aiwa Retro Boombox CD Player with Cassette Recording, Bluetooth 5.0, FM/AM Radio, USB/SD/AUX Inputs, VU Meters, LCD Display, Dual 40W Speakers - Silver

So 'I've been looking for a decent "real" boombox for a while now. What I mean is, not a Bluetooth speaker. My Aiwa CSD-EL33 quit working some time ago. I've had it since 1999. I took it apart and tried to repair it but it is possessed. I don't know if the caps went bad or if a chip got corrupted. It doesn't respond to the buttons most times, or it does something entirely different. Plus the cassette belts dissolved. I may give up on it. In the meantime while finding out that there are no real brand name boomboxes anymore, I found this. I know this Awia is not the same as old school Aiwa, just the name that some Chinese corporation bought who also makes toasters, but I thought just maybe it would be decent enough. We'll, let me tell you, it is! The only thing that disappoints me is the tape deck. Like all, and I do mean ALL, cassette tape decks in 2025. It's a piece of trash, and the makers should be ashamed of themselves. I could write another thousand words about the awesome technology and quality of tape decks we had back in the 80's and 90's, but it won't change the fact that NONE of them are being made anymore. Just this ONE mechanism in EVERY cassette player made now with its cheap play head and it's permanent erase magnet for recording. It is truly an abomination compared to what we once had, to what is in my 1999 Aiwa CSD-EL33! The tape playback is tolerable and is in stereo, but recording to tape is a nogo. The Aiwa backtrack weighs in at 17.8 lbs with 8 alkaline D cell batteries installed. Its kinda heavy, and its kinda big. It doesn't fit in the front seat of my 1987 Suzuki Samurai big. Which is GOOD! And it sounds good too! Excellent actually. (Except for that tape recording thing) And it's LOUD! On volume 25 with treble set at 4, Bass at 4, and bass boost off from 10 feet away listening to Geddy Lee lament about FM radio on our local FM radio station (Rush-The Spirit of Radio) my free app sound meter on my phone measured 80db. 84db from 5 feet, and 90db right in front of the speaker. Same results from Bono singing In The Name of Love with more noticeable bass of course. That's loud enough for me. The volume knob goes all the way to 32 and still sounds good with no noticeable distortion. The sound is very good, and the bass has an impressive kick for a plastic boombox, a much better frequency response than any medium sized 80's or 90's equivalent that I can remember. The tuner is clear and consice. It tunes in stations very well and 'STEREO' appears on the display when tuned to a stereo station. It also plays in stereo. There is a distinct Left and Right separation and the VU meters coorespond to this as noted by playing Spaced Age Love Song by Flock of Seagulls. CDs sound great also, as does Bluetooth pairing, but the loudest volume I've experience comes from a well tuned in radio station. I have not messed with the SD card or memory stick functions yet. When I do I'll update this review. The microphone inputs work great. The echo effect will make anyone sound like a monster truck event announcer. SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY! A bit of advice if you're going to sing along. Use Bluetooth pairing and the volume from your paired device/phone to adjust music volume while the mic volumes and main volume (I turn the main volume all the way up) can be used for your voice. Otherwise the music will drown out, you. If you are looking for a 'real' boombox. One with a cassette player, CD player, and radio like in the olden days that actually works, and sounds good. Go ahead and buy it. It works pretty good and has the added benefit of Bluetooth plus the SD stuff. Yes its 250 bucks, and while I think its expensive for what it is, so are my groceries! Look at it this way. For the price of half a basket of food you get a rad boombox that will impress the chics, and it won't end up in the toilet in a week. I'll update this review for longevity from time to time.

I had an older combo cd and cassette unit crap out on me and I was looking on Amazon for a replacement unit that looked natural in a book case. There were a few but I got scared with some of the reviews. So I went with a traditional 80's boombox look. If you read no further - this product is legit. The speakers are better than I thought they would be. The unit is well constructed and actually a little on the heavier side. I feel the cost to value ratio is well worth it and I do recommend this unit. There are a few minor things just for a heads up. I bought the yellow color and, while I am fine with it, my wife thinks it is an ugly yellow color. This unit is noticably bigger than a traditional 80's boombox. Be aware of this as it does have weight and size to it. My biggest minor issue is the on/off switch which is located in the middle of the backside of the unit. I have the unit on a shelf and that is a challenge for me to turn it on and off. That said - this unit is really impressive and it really sounds great.

