The mobile stereo, the “boombox”, the “ghettoblaster”– was as much a part of the 1980s as dayglo, greed and good hip hop. Fast forward to modern day, and the ghettoblaster is now a collectors item, sought after by a small subculture of vintage hip hop purists. While the ghettoblaster was a piece of technology that died with the boom of the Sony Walkman and Crack Cocaine, it has been reborn and updated to the iPod generation by the brilliant people at Lasonic. Their generically titled “High Performance Portable Music System” looks like the classic street boombox, but its design may have been a mistake. The Chinese designed Lasonic system is not intended to be a salute to vintage boomboxes, but an actual modern take on consumer audio. While it may have been a mistake that the designers were still stuck in the 80s, its no mistake that the Lasonic iPod BoomBox is ultracool, vintage ghettoblaster magic. If you’re a fan of classic hip hop, Lasonic just inadvertently designed your ultimate iPod dock. Represent.

Buy: $219

Designer Singgih Kartono has re-imagined the classic white alarm clock in simple, natural woods. An organic option to the traditional radio, this stylish modern piece is not light on functionality. The MAGNA wooden radio combines standard AM/FM radio with an input for your iPod or other portable audio device. The combination of up-to-date electronics and the natural tone of wood makes the MAGNA a lust-worthy addition to our nightstand.

Buy for $275.

Swedish company Tonium presents Pacemaker, an ultra- portable pocket-sized DJ system. In spite of its size, Pacemaker is being billed as a pro-DJ system and has 120-gig hard drive. It’s tricked out with basic DJ tools of the trade like the Line Out crossfader, headphone crossfader, song cueing, and sound effects. It connects via USB 2.0 and the battery lets you DJ for five hours before the porta-party ends. This one is in “pre-booking” at press time, but is expected to hit the street at approximately $1040 US.

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Outi headphones “bypass” your eardrums, sending vibrations directly into your skull bones and cartilage. It’s a fascinating concept–listen to music as loud as you want without damaging those fragile eardrums. We’re not sure about the decibels–can you REALLY crank this up all the way with NO hearing damage? But we love the idea that you can listen loud without disturbing others sitting right next to you in cubicleland. Even more interesting–you can be fully immersed in the music without missing out on conversations reaching your ear the traditional way. We are intrigued.

Buy for $110.00

What’s the chief complaint about MP3 audio? The sterile digital sound can’t hold a candle to the warmth of analog signal processing. That complaint is no more with the Roth Audio Music Cocoon, an iPod dock and amplifier with those lovely tubes to enhance the audio from any source (not just your iPod). This ain’t your father’s analog gear–Roth Audio includes built-in protection for the power system and keeps the tubes from overheating. Digital music comes into a whole new realm with one of these, you’ll never hear your iTunes library the same way again.

Buy for $649.99

Install the MVix HD Multimedia Center into your wireless home network and send all your multimedia content to your TV; all those iTunes TV shows you download, the music videos, BitTorrrent movie downloads, your vacation footage, everything. The wireless signal can hit up to 54 Mbps for streaming digital media. The MvixTM player handles too many media formats to name, including high-definition WMV-9 or MPEG-4. The MVix accesses files anywhere - your Personal Computer, USB Storage, Network Attached Storage box. There’s also an optional hard disk feature designed to connect to the MVix and store or back up everything in one place.

Buy for $295.00

If there’s a truth to our culture, its that America loves an underdog. Its ironic, of course, that Microsoft is the underdog here. The Zune 2, in this case, gives that underdog one hell of a bark and a bite. This feature-rich, high-style personal media player gives the iPod Touch a run for the money- for just 80% of the price. What’s new about the Zune 2nd Gen?

• The 2nd Gen Zune is 27% smaller than the original 30GB Zune.
• A larger, 3.2 inch lcd screen.
• The Zune 2 now includes a wireless sync with your PC.
• The round button control on the old Zune is now a “squirqle”, a touch-sensitive pad that controls nagivation through your media.
• An updated, sexy OS with expanded functionality.

The Zune 2nd gen is also available in 4GB and 8GB versions, just like the iPod Nano, for $149 and $199 respectively. But the granddaddy 80GB version in black is available now for $249. Beat the holiday rush and grab yourself a Zune 2 now.

Buy for $249.

Liberate your iPod from those earbuds with these wireless portable speakers from Oregon Scientific. A transmitter (included) lets you send an iPod signal up to 100 feet to the speakers. Best of all, you aren’t limited to MP3 players, you can send audio from CD players, TVs, stereos, anything you can plug in. An advanced 2.4 GHz frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology transmits wireless audio with no crosstalk. You get a three-speaker setup that includes a pair of tweeters and a subwoofer. The transmitter handles three inputs at once.

Buy for $193.22

Chinavision presents the Cassette MP3 player. This standalone requires a 2-gig SD card, is USB-rechargable like any other player, but has one major difference; it can also be inserted into a cassette deck so you can play MP3s on old-school car stereos! Craziness from Chinavision, with a price that is a big middle finger to Apple. Still want to be that old-school guy with the ghetto blaster? Now you can keep the 80s look and stay digital. A nice innovation for painters, classic car geeks, anybody else who still has a tape player in use for some strange reason. We know you’re out there. . .

Buy for $21.00

Panasonic gets old school with these large-aperature headphones. Designed with a 40mm driver, this solid Japanese import delivers crystal-clear sound with nice, thumping bass. It’s got a gold-plated mini-plug and comes in your choice of five colors. Who knew a Japanese import could be so affordable? You pay this much for Japan-import CDs! Try a pair of these on for size and wonder why you ever bothered with tinny-sounding ear buds.
Buy for $38.87