Radio Reviews

This little radio is simply amazing. I got it for motorcycle touring, where space is at a premium, so I could have tunes in hotels and campsites. The radio is tiny, the sound quality is just great. It's a little odd getting used to mono, but any further away than a few feet, the difference is not noticable. Combined with my iPod, this is pretty much the perfect sound system for travelling. It's pricey, but it's worth every penny.

First, I agree with the prior reviewers that the sound quality is almost unbelievably good for a unit this size.

I now own 27 (yes, 27!) of these, and use them to distribute XM throughout my house as follows: Delphi XM receiver to Sangean FM transmitter (from ccrane-dot-com) to Tivoli PAL. Prior to hearing the PAL, I wouldn't have thought a small monaural unit would provide acceptable sound in a small room; the PAL does.

The FM tuner had excellent sensitivity (ability to pick up weak stations), yet many radios do. What sets the PAL apart is its exceptional selectivity (ability to receive a realtively weak station that is wedged between two nearby, and stronger, stations).

And, for what its worth, when I dropped one into a swimming pool, it floated.

You could say between my fiance and myself we've started a collection of the PAL radios, we own three so far, a black, blue and yellow and I'm trying to decide between the Red or Green for my next purchase. These radios are fantastic and reliable and are great for gifts!
The size of this radio was what appealed to me but only after I had it at home and realized all the places it fit. the radio has such a small footprint that it fit in the corner of my bathtub, and sits on my windowsill while I wash dishes. My fiance has one that he leaves plugged in the wall which always keeps his battery fully recharged at all times. The reception has always been reliable on both AM and FM and I can always count on my PAL for the Red Sox games while in the yard with the dog.
I've given close to ten of these radios away within the last two years and everyone loves them! You get your choice between eight different colors which appeals to even the youngest recipient who was nine and was ecstatic about owning her very own RED "grown up radio" she took it outside with her often and her favorite station she listened to was Radio Disney. For convenience this radio can be ordered directly from www.tivoliaudio.com and will ship directly to the gift recipient if you choose. I can't say enough about these radios only that if you don't own one you're missing out!
Kudos Tivoli Audio!

FORGOT A FEW COMMENTS__This CD/Radio is awsome. AIWA comes through again. Easy to operate, good spond, BIG numbers on the clock. I recommend this cd/radio. Plus it has a remote.

I paid 50 bucks for a refurbished unit. Nice product good sound (not great but for 50 bucks hey!) Easy to program, lots on features such as a weekend alarm. Holds 3 CD's. Lots of radio station program storage. PLUS a remote control.
Only negative... remote does not control the volumn.

Based on the first review, I sent for this clock radio, and have to agree... it's great! The sound is wonderful, the CD changer works great, and the instructions are easy to follow for setting up alarms and CD programs. The sound is crisp and clear, and I like having many of the buttons on the unit itself as well as on the remote.

The only things I wish this clock radio had were a dimmer option for the light (though I must admit that the light is not glaring in the least,and it's not a gigantic problem) and a bass booster.

The listing on Amazon said that the unit could play CD-R/RW's, so I had some concerns when the instructions said that they might not work. However, so far I've had no trouble with playing them.

I was originally looking for a clock radio that had a tape player as well as a CD changer... but they're not even made anymore unless you get them in a mini-system, which was far too large for my nightstand. However, I'm going to get the hardware to transfer my tapes to CD, which I'll then be able to play on this clock radio.

I'm really pleased with this unit and have NO regrets about purchasing it. I too, did a whole lot of research (online as well as in stores) before deciding on this particular CD clock radio. It's a nice-looking radio, and I'm glad I got it!

The radio is great for what it is. I bought it because I wanted a cb that I can use in more than one truck. The only draw-back I found is when the power cable and the cable for the magnet-mount antenna are both attached it can be hard to handle. I like the fact that the radio has all the additional stuff like the 10 NOAA channels and the high/low power switch and that the display is digital. This is a good buy but if you are going to use this in only one car or truck I would go with a hard mount cb because you don't have to hold the whole thing. But over all a good buy for the money.

