Customer
More than expected
This product is amazing...
Aiwa
Aiwa Retro Boombox BackTrack CD and Cassette Player
$274.47 Price may change
22 videosClose Up Look At This Amazing Modern 1980s Boom Box with Bluetooth
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Aiwa Retro Boombox BackTrack
Aiwa Retro Boombox
Customer photos & videos
From 30 customers
KEITH F LUSCHER
Love it - perfect system for my bedroom and for on the go
Had it for a couple months now - absolutely love it. Great sound and bass, and the primary functions for radio, CD and cassette player are outstanding. The microphone feature was also one of the reasons I picked it up and it came in really handy for a family event. It's 40 w so people who complain about the volume level really shouldn't because that's the way it's engineered and for most of us it should be plenty loud enough. The digital recording through the USB port (MP3) as well as audio cassette recording I would not rate very high - but that's not what I picked this up for. Overall - LOVE IT!
Bodhi
Perfect for a small living space
I have not tried it portable yet but I live in a small space and this is perfect to jam out at home and on the porch. The sound and bass are amazing. I looked for a retro boom box to play and record CD with modern Bluetooth for a long time I am extremely happy with this purchase. It’s exactly as advertised and I highly recommend it. And it looks super cool!
Mohd Hendra
Aiwa Boombox
Remind me for the 80’s style ❤️❤️❤️
Customer
Batteries last longer than you might think
I've had the Boombox for a couple of months and with the one set of batteries. I bought it survived two trips of going to the beach and the random sessions of me trying to record tape. I say they're pretty decent not much of an audiophiles but I played some real ones and I say it's good enough. Took it to Crystal cove had a little cart with me to help bring it through it was nice. I've been using it for lateral raises lol . Main thing I wish this thing could improve is the little LCD screen would like show how much time you are on like the current CD/ tape or what current song you might be playing on Bluetooth or what station you're on
Grace
Many cassettes fade in and out, sound garbled, and 6 have been eaten. Awaiting AIWA’s help
It has eaten 6 cassettes so far…
William Reid
Killer Boom Box! 80's Nostalgia
This boom box is so cool! Very nostalgic takeaway me back to the 80's. Sounds amazing and has great bass. Love my new boom box and worth every penny!
Samuel Robinson
Great boombox for an affordable price
Just got this delivered and I’m impressed. As others have said, it’s larger than I was expecting, which is nice. The fonts on the labels are large which makes the proportions look smaller in the pictures. This had everything I was wanting and in an affordable price. When compared to the $600 dollar boombox selling online right, this Aiwa is a steal. Listening to a CD right now and it sounds great. Lots of features in a retro package. Great job!
Mel
Absolutely must have!
This is one beautiful addition to my home office. Blue tooth was easy to set up. FM stations easy to find. Great value for the price. Highly recommend!
Annalie Durbin
Decent sounding boombox but cheap hardware
I was a little skeptical about how decent this boombox would be when I purchased, but I’ve been pretty happy with the overall sound quality of it! It sounds great on all inputs ( primarily using it for cassette tapes and FM radio), but the knobs and buttons feel pretty cheap and hollow - one of my knobs has already cracked. I’d definitely recommend trying to get this on sale when they run them!
Cookie
The SOUND The Size
This boombox was a big hit! My hubby loved it. The size was more than I expected the color is amazing and the sound is EVERYTHING! I WILL DEFINITELY RECOMMEND.
Brandon L Krebs
This is awesome!!!
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.
Charles Edward Smith
If you get a good one, it's awesome. Some QC issues.
Initial thoughts are that the tape sounds pretty good. Highs are all there, and plays both commercial and recorded tapes just fine. Chrome tapes are bright but there's a treble control fortunately. CD works, but I haven't done much more testing as I just opened it.
However, quality control is lacking. Mine showed up with one of the backlights for the VU meters out. While it's a minor niggle, for the price I want a fully operational unit. I will probably send it back and get a replacement, and then do a more thorough review.
Customer
Nice replica boombox
Customer
Location of power switch
The power switch is on the back of the radio. Its really awkward. Everything else is okay. Price to me was a little high.
Jeff G.
Back In Love Again
This is the real thing. There are cheap stuffs out there that pretend to be a boombox by its looks but fall short in performance. I don't think AIWA will gamble putting its name on something that come up short. It may be a bit costly compared to the other unknown brands but his is IT! I'm content & happy with it. We'll done AIWA!
David R. Collins
Beware! Doesn’t work fully with just AC power in my test.
Won’t fully run on just the power cord Needs 8 D batteries loaded to work consistently.
Not sure what’s going on inside but when we opened it up and tried it out with just the AC cord, the tuner and volume knobs didn’t work correctly. The action didn’t relate to the function. And the tuner didn’t work at all.
