Radio Reviews

I purchased this item as a gift for a friend. I admit, it has great features, namely, it's portable, It has TV / Weather broadcast capabilities, and its a Sony. For the most part it is a great item, w/ great sound....BUT....it is not very user friendly. The buttons are too close together. The display is way too dark when you are trying to tune in a station, but even more importantly, the display letters are so flippin' small, you need a magnifying glass to see what it says. (which mode you are in) Not one of Sony's well thought out products. Definitely not up to their name. If you don't have 20/20 Vision--Don't buy this item!

I received this walkman for Christmas, and so far I am really enjoying it. The reception is very good, and the sound is clear. The bass boost is strong. The TV band goes from Channel 2 to 13. I've never had a TV walkman before, and it was fun to listen to PBS or a soap opera while taking my lunchtime walk. :) The last portable stereo I had had a very loose, floppy type belt clip, which I hated. The belt clip on this one works well.

The reason that I gave this product 4 stars instead of 5 is that when the batteries are low, the unit just turns off. I would prefer to have it give me crummy reception until I get new batteries, but maybe that is just my own personal preference.

Another Made in China Sony product. Relatively good sound for the size but not enough power and as a result not enough volume. This is not a unit to party with.

For the money one can buy a far better sounding shelf unit with multiple CD trays and a tape deck.

Lacks a "pause-resume" function for the CD, clock and alarm features and batteries to make it portable. Radio tuning is not user friendly.

I was glad the merchant took it back.

I had the luck of finding this CD player/radio tuner on sale at roughly a third of its suggested retail price, and I'd say it was a steal, and I would have even paid as much as half of its retail price and still say it was a steal.

The player looks gorgeous and sounds wonderful. I have been using Sony products for years, so for me it was very easy to program. Extra features like the MD link are nice to have too, although I do not know if I will ever use them.

Why this product did not get five stars: the digital radio tuner is just average compared to other tuners I have heard, even Sony's own. However, it is very difficult to get good radio reception where I live so I am not too upset about that. Also, the remote control feels flimsy and cheap. I would have gladly paid a few extra dollars for a good remote.

Loved the look of this radio and it looks great in my art deco-inspired home office. However, the CD player almost IMMEDIATELY stopped working. The buttons are hard to push and sometimes have to be pushed a couple of times before they work. The printing on the buttons is small and hard to read. The volume button is awkward to use. All in all, I would never buy this radio again. It looks great, and that's about it.

I bought one of these for my workshop recently, and I'm very pleased with the purchase. No, it's not a Bose Wave or Cambridge SoundWorks table radio, but for the money it gets a lot closer to those well-regarded units than anyone has a right to expect. The 50's art deco styling is a nice touch, an eye-catching change from typical high-tech sterility.

The first thing you notice about the unit is it's weight; it has a hefty, substantive mass for it's size, and it's evident that any resonances will be well-damped. On the underside is a downward-firing 3" subwoofer. On the back are a coax jack for the FM antenna, left and right RCA jacks for aux input and a dial to adjust the subwoofer output. A 1/8" headphone jack is on the left side, and the CD transport is on top along with a snooze bar. A digital display is centrally mounted on the front; above it are three buttons to choose from CD, aux or tuner functions. Below the display are the CD controls, and on either side of the display are three (six total) small buttons that control timer/sleep functions, repeat and shuffle modes, tuner presets, AM or FM band, memory and clock adjustments. At the bottom center of the unit is a lighted power button flanked by the volume and tuning controls. Looking like something off of a '52 Studebaker, these chrome knobs are electronic rocker switches rather than mechanical dials. Volume is adjusted in 2-dB steps from 0 to 80 dB. A full-featured remote in matching color is included.

While it won't make you forget your audio system or home theater, this little stereo from Teac is more than adequate for casual listening in the office, kitchen, or, as in my case, workshop. It puts out a good amount of respectable, well-balanced sound. The subwoofer works quite well at adding weight at the bottom end, and the quartz PLL tuner is a notch above what I've usually encountered in compact systems. At maximum volume, distortion is negligible, and there are no buzzes or other annoying misbehaviors from the cabinet. Hook your iPod up to the aux inputs and you'll have hours of uninterrupted listening while you work.

Complaints: I'm a little leery of the door on the top-loading CD. It has one of those push-to-lock, push-to-release latches that have a tendency to wear out in my experience. Hopefully, this one will prove to be higher quality, but I would have preferred a simple spring-loaded pushbutton latch. Also, the included FM antenna is the usual piece of garbage, in this case a three-foot long thin wire attached to a coax connector. I immediately replaced it with an old Terk antenna with much better results.

The parameters of what a "table radio" is have been redefined recently, and while this offering from Teac may not be on the bleeding edge of the category, it is a worthy product that merits serious consideration if you're in the market.

