Radio Reviews

The tuner appears to be quite sensitive on both AM and FM reception, although perhaps not quite up to the mark of the prior Sony which I had installed. It should be noted, however, that that unit was designed with more of an eye toward receiver performance; it was a grey-market cassette AM/FM/shortwave unit, not a typical US market offering but one for the Australian market.

The CD section works well on many types of CDs...regular CD-audio, open and closed CD-Rs, and of course data CDs with MP3 files. It can handle ISO9660 file-type data discs only, the standard PC write format, and within this can only deal with eight levels of folder depth including the root directory. Still, there's little likelihood that anyone would ever build a disc that runs that 'deep', so no issues there. Maximum number of items (folders and files) per disc is a hefty 302; of this, only 150 folders can be on a disc and the rest must be files. Audio quality from both CD and MP3 playback is superb, with ample skip-buffering for all but the most bone-jarring driving conditions.

However, there are certain ergonomics issues with the CDX-MP30 that've caused me to dock the unit a star. These are:

Inability to display either ID3v1 or 3v2 info tags. The unit will ONLY display 3v1 tags, requiring you to do some judicious tag maintenance before creating discs to be used with this device.

Weird display behavior: certain characters cannot be displayed, and the manual isn't distinct about which ones these are. Also, while the track display will scroll past ONCE with track/artist/album, it then stops scrolling, leaving you only with eight characters of the beginning of the ID3v1 listing or filename, depending on the display you're using. You also cannot make it scroll again without cycling through the whole list of display options.

Annoying placement of the track change and FFWD/REV control on the same knob. This can cause you to do something you might not want when you'd intended something else.

VERY irritating panel illumination...while the main panel is an excellent and legible blue-green fluoro display, knobs and some buttons are lit with a dim red light which can be extremely difficult to make out in low light/night conditions. Other buttons are unlit altogether, such as station select and the hard-to-see-in-general 'MODE' button which selects receiver bands.

Other than these issues, plus one I'm still not sure about regarding operating temperature (I've not had the unit through a summer before, and it does appear to run chronically hot), this is an excellent buy for anyone who wants to dump their loads of cassettes or stop carrying their valuable CDs around. Even with the issues noted above, I've no regrets about making this device a part of my car.

CONS:
the dials on each side seem loose and chinsy

ID3: The unit can read ID3 tags embedded in the MP3 songs, but only ID3 V1 not the ID3 V2, which can contain more information. And while it disply the tag/album/track, it will scroll the whole name once and then stop scrolling, displaying the first 8 characters, which I don't like.

Recognize Disc: To play a mp3 disc, it takes about 10 seconds to read the contents, for a disc contains 680MB and around 100 files. After that, you never notice any waiting to switch between sounds. The manual said you can't have the file tree for more than 8 levels, which I think is more than enough. And the more levels you have, the more startup time. And I don't think the player can memorized the disc it reads before, so every you insert a disc, it take the same amount of time to recognize it.

MP3 bitrate: All my songs are compressed using lame, with 192KB+ VBR (sometimes, 320KB). This unit has not problem at all read and play them. And while it plays MP3, I didn't notice and skip even if I shake the unit hard. :)

Connectors: On the back end of the player, you will find iso socket, antenna connector, 2 sets of RCA connector for external amplifier (Front and Rear). 1 set of RCA for the audio input. And a bus terminal.

Sound Quality: I didn't compare this unit with others. The manual said it rated 90dB for CD audio, which relatively low in its class.

Temperature: I tried the unit in a open environment (not in the car) for 8 hours, then it becomes something like 70F.

I shopped for several weeks for just the right boom box. I wanted something that would survive the rough construction site abuse it would have to take at work. I initially passed this one by trying to avoid push-button volume controls and radios "that look like space ships." But I came back to it because of its hardiness, even though I had vowed to get one with a rotary volume knob. Both the cassette and CD doors have mouldings inside that prevent dirt and dust from getting into the mechanisms. (Most others looked like they would let stuff get in the cracks, but if any gets into the cracks on this model it's confined to an interior trough separating it from the sensitive moving parts). It is very solid feeling and very durable.

It is stable laying flat or standing up and sounds great either way (but if you're a thump-hound you might find it a tad lacking in bass despite the "mega-bass" feature.) The preset sound settings are, at best, a fair substitute for tone control, but that's pretty standard these days. I would have liked a Jazz setting. (It has Rock, Pop, Vocal, and Live)

The store I tested it in was on the fringes of the city and so radio reception was marginal on most of the boom boxes in the store. This model, however, pulled in all my favorites without even extending the antenna. This is the primary frustration I had with my old radio, it simply didn't have a very good tuner. This one is really nice. Having a digital tuner is a very nice convenience. Plus I think it pulls in stations better than other models (both cheaper and more expensive ones).

The CD player works great as does the cassette. I have not made a recording with it yet. The alarm clock function seems like it would be useful, but the LCD display has no illumination so its alarm clock capabilities would be of limited use for me, especially at night.