But when we loaded it up with 8 D batteries (hello Radio Raheem!) it works beautifully.
So if you’re thinking of getting this for how cool it looks AND IT DOES just be aware that you’re going to need batteries to use it even when it’s plugged in.
If AIWA makes one with a built in Lithium battery, which for the price this thing should have, get that. But if you need some retro cool in your life right now, get this one now. Just make sure you have plenty of Ds!
Lorenzo
Mode Selector Switch Needs Redesign
Overall decent sound but horrible horrible selector switches for mode (radio, CD, tape): vertical slide switches with really small printing that requires getting your face up close to read. Probably the worst switch design I’ve seen in a Boomer lifetime. I have doubts that the sliding switches will survive mechanically. The Stop button on the CD only works if pushing it at a certain angle. Chrome plastic has replaced traditional metal.
hartzal
Yellow was good Silver had cd player issues.
Good box high quality compared to others (yellow), This boombox the cassette and CD player are great. Really looks like the old Aiwa's from the 80's like the CS-60 but with added CD bluetooth usb and aux included as well. I recommend this boombox. Returned silver it had cd playing issues, maybe it was a fluke.
iyerviking
Brings back memories. Sort of.
For every person who is vulnerable to misplaced nostalgia - here's a warning. See the review by Techmoan on YouTube. This is a generic hardware that sells under different "brand" names - Aiwa included. Sure it looks like it's built well and is hefty etc. but once you start using it, you quickly realize the terrible Chinese cheapness of it all. Very low quality materials used especially with the cassette head and running any cassette gives off a low-pitched thudding / clicking sound which you can hear along with the music. You're better off buying a used boombox from eBay (just make sure it's a high quality - triple head, doesn't use plastic components much etc.) and then dropping extra money in refurbishing that. DO NOT BUY THIS.
Robert N.
Volume and sound quality are impressive
Absolutely amazing boombox, volume is loud, sound quality is clean, no distortion, took it to volume 25 but backed off because i felt no need to keep pushing it, it already filled the dinning room and living room with more than enough volume as if we were having a party, unit is thick and heavy and feels SOLID just like an 80's style boom box. It says its 40W peak total but i am going to say that it might be more because we have the Brookstone Big Blue Party 120W bluetooth speaker and this Aiwa is right behind it in volume, its really good !!
The fact that it has seperate bass control knob to trim the bass as you crank the volume UP to make sure the woofers dont distort out is also a PLUS. Even at volume 25 with bass at +3 of +6 the woofers did NOT distort, it was still clean.
If you put this radio against a wall and get a good bass song with the rear bass ports, wow.
This is actually my 1st actual boombox since my last one i had in the 80's made by Sharp and it brings back the memories and the sound quality and volume had me concerned when i purchased it but this radio def lives up to its hype !!
Might be buying a 2nd one but the black/gold trim model because i was so impressed with this one. Also noted that you cannot make everyone happy and you will find some to complain about something in this radio, just a fyi
I liked this one much i purchased the Black/Gold model as well so i have both
Edit:
If you are going to record to tape from any other source, use Type 2 cassette.
For some reason this deck does not like Type 1 or the recording settings are made for Type 2 only.
Customer
Modern day boombox
I definitely liked the looks of it and watches a few videos and read some reviews. Then it came to which one do I want so I tossed it around for awhile and thought the silver to me looks the part sp I ordered it first. Not saying the other two are not nice looking boomboxes. First off its heavy. With 8d batteries in it its almost 18lbs because I put it on the scale. The plastic is thick the knows are smooth and tight when using. Bluetooth or at least from my phone isn't the loudest but is clear. The tape deck to me sounded just fine and it was able to get pretty loud. The cd player works just fine and it will track forward and stop spinning the disc for a few then fire back up again that's just how it works. The tuner picks up plenty of channels with no issues. I ordered the black one second and let me say the black and gold looks killer. Those are the only options I have tried on it so far. I ordered 8 rechargeable batteries for it and they do just fine I haven't played it long enough to see how long they last. If I could change a couple things it would be i really wish the tuner was back lit because that would look so good with the vu meters back lighting. One more thing. If you want the most out of your sound place it near the back of a wall because the back is ported a it helps a ton on volume and overall bass. I have a few other modern day boomboxes that are ok and do what they suppose to do but they are not anything like this one. I know everything is made in China and this boombox is branded under many different names but it seem to be a good solid unit. I like to call it my fine China, lol.
Customer
Aiwa the best radio cd cassette & Bluetooth boombox ghetto blaster for your bedroom or living room
Got my latest Aiwa am/fm radio cd cassette micro sd card & usb boombox. This weighs 16lb it’s the two woofer speakers that have a heavy magnet steel metal speakers. The Bluetooth pairs up really well with my iPhone 12max pro, Has bass & treble controls, the bass boost is very good, two way speakers, soft door eject for cd & tape deck, vertical loading & spinning cd. the cd module is mounted with four springs for vibration dampening. Has a led lighted selection screen and really cool left & right analog VU meters
BlueyzFL
UPGRADED 80’s style BoomBox!