This is a great unit. I had no trouble understanding a guy that lives in Boonville (30 miles) from me. The NOAA weather info is very helpful for vactions and long travel.When using the magnet mount antenna the reception was very clean.

Im glad my dad bought this product because we take two cars on trips and we have two cb radios, i could hear each other very good and we could get a good listen of the weather too. we got A great deal even used. it was worth the money!!!!!!!

I have a set of 12 and i use them when we go hiking in Australia with my friends. We have got the radios wet and dropped them onto rocks but they still work like new. I could get 13km out of them on SIMPLEX!!!

I have used a pair for about 2 yrs. Outstanding units. Problem have you ever used a cell phone in a crowded environment? i.e. Ballpark? Amusement Park? The Fair? etc.. Not a very good choice, very hard to hear your party on the other end. But not with these. For the Small size, but mil-spec rugged, these have the best audio. 500mw more than ample. Their loud and beefy. They just sound cool. I used them at the local Fair and talked to a family member at home 15 miles away, repeater assisted. I use simplex and repeater frequencies. Go to your local radio dealer and get these programed or for those with more savvy get the hardware and software on the internet. Save yourself programing costs...

We have used these radios for two days now, and we are very impressed with the 15 channel capability. We were also impressed with the ability of this radio to outperform several Motorolla models that we have here. The 2 watt Kenwood TK3101 transmits and recieves farther than our 4 watt Motorolla radius radios. In fact, we have been able to communicate through 6 inch thick aluminum walls of a stability chamber with the other handeld being over 200 yards away. We do not know of any other radio with that capability.

Some of the reasons why this offering from Motorola is nearly the best bang for your buck:

(1) Sleek, compact design and pamperingly light-weight
(2) Tone singalling...a tone indicating either party is done talking
(3) Talk button on the side for easy reach
(4) Easy to open battery compartment
(5) A quick release belt clip that snaps into a built in socket, seems more reliable than the Nokia style clips
(6) A water-resistant plastic casing and a changeable faceplate feature (redwood or black)
(7) Apart from the standard 14 channels, 38 privacy subchannels to help keep outside chatter from interrupting your conversations
(8) Built-in support for voice-activated transmissions
(9) Excellent signal, great up to nearly one and a half mile range
(10) Astounding battery life, close to 30 hours nonstop for me
(11) Sensibly designed charger with two bays that will either take the radio itself or the battery pack with an included spacer
(12) And most importantly, an un-ignorable price!

You may also want to consider one of Motorola's vox accessories for hands-free communications -- their handsets are crystal clear, perhaps best on market in terms of quality, but just a LITTLE pricey.

Anyway, this radio comes highly recommended from me if you are in the market for one of these thingies.

I used these radios for two purposes: to stay in touch with my firends on the mountain when skiing, and to talk to people in the other car on the road. In both cases, they worked perfectly. In the past, I had experience with similar radios without privacy codes, and it was a nightmare at a big ski resort because all channels were busy most of the time, and you had to listen to all that chatting to make sure that you do not miss a call from someone from your party. As you can imagine, skiers and boarders use such radios quite often. The privacy codes which this radio is equipped with eliminate interferences with other people completely and reliably - better than I could expect. You still share the same 14 channels with the other people using the principle "only one radio can transmit at a time", but you do not hear the other people talking unless they use the same privacy code as you do. The only way how you know that the channel is in use is blinking on the display. Setting the privacy code to zero enables you to communicate with people with the older radios without the privacy codes.

