(January 13, 2026) For a generation raised on mixtapes, handwritten track lists, and carefully doodled J-cards, cassettes were never just about sound. They were about intention and interaction. Time spent. Thoughtfulness shared. And now, quietly but confidently, they’re finding their way back into modern listening spaces.
That context makes the latest release from French audio brand We Are Rewind especially compelling. Known for its modern take on portable cassette players, the company has stepped into real retro street-audio territory with the GB-001 boombox, also known as Curtis. This isn't a Bluetooth speaker dressed up to look vintage, but rather a full-scale, squared-off boombox that transports the 1980s straight into 2026. Complete with a front-loading cassette deck and dual backlit VU meters, the GB-001 puts its best analog foot forward... and it looks fabulous.
Curtis is a serious cassette transport. Its mechanism features a user-adjustable motor with internal speed regulation, support for both Type I and Type II chrome tapes, and optimized biasing for accurate playback and recording. An active AC erase head is used during recording, helping to reduce noise and preserve frequency response, which is rarely seen outside more enthusiast-focused tape decks. Playback specs include a frequency response of 40 Hz to 12,500 Hz, wow and flutter rated around 0.15 percent, and total harmonic distortion under 0.5 percent. Recording performance is similarly robust, with stereo recording, adjustable VU-controlled levels, and signal-to-noise figures above 55 dB.
Its glorious, glowing VU meters provide real-time monitoring for both playback and recording, reinforcing the hands-on nature of cassette use. Curtis even includes a microphone input with adjustable level, opening the door to live recording, voice capture, or simply reliving the joy of recording directly to tape.
The speaker system is equally ambitious, housing four Hi-Fi-class loudspeakers, with two dedicated woofers for bass and two soft dome tweeters for midrange clarity and treble detail. Power's provided by four Class D amplifiers delivering a combined 104 watts RMS, split between 32-watt channels for the woofers and 20-watt channels for the tweeters. We Are Rewind has also embedded a dynamic power control to limit distortion at higher volumes, refined equalization for a natural tonal balance, and a spatialization function designed to widen the stereo image.
Of course, this isn’t a nostalgia-only device. Curtis can also scratch a modern itch with Bluetooth 5.4 wireless streaming and a 3.5 mm stereo line input for wired sources. That means you can stream playlists from your phone, connect a CD player, or drop in a cassette without changing systems. The top panel keeps things refreshingly tactile, with dedicated knobs for volume, bass, treble, and balance, along with physical switches for source selection and tape type.
You can plug in Curtis, or power it with a user-replaceable lithium-ion battery rated at 14.8V and 3000 mAh. Battery life is specified at roughly 10 hours in tape mode and up to 15 hours when using the auxiliary input. You can expect even more battery life when using headphones.
The unit weighs just over 15 pounds and measures roughly 20 inches wide, giving it real presence without feeling impractical for room-to-room use.
What makes Curtis especially timely is the broader resurgence of cassette culture itself. New albums continue to be released, often priced between $9 and $14, with some topping out around $20. Blank tapes remain inexpensive and easy to find, making mixtape creation accessible once again. Compared to vinyl, the barrier to entry is low, and for many listeners, the appeal is less about perfect fidelity and more about a physical connection.
Curtis is available through Amazon, We Are Rewind’s own storefront, and Turntable Lab, with pricing set at $579.
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