Here Comes the BOOM!(box)
Written: Aug 26 '02 (Updated Dec 17 '06)
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Pros: almost indestructable, great bass, fairly good sound, the extras
Cons: hella expensive, hella heavy, a couple of other less significant problems
The Bottom Line: There's better for less money, and there's worse for more. It's really a judgement call.
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| headlessparrot's Full Review: JVC RV-DP100 Cassette/CD Boombox |
I go through stereo systems like toilet paper. You think I'm kidding, but I assure you that I am not. Were I kidding, I wouldn't be able to direct you around my beautiful household and direct you to all five of the systems I've been through in the last two years. And of course, now that I've gotten a new computer, I can just upload all of my compact discs and play them while I work or wander the dark depths of the Internet all day.
Why have I gone through so many? It’s hard to say, really. Maybe I just have an inferiority complex where I have to outdo every person that I know. When someone else gets a new system, I get jealous and am forced to go out and buy a new one for myself. Or it could just be that I crave perfection, and when I don’t get it, I have to continue searching for it. Either way, it doesn’t make my bank book happy, and I’m positive my parents don’t care for it too much (they’re just jealous, because mine’s bigger).
With that in mind, I direct you, all important Epinions reader, to my fourth stereo system. It’s not my most recent purchase, but I really feel that I know it well enough to write a fairly high quality review. Not that it matters, though, I’m sure, because if memory serves, the model in question has all but disappeared from store shelves. And I’m not talking just recently. It’s been a long while since I’ve seen one of these babies taking up display space at the local Radio Shack. Or Wal-Mart. Or Zellers for that matter (although I’ve heard that a new version has been released; it is essentially the same but with different looks). And while I wouldn’t urge anyone to buy it on the spot if they ever saw it, I would recommend you take a good look at it. Because if you don’t make a decision quickly, you might be too late.
I got my dirty little paws on the RV-DP 100 a little over two years ago. It’s an interesting story, really. Well, okay, it’s not that interesting, but I’m trying to up the word count here a little. A little over a year previous to when I got this system, I received a CD player for Christmas. It was a nice little thing; a Koss 3-CD changer that I said I would cherish forever. Apparently I lied. The changer had actually come from Canadian Tire (not that it really matters, but I felt the need to add some Canadian content here and there) and it was really just a $150 piece of trash. The radio reception was poor and stations couldn’t be adjusted via remote, the cassette deck also couldn’t, and about three months after I purchased it, the CD carousel began to go insane. As if it were possessed, it would launch discs right out of their tray and scratch them all to hell. Right in the middle of songs, the system would just up and turn off. It was frustrating, and continued for several months before I raised my hands in frustration and yelled, “F*ck it! You win!” to the high heavens.
To my astonishment, no warranty had come with the system, so in an act of mindless violence, I hucked the thing right across the room and left it there for about three weeks, during which time I had to use my old Sanyo boom box. I soon grew weary and began the process of saving money to buy a new system. Well, after about 47 lawns mowed and at least 2000 newspapers delivered, I was able to purchase an RCA unit - not just a 3-CD changer, but a 5-CD changer!
To my dismay, it was only weeks before the same thing began to happen to this machine. Once again, I lived with it, until one day when the CD tray (also a carousel) locked up nice and tight, leaving in it five of my favourite discs (among them Led Zeppelin IV, Electric Ladyland, and Live At Woodstock). I spoke to the machine, trying to coax the discs out for about forty minutes, before going nuts and attempting to smash the machine. I used a screwdriver to pry open the changer and pull out my precious collection (an event that was followed by me hugging the records and telling them that I’d never do anything to hurt them again). My mother managed to stop me before I got the hammer and turned the system to rubble, reminding me that this system had indeed come with a warranty. I calmed down only long enough to discover that the warranty had expired three days ago. I was about to go back into destroy mode when my mother assured me that she could fix everything.
