Wow, I don't know. Maybe there's a defect with yours. With such a small company there's always a possibility of production issues/variations. When I say background noise, it's some kind of digital hiss that appears at volume level 1 and stays the same after that, which means by level 3 or 4 it disappears behind the music. It's separate from the cooling fan noise.
I hear the hiss too Reli. Exactly as you describe it. I am guessing, but it sounds like amp hiss. I built a DIY BBX last year with an inexpensive 12V amp from Amazon. It had that same constant hiss in the background - turning up the volume drowns out the hiss. It kills me but I am going to ask for a full refund. I'm hoping they will be professional and understanding. For the time being Reli, I’ve removed my comments. I hope you enjoy yours.
Thoughtful and respectful posts @Jam_On_It ... hmmm. I would not be the right customer for one of these either. I too hope they sell a lot of these and make $$$ for their next products... I look forward to their future projects
When I move around the interwebs looking for portable radio information, the "cons" are consistant with just about all models, meaning people always seem to look for issues. Someone will post a brochure of what looks to be an expensive 80's powerhouse, something like a DoDeCaHorn going for around $1000 USD and the notes will take about "lack of xxxx." The reality is, no one will hit a home run with these, they never could, even with huge budgets and high-volume manufacturing. I'm looking at the GPO Brooklyn Website, I don't think they make their BBX anymore, it's mostly land-line phones for hotels. I thought they had a good chance of fixing their issues and gettting a better version out but it looks like it didn't happen.
A COMPLETE CHANGE OF HEART ABOUT THE BB-77'S SOUND QUALITY: I was initially so disappointed by the poor sound quality of my BB-777 that I was going to ask for a refund. The treble was shrill, harsh, and at higher volumes grainy, crunchy and congested. The sound quality was horrible. The cassette playback sounded particularly bad. Right before I packed it up and hit send on the refund email, I decided to take a listen to the BB-777 with headphones. Via headphones it's a completely different experience. Everything sounded completely normal. Very solid audio quality with no harshness! WOW! I decided to open up the radio and see if I could disconnect the horn tweeters. It was brainlessly simple. 10 screws on the back that are all the same size, use the padded feet on the bottom of the radio as the fingers-only leverage point to crack the seal (no spudger required). Horns are unobstructed and have a simple plug. Disconnect and zip tie to the wiring harness, reassemble radio. Takes about 10-15 minutes. WHAT A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN SOUND QUALITY!!!! All the harsh cheese-grater-to-the-ear sound is GONE! All inputs sound cohesive, balanced, natural. It's a completely different radio that I am now THRILLED to own. The coaxial speakers with integrated dome tweeters provide PLENTY of smooth, clean, natural treble. The only conclusion I can draw for those AWFUL horns was to throw the treble across a large room or outdoor space ( a "party" speaker"). You still have to turn the bass and subs to full on most inputs to get normal, usable bass, but it's a concession I am now happy to make!
BB-777 Amplifier: What It Actually Is: (ID'd the amp chip while I had the boombox open) The BB-777 uses an STMicroelectronics TDA7388, a four-channel Class-AB BTL amplifier originally designed for automotive audio. It is a legitimate, proven mid-grade amplifier IC and is capable of good sound when used within its limits. The important part is understanding the power ratings. ST markets the chip as 4 × 45 W, but that 45 W figure is not clean continuous audio power. In ST’s datasheet, the 45 W figure is tied to a saturated square-wave output at 15.2 V. At a more typical 14.4 V supply, ST rates it at 26 W/channel at 10% THD, which is already heavily clipped and not what most people would consider clean audio. A more realistic usable figure is around: 18–20 W RMS per channel into 4 Ω at roughly 1% THD So, assuming the BB-777 supplies the chip with about 14.4 V and presents roughly 4-ohm loads, the amplifier is realistically: ~75–80 W RMS total clean/usable output That is the number I would use in a technical discussion, with the caveat that the BB-777’s actual rail voltage and speaker loads still need to be measured for a definitive system rating. The advertised 270 W peak is not representative of continuous amplifier output. The TDA7388 only has four amplifier channels. Interestingly, 270 W equals 45 W × 6 speakers, but the BB-777’s six physical drivers are not six independently amplified 45-watt channels. Sound-quality-wise, the chip itself is respectable: ST specifies about 0.04% typical THD at 4 W, low output noise, decent channel separation, and extensive protection circuitry. Its weaknesses are mainly efficiency, heat, and limited clean power, not fidelity. Bottom line Advertised: 270 W peak Chip headline: 4 × 45 W max/saturated At 10% THD: 4 × 26 W Realistically clean/usable: ~4 × 18–20 W RMS Total: roughly 75–80 W RMS So the BB-777 is not really a 270-watt amplifier in any conventional continuous-power sense. It is much more accurately described as an approximately 80 W RMS four-channel Class-AB system.
