SonySRF-S84 FM/AM Super Compact Radio Walkman with Sony MDR Fontopia Ear-Bud (Blue)

Sony SRF-S84 FM/AM Super Compact Radio Walkman with Sony MDR Fontopia Ear-Bud (Silver)I was looking for a small AM-FM radio about the size of my iPod, primarily so that I could listen to news & sports talk, and baseball games (and occasionally listen to music) while on my daily walks.After looking at a few models online, based on its features and customer reviews, I decided to go with the Sony SRF-S84 over the less expensive Sony SRF59 (which also received excellent reviews). I chose the SRF-S84 because of its slightly smaller size, the fact that it had the Bass Boost feature (for the times when I'm listening to music stations), and because it came with ear-buds as opposed to headphones.My biggest concerns/questions were would it have adequate reception and reasonably good sound quality out of the box? The answer to those questions are that the reception is far more than adequate,as it is great on both AM & FM and the sound quality is superb as well (even with the stock ear-buds - which are far nicer than I expected). I've found that this little Sony holds stations really well on my walks and I have had no issues at all with stations fading in & out. In fact I am amazed at how well the SRF-S84 pulls in and locks onto even distant stations.Another huge plus is its very small size which is perfect! - It is not even as wide or as tall as my iPod Nano (4th generation), and not too much thicker/deeper (enough to accomodate the one AAA battery that powers it). I find the analog tuner to be easy to use and has fantastic sensitivity to tune-in the station you are searching for even in areas with many stations close together on the dial. All other controls are simple, straight-forward and intuitive. I must also mention that even the belt-clip appears to be very sturdy. This tiny gem of a radio is just what I was looking for.To say that I am pleased with this little marvel would be an understatement. It not only meets my expectations, it exceeds them. The SRF-S84 is a great little AM-FM radio, and would make a great gift as well! I would have to say that this was one of my best purchases of 2012.

These newer versions of the Sony Walkman are just useless. Years ago, I bought this radio when it was even smaller. Great little device at the time! Then Sony phased it out and this seemed to be the replacement. I'm up to my third and that's it. These are now badly tooled, the tuner does not stay put so stations go into static as they move slightly off key. They go through batteries like crazy, although I realize what happens is, because the battery holder is not fine tuned either now, the connection gets lost and you think the battery has died. A year or so ago after that realization (thought I was buying dud batteries), I found out that if you twisted the battery, played with it, tried adding some tinfoil to pad the chamber, the battery would work. But because this was a "fix" and not a permanent solution, I had to keep fiddling with it to get the battery in the right position. Long and short of it - not buying these any longer. They're just frustrating to use. Waste of money and patience. And I used to be a fan.

The good:-Reception is fantastic. much better than my Sangean DT 180.-Sound is very good. And again, better than my Sangean DT 180.-Very Small, Very light.-Good battery life on a single AAA. Better than comparable digital radios, but less than some competitors analog radios. However the step up in quality is worth the lower battery life.The trade-offs for all these great features:-The tuning wheel is small which can make it hard to get the station you want for some people.-Analog radio so there's no presets, auto shut off, lock switch, etc.I did not realize this until after I got the radio, but it houses the same CXA1129N chip as the Sony SRF-59, which is widely acknowledged as the best personal radio for clear and strong reception, particularly on AM. It is almost the same radio. The differences? The SRF-S84 has a smaller AM antenna (because of the smaller size), the addition of a Megabass switch, no Local/DX switch (which adds gain to the radio signal to pickup distant signals).I was worried about the possibility of the tuning or volume wheels getting pushed around while working out, but I haven't experienced this problem yet. I'm very happy with this radio, but if you need to switch between your favorite stations a lot, auto shut off, or any other bells and whistles, you might want a digital radio like the Sony SRF M37 or Sangean DT 180.