Radio Reviews

very pleased with the xact wrist watch frs/gmrs radio. used them for the first time yesterday. almost got kicked out of a casino, because they don't allow electronic devices. went to sam's club. wife on one side of the warehouse and i on the other. she ran into our brother-in-law and called me to come over to say hello. later that day we went to a luncheon and the watches/radio were a big hit. grandkids hands off.
P.S. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A LICENSE TO USE THE GMRS CHANNELS

I PURCHASE XACT COMMUNICATIONS X2X 2-Way Wrist Watch Communicator ABOUT 2WEEKS AGO AND I LOVE IT.I LIKE TAKING IT TO SUPERMARKET,MALLS AND AT WORK TO. IT WORKS VERY GOOD,IT COMPATIBLE TO ANY 2 WAY RADIO.AT THIS TIME AM ABOUT TO BUY 6 MORE TO.

This watch is incredible! My roomate bought one so i figured it would be nice to get one for myself. We use it on campus all the time. It makes me feel like inspector gadget. And the ladies love it. Good Buy.

A real disapointment. It replaced an older under-the-cabinet GE radio that worked well, but blew up after a power surge. It only gets a few stations, and even those fade periodically. Most stations are accompanied by an annoying buzz, whirr or whine. I have finally had enough, and am replacing it with a comparable Sony. How many holes can my cabinets stand before they collapse?

I feel bad that a previous reviewer doesn't like his. I love mine. I have used it daily since May 2000 and have not had a CD eaten yet! I finally have my music in the kitchen with me. I love having a radio in the kitchen since my stereo is in the living room with the kids TV. I was missing out on my morning DJ and my Holiday CDs. Now I can enjoy my music while the kids watch TV. The sound is great. I love the light too. It's great for illuminating my counter top and at night I use the nightlight feature.

I installed this in my kitchen, and use it often. While it's not a heavy duty stereo, it does very well to keep my kitchen lively. The features are great, cd, am/fm radio, counter light with adjustable dimmer, etc. It takes up no space, hangs only 3 or four inches from a cabinet, and is easy to install with a screwdriver (easiest if you pre-drill holes into your cabinet) Any one who spends a lot of time in the kitchen, and likes music will love this!

With the many types of FRS radios out there. You can expect the same range of receptions. You do not need the senseless features other radios have to offer. The Motorola FR 50 is all is needed. 14 Channels are plenty to move around if you feel you need privacy to chat with your parties. The down far of this radio like many others, it does not offer a rechargable battery and charging jack. You either buy alkines or a separate charging outlet and rechargable batteries.

It's pretty durable (we drop them quite a lot at work and they keep on a working), simple to use (the more expensive ones have all those options you never use), OK range (2 miles real world or inside a factory), OK battery (the rechargeable batteries we use usually last an entire shift if we don't transmit that much), and it's CHEAP!!! Much cheaper than those other radios with the SAME wattage.

I'm only writing this because it's a pretty good way to keep in touch with my five year old daughter and three year old son when they are out and about the neighborhood. It's simple enough for my son and daughter to use. I don't let my son take one much because I know he'll lose it.

Final thoughts: This is the only radio I would buy because the more expensive ones are just a waste of money in most cases.

Perfect radio for going to anywhere in two miles.Great for bike riding or just taking a walk.

Unit is a little bulky, but big display with large easy to read type. Select knob works, but a textured knob(it's smooth) would have been better for car use. Unit gets VERY hot with continuous use. Hasn't degraded unit function, but you could heat a PopTart or a cup of coffee with this thing. Removing or inserting the unit takes two hands. The contact pins do look rather fragile on the back. In the car, I have the antenna mounted on the rear trunk. The antenna wire is very thin; easy to squeeze into tight spots and easily cut(use care). I've normally maximum signal, except for over head obstruction(overpass). There seems to be about a 5 second buffer during audio play. I live in a mountainous area, and narrow canyons don't seem to be a problem. I like the music and talk selection on Sirius. There are DJs on the music channels and some inhouse(Sirius) "commercials" about other programs or channels. Music choices are oriented to the younger crowd. Only 3 classical channels, but some oldies pop/rock for us geezers. Check the Sirius website to see if their channels match your tastes. TV audio feeds(CNN) have the normal commercials. Music quality is as good as normal radio, though I'm no audiophile. As mentioned, NPR, as well as other national programs will be on a national schedule. FWIW, NPR programs are scheduled by the local affiliates. Air times for programs differ across the country.