This is the only boom box I have ever heard of that comes with both an AC adapter and a 12v car adapter. What a great convenience! However, the one complaint I have about this model is with the AC adapter. It is one of those "wall-warts" with a big heavy block that plugs into the wall. Every other boom box I have had just used a cord to get AC to the unit and it had the adapter built into the radio. Instead, with this model you have to lug the bulky adapter around separately. On other models you could wrap up the cord and stuff it in the battery compartment. Not with this one. The adapter is too big - it's very large, about the size of a can of SPAM. The car adapter is relatively compact although it does not fit in the battery compartment either. In short, this nicely portable radio is encumbered by having to carry bulky accessories separately.

I have not used it on battery power yet so I can't testify to its efficiency. It takes 6 D cells for the main unit and 4 AA batteries for memory backup so your preset stations will stay in memory. The clock and alarm settings are also retained.

I use this unit as my primary source of music away from home. I use it at job sites and in the office (I carry it around a lot which is why I have found the power adapter to be cumbersome). A little bit of me wishes it had a remote control, but that's less of a complaint than a testimonial to what a great radio it is -- I want to use it as a stereo. All in all it's a great item. A tad pricey for it's class but for the extra durability and dirt and water protection I found it worth the money.

Good luck and happy shopping.

All this power in such a tiny package carries with it some negatives. First, forget about the speaker except as an alarm or for strong signals. What can you expect from a one inch speaker? You will need headphones. I'm into small and carry audiophile quality Etymotic units that fit inside a clenched fist. Second, you will need to take along the included external antenna (a smidgen bigger than the radio itself) to put next to the window of a modern hotel while keeping the radio next to you. I've never found the roll-inside connecter cable too short. Third, you must use the antenna for FM. So you have to extend the antenna on the radio itself a notch or two and put it in a safe pocket to use the SW100S as a Walkman.

Radio, antenna unit, phones, and two spare sets of AA batteries all fit into a pouch 5"x3.5"x1.5". I've had one of these since the week they appeared in the duty-free shop at Schipol Airport. I don't leave home without it. Mine has outlived four suitcases over going on a million miles with nary a whimper too.

The 100S has been around a while. But good shortwave portables have a useful technological life measured in decades.

This is NOT a cheap radio; it is NOT a toy. It will not replace the $20 analog AM/FM unit you tuck in your pocket. But when you want the news in English on a four month trip around the world nothing else comes close.

After all these months the 'chrome' finish is wearing off the corners. I drop the unit about once a month and it is finally affecting the radios' ability to pull in certain stations (which is why I am replacing it.) The cassette player is still working fine.

I work in an office built of steel and concrete and full of computers and other things that affect reception. I can get very few AM stations under these adverse conditions and have problems with some of the weaker FM. This is not the Walkman's fault.

I do not give this model a perfect score because the battery compartment is a bit smarter than I am, and once I remember which way to press the lever I have to use something to lever the batteries out because it's a tight fit. Also for my purposes I wish the volume knob were on the other end of the unit but that's just me -- I happen to carry the unit upside-down. I could wish that I did not have to open the cassette compartment to change batteries but it's not that big a deal.

The unit has excellent radio reception and is lightweight. The tape player, which I use quite often, has been very reliable; no skipping or munching. The headset is also lightweight and delivers excellent sound.

A-plus!

You receive full, round sound from either recorded format. A Steely Dan CD and Gregorian chants cassette (my musical taste, what can I say?) caught most subtleties. A brief listen to an AM music station sounded deeper and richer than in the car. You miss normally standard features such as adjustable speaker balance and bass/treble control. The analogue radio dial helps for better tuning, although the short airial hinders far away signals. The advertised "Big Sound" tends more bass heavy than I prefer, but that probably won't matter to rap and hip-hop fans prefering those styles phat-bottom anyway. (You can record from CD or radio to cassette, although it's hard imaging anyone but pre-teens doing so in these Napster days).

Overall, the QT-CD210 is a solid, unspectacular purchase for passive listeners. If you need little control over sound but to pop it on or in while working or playing, this set provides reliable, affordable entertainment.

I've been looking exactly for this product - decent sound with both radio and CD (tape is a bonus) WITH REMOTE! There really hasn't been a middle-ground niche for reasonably-priced, decent featured audio boxes for the office/extra room/basement work area. This is the exact product solution to all my lazy needs for the various formats I like to listen to + a plentitude of functions. The Sony CFD-S39 has a nice little LCD clock, plus bonus timer functions for wake up, standby, etc. The design is quite attractive with decent heft and footprint.

The sound quality is very good - the MegaBass is not too much of an overkill. Optional 8, D-cell batteries make a nice power backup for your clock/presets even with power outages. I love the remote - CD + radio functions can be easily controlled at a distance.

Minor negative attributes is the absence of audio RCA jacks input/outputs - but I suppose that's how they keep the cost down. The only other minor frustration is the interface layout/programming. A few of the buttons serve as dual functions and it's not as intuitive as many other Sony well-designed products.

The only undesirable aspect of the clock is that the background it lit and not the numbers...this can make it a bit more difficult to see the numbers some times.

I recently moved and this was one of the casualties of the move so I am looking for another, but would love to find one of these again.