I never stepped foot in the eighties, as much as it might look like it, but I've always had a soft spot for tech from the period. One of the coolest things that came from the decade was those massive boomboxes that all the slickest folk slung over their shoulder, blasting their favorite tunes and annoying the neighbors.
The We Are Rewind GB-001 might look like it came from the time of big shoulder pads and massive hair, but it's actually only just been released. Is it a shot across the nostalgia bow? Yes. But it's also one of the most wicked things I've ever had the pleasure of testing — let me tell you about it.
One foot firmly in the past...
Cassettes are a thing of yesteryear. Those who lived with them hate them, immediately ditching them for CDs the moment that the silver discs came down in price. Those that came after might not even know what a cassette even is. I am of the former, although my feelings on the format have softened a lot over recent years.
While they might not sound quite as good as more modern ways of listening to music, like the best music streaming services or a nice, simple CD, cassettes are a tactile joy. The GB-001 knows this implicitly. That cassette mechanism on the front is a fidgeter's paradise, with a smooth action, clicky buttons, and plenty of satisfying clunks and clonks to let you know that large pieces of metal are moving around into place.
Do the cassettes sound good? No, not really — but they never really did, unless you've got some of those expensive metal tapes. But I'm not really sure that the tapes themselves are all about the sound quality, and neither is the deck's presence in the boombox.
It's all about evoking the past. The act of playing a tape to your friends at the back of the bus on the way to school, or marching around town with Kool and the Gang playing at full volume. It's a statement. We are Rewind is saying "we know music has been, and that something is pleasing about an analog, tactile experience."
The GB-001 recognizes the past and what has led us to the best Bluetooth speakers — because, let's face it, without boomboxes, you wouldn't have massive, luggable audio solutions that connect wirelessly now.
It's all highlighted by those lovely bouncing VU meters on the front of the boombox. I adore VU meters, so much so that everything with a screen in my house that plays music is set to display VU meters. They're a glorious reminder of an analog musical past, and, beyond being a nostalgic statement of intent, they're utterly mesmerizing.
Do they improve the sound quality? Of course not, and they're not supposed to. But they make the speaker look cooler than it already did — and let's face it, that goes some way to making this a stunning thing to look at.
... one foot in the present...
I was initially going to call this section "With an eye to the future," but I don't think that's entirely accurate. There are no fancy Bluetooth codecs on board, no WiFi, and no USB-C port to charge or transmit data. There's nothing that says "wow, 2027, here we come!" Instead, there's a solid range of inputs that tell you the speaker cares more about the here and now than it does about making a dent in the future of music playback.
Bluetooth manages wireless connection, and there's a 3.5mm aux plug, should you want to connect something with a wire. It charges over a barrel jack — thankfully, the space year 2025 means that you don't need to fill it with 12 D-cell batteries. You can remove and change out the 15-hour battery. That's not the most battery life in the world, but it's powering two massive woofers and a pair of tweeters — they don't just sip power, they gulp it down by the hornload.
While the GB-001 understands that nostalgia is important (presumably as a fun way to reconnect with your younger years beyond being a space ripe for marketing), it also knows that it needs to offer modern touches to be usable in 2025. The result? One of the coolest Bluetooth speakers I've ever tested.
... and one in the moshpit
The GB-001 is an absolute beast. A chunky monster that belts out music at top volume before you've even cranked the dial up to the max. Those massive speakers aren't just for show — they're loud, proud and ready to wake the dead of the nearest cemetery. Whether it's 2, 10, or 100 miles away. This thing gets noisy.
Boomboxes were never about HiFi sound, and the GB-001 is no different. They're about making a sonic statement that makes everyone around you spin their heads like meerkats. The GB-001 makes one hell of a statement.
It's a sound that's utterly dedicated to low end. There's still some detail to be found here, but some of the mid-range can get a little lost in the pursuit of window-shaking bass. It's loads and loads of fun, powering a bachelor party that I went on with absolutely no problems at all, whilst raising the eyebrows of partygoers.
"Wow, that boombox has Bluetooth? That's cool, dude." Every single time someone noticed it at the party, they looked it up online to see how much it cost — and every time it blew them away. The GB-001 costs $579. I'll let that sink in for a second.
That's more than the Sonos Move 2, more than any of the portable Bose options, and more than a pair of stereo speakers and a cheap amp. The speaker does make a great case for its higher price — the ground-shaking sound, the great build quality, and its nostalgia factor — but it's still going to be a hard ask for most people. Still, it's easily one of the best ways to listen to music outside.
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