CoffeeGeek<p><a href="https://flipboard.social/tags/NCP" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>NCP</span></a> </p><p>Sunday night muse about music.</p><p>I'm going to reference these speakers a lot, which are just $22 each $44 a pair) during the black friday sale: the Soundcore Select 4 portable speakers.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3Z7Jz8i" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">amzn.to/3Z7Jz8i</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p><p>I entered my teen years just at the end of the "boombox" or "ghettoblaster" years of music. Massive plastic and metal cases with one or two cassette decks, huge main speakers, tweeters, and a handle. They'd take 8 or 10 D size batteries. They were loud. They were a presence.</p><p>Well, I've been rocking the tiny little Soundcore Select 4s (two, as a wireless stereo pair) and honestly as my memory serves, they sound</p><p>a) better<br>b) clearer<br>c) more bass-y<br>d) louder</p><p>than any boombox I remember from my youth. And they last longer too. IIRC, those JVC and Technics boomboxes of the 1980s would last 5-7 hours cranking away at mid volume. The Soundcores claim a 20hr life at 40% volume. And there's no consumables to chew through. I've had them go a full 12 hours between charges, and much louder at times (when I'm working my office I place them strategically and blast away the music.</p><p>And then just think about the size and convenience difference. These speakers weigh 250g each (a pound of weight for the pair), are completely waterproof, can be placed 25 feet apart or more and still work in stereo unison. And the music selection is just limited by what music service you use.</p><p>And the sound. These sound INCREDIBLE for what they are. I'm sure audiophiles will contest this, but to my ear, they are some of the best sounding speakers I currently own (the Google Nest Audio Speaker pair I have in our small Nook Snug space in the house sound better). </p><p>So basically, in 2024, for the weight of maybe 650g (including your phone, which is less than the weight of just the D cells in that old boombox), a cost of $44 (not including your phone), you get something that IMO blows away any 1980s boombox in terms of audio quality and at least as my own memory serves, in terms of loudness. And everything's wireless. And waterproof. </p><p>Anyway, just a weird late Sunday off topic talk. I love the tech advancements we've enjoyed over the last 20, 30+ years. This is one that perhaps some people don't think about or realise much.</p><p><a href="https://flipboard.social/tags/audio" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>audio</span></a> <a href="https://flipboard.social/tags/boombox" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>boombox</span></a> <a href="https://flipboard.social/tags/music" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>music</span></a> <a href="https://flipboard.social/tags/technology" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>technology</span></a> <a href="https://flipboard.social/tags/speakers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>speakers</span></a> <a href="https://flipboard.social/tags/1980s" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>1980s</span></a></p>