Wow, so much nicer than I could’ve ever imagined! I LOVE this AIWA Backtrack Retro Boombox. As a teen in the 80’s I had a massive boombox much like this one and I LOVED it! I was so excited when the box arrived and I was able to test it out! I think it is perfect! I mean it has everything I could’ve possibly asked for in terms of controls, sounds and options. It has a lot more options than I will likely ever use like the whole recording option. It offers recording to a cassette tape or USB stick from CD, radio and blue tooth. I don’t think that’s something I will ever need, but I think for people who like to do Karaoke they could record themselves singing along to the music I guess. There are two microphone ports with echo and volume settings. You can also hook up to an amp and headphones if desired.
This radio/boombox is SOLID and heavy! All the controls are easy to figure out and there is a full instruction booklet included which explains all the controls and how to operate it. I really like to watch the left and right levels as they bounce along to the beats.
What I really like about using this boombox as a Bluetooth speaker from my phone is I can remotely control the volume using my phone volume buttons. There isn’t a remote included but like I said, I use my phone and it works so well and is super convenient.
A nice feature which is truly retro is that it can be unplugged and powered with batteries! Mind you it takes 8 D cell batteries to make it work, but so much fun and what an awesome party boombox! This has a long telescoping fold down metal antenna and it picks up radio stations (AM/FM) very well. I think during hurricane season I will definitely be using this as my emergency radio and entertainment via the battery option!
The sound quality is outstanding and I am using it almost daily as a Bluetooth speaker because I love the sound so much! There a 4 front speakers and the back has the bass amplifier style holes plus there’s even an Xbass option! I’m telling you this boombox sounds great and the volume level can get pretty high! I also really love that I can adjust the treble and bass independently. I also like that the handle is super sturdy and can fold down.
This boombox has it all and I would 100% recommend! The price reflects the quality and I think it’s outstanding.
Nick Papagiorgio
A lot to be impressed with, but...
This nostalgic factor of this boom box, alone, makes it worth it. From the box, to the unboxing, to the knobs and buttons, to the general size and heft - this is a boom box that would have made you the envy of every kid in the '80s.
The boom box, itself, is beautiful - more of a vibrant Lifeguard Yellow than the mustard tones shown in the product photos. With its chrome speaker grills, knobs, and buttons, the yellow really pops giving the whole unit a bright, retro-tech look. This is perfect given the onboard CD and cassette players which, in these days of unlimited streaming, are the things of myth and legend.
In terms of new tech, the boom box easily connects to your phone or streaming device. The only hiccup I had in this process was that the volume was down, so I didn't hear a pairing confirmation even though it had immediately connected to my phone. So I spent a few minutes wondering why I couldn't see or hear anything happening. It also has an SD card slot which, of course, didn't exist back in the day but even now feels a little dated as I am long past loading up my MP3s on a disk.
The boom box includes toggles for the various modes: FM, CD, Tape, BT, etc. It also has adjustments for treble and bass with a bass boost that does create a noticeable difference. The right and left level meters are a novel touch, but there is no onboard equalizer, so you can't really adjust the levels as was common on many of the original boom boxes. In fact, what looks like the equalizer is really just the mode selection.
Considering how impressed I am with the physical build and quality, there is one aspect where I thought it wasn't quite as great as it could have been: the sound.
While the boom box pushes out an eardrum thumping level of noise, I felt the quality of sound was a little muddy. Adjustments can be made with the treble and bass dials, but without an equalizer, I could never quite get the sound output to be clean and crisp. No matter what I did, it always sounded a little flat and muffled. I will admit that at distance (~15ft), the sound dissipation was enough to hide the muddiness, so in circumstances where there is going to be a lot of ambient noise and/or you're not going to be right on top of the thing, the sound quality becomes less of an issue.
That said, I still feel this is an incredible throw-back to bygone tech. It is a beautiful appliance and well worth the spend in my opinion. True audiophiles may have some issue with the sound quality, but most will simply enjoy how cool this boom box is. Would definitely recommend it.
E.Swope
HUGE stereo boombox
I have to say that I was surporised bvy the sound from this boombox. It was more detailed than I expected, and true stereo! The latter may be related to it's size.... the largest boombox I have seen. It's portable, but will give you a workout...especially if you load it with 8 d cellls. My four star rating is mostly related to that battery compartment, and ac plug. Yes, I will plug it in before I load it with 8 d ellls. That said, it is portable, at a price.
