This retro-styled Bluetooth boombox makes me want to cancel my streaming subscription
Miss the days of shoving a cassette into a chunky boombox, pressing play, and hearing the sound crackle to life rather than scrolling through music streaming playlists? Then this modern take on the boombox from We Are Rewind might just be your new obsession.
The GB-001 is a retro-styled boombox that marries the old with the new. That's not just in the design, but also in functionality with support for both Bluetooth and cassettes.
Read more: Best cassette players and tape players in 2025 for a retro audio fix
It's a full-blown stereo powerhouse, decked out with Bluetooth 5.4, a rechargeable battery, and a cassette deck that takes itself quite seriously. This boombox plays and records tapes, does Dolby B-style noise reduction, and makes me want to cancel my Apple Music subscription. Of course, it's also fully equipped for the modern world. Tap the Bluetooth pairing button to connect for wireless audio, or there's a 3.5mm jack for everything else.
What's seriously impressive is just how far We Are Rewind has gone with the tech under boombox's retro hood. We're talking 104 watts of stereo output, with left and right woofers and tweeters that promise a full-spectrum audio experience. There's dynamic power control to rein in distortion, EQ tweaking knobs, and even a spatial audio mode.
The GB-001 even comes with functional VU meters – gloriously backlit ones, at that. Throw in a microphone input with adjustable gain and a feature that lets it double as a guitar amp, and this thing is in retro territory. It even supports rap battles if you've got a spare wireless mic or two lying about.
The GB-001 boombox is available to order now directly from We Are Rewind. It'll set you back £379/€449.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Stuff.tv
4 hours ago
- Stuff.tv
Make Father's Day special with Yaber's T2 portable projector
Father's Day is approaching, and a meaningful and practical gift will be top of the shopping list for anyone who wants to show their dear old dad how much he means to them. Yaber's T2 portable projector with JBL speakers ticks all the boxes, bringing portability, ease of use and immersive audiovisual quality that will show him exactly how much he means to you. Yaber is offering a special Father's Day deal until June 15th, with an exclusive discount code for Stuff readers, so you could save up to 35% on this fantastic device. The Yaber T2 projector is available at 33% off in the UK, now just £239. That's a saving of over £120 off the usual price of £359. You can also save $122 on Amazon US, where the price drops from $349 to $227. A portable projector is the ideal gift for Father's Day, and Yaber offers the best battery-powered projector for outdoor use, with a big-screen, cinema-grade performance in a portable frame. It's sleek, portable and built for adventure, allowing you to enjoy films, sports, TV and games wherever you can find a suitable screen. Whether it's wildlife documentaries while camping, movie nights in the back garden, or football matches projected up to 120-inches across on the living room wall, the Yaber T2 has everything you need. The T2 is ultra-bright, producing a sharp 1080p image that's superbly detailed, even outdoors. Its maximum brightness means you'll get bright colours, and the projector's autofocus, four-point keystone correction and obstacle avoidance technology mean it's easy to set up. The carrying handle even folds underneath to create a stand, so it's stable even on uneven surfaces – something dads always appreciate. It easily adapts to various spaces and settings, so you'll always be able to make it work. A battery life of 2.5 hours from a full charge makes this the best battery-powered projector for outdoor use, as it's easily able to complete a whole movie or football match without needing to be topped up. If you use it in its Bluetooth speaker mode to play music, this endurance rises to a phenomenal 18 hours. And you'll want to do this too, as the JBL dual 8W internal speaker system with Dolby Audio is capable of delivering rich, immersive audio for a true musical experience, whatever you're listening to. You can also hook it up to an external Bluetooth speaker (or headphones to keep the noise to a minimum), and there's a 3.5mm audio jack too if your speaker choice doesn't include a wireless connection. Dreams of streaming Getting your movies and TV shows onto the Yaber T2 is simple. There's a built-in HDMI port that can be hooked up to any streaming stick, DVD or Blu-ray player, games console or PC. Alternatively, you can use the Yaber app on your phone for seamless screen mirroring and remote control, all through a tap on the side with NFC. There's also a USB port, which you can fill with a drive full of image or movie files if you're watching without WI-Fi – and which can also be used to power your streaming stick of choice. The Yaber T2 is distinctively designed, with a minimalist, modern aesthetic, bold visual impact, and artwork inspired by American pop artist Keith Haring. It's exceptionally light, at just 2.5kg, and can be transported easily to anywhere with a large enough surface to use as a projection screen, and measures 165 x 140 x 290mm so can be conveniently carried in a bag. If you're looking for a smart projector with auto-focus and keystone correction this Father's Day, or a compact cinema projector for travel, or just something to provide outdoor viewing on the long summer evenings, the Yaber T2 is a great gift that will make Father's Day really special. You can save up to 35% on the Yaber T2 portable projector with the exclusive discount code STUFFDAY (valid until June 15). Just click the Amazon links below: Amazon UK Save 33% Original price: £359.99 Final price: £239.21 Amazon USA Save 35% Original price: $349.99 Final price: $227.99
