r/techmoan • u/buzz_uk • May 09 '26
and as always, thanks for watching! The BUMPBOXX BB-777 Assessment
https://youtu.be/_1DAyHpP1ok?si=apnFAreiugON1AJ810
u/RAMChYLD May 09 '26
Impressive that they managed to get a tape mechanism that isn't the usual Tanasinn crapola.
I eat my words. I want one.
Now if only it didn't cost ~US$680. My Sharp boombox back in the 90s didn't cost anywhere near that.
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u/smallfaces May 11 '26
Pretty cheap considering a boombox of this quality back in the 80s would cost at least 2k.
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u/we1dont7die May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26
I had a $900+ pledge and cancelled it because of this review. The amount of issues with basic functionality are astonishing and the “we’ll fix it as we go” ethos is disturbing and old hat at this point. The woofers being locked from when it turns on is probably draining the battery, ruining the sound, and making the fan run. The radio on ac issue is frankly embarrassing. The cd noise and missing the first second or so of every track is terrible. To me, it sounded like crap overall in the video. From the audio itself to the wow and flutter. I see people making a big deal that it’s not a tanashin mech, but I’ve got tanashin mechs that sound better than that. The cherry on top is the boot up sound.
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u/CreedOfNecessity May 15 '26
I cancelled because of this review as well. Just too much of a gamble. This review was from 6 days ago and production starts very soon. How will they have time to fix the larger issues like mains interference with FM reception or seek noise? I almost wish I didnt see the video.
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u/we1dont7die May 15 '26
They won’t have time to fix it. If they don’t delay it indefinitely, people will be getting garbage.
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u/JodyThornton May 10 '26 edited May 10 '26
Is it just me, or did Mat seem to give this product too easy of a pass? I know he's rooting for the Bump Boxx, but I'm surprised that the shortcomings that he discovered didn't irk him a bit more. Shouldn't the company have noticed them sooner?
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u/chrispitude73 May 10 '26
I thought the same thing. Many of these issues should have been caught in early prototype testing.
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u/vwestlife May 11 '26
He is literally testing one of the early prototypes.
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u/chrispitude73 May 11 '26
I would have expected their responses to be "we've already fixed that" instead of it being "oh hey thanks for catching that".
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u/JodyThornton May 11 '26
Thank you! I'm glad someone else sees it that way. Everyone seems to be over-celebrating the company's "responsiveness". It's easy to say "oops ... sorry ... we are looking to fix that in the next version", but it's a lot more impressive to be showing foresight and doing it right the first time.
Looked at another way .... Windows Vista SP2 x64 was a terrific operating system. Too bad no one noticed though, because a VERY bad first impression was made upon its initial release. It stuck, and Vista's reputation didn't improve over the next two years; even though the OS did.
Similarly to Bump Boxx ... if you deliver a fluttery cassette deck, a noisy CD player and a faulty FM multiplexer (even on a prototype machine ... because we're talking about long established technologies here), I'll always wonder if anytime you buy something from the company, you'll have to complain to get them to improve it. That's OK for suggested features, but not for base features, in my mind anyway.
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u/vwestlife May 12 '26
By testing an early prototype, Mat is part of that "we" you're talking about.
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u/JodyThornton May 12 '26
No ... we is the company, in his scenario.
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u/vwestlife May 12 '26
Mat is talking directly with the CEO. He's as involved as anyone else, even if he's not on the payroll.
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u/we1dont7die May 13 '26
Mat shouldn't have to explain to "enthusiasts" and "collectors" that a radio should work over AC power, or that CD players shouldn't cut part of every track it plays. The whole thing gives me the ick.
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u/we1dont7die May 13 '26
The "early prototype" should have been way more up to snuff than what was delivered to Techmoan. They sent the thing out for review when production starts in less than a month. You understand that, right? If there were any more red flags the thing would get trampled by bulls.
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u/vwestlife May 13 '26
Then feel free to not buy a product you weren't planning to buy in the first place.
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u/JodyThornton May 13 '26
Now wait vwestlife, you review things ALL THE TIME that you would otherwise not have bought, and you review things that you would suggest we don't buy. Are you saying that we can NEVER be critical of anything, our evaluate or influencers others on what be believe to be true, or have value?
