What happens when a world-renowned DJ collaborates on a system design that combines the traditional boombox with a miniaturized coffin with the ones and twos?  You get Armin van Buuren’s recent collaboration with electronics giant Philips and the M1X-DJ System ($499) that can essentially  start an outlaw party anywhere.  Of course, you will need an iPad to see what the hell is happening.

It runs for 5 hours with a full load of D sized batteries in case there’s no power supply around and can crank up to 80 watts of power, which can add some zest to those wine tasting parties!  It does have Bluetooth connectivity, and I am pretty certain there’s an audio output located somewhere on this device…  Its biggest design flaw in my book is the placement of the two tempo (pitch) control sliders right next to the channel faders, which can be a colossal train-wreck waiting to happen, and be careful not to drop or spill anything on the top because there’s no protective cover;  I seriously doubt you’ll see a Decksaver protective enclosure anytime soon, but the entire control surface can be dismantled from the top and flipped back onto its backside with a sort of airtight fit, but there are a few issues with this convenience feature from the grapevine.

Oh, yeah… and one other thing:  It looks a bit awkward to carry around as a sling with the shoulder strap as there appears to be no traditional boombox handle, but I still, I think it’s a great idea for wicked gatherings and a day at the beach.  Hey, at least the needle won’t skip with the speakers blarin’ right under those platters!  Why settle for just playing music when you can mix it up!

BIG FUCKIN’ MISTAKE

Looks easy… hmmmm

Sorry about these terrible video demos, but it was all that I could find!