Review on Sony SRF59SILVER Walkman Stereo Radio by Edris Holwell

It's clear to me that people like to rave about this radio. For $15, it's hard to complain too much about what it offers. The physical construction seems solid enough that Sony even includes a pair of inexpensive headphones suitable for listening to AM talk radio. PROS: * Sound seems suitable for talk radio, with noticeable mids and good vocal clarity; lacks bass* Small and light; sort of a "pocket" radio that you can put in your shirt pocket!* AGC (Automatic Gain Control) is awesome; with AM signals fading, this unit handled them very well!* Selectivity is good; tighter than most other cheap radios, with less "bounce" from nearby channels. CONS: * Analog dial was way off when calibrating, reading about +80kHz too high for AM (unrecoverable?) * This radio is extremely difficult to tune; takes the Swiss watchmaker's hand to adjust the tiny dial* It's impossible to overlook the fact that the lack of a digital frequency readout is a huge minus!* The FM signal and sound quality were just ok, nothing special I also got a bit more expensive Sony Portable AM /FM Radio SRF-M37W. It is slightly smaller in height and width, but larger in depth and heavier. It's "pocket" but the weight is noticeable. It's built very well and costs around $28 - just $13 more than the SRF59. For that little extra money you get a digital frequency display, improved bass, an improved clock and an improved weather section. It sounds much better on FM, even compared to the SRF59 with SRF59 headphones. You also get a much better pair of Sony headphones added to the deal. Yes, the AM selectivity isn't as good as the cheaper SRF59, and the AGC is close to the SRF59's performance, but not as good. Having said that, I have to say that I prefer the SRF-M37W with its digital frequency readout and solid, very educational design. The poor analog scale calibration of the cheaper SRF59 and the inability to get a picture of the exact frequency you're at are the deciding factors for me. Adjusting the SRF59 with a small thumb wheel is also disappointing. And the last. For some reason I found that the cheaper SRF59 gave less performance gain than the Sony SRF-M37W when using an AM boosted loop antenna (Kaito AN100). It surprised me and I don't know why that happened.