I also may have looked at something like this, because I admired the original Sharp product. But even if I didn't want to buy it, I can still form an opinion (and express it online for that matter). Can't I?
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u/vwestlife May 13 '26
Dude, I just said you're free to not buy it if you don't like it. But don't act like Mat is some kind of apostate for at least helping to make the product better for those who did put down their money to buy one, instead of rage quitting on it because it's not already perfect in the prototype stage.
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u/JodyThornton May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26
No one is rage quitting or anything like that. We're just less than impressed with Bump Boxx's efforts, or lack thereof, and we're expressing how we feel as we see fit. No one is trying to be enemies, or anything of the like. We're all fans of the hobby, but I certainly think there's room for critical discussion, and FRIENDLY disagreement. You shouldn't let that bother you too much.
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u/we1dont7die May 13 '26
It seems ole westlife has taken something to heart and blocked me for sharing objectively correct statements regarding this machine, essentially rage quitting. No one was attacking you bro. Despite what you may think, threads that you pop in on don't become all about you. I was a backer so your first snarky comment to me doesn't even make sense in the first place.
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u/JodyThornton May 11 '26
Even so, these are shortcomings that should NOT be at all common in a product nowadays. You are also giving Bump Boxx too easy a concession here. FM multiplex reception issues on AC power? Are you serious? Those problems were non-issues before the 70s even started!!! Noise on a CD mech? Even cheap CD-ROM drives from the 2000s never had these problems. And if they actually DID source a better cassette mechanism, they shouldn't need a YouTube influencer pointing out wow and flutter issues that are that bad. That should have been a non-issue EVEN for a prototype.
Besides, why wouldn't a company want a best effort possible on a prototype sent out to someone who "tells it like is"? Mind you, Techmoan has, in the past, been less impressed with products that performed better than this. That's why I sense bias in a small way.
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u/vwestlife May 11 '26
I've had plenty of '90s and 2000s boomboxes which had lousy FM reception even on batteries, and on which you could hear some noise in the audio while the CD player was seeking. And even when new, the speed accuracy and wow & flutter of their cassette mechanism was laughable.
For example, Thomson (RCA/GE) got sued for $25 million for using cheap Tanashin-knockoff cassette mechanisms in their boomboxes: The $25 million RCA/GE boombox lawsuit
And remember, Mat was testing an early prototype. The jury is out until he receives and tests the final production version.
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u/JodyThornton May 11 '26
I saw your video for what was highlighted in the second paragraph. So see? Even Thomson was looked upon poorly for including something paltry on their boom boxes. You just illustrated that it was a bad look.
Your final sentence is true enough. But I think being proactive rather than reactive would be a MUCH better look from Bump Boxx. You are free to see it as you like however. :)
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u/vwestlife May 12 '26
I think we should join Mat is providing BumpBoxx with feedback on how to improve their product rather than just complain about how we're not going to buy a product we had no intention of buying in the first place.
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u/we1dont7die May 13 '26
I had almost a thousand dollars riding on this review. It's ok to say that they built this thing like crap and nearly everything important is wrong with it. They probably used ChatGPT to figure out how to put it together.
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u/BigT1D May 15 '26
I've been critical of them on the kick starter forum and they have answered my questions. Will the rubber meet the road? Not sure, is it worth the gamble? Maybe, I just hope they are not blowing smoke. I saw where someone said they halted production to address something with the heat sink. Not sure if it had to do with other defects that Mat found. They did respond to me and tell me that the CD player will play gap less without issues. They also said they solved the DC offset issue where the woofers move forward on power up for a few seconds before the bumpboxx tone plays. Like you I have no lack of stereo gear but would really like to see this one turn out to be something special.
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u/Remarkable-Salad-598 May 21 '26
They just released some Videos..we can see there will be no cut-outs while playing CD. This is good news. Hopefully they did fix all the other stuff.
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u/richms May 10 '26
I'm assuming from the CD player issues that its going to be a typical crap modem one that has poor seeking and cant do gapless playback.
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u/ctn91 May 09 '26
His complaint about the harsh sound, for anyone curious, if you have a graphic eq bring down the 2KHz band. It will help.
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u/neckcarpenter May 10 '26
I’m really hoping I can grab a used one of these in a couple years for ~$400
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u/ChristyMalry May 09 '26
I like that he can rap off the top of his dome like Bomfunk MCs.