After doing a lot of research on both XM and Sirius, I chose Sirius and so far I've been thrilled with the service as well as this product.

Two main reasons the scales tipped to Sirius' favor was 1) Clear Channel has a stake in XM Radio, and at first XM was just playing recorded loops of Clear Channel programming, until recently, and 2) The sports options with Sirius is much better. Sirius has broadcasting deals with the NFL, NBA, and NHL, while XM only has exclusive rights to NASCAR.

I've known Audiovox to be a low-end brand for a while but this has been solid for me so far. The display is bright and easy to read, there's a choice of display fonts. Little did I know that the remote that comes with it is a big plus depending on where you may need to site the unit in your car or home.

I have the PNP2 receiver, and I must say it is really great!<br /> The buttons are easy to press, and the menus are easy to navigate through. The big orange screen is also nice.<br /> The service itself is great. The music channels are great, and I especially like Hits1. I also like listening to the variety of talk channels.<br /> The NFL on Sirius is great. You can hear vertually any NFL game, anywhere in the country! College football is the same way, hear a USC game in Maine (or anywhere in the country for that matter).<br /> The PNP3 is out now, but this receiver is still great. Don't foget to purchase either a car kit, home kit, or boombox for this to work.

This radio alarm clock seems like a great buy for the money. It keeps time after the power goes off, it sets itself (and that really works, but only the first time), it has a great snooze feature (9 minutes) and it has two alarm settings so you can sleep in some days if you like.
Three problems:

1. The lights are too bright. There are two settings. On bright you need sunscreen, on dim, it's simply not dim enough for my tastes.

2. The alarm is too loud. It needs a volume control. Some people need this, I don't. In the end, I use it everynight.

3. And this is the worst. The time gains about 2 minutes per week. Perhaps it's my electric power fluctuations, but none of my other clocks gain time.

I loved how this clock would automatically reset it's time AND alarms after a power failure. It was also easy to change time zones so you could bring it on vacation with you.

After about three years (I think, maybe less,) it just lost power. I had to hit the dresser it was set upon and then it would kick back on and reset it's time. Not very reliable anymore... I've since tossed it.

If you're just looking for a great alarm clock, this is it! The time automatically sets as soon as it's plugged in. The function buttons are easy to use & not too small. Thankfully, the clock is smaller than it appears in the photo, it's trim & neat. The sound is clear & strong. I like the added feature of weekday/weekend alarm, I never have to turn it off. My one concern was that I like to set my clock a few minutes fast, but no problem, not only could I manually adjust the time, but when I unplugged the clock it not only had the correct time when I replugged it, it also kept the time I had adjusted it to. After you hit the snooze button the alarm light blinks to let you know that the alarm is still active and will be going off again in 9 or 10 minutes. I was searching for an alarm clock for a while, this one makes me very happy.

I have had this discman for a few years. It was great when it came out, but now it's really outdated. It's bulky, and the 20-second anti-skip is pretty poor relative to competitors. You cannot jog with this. It also eats through batteries pretty quick. The rechargables wore out after about a year and had to be replaced. The radio feature has good reception and works well. The price on this is way to high for the level quality available from other cd players.

This model is one of the 2 Sony Discman players I own currently. The player is nice in that it has the Groove sound equalizer...as far as I can discern, Groove balances things out and makes it really bass-y, but not OVERLY bass-y. Megabass is for those that want to DROWN THE SONG OUT...instead of hear it, Groove is a lot better. The radio is great, IN MOST CASES. Your antenna is not only the headphone cord, but YOU...so sit nice and it works okay. I found that the Walkman cassette player/AM FM player that Sony makes has a better radio. Since then, it's nothing but that for me, so the cd player sits on the shelf currently. If you want a great quality cd plater with radio, do what Topher would...get the Shockwave player, Panasonic brand. It's muy more expenisio than this player, but it's damn well worth it. (think around $175.00 or more.)

I think that this cd player is great, I would really recommend it to anyone! All of my friends want to buy one after they listened to it. The AM/FM tuner is really helpful when you are on long car rides and don't have many CDs. I think it has excelent quality sound except if you like the bass up really high and the volume up really high too, then you can't really hear the song playing. It has wonderful sound when you turn off the bass or have the volume down low when it's on. I've dropped it a few times and it hasn't broken, too. I have rarely had it skip ether. Sometimes when you play a burned CD, it will skip until you turn the ESP off, though. The only major problem for me is the cheap headphones. When you have the music up loud you can totaly hear it across the room. In order to play it during school at a comfortable volume without the teachers yelling at you, you have to buy better headphones.

