GPO Brooklyn Boombox review

[T-STER]

Video Review:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onBoCO2vu6Q&t=6s


Im sure people may not want to read all of the below so here are the highlights:


Great looking blaster with loads of connectivity options, it doesn't go as loud as i would like. Max volume is 30 which seems loud in my house and fills a room with sound but will not be loud enough outside. Woofers are stiff out the box but loosen up nice.

Buttons and knobs have a bit of play in them which detracts from the quality feel but its hard to complain too much for £250. There are some great details on this and i have had a blast this weekend playing with it. I was all set to dismiss is as a novelty item but I have really enjoyed it. Perfect in the kitchen to as you can play almost any format on it. Dont buy it and expect to chuck out your M70, its no screamer but it does look cool and sounds even across all formats. The tape was a revelation for me as i had already been told it wasn't that good but it plays very well with stable and consistent playback. A timed run against an mp3 of one of my favorite tracks was correct to the second so its seems consistent.

I would change the tweeter look if i could and change some of the flimsier buttons but thats mainly it. Perhaps a beefier battery and certainly a beefier amp for MKII?



I'm sure you have all seen the GPO Brooklyn advertised, well i wanted to get a look at it and reached out to the chaps at GPO to find a local stockist to demo and review one, there wasn't anywhere particularly close to me so they agreed to loan me one for a week or so to review as like me im sure you all wanted to know what they were like.

So first impressions were that it weighed much more than i thought it would, i knew the battery was a modern type so i was surprised at that. The box comes in a nice chunky box with a power brick and associated power leads and instructions:


Straight out of the box the weight was a surprise, it's not heavy but it wasn't the lightweight that i expected.



The case is really nice and reminds me heavily of a classic box, silver at the front and light coloured (beige?) plastic to the rear. The top features a full length handle and twin aerials, very classic. The rear has a nice "GPO" crest to the centre which is a lovely touch and must of added a fortune to pressing but was worth it as it looks good.



It has a great look with lots of chrome, it looks good in the flesh and my pictures i think look better than the stock ones. I would of changed the tweeter trim personally and reduced their prominence for a more classic look or placed them directly above the woofers ala DJ Tech. The chrome is really nice though and definitely harks back to the 1980s.

There are various switches on either side with the tape in the middle and tuner on top, the whole look is very Lasonic 920 (no bad thing). On the left side you have the function switch, the switch to turn the output meter on or off and balance and volume as well as a small nondescript power switch:


The switches themselves feel ok with a tactile click on turn but they do have a bit of play in them which detracts from the feeling of quality. The function switch is nice, this actually feels quite solid and as you change function in the switch the changes and selected format are shown on the display to the left of the tuner.


In the middle are the tape deck controls at the bottom and the cd/mp3/radio controls above.


The tape keys feel ok and have a nice chrome look, they are surrounded by a nice chrome bumper bar also. Above them are the function keys for skipping tracks on cd/mp3 etc and a rec key. If you have a usb device attached you can record from the inbuilt fm or dab radio straight to usb! A very cool feature.

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

So, how is the sound quality while listening to the cassette deck?

 

[Reli]

I see the tweeters are real, pleasant surprise there

 

[T-STER]

The tuner features dab and fm, and it has a display at either end, one for clock and one for current function and dab info etc:



I'm glad to see they kept an analogue tuner scale for the FM radio, this not only keeps the look right but gives great flexibility as not everyone is enamored with dab and its associated low bit rates, it sounds good but i personally think fm sounds better with more detail.

The speakers are always up for question and are the tweeters legit, the answer is yes. The main drivers sound good but are quite still out of the box, leaving this one playing all day seemed to break the woofers in nicely and it sounded even better by days end.



The output meter to the front lights as the music plays and is quite responsive, i do wish the area around the meter was better isolated to stop light bleeding through, this would give the meters much better impact:





Connection option are plentiful with DAb/FM, CD, USB, RCA LIne in, 3.5mm line in, bluetooth, tape etc.

Sound quality is really even across all formats and is of great quality. I was surprised as i expected there to be deviations in sound across all formats buts its very even.

Bluetooth connects very well and seems to have a range of at least 20 meters, Line in on both counts is crisp and plays well. USB plays files in order straight from the card but i have found no way to skip folders yet.

The tape deck is where loads of us were really ineterested and this was my biggest surprise. Contrary to looks and construction it plays very well. I didn't think the mech looked very high quality but it has to be said that on my nice new tape it sounded very stable.

 

[floyd]

OK I'm back to liking it again lol
.
looks great , I'm glad its was worth a second look even though I can't afford one its nice to know their around to be had.

 

[baddboybill]

Very nice specimen of an 80’s box for sure!! Wish it was easier to get in the states

 

[T-STER]

Here is the side panel with various connections:

And cd player to top:




The battery is a small Lipo affair sheltered in the back behind a "battery door". I love the fact that they designed this to look like an old school blaster and that the battery is on a 2 pin clip which suggests it is possible to replace, very happy to see that:








Here it is next to an Aiwa TPR950 for size comparison:

 

[pabaker]

Great review!!! Thanks.

 

[T-STER]

So, how is the sound quality while listening to the cassette deck?

Tape quality is very good and probably my biggest surprise, the mech looks moderate and like most modern things built to a cost but it plays surprisingly well, seems stable and with minimal discernible wow and flutter. I did not expect that.

I see the tweeters are real, pleasant surprise there

Yeah that was good to see. It would of killed it for me if they were fake.

 

[Reli]

So does the tuning needle move, or is it fake? I don't see a knob for it.

 

[T-STER]

So does the tuning needle move, or is it fake? I don't see a knob for it.

Yup tuning needle moves, the knob for it is just to the right below the tuner scale.

 

[retro]

Great review, thanks, any idea who manufactures the cassette mechanism and have you taken a look inside?

 

[Reli]

So does the tuning needle move, or is it fake? I don't see a knob for it.

Yup tuning needle moves, the knob for it is just to the right below the tuner scale.

But that knob says search

It searches MP3 tracks AND moves the tuner?

 

[Hisrudeness]

Great review Tre thank you for that.
Seems to represent good value for money at that price point.

 

[Radio raheem]

Great review, id like one but none on e bay

 

[SLO]

Thanks for the review Tre! I was curious about this box, you mentioned everything about it, very informative bro

 

[Reli]

I wouldn't be surprised if it goes louder on AC. Most boxes have more power on AC.

 

[SLO]

I wouldn't be surprised if it goes louder on AC. Most boxes have more power on AC.

True, I'd like to hear one of these in person sometime

 

[jimmyjimmy19702010]

Thanks for the review - nicely done.

So it seems they’ve really taken the early 80s style of box and reproduced it for 2018.
They’ve done the hard (expensive) stuff really well i.e painted ABS cabinet, trims etc.

Fully featured with a mix of old and new (FM tuner dial and a separate DAB radio display).
A CD player AND a tape deck, BT, RCA line in etc. Pretty much everything everyone has been asking for all this time in the preferred 1 piece format.

However, I think they may have also reproduced some of the short comings of the early 80s 1 piece.

They’ve done all the hard stuff really well but have skimped on the easy stuff. Class D amp power is cheap, so is creating a tuned speaker cabinet/s.

They’ve saved money on battery capacity and the associated charging gear but these are performance limiting factors.

They almost got it right. Easy stuff to fix in the MK II version: I’d give up the CD player if they churned the savings into a bigger amp, battery pack and a cabinet tuned to 40 htz.

James......

 

[Reli]

The vertical CD slot was a good idea.....Traditional CD lids usually vibrate and buzz from the bass. Kabooms for example.

Thanks for the review T!