NEW FCC ID for the BB-777 https://fccid.io/2APOI-BB777?utm_source=chatgpt.com Biggest news is that it is manufactured by Leotec - same company that makes the Aiwa Retro boombox. To me that is a very good thing as I have the Aiwa and I love it.
Wow, great detective work! I always assumed it had a class D amp like most other modern speakers do, but the cooling fan should have tipped me off that it was class AB instead. And you say it's a 4 channel amp? Does that mean 2 for the subs and 2 for the other speakers?
Correct Reli. The coaxials and the horns are running off the first set of channels and the subs off the second set of channels. Do the horn delete. You’re welcome LOL.
I'll have to try the horn delete sometime. But so far I haven't noticed harsh treble. In fact I always leave the treble knob maxed out indoors. Maybe my ears aren't as good as yours. Oh and yeah that's me on youtube.
The treble on mine was terribly harsh. Pulling the plugs on the horns transformed the machine! I thought that was you on YT! You have a great voice for presenting - very professional sounding!
Reli, do you own the big Aiwa Backtrack Retro? If so compare an acoustical song w female vocals on both via CD. I used Indigo Girls “Prince of Darkness” The Aiwa sounded clean, balanced, cohesive. The BB-777 had decidedly harsh, grainy, crunchy treble. There were a few points in the song that were so harsh on vocals, I winced. Pulling the plugs on the BB-777’s horns created a dramatically better presentation. Like the Aiwa it became clean, balanced, cohesive. I went from “I’m returning it” to “I love this radio”.
Can you tell us what kind of environment you were in where it was harsh? Idoors, outdoors? Carpet or hard floors? Sitting at a desk with the horns pointed at you? I'll have to try it. But I just hope the amp sends the extra power to the domes instead of letting it go to waste, lol
Indoors both small and very large room. Small room was carpet large room was tile. Sitting at ear level with the 777 was the worst. Overall treble profile is shrill, harsh highs - and as the volume rises the top-end gets grainy, crunchy, congested. I'm not a crazy audiophile, but I sold consumer audio products for many years. Everything from cheap, terrible sounding Magnavox boomboxes to high-end receivers and high-end home speakers. You develop a natural sense for good sound quality. A $100 boombox can sound great for what it is and a $2,000 set of speakers and sound objectively poor at their price point. Those horns on the BB-777 are harsh. For me, it's instant listening fatigue. The horns burn across the entire frequency band and it dominates the entire presentation. Worse, you have a second set of tweeters! I was actually p*ssed that I dropped a grand on this boombox. Unplugging the horns is transformational. The harsh top-end disappears and the presentation becomes cohesive and natural. The dome tweeters supply PLENTY of smooth, clean, natural-sounding treble. I have the treble set flat and it sounds great.
You won’t be sorry. I’ve been listening to my BB-777 non-stop since I did the horn delete. Before, I couldn’t listen for more than a few minutes without getting angry lol.
Basically they just needed to add a switch to toggle those horns on or off. Good to know. Purchasers just need to crack open their new boombox and do this "unplug" mod, probably voiding any warranties in the process, to make it listenable...
Those horns at minimum should be on a switch labeled “Indoor mode / Outdoor mode” or “Regular mode / Party mode”. I would argue theirs no need to even have them. I’m sitting here right now listening to my BB-777 with horn delete and it sounds great. PLENTY of smooth, clean, clear treble coming from the coaxial dome tweeters and not a hint of harshness. IMO those horns destroy the sound. They burn across all frequencies and flood the sound presentation with shrill crashy top-end.
