Years after its cassette-era glory, the TDK brand dusts itself off and returns with a killer 2.1 portable boom box.
Donald Bell
Donald Bell has spent more than five years as a CNET senior editor, reviewing everything from MP3 players to the first three generations of the Apple iPad. He currently devotes his time to producing How To content for CNET, as well as weekly episodes of CNET's Top 5 video series.
TDK is back in the game with a high-end 2.1 portable stereo bearing the no-frills name "Three Speaker Boombox." The product will hit retail stores in February, with a suggested price of $499.
The system features AM and FM radio, iPod/iPhone input (via USB), USB stick media playback, and multiple aux input connections. The left and right speakers are powered by 10 watts each, with a 15-watt woofer at the center, for a total of 35 watts RMS. The handle, knobs, and backing all use heavyweight aluminum. The front of the system uses a piano gloss acrylic. And yes, it's heavy.
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TDK Three Speaker Boombox
The side of the TDK Three Speaker Boombox offers aux inputs for RCA, minijack, and quarter-inch instrument cables (mono). The instrument input can be blended with other audio, allowing for iPod karaoke mayhem or street-corner guitar performances.
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TDK Three Speaker Boombox
On the back of the boom box you'll find the power adapter port, as well as connectors for both AM and FM external antennas. Three oversize screws across the bottom give access to a battery compartment for 10 C-cell batteries.
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TDK Three Speaker Boombox
The bottom of the TDK boom box includes a PA speaker stand mount. Plug a microphone into the quarter-inch instrument input, and you've got the coolest mobile karaoke or block party rig ever devised.
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TDK Three Speaker Boombox
A USB port on the side of the boom box supports iPhones and iPods (playback and charging) and takes the direct digital signal and decodes it using TDK's onboard D/A converters. The same USB port can be used to play media off USB sticks, including MP3, WMA, and AAC formats.
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TDK Three Speaker Boombox
They had to pry this thing out of my hands. My apologies to TDK. They shouldn't have had to see me cry like that.