HI - I wrote a review of this earlier this year - and I am still impressed by the fact you can send computer audio or any audio throughout your house...However, it looks like as of about May 1, 2004 the website that the hardware works with is no longer active. When you are deciding whether you want this, factor that into your decision. In my case, it's still good, but I can no longer control the channels. I have to set up some audio playing on the PC first and I can't change channels. Buyer beware.

You spent good money on your stereo system, so why get stuck listening to streaming music with your tiny little computer speakers? The iRhythm is a simple, cheap and easy-to-install solution for anyone, even people unfamiliar with the technology behind it.

I just bought the iRhythm 900MHz Wireless Remote Tuner and am impressed with the software AND the hardware. Not only does it let you play streaming music through your stereo, it also broadcasts whatever you want to play on your computer: MP3s, CDs, DVDs, .wav files -- all without the hassle of stringing cords from room to room.

The tuner hardware is straight-forward, intuitive and looks just like the iRhythm software. I plugged it in and within 2 minutes, I had music from the Net playing on my stereo. With dozens of high-quality preset stations and the ability to add your own customized internet stations via the software interface, the simplicity and flexiblity make the iRhythm a winner.

It takes a lot to impress me, but the iRhythm Tuner certainly gets my vote.

The Acer iRhythm 900MHz Wireless Remote Tuner works as advertised.
Easy installation (get the software updates online), very good sound quality, a very clever device that is handsomely designed and well constructed.

In addition to being able to access a (seeming) zillion internet radio stations, the remote device can also wirelessly "broadcast" your music playlists (or internet radio) from your PC to your home sound system or headphones (using the included small remote receiver).

It is recommended that you also install the latest FREE versions of Windows Media Player and Real One Player. Somehow these players interface with the iRhythm Tuner and expand its capabilities.

A cautionary note: The iRhythm software may tell you, incorrectly, that you have obsolete versions of Windows Media and Real One Players. This slight error does not affect the functionality of the unit and can be ignored.

The unit is optimized for Broadband/DSL connections but will operate with a good 56K modem connection. If you can stream music using Windows Media or Real One Players then the device will work on your system.

Summary, it is a fun and highly practical device that enables you to squeeze more audio entertainment from the internet and from your PC.

I got this clock over a week ago, and I really like it! I'm just thrilled with all its features (3 different ways to wake up, 2 alarm sets with the ability to assign days of the week, great sounding CD player and radio- all in one small package) that I can overlook the few complaints I may have about it's design. Since most people look at these reviews to hear about the bad points, I'll elaborate on my complaints, however small and few.

As has been stated in other reviews , the numbers on the clock display are a little small and tend to fade out at extreme angles. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I often have to crane toward the clock to figure what time it is because the lower angle from the bed tends to make the numbers fade a bit.

The buttons are a little hard to push- or more accurately, it's hard to tell if you actually pushed them because they don't give much (no tell-tale click or anything). However, I do NOT find I need two hands to push a button. The system is heavy enough not to slide unless the user is being over-aggressive.

My last complaint is that you DEFINITELY need the manual to set the clock and alarms. It's a little confusing and I found it a waste of time to try to figure it out on my own. Most of the settings need to be made pushing down 2 buttons simutaneously. The up-side to this is that you will never mis-set the alarm while half-asleep. And it turned out that it wasn't so bad because there are so many alarm features (automatic reset, weekend settings) that after the initial set, you many never have to touch the settings again.

Overall, I really like this system and all its features, and I would recommend it. However, if you're looking for a simple alarm clock and don't care about the features, I would probably pass this one by.

After several months, I am very happy with this Clock Radio. Especially useful are the dual alarms, and the great feature that automatically silences either or both of these alarms on weekend mornings. There are back-up batteries to save you if the power goes off overnight. The speakers are better than most bedside radios, and waking up to any specific CD track of your choice is a treat. Or you can choose a radio station or one of several (all too electronic-sounding) melodies. You can also easily adjust the brightness of the dial, from barely readable to a good nightlight.

The trade-off for the cool features is this: it has approximately 19 buttons! So it's complex and a bit counter-intuitive to set up, and you need both hands. If you buy it, don't lose the instructions! Keep them in a bedside drawer, because you will want to check them any time you need to reset anything.

