Customer Reviews

Upbeat Audio T613-BNC Boostaroo for All Audio Application

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Also available at Radio Shack, where I bought three of them, the Upbeat Boostarro does one thing, it amplifies audio signals up to 10db (decibels). That's what it says it is for and that is what it does.

I work in the film and television industries as a sound recordist and mixer. In the last five or more years, we have seen the large video camera shrink down to much smaller sized video cameras. When I send sound to a camera, there is a headphone jack that allows me to hear what the camera hears, so I can verify that the sound is getting on the tape.

But these newer, smaller DV cameras have very reduced room for electronics, including audio circuits and the sound level coming back to me is often so low, I can't hear what is getting to the camera.

It was frustrating and it wasn't until I worked on the movie Unstrung that the director of photography showed me the Boostaroo. He plugged it into the audio jack, I put on my headphones, someone talked in the mic and he then switched it on. Voila! I could hear. I went out that day to Radio Shack and bought one. And knowing only too well that when you find something you like, it can quickly go away. So I've bought two more since, just to have them. Of course, after buying three I see them here on Amazon.com and at a much lower price.

For what it is made for, the Boostaroo does what it says, it boosts an audio signal up to it's claim of 10 db. Some say it doesn't add that much. I've not measured it on equipment but you can definitely hear the change and it does work. It also adds some noticeable self noise (hiss) to the signal. But that is only noticeable when there is no signal or content.

So, in the infamous words of Harry Callahan, "do you feel lucky?" If you don't expect too much from the Upbeat Audio Boostaroo, it will do exactly what it says it will do, boost an audio signal for you and make your tunes louder.

I wasn't expecting much but this unit really does give a boost of about 10-15% to my untrained ear. This allows the use of larger headphones for home use etc. My Sennheiser HD555 responded very well to the extra power, with a fuller deeper bass and a "rounder" all around sound. Also works pretty well as a kind of "pre-amp" if plugged into an Aux port in your car.

The down side is the unit isn't small and portable in any way and is pretty much a sit and listen kind of unit.

If you just want a nice boost and don't care about audiophile class sound quality, it'll be money well spent.

( follow up edit ) It shines as a pre amp for the AUX port in a car. If you use an MP3 or Ipod in your car you know how much you have to crank the volume on both the player and the car stereo to get decent volume which results in distortion. This unit allows volume without distortion, saves the charge in the player and it's bulk isn't so much of an issue in a car.

I use my Boostaroo to power up my /mp3 player to play through my motorcycle helmet speakers. It works well, and the battery life is very good.

Well, of course it doesn't have a volume control. That's not the point. Besides, I don't really want a volume control on my MP3 *AND* on my boostaroo. This little doo-dad amplifies the sound on my el-cheapo MP3 player just fine. A good purchase.

This amp is a steal for what it does. I boosts good clear sound in lower volumes and peaks well above comfortable headphone volume. Great for plane trains and subways. If ipod is on bass boost and you crank it it will crack with distortion so turn it down a smidge or turn off the eq. Sounds great on ipods acoustic setting. I primarily use it for my snowboard jacket speakers to boost the tunes while shreddin. Thanks boostaroo. Also, I recommend good headphones with a seperate volume dial to help cont it peaks.

This is a great device. I had purchased a crap MP3 player from Wal-Mart (my walPod) and this boosted the sound so I could hear music and such over the road noise in my car. I highly recommend this product. It WORKS!!

I was a skeptic. I wanted to listen on an airplane, but normal "ipod" style earphones didn't do it - they let in too much noise and my laptop didn't have enough "OOMPH". I really didn't want to drag around carry big honker noise cancelling headsets. But this little critter really works - I couple it with little earbuds with rubber ear inserts to help block the outside noise and three -count them - THREE of us can watch a movie on iphone, laptop, whatever. Plenty of audio to go around, I actually had to turn the volume down. I got a second one for my daughter and her family. Recommendation - unless you are a frequent flyer, remove the battery between trips or it can corrode and ruin your device.

if you want to listen to your music on your phone or ipod louder, this is perfect. i have a blackberry storm and an ipod. the earbuds i have are sony's, with an inline volume control. i think they are an "extra bass set". first lemme say that those $40 earbuds sound better than some $150 headphones. this little amp is great buy. i just got it at radio shack for $25. i cannot understand why people give stuff like this bad reviews (another review site). if your a music fanatic that has a $500 mp3 player, and you listen to music on your $350 headphones, than dont buy a $20 amp and expect it to be studio quality. more importantly, then dont talk normal people out of buying a great product.

i seriously would have paid $50 for this and been satisfied. it makes the music from my phone loud enough to be just below being too uncomfortable to listen to. thats alot coming from me cause my hearing isnt the best do to the $5,000 stereo i had in my car as a kid. the music is loud and clean. it has an on/off button with a red indicator lite which is nice. it also takes AA as opposed to the higher model that takes AAAA and has no on/off switch. (yes thats 4 A's) if your on the fence about which one to buy, save the $10 and buy this one. its DEFINATELY loud enough,(probably too loud for most people), the batteries are cheaper and available anywhere if they happen to die. the ONLY thing i would like it to have is a clip, so it could clip onto a belt,pocket.. whatever.

this thing is well worth the money. if it happen to break on me, i would definately go back to the store and get another one. i cant see you getiing something better for what this cost.. DO NOT HESISTATE

My mp3 player didn't have enough power to get good sound on my Cycle Sound bicycle speakers. The Boosteroo gave me just the boost I needed.

I'm a transcriptionist and sometimes the sound is not that great. This little gizmo increases the volume significantly enough to make the difference to be able to distinguish words. In a perfect world I wouldn't need this. It shipped quickly and needed no preparation. Just plug it in. Make sure you have AA batteries.