind website.

WE ARE REWIND - GB-001 - Full version - YouTube WE ARE REWIND - GB-001 - Full version - YouTube
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Ben Rogerson
Ben Rogerson
Deputy Editor

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it. 

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