The radios are compact, and have long battery life. Typically, a set of 3 AA batteries lasts 3-4 days. The reception is clear and loud. The settings of the channel and subchannel can be locked, which is great because this prevents inadvertent switching to another channel when one or another button gets accidentally pressed in your pocket. If this happens, the most difficult part is to recall what setting you used before! The radio also has a "scan" function which I never used and find useless because it is good only to get out of the radio noise and conversations of the strangers. The range of the radio is decent (Motorola claims up to 2 miles in an open area), although it may not to work if you get separated from your party by a mountain ridge. A longer range can only be reached if you use more powerful radios which work in GMRS frequency band and require a government license (which costs, I think, about seventy bucks per year). The last but not least, these radios are weather-resistant and will not get damaged by sweat and moisture accumulated inside of your jacket.

It is my understanding that different brands and models of FRS radios use the same standard, they are compatible, and they all have the same basic features. They difference is only in (a) weight, (b) size, (c) sound quality, (d) weather resistance, and (d) availability of privacy codes. This Motorola is not the cheapest radio on the market, but you get a good value for the dollars paid as it is a well-built compact weather-resistant radio with a good sound quality.

I bought these as a Christmas gift for my husband. We moved into a house and he's been doing a lot of work outside. It's much easier to just radio him than searching all over the place for him!

This is a nice unit, all analog, good amplification with good room filling sound. Recording off the FM tuner their's almost no degration of playback sound. Sensitive microphone, picks up outside sounds and voice clearly. Tone control works well, uniformly turning down only the treble, which is nice for tapes that have a really sharp treble. Tape transport is smooth and handles tapes gently. I removed the cover, inside is quality and the speakers have large magnets. AM has excellent sensitivity, but slight quircks with FM, occasionally hearing 2 stations at the same time. Their's not much movement on tuner knob. I wish AFC was added to FM, as this would help prevent drift and make for easier "dialing in" of stations. FM static can be annoying, but directing the line cord-antenna carefully gets rid of it for the most part or switching to FM mono for weak stations but then you won't hear the spacious stereo sound. The FM tuner on this all analog unit could have been a little more refined but I can live with it.
Overall a great compact simple low priced boombox. Now if only Panasonic would bring back their beautiful boomboxes of the early 80's? Perhaps a Special Edition? In silver?

I had one of these little guys back when I was 14. I am almost 23 now and I have to say, these things will take massive punishment and STILL work amazingly well. The technology is dated, to be sure (Since we now have handheld video camera's that record on CD-R's in real time) but if your looking for something to take to work and want to be comfortable leaving it laying around and want to just have it on the radio, this is it. I remember they had amazing sound and clarity. I would say if your going to leave it in one place, and wanted to update it, hook it to your CD player with a cassette adapter. It will sound great. Great for work, but bad for home. Why? ITS OLDER TECHNOLOGY! 'Nuff said. But great if you wanna go retro and listen to some old beats and break dance!! :D

I purchased this item because of the name Panasonic and also I was looking for a SMALL UNIT to carry to work I saw the word MINI and thought it was small as they did NOT include the dimension of the unit now I have to pay for returning it and the inconvience DO NOT USE THE WORDING MINI IT IS VERY DECEIVING PLEASE GIVE DEMENSIONS WHEN DESCRIBING ITEMS TO BE ORDERED OVER THE NET.

I bought the boombox to listen to non-music content, e.g. books on tape and news. As it happens, its music ability is pretty good, and logic controls for all functions makes it a pleasure to operate. The only drawback so far is a somewhat noisy tape mechanism--audible at low volumes, but not too distracting.

I've had it only for only a month, but so far I am quite pleased with the purchase.

I recently received the Aiwa CSD-FD92 and am VERY satisfied with my purchase. It is an excellent value considering the great sound (best I've heard in a boom box) and the extra features (incl. remote, able to modify sound to pop, rock or jazz, etc., etc.). I plan on buying more for other members of my family as they all want to borrow mine! If you're looking for a reasonably-priced boom box with great sound, you won't be disappointed with this item.

The sound quality is excellent for the price range. Great for a small room. This unit has a lot of features that are only seen in models costing ...more! cd-r & cd-rw compatible, autoreverse cassette player.

