Makita has come out with a new Bluetooth jobsite radio, model XRM09B.
The new Makita music player features 18V, 14.4V, and 12V CXT compatibility, Bluetooth connectivity, an AM/FM radio tuner, auxiliary port, backlit LCD display, and a USB port for charging your devices.
It’s dust and water-resistant with an IP65 rating, and also has elastomer bumpers and diecast aluminum guarding for durability.
The radio weighs 12 lbs with battery (not included). It measures 10-1/2″ long x 6-1/2″ wide x 11-5/8″ tall. There’s a folding top handle for easy portability.
The Makita XRM09B radio has two 3.5″ side-firing speakers and a single 4″ subwoofer.
It comes with an AC adapter. When paired with Makita’s cordless power tool batteries, it can run for up to 18 hours on an 18V 5.0Ah battery, or 7.5 hours with an 18V 2.0Ah battery.
Makita also says that it has seven selectable sound modes for different genres of music. The lighted dial can change color depending on the selected sound mode.
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Compare(Makita XRM06B via Amazon) – older/other model
Discussion
Curiously, there seem to be other differences compared to previous models aside from just aesthetics. The Makita XRM06B is said to have runtime of up to 35 hours or 14 hours with 18V 5.0Ah or 2.0Ah batteries, respectively. This new XRM09B has runtimes of up to 18 hours or 7.5 hours with the same batteries. The new jobsite radio is also a little heavier – 12 lbs with battery compared to 10.8 lbs, without much difference in dimensions.
Is the subwoofer new? Makita USA doesn’t specify. But something must different for the runtime specs to be so different.
At the time of this posting, Amazon has the new jobsite ratio available for $214.50, with a 1-3 month ETA.
Personally, I don’t think Makita needed to update the look of their jobsite radio. I don’t not like the new look, but I think I prefer the previous styling better. The new Makita jobsite radio has a negative-contrast LCD display, which *might* help with readability.
Makita USA lists some of the equalizer settings: My EQ (perhaps a customizable setting), news, pop, classic, rock, jazz, each with its own control dial LED color-coding.