Well, mothers just have a way of making everything better. She called Sears (where I bought the P.O.S.) and got into a shouting match with about four different employees before hanging up. I guess they grew tired of her yelling and agreed to give me the choice of any CD player of equal or lesser value. So I gathered up some cash, wandered the Internet and figured out exactly what I wanted. We arrived to Sears, and the folks there were happy to exchange the RCA 5-CD Changer for the JVC RV-DP100, providing I paid the $100 or so difference between the price of the two items. I left the store that night, absolutely ecstatic about the purchase I had made.
The RV-DP100, commonly known as the KaBOOM! Box, got that nickname for good reason. Essentially, the system is a boom box on ‘roids. The folks at JVC took a look at those things from the eighties that everyone carried around, and improved the design in every single way imaginable (except one, which I’ll get to later). No more pansy handle to hold it by, this thing has a strap. And gone are those wussy paper woofers that measure less than an inch - if this thing has a specialty, than it is bass. Lots of it too.
It’s easy to see that this baby was designed mainly for urban use. You don’t put it on a shelf in your study, no. If you’re going out to play some street ball with your homies, you best have the KaBOOM! Box with you. Hell, if you’re just going out to chill, this lil’ guy is essential. It’s good for literally hundreds of things. When me and my buds go down to the local school to play some midnight street hockey, we find a plug somewhere and blare the thing until our ears die. If we’re going down to the park to play some pick-up football, we drag this baby along and pop it full of batteries (a source of another complaint, but once again, that is for later). Hell, even if we’re just tossing around a Frisbee or swimming in my back yard, the RV-DP100 is essential. The thing is built to be tossed around. It can take an enormous beating and come back for more.
This boom box has looks to match it’s toughness. The system appears to be built around the concept of a “tube.” I guess some scientist at the JVC labs figured out that is was the optimal way to get big bass from a small system. While on most boom boxes, the sub woofers are extremely minimalist. They’re usually very small and are made with very low-quality components. Here, the tube shape of the system allows more room for totally separate sub woofers - woofers that are actually as big as the main speakers. And although a metal grill makes it difficult to check, they were put together from high quality parts. Not only does it create a vast improvement in sound, but it looks very stylish as well, and allows for more features to be included in a smaller space.
But while the looks and overall sound characteristics of the KaBOOM! Box absolutely screams, “Urban!” the design gives it a usefulness that most boom boxes only wish they could have. The KaBOOM! Box is a real first for stereos in that with it, not only can you listen to music, but you can make. The system is equipped with several features that are extremely useful for musicians - particularly for recording basic demos or outlines for songs.
On the top of the unit, next to the CD tray, is a “Scratch & Rhythm Palette” that can create sound effects as diverse as a record scratch or birds chirping. In addition, there is entire collection of rudimentary drum beats ranging from heavy metal to techno. It does the job well enough if you’re drummer shows up for practice drunk, but it likely wouldn’t hold up in a performance environment. On the other panel is an actual drum pad. There are four buttons (lettered A, B, C, and D) that each produce a drum sound ranging from cymbal to bass drum. In addition, you can choose between several modes of rhythm for the buttons that include standard, power drummer, and even human sound effects (my personal favourite is the female moan, but I digress). Neither the auto rhythm pattern nor the drum pad are designed to replace the $200-plus price of a professional drum machine, but they work well in a pinch. Lastly, as if that weren’t enough, the RV-DP100 includes inputs for both a guitar and a microphone (but they don’t recommend using a bass). The sound quality is far from perfect for either, but once again, it works well for a beginner who wants to do some recording or a more advanced musician who just wants to record themselves for use later.