Ever since we Bought this like 2 years ago its till working great. its a great stereo for the money but if your looking for somthing to pump out bass and somthing pretty loud try a biger stereo cause this one is a little quieter than some other boomboxes its size, but still a great deal

I bought one of these for myself about 2 1/2 years ago. It's an attractive, rugged and lightweight unit. My kid's kept stealing it so I finally broke down and bought each one of them one of their own. All three have worked flawlessly for over 2 years despite being moved around a lot.

The base is a bit weak, but other than that the sound quality is excellent. Radio reception is excellent as well.

What I really like about it, however, is that the volume is well regulated. It's not that you can't play it loud--you can. But it does stop well short of deafening.

This makes it an ideal indoor unit. Loud enough to play while taking a shower without letting the whole neighborhood know what you are listening to.

On the whole, a tremendous value for the money.

I bought two of these units thinking as a gift for an elderly parent it would be nice and I needed something for my workroom. I was realy impressed with the features and the well intergrated sound. Getting a remote for so little is amazing but getting auto reverse on a good sounding tape deck as well as many other features made this one of the best buys I made this year. Mom loves it and so do I. It is not terribly powerful but sounds great. The combination of features as well as portability make this a great little stereo system for travel a kids room or in my case my office.

I work at a university in California as a maintenance worker. My boss and I have to keep in touch in order to best meet the needs of our housing residents. Before we used the Cobra Micro Talk 1 we relied on our campus pager system. This was not an effective method since we had to find campus phones and wait until the other person responded to the page. With the Micro Talk 1 we are able to connect quickly and effectively. We can now communicate in seconds instead of minutes. The battery life is long because of the stand-bye feature, we have been able to use them for several weeks before the batteries run low. The only down side to the Micro Talk 1 is that we sometimes have to deal with other radio traffic because of the two-channel limitation.

These things are awesome. Me and my friend wanted communication to his house because his dad didn't like him on the phone. So we bought these talkies and we have crystal clear communication 1 1/2 miles away. Buy these then are awesome.

I bought these radios, because of the first factor I had: They were inexpensive. I wasn't expecting much for the money I invested, but I was most definately surprised at the quality and value I recieved. I took them to "A popular resort park in Orlando" and experienced my first problem: FRS is a heavily shared frequency, and it was very hard to communicate with my party. I did have fun talking to other guests, though. My next trip was to the mountains. Here, they proved invaluable. Noone else was apparently using FRS in the area when we were there, and it was excellent for confirming rendezvous times and places. The range is superb. Somewhat surprising. My voice, and the person I am talking to can easily be heard sometimes up to a mile away over hill, dale, and wadi. The features are easy to use. My 5 year old has no problem using it (no, he dosen't go out alone). The page feature is good to have, as well. The size of the unit makes it easy to slip into purse or pocket, or attach to a belt with the clip. It is a breeze to use, and great fun to have. I will never regret buying mine, and I don't think you will either.

I received the Jensen MR-400 today (15Nov02) and was pleasantly surprised. The first thing I did was put the batteries in wrong, so ensure that you do not do that, or they will ruin the unit ... luckily I took them out quickly.

The reception is GREAT and the TV works amazingly well ... uses only two AA size batteries ... better reception than my much larger and more expensive Sony AM/FM/TV radio.

Wow ... it is so small ... you will be amazed at its size. After using it today at the river listening to my favorite TV program, I am impressed because I was 25 miles from the station out in the boonies.

I will update this later if it should prove warranted.

Good Luck,

John G
San Antonio

this is a great little radio for the price.
it sounds like a radio costing ten times more.
i highly recommend it.

Pocket sized AM/FM radios with TV audio are not very easy to find and are often quite expensive, so it was a delight to find this little gem and at this price too. It proves that inexpensive doesn't always mean poor performance or quality. The sound is great and it is able to pick up distant stations that our other pocket sized radios can't. The quality of construction is as good as radios costing a good bit more. I highly recommended this Radio.