Stuff.tv
a day ago
- Stuff.tv
My favourite Ruark Bluetooth speakers just got a huge upgrade
If you'd asked me yesterday what the best Bluetooth bookshelf speakers were, I'd have pointed straight at my MR1 Mk2 setup without blinking. In proper money-where-mouth-is fashion, I've got a set in front of me as I type (which replaced an amp/speaker combo) and another hooked up to the living room telly. But today? Ruark's shattered my pointy certainty by unveiling the shiny new Ruark MR1 Mk3, which will set you back $579/£399 when it rocks up in early July. At a glance, this revamped Ruark system looks reassuringly familiar, with the same friendly vibe and compact footprint. Rather than screaming LOOK AT ME, the Mk3 is all subtle, soft curves that should fit into any office or living room. But there have been some changes. The grilles are now slate grey and charcoal ousts soft grey as a finish, joining walnut. Bevelled edges reduce the design's boxiness. And the speakers have grown a bit, although that's hardly noticeable unless you moonlight as a ruler. (Oh, fine: they're 5mm wider and 10mm deeper, making them H185mm x W135mm x D155mm.) That extra space isn't for show, note – Ruark's used it to pack in some serious upgrades. Amp it up Crack open a Ruark MR1 Mk3 speaker and, well, you'd probably invalidate your warranty. But you would be able to gawp at the Class D amp tech adopted from Ruark's R410, paired with new NS+ bass/mid units and custom 20mm silk dome tweeters. The result, according to Ruark, is more power, more controlled bass, a lucid midrange, exceptional detail, and an audio experience that defies the size of these speakers. But then, Ruark would say that. Still, as someone who, remember, owns two pairs of the Mk2s, I can confirm they punch well above their weight. So unless Ruark's forgotten how to make speakers, you can expect these will be great as well. And Ruark's savvy is surely confirmed when you flip the Mk3 around and spot the connectivity options. There's combined line-in/optical, a dedicated turntable input for vinyl fetishists, subwoofer output (for which Ruark, natch, recommends its own RS1), and a very welcome new USB audio input. Hate cables? AptX HD Bluetooth in the Mk3 handles high-quality, low-latency wireless audio and lets you adjust the volume using your TV remote. So no more fiddling with the tiny zapper that came with the Mk2 and was so small it could conceivably be lost down the back of an atom. Just one more reason, then, to hover over that buy button come July.
Stuff.tv
3 days ago
- Stuff.tv
I had my doubts about Marshall's first soundbar, but the Dolby Atmos-equipped Heston 120 blew me away
Stuff Verdict A cracking Dolby Atmos one-boxer with huge sound, powerful bass and so many streaming options. But the retro look won't be for everyone. Pros Surprisingly useful physical controls Superb sound quality Really powerful bass Standout design So many streaming options Cons Different sources, quite different volumes No remote control Big competition – especially from Sonos The look won't be for everybody Marshall's history as a British amplifier specialist for guitarists and more has certainly been diversified upon in recent years. In 2010 it teamed up with Swedish company Zound to make Bluetooth speakers and then headphones like the excellent Monitor III ANC. That resulted in Zound buying Marshall in 2023 and re-branding the whole thing as The Marshall Group. The company has clearly been planning to expand its wares for a while and produce more types of Marshall-branded tech. Welcome then, to the Heston 120. It's a high-end one-box soundbar with full Dolby Atmos and DTS-X support and as such takes on the Sonos Arc Ultra but boasts a slightly lower price. That's by far from an easy task. But Marshall believes that enough of its devotees will want a soundbar that looks a little different than the norm and that is equally suited to music as well as TV. Is it enough? The company is certainly hoping so and more products will follow – a Heston 60 soundbar with virtual Atmos is coming later in the year to go up against the Sonos Beam. There are two big selling points of this soundbar. Firstly, that it supports pretty much everything under the sun in addition to the aforementioned Dolby Atmos and DTS-X. Naturally there's HDMI eARC support. But there's also HDMI passthrough, Bluetooth (including LE and Auracast), AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect. There's even analogue RCA so you can hook up a turntable for example. And then there's the physical knob controls (just like on Marshall's amps and speakers) for volume, treble and source select. More on those shortly. You can order Heston 120 in the US for $999 or Europe for £900/€999. How we test home cinema equipment Every prjector, sound bar and home theatre separate reviewed on Stuff is used for a minimum of a week's worth of daily watching and listening. We use a playlist of test footage made up of multiple genres to assess picture and sound, and use our years of experience to compare to