Usually my reviews of audio equipment focus on sound, and the sound quality from this box was much better than expected. I wish I had audio specs, but few provide them now. Ity is loud, and fairly detailed. It has a bass/ treble balance4 with levels!
IT features a cde player, and cassette player, card slot and has blue tooth in, 2 mic ports, and a headphjone jack. It is pretty rtare to find alll of that on onme machine. This one reminds me quite a bit of a small rack system I has as a kid... less the turntable, buit with qa cd player instead. Indeed this boombox is more lioke a small stereo system than a boombox, so instead of docking it for not having a rechargeable battery, I should be impressed with a full steareo system that you can tote around... but I am a bit stuck on portables having a rechargeable battery.
Maybe the way to thjink of this is as a party box. It is clearly set up for karaoke, but it can also just be used as a player, with radio, cd, cassette, aux in. It covers nearly all the bases.... but at a cost where it has some heavy competition. HOWEVER, THIS REALLY DOES OFFER MORE THAN ANY PORTABLE I HAVE SEEN IJN TERMS OF AUDIO OPTIONS, AND IT SOUNDS GOOD, NOT AUDIOPHILE, BUT VERY GOOD, AND IN STEREO.
Robert Fields
Great Sound Quality And Solid.
This is definitely a big boom box. It's very easy to set up and use. It's got really good quality sound that been get loud when two 40 Watts speakers.
You have an FM radio that gets pretty good reception once the antennas pulled up. A CD player as well as a cassette player which I have a lot of.
As I said the radio reception is really good once you pull in the antenna or pull out the antenna the CD player is fully functional as well as the cassette player
It's got nostalgia for me written all over it yeah I grew up as a teenager and young adult in me '80s so this has a lot of nostalgia for me and it just brought back a lot of good memories with music back then The fun we had is we listened to it on our boombox.
You can control the bass and the treble It also has two inputs for microphones as well as echo control and its own volume control for the microphones kind of cool.
If you want to take it out and about you're looking at 8 D Batteries just like the old days. I think it delivers good sound good loud sound even as I turned it up I didn't lose the quality of sound that I was getting You could adjust the treble and the bass And that was on Bluetooth the same goes for the CD player as well as cassette player.
It's a little heavy at about 20 lbs another reminder of the day's gone by. This thing is full of life for me I really like it I think it's a great value for what you're getting especially if you grow up in a time period where boomboxes where they're all the rage then I would definitely recommend this one It's got good sound quality you got the CD player You have the cassette player You also have an input for two microphones with an echo control and volume control with those yeah I like it definitely.
T. Wehner
VINTAGE
Amazing! Such a great way to listen to music AND reminisce back on the "Good old days".
This is do like the 80s boomboxes. Only difference is there's Bluetooth AND a cd player. Yes, there is a power cord. But if you really want vintage feel, it also takes the D batteries 🔋!!
divya p.
When they reminisce over you.
This boom box could only be better if the integrated a color LCD to display what was streaming over Bluetooth. But it is okay. They went for the classic look. Well this looks authentically 80's. At this price some additional features would have been welcome. To name a few: A remote. An equalizer or a midrange dial at the least. The radio dial is too sensitive. It would benefit from greater channel spacing. Maybe then it would be easier to find the proper radio frequency and acquire a clear signal. I have no other issues. Sound quality is good for the size of the speakers and the material build. All I need now are roller skates and maybe a Kangol.
Howard Abraham
Perfect gift for Gen X!
When you see the box and feel the weight of it, you'll know this is serious gear. The Aiwa Backtrack AI7012 has it all; AM/FM radio, CD, cassette, USB u-drive, TF card, auxiliary input, Bluetooth, dual microphone karaoke... what more could you ask? I have had problems with modern cassette mechanisms, but this one is really good. It brought the detail out of my old cassettes without excess hiss or warbling. I did get some ticking on the first CD I tried, but I wasn't able to replicate it afterward so maybe something just needs to get lubed up. I love the analog VU meters, but noted they reflect volume and not signal level. The tuner worked well and the telescoping antenna did not interfere with the handle in any way. A 256G memory stick took longer to start playing than I would have liked. I thought there was something wrong but I just needed to give it some time to index the 12000 MP3 tracks I had on it. I thought the weakest feature was the karaoke support. While there are separate microphone volume and echo knobs, I wasn't completely happy with the balance vs the main speakers and the echo just seemed to add distortion. It can support karaoke in a pinch but if that is your primary function I would look at other systems. This boom box is loud enough, but not excessively loud at 40W. But these are 40W distortion-free even with the thumpiest of deep bass. You can force distortion if you maximize the bass knob and hit the bass boost button, but that's on you. You can make recordings to your TF card or cassette tape. That's right, you can make mix tapes! Very retro! I love the Aiwa Backtrack AI7012! High school me is jealous.
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