If Braven XXL is somewhat reminiscent of military hardware, the Superstar Monster Blaster looks like it was taken from a secret lab of an intelligence agency. With its metallic soft, yet sharp forms, it resembles something that could be used to neutralise escaped aliens in Men in Black.

Its ease of use is just as simple as it is easy to read. A five centimetre wide power button on the one side turns on the device, and two equal sized arrows adjust the volume.

You can choose between an indoor and an outdoor setting. The latter setting has less bass, since it is still impossible to play deep bass out in the open. On the other hand, there are power sockets, a microphone and analogue inputs, as well as a USB port for charging.

Monster says nothing about either technical specifications, power or frequency range. But through the dark grey protection grille, you can sense the four full range drivers that are about two inches large, two on each side. A five-inch woofer takes care of the bass, with the help of two square drivers.

Wow, it plays really loud! Not loud as the colossal Soundboks of course, but loud enough to end up in a feud with anyone nearby. The sound level at a nightclub is normally 100 dB. But here it comes with a handle!

Monster Blaster plays not only loud, it goes deep too. Not as abysmally deep as the JBL Boombox, but it has excessive power in the bass drums and electric bass. If you place it on a table, the music is accompanied with the rattling from everything else. It is because the sub-woofer and the two drivers point downward, which puts the surface in motion.

Even though the bass is huge, Monster Blaster doesn’t feel too dark to listen to. It has a very beautiful and free mid-range and treble. So much that you think: “Oh, I can actually live quite well with that!”

Conclusion

The idea of the Monster Superstar Blaster has been to revive the classic boombox, and Monster succeeds unusually well with that. It is extremely rough and sturdy – on par with Braven XXL and JBL Boombox – and plays both thunderously high and with pressure in the bass. Despite this, it is so well nuanced that it can very well be used indoors and placed on a table. But the coffee cups will end up break-dancing when you turn up the volume! Also, the price is very good, compared to the others in the test. Be aware that the Superstar Blaster is on its way out of the assortment. Keep an eye out at the clearance shelves for an even better bargain.