I've had this clock for a few years now.. it's.. well.. awesome.. I love that I can wake up to any song I want to.. with it and my cd burner I can wake up to anything under the sun.. Putting up with traditional radio alarmclocks through my life was pretty hectic.. I never knew what stations were good in the mornings.. At one point in time I was jarred awake by the last 6 notes of the national anthem.. "DA DA DA.. DA DA.. DAAAAAA".. with this clock thats no longer a problem..

Allthough if I ever want to get nostalgic the radio function on it does work better than other alarmclocks I've ever had..

It's nice and small.. fits in lots of places.. and has big sound.. if I turn it up loud enough I can wake my whole house up.. lol..

These are cheap, but you get what you pay for. I have 3, but after only 10 hours of use, 1 died. It transmits but does not receive. They DRINK batteries ! Get a rechargeable model.

I bought 6 of these radios, 4 for gifts and a pair for me and my wife. We have used them in local malls and they work very well across the mall. The clarity of sound is very good. I do notice that you have to put your mouth very near to the radio for good voice pickup... any further than a few inches reduces pickup notably. The basic features of the radio are easy to use, but the advanced features require multiple keypresses along with turning the radio on or off. Those advanced features (key lock, backlight timer, scan etc) will not be used much since they are annoying to program. We just set the channel/CTSS and keep the key lock on for foolproof operation.

Having owned the equivalent Motorola model that costs twice as much, I can tell you that these are a great buy. Well built, with pretty much the same feature set as the Motorola brand. Battery life is the same as the Motorolas; the more you talk the less battery life you get, as transmission burns up the battery life much more than reception.

I think the most important purchase criteria here is how you intend to use them, as usable distance varies considerable with terrain. If you are in flat farmlands then you can expect 2 miles, otherwise it is typically less than a 1 mile of effective range. In cities I've found it to sometimes be as little as 200 or 300 feet (that's less than 1/10 of a mile).

FRS radios can be used with great success in many situations, such as at Disneyworld (yep, you can stay in touch with lose your kids or significant other), shopping in big cities (I hang out on the street while my wife takes the girls inside), when the kids are biking near the house, etc. If that's what you have in mind, then this is a good purchase.

It's a good clock. The display is easy to read, and the settings for the display light range from a dim light that is just enough to read the time to a bright night-light.

The radio is very good too. I live near a radio station that doesn't happen to be one of my favorites, and this little radio actually picks up other stations. Until now, the only other piece of equipment that could pick up anything but the closeby station was the big stereo in the living room.

The battery back-up is excellent. It had its test this morning after my power had been out all night. The buzzer alarm still went off as usual! 5 stars for the battery back-up!!!

Now, there are only 2 drawbacks. First, it is kinda complicated to program. I've had to reset things a couple of times now, and both times I had to get out the instruction book to complete the process. But the instructions are well written and easy enough to follow. Just don't lose that booklet. Second, all the "nature sounds" just sound like white noise. "Thunderstorm" or "ocean".... I can't tell the difference.

All in all, it's an excellent clock. Very reliable and it looks nice, too. I would recommend it to anyone.

I bought this clock about 2 years ago and it is still working just as good as when I bought it! The preset stations and setting the alarm and time was very easy to figure out. Just like someone else said on here, didn't ever get out the book to figure it out. The sounds all sound the same, but didn't buy it just for that. If the sounds would be clearer I would have rated this a 5. I love the 3 alarms that's a really great feature plus you can select five days a week or 7 or just daily. I do however sleep very sound and wish the volume would go up higher, but it works. I recommend to anyone to buy it, as the narrow upright sleek look is great. Would be a nice addition if Timex made it with those updates and maybe a bluelit background instead of the orange, as I like everything to match.

I am very happy with this product, after having used it for over one year. I think it is the best CD/Radio/Environmental Sound clock on the market. All of the controls are digital and it has battery backup. The controls on top are really easy to access at night. Even with your eyes close, you can turn the radio on, change the volume, etc. It has two volume modes (sleep and normal/alarm). The environmental sounds are nice...not exceptional, but good enough for me. It has date and automatic daylight savings ajustments. Plus, you can set the alarm to go off on Monday-Friday, everyday, or only SAT-SUN. Very nice! The CD mechanism is a bit strange...but works fine. The compact size is great, and the LCD is easy to read. If the LCD is too bright at night, simply press a button to dim it...it will automatically re-brighten the next day! Overall, I am very impressed. (I have also tried the similar Sony CD/Alarm clock, and the Timex is much better!)