other models. Manufacturers have no visibility on reviews before they appear online, and we never accept payment to feature products. Find out more about how we test and rate products. Design: not the most in-your-face, but it will be too much for some The design of the Heston 120 is unmistakably Marshall but is more subtle than it could look. The large Marshall logo might put some off, but it doesn't stick out as much it could. The physical controls (more on them opposite) only stick out a little above the top of the soundbar, so you won't be bothered by them when you watch TV. While some will view the physical knob controls (just like on Marshall's amps and speakers) as gimmicky I found it were genuinely useful for volume, especially when you're listening to music. You can also change source this way should you want. Changing the source between streaming (from a phone) and your TV was actually the only thing I didn't find worked so well about this soundbar. If you're listening to some music over AirPlay for example, then changing back to HDMI as a source didn't stick. And that's a shame, because the theory of it is good. Physically, Heston 120 was designed to have a low-enough profile to sit under most TVs, but it can also be wall-mounted easily. Happily there are also replaceable parts including the fret, end caps, drivers and even the circuit boards. Connectivity: so many options and a well-designed new app As we mentioned before, connectivity is king here and it really shows just how much effort Marshall put in. The company's design team obviously sat round a table and mused what the ideal bar would include. And they've pulled off a blinder in that regard. Naturally there's HDMI eARC support (and there's an included high-speed HDMI cable). But there's also HDMI passthrough, Bluetooth (including LE and Auracast), AirPlay, Google Cast, Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect. There's even analogue RCA so you can hook up a turntable, for example. A redesigned Marshall app also debuts alongside the Heston 120. You can set up the bar initially using this and you can optionally calibrate the sound to suit your room. This uses a simple test that takes just a few minutes. Naturally, you can use third-party apps to control music while HDMI is naturally auto-switching so it's unlikely you'll use the app much after initial setup which is swift and works well. Indeed, we've had numerous issues in the past setting up devices with Apple's AirPlay. Not so here. Wi-Fi settings are also shared easily. You can also select presets for quick access to a favourite playlist or internet radio station should you wish using the physical controls and you can flick between the sound modes – Music, Movie, Night and Voice. Sound quality: superb for both music and movies As you'd expect at this price, the audio hardware inside the 7kg bar is hefty in both weight and power. There are a huge 11 individual speakers and associated amps (2 x 50W, 9 x 15W, 150W peak power) arranged in a 5.1.2 configuration. So what does it sound like? When watching TV, the bar is adept at movies in particular, while I also enjoyed watching the sport and the F1 in particular. Dolby Atmos obviously takes it to a new level. I found some softer voices require you to raise the volume, even in the Voice mode is selected. But it's a great all-rounder, which you obviously need from a soundbar. Heston comes into its own when listening to music. The impressive range of sources and codecs should suit everyone and it is powerful. It's unsurprisingly happier with rockier tracks though bassier dance tunes are well catered for. And it's a warm, high quality sound that can easily fill a mid-sized room . If you want even more powerful audio, an additional Heston Sub 200 is coming later in the year for those who want even more bass punch. There's no word on pricing yet though. Marshall Heston 120 verdict Marshall has created a wonderful box of tricks here and the wide variety of streaming formats is a real boon for full music flexibility. The sound quality is exceptional and bass especially is a real strength. You really won't be disappointed by it, even if it's hard to recommend it against the Sonos Arc Ultra, especially if you want any kind of multiroom possibilities. And even though the physical controls are super, some won't like the look of the Heston. It's certainly a contrast to many sleeker soundbars. But overall, I really love how the Heston 120 sounds and performs. Like all great TV sound gear, it just works seamlessly with your TV and everything that plugs into it. And it's a real bonus that this bar just happens to be great for music, too. Stuff Says… Score: 5/5 A cracking Dolby Atmos one-boxer with huge sound, powerful bass and so many streaming options. But the retro look won't be for everyone. Pros Surprisingly useful physical controls Superb sound quality Really powerful bass Standout design So many streaming options Cons Different sources, quite different volumes No remote control Big competition – especially from Sonos The look won't be for everybody Marshall Heston 120 tech specs Output 150W; 2 x tweeters, 2 x mid-woofers, 2 x subwoofers, 5 x full range Connectivity HDMI 2.1 eARC, HDMI in (passthrough), Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, RCA stereo, RCA mono (for sub), USB-C, Ethernet, Streaming Apple AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect Dimensions 110 x 14.5 x 7.6cm Weight 7.04kg
