TDK Life on Record 77000015402 2-Speaker Boombox Audio System

• Two powerful 6-inch coaxial drivers deliver full range sound
• Play your iPod/iPhone music while charging using the USB to 30 pin Apple cable
• Using the rotary dial and front facing screen, play and control music directly from storage devices including USB flash and external hard drives
• Shoulder strap and soft-touch handle let you take your music along
• Input options let you connect most audio devices and mix with an instrument

Upfront if you are not the slightest bit of an audio snob, this thing will probably satisfy you. It's 85% of the way to being a really cool product, however, for me and at $400 I want 99%.

All of the other reviews are relatively on point, it is heavy, it will play loud, it does look sexy as a supermodel.

From an audio snob's point of view here are my complaints:

1. The AC adapter, iPod cable and antennas are all external. Meaning you could have as many as 4 plugs hanging off this thing in a mass of black wire spaghetti. For $400 I want an internal antenna, internal cable routing, all of that. There's no reason a product designed to be this stylish should have a mass of cables hanging off.

The AC adapter, AM and FM antennas all plug via various mini plugs into the back of the unit, meaning they stick out, so you cannot lay it down, which is just stupid. They are all removable, and you KNOW you're gonna lose 1 or all of them.

2. The sound is not worth $400. I know a lot of people have praised it, however my own ears are picky snobs and I didn't enjoy the sound of this at all. It's fatiguing, a little harsh and slightly boomy. The boomy bass distorts the midrange at frequencies near the port resonance as air escapes through the front speakers where the tweeters are mounted.

That said it sure as heck is loud. Sometimes quantity is its OWN quality, I leave it for you to decide. But if you are picky about what you listen to, you will be unsatisfied. It's just loud.

3. The overall quality is an issue as well. Some parts of the construction of this thing are great, the leather strap is like a nice belt. The faceplate is sleek and shiny. But I had the constant feeling that this is a cheaply made product. When you turn it on it takes a while to 'boot up' rather than clicking on. The iPhone dock behaves oddly. The volume control is wobbly and imprecise. The menus have that 'not designed by a native english speaker' feel that cheap electronics have.

So, bottom line?

About 2 weeks into ownership mine failed, it wouldn't tune radio stations nor would it recognize my iPhone. But instead of being sad, I was kinda happy because I had a legitimate excuse to send it back and get a refund.

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Many of the Amazon reviews mention the weight of this unit as a negative attribute, even saying that the unit is not truly "portable". I wonder if these people have ever owned true high-powered, quality speakers. This boombox is SO loud and sounds SO good, I'm suprised it doesn't weigh twice as much. If I had wanted a light radio with tinny, empty sound, they could be found for hundreds less in any discount pharmacy store. For those that claim you can't take this thing to the beach, poolside etc., I would recommend vitamin supplements. Not only is it easy to carry, you WILL be the envy of wherever you bring it.

I bought this as a gift for my wife. I considered a BOSE or CAMBRIDGE tabletop unit, but decided I would opt for something she could take poolside or on weekends to our small cabin. This radio looks gorgeous on granite kitchen counters, wooden bookcases, on top of the piano, on a desk, anywhere. Pre 1970, radios were made to look like furniture that would fit virtually any decor. Once things started going solid-state, manufacturers tried to make everything look "futuristic". Most modern radios are loaded with silver plastic, faux chrome, and redundant or decorative knobs, speaker grills and the like. Why on earth would I ever want to have something like that on display? This thing is a throwback (think Tivoli model 1).

Sound is exemplary. SO loud and CLEAN. I've tried it with a thumbdrive, iPod, and FM tuner. All great. No hop from the woofers, no clip from the tweeters. It sounds as good as any BOSE, without needing the counter space for the circuitous porting.

With its leather strap, minimalist style, hidden function indicators, and outrageous sound, I consider this to be the best dollar-for-dollar value in the portable audio market.

I would also second the advice to turn the volume on your iPod to zero, and turn off the iPod EQ.

I couldnt be more pleased.

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It's big, think the size of a small tabletop. It's heavy, like 15 pounds. But I guess what's most important, there's a great big sound packed inside that sleek black box. You'll make quite an impression on the beach and people will be able to hear you over on the next island.

As a member of the Geezer crowd, I'm probably not the demographic TDK is really after with it's new "Life on Record 77000015402 2-Speaker Boombox Audio System." But, hey, I like to listen to tunes as much as any 18-year-old.

Springsteen sounds great coming out of the two six-inch coaxial drivers. Dylan, too. The TDK picks up every screech and yowl, all the bass and treble. Of all the devices in my house, this one wins the ribbon for best sound reproduction, at the lower decibels, too. I think next Halloween I'm going to hide it in the bushes and plug in a Yoko Ono album. I figure that will raise some fright in the neighborhood.