The biggest problem with the guitar and mic inputs are the level of background hiss and unnecessary fuzz that takes place when you’re playing. There are ways around it, but the tweaking required is painstakingly boring. I myself use the unit now for playing guitar and recording brief pieces for use later. While the sound achieved through the system is very basic and you won’t get much variety in your tone, I’ve found a way around that by using the Line 6 POD 2.0, an amp modeller that goes for about $500 Canadian. Although I wouldn’t recommend buying the POD for the sole purpose of use with something like the RV-DP100, it comes in handy for me. I run my guitar through a couple of different effects pedals, then an equalizer, and finally into the POD. From the POD, I run the cable right into the guitar input. It takes upwards of 15 or 20 minutes to achieve a non-overdriven, fuzzed-out sound, but the sound is adequate once you make sure that you aren’t overdriving the stereo (which is very, very bad). It doesn’t sound half as good as the POD going into my regular amp, but you can produce much more variety when doing recordings. Of course, none of it sounds like what it’s supposed to be modeling (sorry, but there’s no way you’re going to get the sound of a cranked Marshall through two dinky speakers and a couple of woofers).
I suppose, though, that I’m getting away from the actual intended use of the KaBOOM! Box. After all, it’s main use is as a stereo, not some low-tech recording device for broke-*ss musicians (if I really wanted one of those, I could just pick up some 4-track device used for a couple of bucks). I’ll make no bones about the fact that this stereo is indeed intended for rap and hip hop - the styles where the “super woofers” do the most damage. That said, the thing does an admirable job of whatever you throw at it. New recordings sound extremely crisp, and you don’t really have to worry about the bass overpowering the rest of the music. The machine does a good job with older recordings, but not quite as well of a job as my newer unit. Albums that have yet to be remastered (like Paranoid by Sabbath) lack the “oomph” because of the hiss and the very loose bass. It just doesn’t hold up too well here.
Also equipped on the KaBOOM! Box is a tape deck and a radio tuner, really standard fare as far as CD players go. And unlike a lot of stereos, here the tape deck can be operated via remote control. And not only that, but you can have the stereo play both sides without having to get up and flip the cassette to side B. It’s one of those innovations that you wish had been around ten years ago, as it makes listening to tapes far more convenient. There is a problem with this feature, though. The tape deck is extremely loud when you press play, and when the system is switching around to play the opposite side of the cassette. The radio tuner is your basic run-of-the-mill deal with nothing really separating it from any other on the market. You can preset several stations (about forty, I believe), and switch between them using the remote.
Of course, after reading to this point, I’m sure you’re all salivating at the prospect of owning one of these things. However I do have several complaints. Most of them are rather minor, but they do eventually add up.
First of all, the KaBOOM! Box weighs a ton. What you get in features, you pay for in weight. The thing must literally outweigh any ten other boom boxes on Earth combined. It does make you kind of wonder whether it should even b classified as a boom box at all. The strap the system comes with, while padded, only makes carrying it marginally easier, as it still bangs into your side and eventually begins to dig in. There are also problems with sound. When the unit is on and nothing is playing, the box emits one mighty loud continuous hiss. It’s one of those little things that very slowly drives you insane. Another similar problem is the way you have to reset all the radio presets every time the boom box gets unplugged. This is yet another problem that makes one wonder about just how portable the baby is.
Lastly is my biggest complaint. And believe me, this one is fairly significant. THE PRICE! For a boom box, you are paying an extremely noteworthy amount of cash ($399.99 Cdn. when I first bought it, and I’ve never seen it lower that $369.99). Sure, you’re getting extra features like the drum pad and guitar inputs, but one should wonder if it’s really worth it - the novelty of these things does start to wear at some point. If you were to strip away the extras (which are essentially useless to a non-musician anyways), the only real improvement the RV-DP100 KaBOOM! Box makes over normal boom boxes is slightly improved bass and a remote control that comes with it.
Is the KaBOOM! Box worth the money? Well, depends on what you want. If you want something portable that you can drag everywhere you go, then you’re not going to do much better. At the same time, you also won’t be able to pay much more. If you’re just looking for a stereo for use at home, there is much better out there for much less price. In fact, I paid less for my new mini-system (also a JVC) than I did for the KaBOOM! Box. It all just depends on what you’re looking for.
- The Dude
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 399.99 Cdn.
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Epinions.com ID:
headlessparrot
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Member: Bryan Jansen
Location: Ontario, Canada
Reviews written: 171
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Are you gonna bark all day, little doggy, or are you gonna bite?
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