It was arguably the moment the boombox peaked: the GF-909/GF-777 from Sharp boasted dual cassettes, radio, and massive sound. Now, Bumpboxx has decided to reboot that boom box for 2026, with a modern machine that can do everything — CDs, tapes, radio, USB, Bluetooth connectivity, the works. It could be a holy grail across every generation burned out on soulless streaming and ready to love music all over again.
In 1981, one year after the debut of the Roland TR-808, Sharp unveiled the epic GF-909 — that’s the GF-777 in the West, with its bold “Multi-Amp” branding. And the triple-seven boombox is as much an 80s icon as Roland’s drum machine.
I mean, just look at the original. It’s perfect:
Reimagined:
The funny thing is, everything that felt deluxe and over-the-top in the 80s just feels so right now. So yes, Bumpboxx has perfectly engineered a modern device with the signature look of the GF-777, it feels like the deluxe, play-and-record everything box to let you fully embrace physical music. You can even carry it on a plane, which might just make you want to go on a holiday with just this and a backpack with some CDs, tapes, a swimsuit, and a toothbrush, and leave the laptop at home.
I had a brief talk with Bumpboxx, and it seems they’ve really engineered a modern device, with modern tech — not only not sacrificing a single spec from the original, but adding everything you could possibly wish for. As inspired by the original Sharp, this is not so much a boom box as it is a portable custom sound system, a real party in a box.
- Up to 270W peak power
- 2 x 6.25″ “Super Woofers”
- 2 x 6.25″ coaxial speakers
- 4.5″ LCD display
- Two horn tweeters, internally chambered housing with bass ports
- Fan-cooled amplifier
- Bluetooth (including the ability to pair two units)
- USB audio playback: MP3, WMA (heh), WAV, FLAC, AAC
- AM / FM / FM stereo / shortwave / standard wave radio (meaning you get local and international broadcasts, and there’s still a lot of terrestrial radio out there…)
- Dual cassette deck with recording and high-speed dubbing — you can run your tape label out of this thing if you like, or record the radio like we used to do
- RCA aux in
- CD deck with CD audio, CD-R, CD-RW, and MP3 compatibility
- Direct USB recording (from cassette, CD, or radio sources), meaning this is also a digitization device
- 2 wired microphone inputs
- 2 built-in microphones
- Headphone output
- Removable magnetic front grilles “for maintenance or customization”
- two screw-on telescoping antennas
- Integrated shoulder strap
And all of this runs off a 97.6Wh rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery for a promised 15 hours of playback. There’s even an interchangeable battery pack. And it travels — TSA-approved battery so you can carry it on, 100-240V AC input so you don’t have to worry about where you are in the world.
Yes, it’s heavy — 28 pounds, 12.7 kg. That is just slightly heavier than the original, which was apparently 12.2 kg.
More on this soon; I’m really curious about the engineering, so we’ll talk about that some more. Shout if you have questions — especially if you own or have used the original. Other tech sites will move on to some other gadget; I am… likely to remain obsessed with this one. Same with you?
Listen, since the MPC Sample is so small and light, you can just tuck it in with this, and you’re covered.
The BF-777 launched this week on Kickstarter, with a promise to ship the first 6000 units in June. This starts at US$649, with a black-and-gold or all-red Founder’s Edition available for $749. Retail is expected to be $1,049 when the product hits the market.
Kickstarter — at least Bumpboxx is an established brand, so this is not their first time at the rodeo:
BB-777: The Iconic Boombox, Perfectly Recreated
Addendum —
Here’s a look at the Japanese version of the Sharp original, which ist most recognizable thanks to its distinct color scheme:
For the record, this is not the boombox that Radio Raheem played in Do the Right Thing — that would be an Intersound J-747S / Tecsonic Super Jumbo J-1. (Now that’s how you name a product.) The original prop is in the Smithsonian, at the National Museum of African American History & Culture. And it’s a reminder that these devices are more than just consumer gadgets.
Radio Raheem’s Boom Box [museum site]