Audio

Uber-Cool Volkswagen Portable Turntable: the Soundwagon

As retro and interesting as it gets

By Florin Tibu, Audio Editor

2nd of April 2008, 15:00 GMT

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The Soundwagon: a VW hippie van portable turntable

I am sure that quite a lot of people are in love with the handiness digital audio formats which can go pretty much anywhere, from mobile phones to state-of-the-art dedicated players, take a very small place among your things as you are on the go and are pretty much indestructible. Yet, despite all the grim prophecies, the vinyl records have not vanished from our world, let alone the fact that a lot of artists still press vinyls and sell them for collectors and fans all over the world.

And as the old vinyl record is an icon of a vintage era by itself, by all means a dedicated player represents a thing that's even cooler. With brands like Crosley and many more developing new turntables for home use, and pro-grade players for DJ use from Numark and so many others, it looks like the vinyl records' industry is far from its end.

The Soundwagon WV portable turntable player is one amazing piece of retro technology and has a working principle which will amaze a lot of people. The firsts thing to strike you is its shape: we're talking about a "hippie-van", the old rounded and chubby Volkswagen van form the 70's, with bright red plastic casing and white accents. And for those who will ask, yes, the Soundwagon has been licensed by VW.

This record player is as portable as you might ever need: while being lightweight, the Soundwagon runs on a 9V battery and is small enough to fit in your hand bag or backpack so you can carry it anywhere with no particular efforts. One cool feature is that the VW Soundwagon comes with its own built-in loudspeaker - don't expect audiophile-grade quality, because you'll never get it with such gear or such money. Nevertheless, if you feel like bringing back some vinyl memories, it's just perfect.

Now, the "uber"-feature: it will actually drive ON your vinyl records! Place them on a table and have the VW Soundwagon driving around your record with a precise 33 1/3 RPM speed, while the stylus under the van will track the record and give life to your old fav tunes. There is no word on people using the VW Soundwagon with their priceless collectible records, but for the sake of sheer fun, you could use it on lesser-value vinyls.

It will set you back some $90, but I guess the fun and retro feel are well worth the money. Sorry, no 45 RPM version!

We are just a few, but there are many of you, Softpedia users, out there. That's why we thought it would be a good idea to create an email address for you to help us a little in finding gadgets we missed. Interesting links are bound to be posted with recognition going mainly to those who submit. The address is

TAGS:

VW | Volkswagen | vinyl records | turntable | portable turntable

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