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(More customer reviews)These people giving bad reviews gotta rethink their value system. Just like a micro 10 cent pen won't be as good as a full sized 2 dollar one, the same holds true for radios.
There are only a few useful radios on the market this tiny, with a built in speaker (as opposed to headphone/earbuds - only radios). Out of the ones this tiny I found the CX-50 beat the others of similar size & price.
I bought mine for about 5 bucks, liked it so much, I ordered 3 more as stocking stuffers. For the price & size, I thought it was a good deal.
This isn't a serious performer. It's more like a micro travel radio or travel alarm clock (Yes it has an alarm clock in it).
It's stylish too. A cross between modern & retro, with an all metal face. It solid & heavy compared to most mini radios.
Sound quality is about what one would expect from such a little speaker... you won't get much bass, but the included earbuds sound rich & full.
It sounds better, tunes better, & has better reception than the Katio KA-208, & Coby CX53 (both of which are identical to each other except for the brand name stamped on it) radios. Tuning is tricky, but you get used to it. I've seen worse tuning on most mini & cheap radios.
FM reception was slightly above average for a mini, or cheap radio... Better on FM than the CX53, KA-208, Bell & Howell 9 band world receiver, & the Sony ICF-S10MK2 (other "under 10 dollar" radios).
AM reception was crip & clear, but not as sensitive as larger radios. Usuable, but no serious DXing on AM. I was able to pick up quite a few distant stations in evenings, but not as many or as clear as on the Sony or Bell & Howell radios (the only thing they're good for).
Because the stations take up such a wide space on the radio's AM dial, you do not need to tune it "dead on" the frequency to get the station clearly. The bad part of that is if there's a strong AM station near a desired weaker station, the stronger one will interfere with it unless you turn the radio a little to cancel out the stronger station.
It did reject noise & interference from computers & office machines on both bands better that the other radios I mention here.
It a fun little micro radio, that looks kinda cool. Ideally suited as a travel alarm, or basic ultra mini portable.
The 2 little AAA rechargeable batteries I put in mine have been going strong for over a week's worth of regular daily use without me having to recharge them.
So is it a great radio? No. It's a great radio for it's size, price, & efficiency... with better than average FM reception for a micro radio.
Keep one around for an emergency or because it looks cool too.
It's a couple millimeters thinner than the KA-208 & the CX53. It's also about a millimeter less wide & tall as well. That makes it the smallest radio with a built in speaker that I've ever seen in recent times.
There was one smaller I had in the 70s. AM only, ran on a single AA cell, & sensitivity was pretty bad... strong stations only. But I wish I could find one like that again because it was so tiny, & sounded good.
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