For versatility, I give the brick a five. You can plug in your iPod or play music from a flash or external drive. Plug in your guitar if that's your instrument. It has radio, both, AM and FM. It is also a charging station for your iPod. I live in an area with a forest of antennas. Radio reception can be a problem. This thing has an FM receiver that beats out the Bose unit on the kitchen counter.

Dormant, it's a black box with a clean, sleek surface. Turn it on and a beautiful, useful display appears with all the function, status bars you could ask for. They're touch-sensitive. Switching functions is as easy as ringing a doorbell.

Okay, but this thing is big, really big. It's luggable but not very portable. I'll bet it is going to gobble batteries. It takes ten of them, D cells. There's an AC adapter for when you're near an outlet.

It's as heavy as a boulder. Think about renting a dolly if you're planning to lug it to the beach. They've tried to make things easier by including a leather shoulder strap. I believe anyone brave and brawny enough to lug this thing around in public is going to look uncool, but that's my opinion.

Overall, the new TDK boombox makes listening to music and radio a pleasure for even aged ears. But I'm having considerable trouble warming up to the size and heft of it. Maybe that's a generational thing.

It will be interesting to keep on eye on sales to see if the new TDK will bring big and retro back to life or end up as dead as the old 60s boombox I have stored in a corner of the attic.

[4.5 stars]

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When I received the TDK boombox it would not power up. I contacted customer support. They asked me to return the item to them. I did. They returned the same unit back to me at which point it worked fine. They had a quick turn around time and they called me the day they looked at the unit. They said the unit worked fine for them and that there was no malfunction. They apologized for the inconvenience. I run the help desk in the IT department of a manufacturing company and I know a malfunctioning device when I see one so I don't know what to make of the incident but I guess I can conclude that customer support was quick and although I suspect their findings the unit works fine now.

I had the boombox on for 8 hours today and it worked fine. It gets slightly warm but not hot. The boombox charges your ipod. There is no docking port but there is a recess on the top of the unit where you can safely park your ipod as long as you are not moving the boombox.

We have bad radio reception so the boombox only picks up 2 stations. It displays the song title and artist that the radio is playing.

There is no remote control. The unit is HEAVY and big. It looks cool though. My teenager thinks it looks chic. I'm not sure he's ever used that word before so that's telling.

The sound is fabulous. I have tried a variety of smaller speakers for my ipod and the sound of this boombox is in a completely different league. Having said that, if you point the boombox away from the neighbor's house you can get great sound in a particular direction without necessarily disturbing the entire neighborhood. I'd say I had the volume on 4? ish and the sound filled my lawn without being a nuisance. Although if you wanted to disturb the entire neighborhood that would be possible as the volume dial goes to 11.

This is the perfect party tool. I can't imagine anyone carrying the device around but it does come with a shoulder strap if you want to install it.

UPDATE: 3 months later and the device is malfunctioning. I see other people describing trouble with the device. It started as an off and on thing but now it will not see Ipod Touch when connected. The aux connection is also all messed off and only working intermittently.

UPDATE: now 6 months later. After repeated calls to the customer service center I was finally issued a return sticker. I returned the unit again. This time it was replaced with a new unit. I have had this unit for about 6 weeks now and it is working fine.

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As I write this review, I'm enjoying the tunes playing from my new Stereo boombox. I'm pleased with the purchase, but not completely satisfied with the $400 dished out nor did it exceed my expectations. Don't let the 20 watts feature fool you, this stereo can BRING it with clear crisp audio quality. In my opinion it exceeds the sound quality of my Bose Lifestyle, but this unit is also larger than the Bose. So why only 4 out 5 Stars & why am I not blown away?

First the PROS:

* Sleek cool design, makes for great deco for any room in the apt or house.

* Clear Crisp Rich Sound Quality.

* Brings to life any iPod & charges the iPod when playing while many docking stations do not.

(Recommendation: when playing your iPod, turn off the iPod EQ and turn the down the iPod volume completely as i found audio interference from the stereo EQ.)

CONS:

$400 NO remote control!!! OK this might sound minor but when's the last time you purchased an electronic home entertainment unit with no remote? Your fave song comes on, you want to turn up the volume, you have to get up and manually turn it up, you want to surf channels, the phone rings, you gotta get up, and adjust the volume/channels yourself just diminishes the user experience...

Channels are changed by the knob or the touch screen which will leave smudges & finger prints.

No built in FM/AM antenna. You need to hook up the antenna's to pickup some of your favorite stations, & even with the antenna, you still have to fiddle with the antenna's positioning to pickup weaker station signals.

So bottom line you would think for $400 TDK could've "easily" addressed the 3 CON's above to make this a 5 Star Stereo purchase during their R&D. If you can live with the above Go for it, splurge on this purchase & enjoy.