This reminds me allot of the Sharp Sharp GF-575Z from back in the days. I am not going to sit there and bash this boom box for not being exactly like an 80's boom box , because I feel that for a company to go through the trouble and manufacture a product like this with modern tech is awesome. There is no one making the old-school cassette mechanisms like those of yesterday year. But remembering how I used to record cassettes from the FM radio using cassettes that fit my budget, yeah those Maxwell UR series tapes or even cheaper no name tapes back then. Man this sounds great when playing tapes that I recorded using higher quality equipment then playing it back on this AIWA. Thankfully I have not had any of the issues others have mentioned in their reviews with my copy and I have been putting this boombox though its paces. CD plays with no issues and sounds pretty decent. The cassette player sound pretty decent depending on the quality of the recording and tape. There are sometimes I noticed the wow and flutter minute speed differences (If one pays really close attention.) But hey. Did we really pay attention to that as kids walking our boxes on the streets? Not this guy........ FM radio receives station very well in my area AM stations came in as well but in my area there is allot of interference on that band , this is not the fault of the radio but my are. USB and SD card recored lengthy audio mixes from my computer and had no issues. It does how ever only seem to record MP3s at 128Kbps so there is a noticeable difference from the original when paying close attention but again at a party or walking the streets who will really notice. Build Quality: To me I think they nailed it, styling and feel just like those budget friendly boom boxes of yesterday year. It is not an M90! lol but looks just like a modern take of a SHARP GF-575-Z and that was nice radio for its time. Volume: I compare it to some boomboxes of the 80's it gets loud but it will never compare to a modern BIG USB speaker with plenty of power. It depends on where you are actually , indoors it has nice volume, outdoors its like a typical boombox of the 80's. (AGAIN not comparing to those boat anchor class boom boxes) :-) Taking 8-D Cell 12V boxes of the past. Over all I love it. I would definitely recommend just keep in mind , it will never be the early 80's again.. :-)

This is the perfect mix of old and new. The tape deck, the CD player and then you have Bluetooth. It's the quality product we've always expected of AIWA. It's heavy duty. Its retro look is amazing too. It takes you right back to the 80s and 90s. I like the fact it can run on 8 D cell batteries but also has a cord. The sound quality is fantastic! You can play with the base and treble to get just the right sound. I've already dug out all my old tapes and CDs to try it out. One word of warning, just so you don't break it. The CD and tape deck have a slow open release. I thought at first they might be broken when they didn't just pop open, but that's just they way they work. Don't pull on them. You have to give them a good push to close them as well. Zero buyers remorse on this. I'm going to use this all the time. Update 3/23/26 After using this for a few months I wanted to give an update on some things I found. First, the sound is incredible. I the CDs and tapes have really impressive sound. When you listen to the quiet pars between the songs there is some background noise in the speakers. It doesn't detract from the music quality. The CD does not spin all the time. Just in case you see it, it doesn't mean. It's broken. I never get a skip in the music. Some CDs when they spin, it makes a loud rattle. It looks like it's because the actual component for the Lazer floats on springs as a shock absorber. Min sits on a shelf so there is no shock to absorb. I used a very low tech solution and put a small piece of packing tape on the gap and the rattle is gone. It may not be the same for everyone. It may just have been mine. Lastly the volume has to be way up for the Bluetooth than for CDs and tapes. Just be aware I almost gave myself a heart attack when I had put in a CD after a day of listing to music ove Bluetooth. Other than than those things, it's a quality system. I've been very happy with it and have zero buyers remorse. I did knock off a star for the CD rattle.

I wanted a good Bluetooth speaker set up for the tunes on my phone. Previously I had bought a no name speaker that failed after a couple of years. I might be able to fix it, maybe not. I have always wanted a large ghetto blaster like I had back in the day and had looked on ebay, but of course those are mostly parts or museum pieces costing ten times what they cost new. Besides, the modern stereo usually has Bluetooth and other modern music storage options. Aiwa has always had good products in the past, so I figured I would take a chance, even though everything is now made in china. As stated in other reviews, the thing is heavy. I mean it is SOLID. Good heavy plastic on the case. The knobs look a little cheesy but no problems found. FM in my area is pathetic with only a few strong stations and they were not producing high quality signals anyway. I don't listen to subscription music or chart music anyway. The unit is impressive with the amount of crystal clear sound that it reproduces. Remember, the quality of recordings/files/downloads is the starting point of quality reproduction. I listen to HQ or HD videos streamed from my phone through the Bluetooth feature. The Bluetooth works flawlessly. The sound doesn't distort with increased volume. I have not tried the tape deck or CD player as I listen to digital recordings. I like the option of having USB, SD, AUX, microphone jacks and other features but I may not ever use them as my phone does all the storage. The old school look is even better in real life. I will get some rechargeable batteries for it just because they are so handy and reliable now. The price is really not very high for a sound system of this quality and functionality. I have always been pleased with Aiwa products and it looks like this one will be a good product too.

A very well built retro boombox cd and cassette player with recording capabilities. Sound quality is excellent . The quality cassette player has given lives back to my old cassette ( especially my remixed music) collections. I would give this unit a 6 stars if the cassette player can add an automatic rewind function in the future to make the cassette player more enjoyable by eliminating the manual re-inserting step. Otherwise this is a good buy for the value.

*Update* I do not recommend this boombox. I give it 2 stars for appearance as I can't deny it's a very well styled device. Unfortunately it can not be reliably used as intended. If you want it for aesthetics I'd suggest buying a used vintage boombox that doesn't work. You'll get the look and same functionality for far less money. *Original Review (edits denoted with asterisk)* This boombox seems to be a dream for someone who is in to retro vibes and wants to consolidate most media in to one unit. It's an absolutely gorgeous device. It pays homage to 80s aesthetics very well. It does sound pretty good for a boombox too. Nothing amazing but it does maintain good sound at high and low volumes. Unfortunately good looks and average sound is where the good in this boombox ends. I've had to return 2 of these now and I'm really hoping I don't have to return a third but I'm afraid I will. On the first one, after about a week the cassette deck started making this awful clicking sound that was actually picking up in the speakers. One of the spindles was *oscillating* in addition to *rotating*. It caused a millisecond delay in the tape spooling properly which was causing the feeding spool to bounce. That physical bounce was being picked up by the tape head. *and making music unlistenable as it was as loud or louder* The cassette deck *mechanicals are* poorly designed. When the head is engaged it kicks one side of the tape up so the whole thing is uneven and is apparently leading to more issues with use *such as the cassette shaking. This could also be the cause of the oscillation.* The second one I got played CDs just fine and then suddenly stopped being able to read them. The CDs I used were in like new conditions and worked well in other players. No idea what happened there. I initiated the return and decided since I had about a week to ship it off I would keep playing cassettes to see if anything would go wrong there too. Sadly over time I actually replicated the same issue I had with the first unit. I am going to try a third device. My hope is that since the first 2 were received before the actual mass market release that maybe I just got them from a bad lot. My hopes are not high though. I'll update this with a review of the third one. ***UPDATE*** There has been some time before having to return this boombox so I decided to see if it was really worth it. I got an education on modern retro boomboxes and decided it isn't worth it because of how the Aiwa name is misused, how the mechanicals all come from one factory, and how there's really no modern mass produced cassette boombox that is worth what this costs. Further, the CD player issues worsened. Instead of just not reading the CDs, when trying, it began to make terrible grinding noises. The cassette issue also got worse. The oscillation of the spindle intensified and began to click more loudly and tapes began to visibly misfeed. I have no confidence that a new unit would not have the same issues due to what I learned about the cassette mechanicals and experience of replicating the same issue with no effort other than using the boombox as intended. I cannot recommend this boombox at all. While very handsome it is filled with cheap mechanicals that do not last and provide nowhere near the value of the cost of $250.

Harmonic distortion and circuitry noise. Even after getting a new one. That’s cheap components, honestly. My $40 radio shack radio blows this out of the water on sound quality. It needs light up buttons. PRIMARY complaint- no soft anti-skid feet, and the handle drops loud and hard. All on both units. I would recommend this to anyone. It’s probably the best on the market globally for a powerhouse of a portable boombox. Uses batteries or plugs in. Cassette, CD, AM/FM, Bluetooth, aux input, USB, and micro SD all work very well. Kinda hard using the file folders on the radio. It’s 40 watts plus two tweeters. I bought because of the Karate Kid beach scene. Everyone needs a boombox. Huge antenna and great reception. Love the two power meters. It’s HARD composite plastic. Not junk. Doors are quality. On the black unit, it’s extremely hard to read with the bronze symbols or text. Especially in brushed matte black areas. The THD just kills it. The weight speaks to quality. Maybe 25 pounds? I would buy again. Tons of features on this. CANT go wrong with it. Buy the 3-yr extended warranty at same time in case a door breaks or screen. Anything really. It was like $20 for 3 years. Pretty happy with it. Try it out? Perfect for the garage, shed, basement, drive-in, tailgating, you name it. It can even burn cassettes from other sources like FM. This thing don’t mess around. Stop looking. You are want this. And I’m never satisfied. This passed the test. Very durable. Will buy soft bumpers for the handle. It slams hard completely randomly. Both I’ve had. It’s loud and lots of bass if you wish. You can adjust the settings. You won’t send it back. Buy the 3-yr warranty. Thing is awesome. They need to fix the static in the circuitry. And add dim LED backlights to see in the dark. That doesn’t fly. Works great plugged in or on batteries. It’s a win. We needed this. You’ll impress your friends no matter where you go. Even the basketball court or basement gym. Can’t say enough good things about it. Great value too. I love the sturdy and long antenna. Even the CD and cassette make static. My GE radio has no static on FM/AM, (or leaking over) but this really does. A bit annoying. But being an audiophile I’m tuned for this stuff. Others won’t notice THD. For batteries only use Energizer Industrial- better than Duracell. I made the switch two years ago. Huge difference. I think the batteries are heavier too, which speaks to quality and durability. Put reflective tape on it. My 30 year old sister accidentally tripped over it. The radio didn’t move. She was injured. The boom box was not. It plays every source but vinyl or 8 track. But with Bluetooth stream it wirelessly via any device or apple radio or whatever. Works for me. I bought for my cassette collection as my cassette player was broken. Huge upgrade here. Idk how long it’ll last. EXCEPTIONAL VALUE.

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