Loved the look of this radio and it looks great in my art deco-inspired home office. However, the CD player almost IMMEDIATELY stopped working. The buttons are hard to push and sometimes have to be pushed a couple of times before they work. The printing on the buttons is small and hard to read. The volume button is awkward to use. All in all, I would never buy this radio again. It looks great, and that's about it.

I bought one of these for my workshop recently, and I'm very pleased with the purchase. No, it's not a Bose Wave or Cambridge SoundWorks table radio, but for the money it gets a lot closer to those well-regarded units than anyone has a right to expect. The 50's art deco styling is a nice touch, an eye-catching change from typical high-tech sterility.

The first thing you notice about the unit is it's weight; it has a hefty, substantive mass for it's size, and it's evident that any resonances will be well-damped. On the underside is a downward-firing 3" subwoofer. On the back are a coax jack for the FM antenna, left and right RCA jacks for aux input and a dial to adjust the subwoofer output. A 1/8" headphone jack is on the left side, and the CD transport is on top along with a snooze bar. A digital display is centrally mounted on the front; above it are three buttons to choose from CD, aux or tuner functions. Below the display are the CD controls, and on either side of the display are three (six total) small buttons that control timer/sleep functions, repeat and shuffle modes, tuner presets, AM or FM band, memory and clock adjustments. At the bottom center of the unit is a lighted power button flanked by the volume and tuning controls. Looking like something off of a '52 Studebaker, these chrome knobs are electronic rocker switches rather than mechanical dials. Volume is adjusted in 2-dB steps from 0 to 80 dB. A full-featured remote in matching color is included.

While it won't make you forget your audio system or home theater, this little stereo from Teac is more than adequate for casual listening in the office, kitchen, or, as in my case, workshop. It puts out a good amount of respectable, well-balanced sound. The subwoofer works quite well at adding weight at the bottom end, and the quartz PLL tuner is a notch above what I've usually encountered in compact systems. At maximum volume, distortion is negligible, and there are no buzzes or other annoying misbehaviors from the cabinet. Hook your iPod up to the aux inputs and you'll have hours of uninterrupted listening while you work.

Complaints: I'm a little leery of the door on the top-loading CD. It has one of those push-to-lock, push-to-release latches that have a tendency to wear out in my experience. Hopefully, this one will prove to be higher quality, but I would have preferred a simple spring-loaded pushbutton latch. Also, the included FM antenna is the usual piece of garbage, in this case a three-foot long thin wire attached to a coax connector. I immediately replaced it with an old Terk antenna with much better results.

The parameters of what a "table radio" is have been redefined recently, and while this offering from Teac may not be on the bleeding edge of the category, it is a worthy product that merits serious consideration if you're in the market.

Loved the look of this radio and it looks great in my art deco-inspired home office. However, the CD player almost IMMEDIATELY stopped working. The buttons are hard to push and sometimes have to be pushed a couple of times before they work. The printing on the buttons is small and hard to read. The volume button is awkward to use. All in all, I would never buy this radio again. It looks great, and that's about it.

I bought one of these for my workshop recently, and I'm very pleased with the purchase. No, it's not a Bose Wave or Cambridge SoundWorks table radio, but for the money it gets a lot closer to those well-regarded units than anyone has a right to expect. The 50's art deco styling is a nice touch, an eye-catching change from typical high-tech sterility.

The first thing you notice about the unit is it's weight; it has a hefty, substantive mass for it's size, and it's evident that any resonances will be well-damped. On the underside is a downward-firing 3" subwoofer. On the back are a coax jack for the FM antenna, left and right RCA jacks for aux input and a dial to adjust the subwoofer output. A 1/8" headphone jack is on the left side, and the CD transport is on top along with a snooze bar. A digital display is centrally mounted on the front; above it are three buttons to choose from CD, aux or tuner functions. Below the display are the CD controls, and on either side of the display are three (six total) small buttons that control timer/sleep functions, repeat and shuffle modes, tuner presets, AM or FM band, memory and clock adjustments. At the bottom center of the unit is a lighted power button flanked by the volume and tuning controls. Looking like something off of a '52 Studebaker, these chrome knobs are electronic rocker switches rather than mechanical dials. Volume is adjusted in 2-dB steps from 0 to 80 dB. A full-featured remote in matching color is included.

While it won't make you forget your audio system or home theater, this little stereo from Teac is more than adequate for casual listening in the office, kitchen, or, as in my case, workshop. It puts out a good amount of respectable, well-balanced sound. The subwoofer works quite well at adding weight at the bottom end, and the quartz PLL tuner is a notch above what I've usually encountered in compact systems. At maximum volume, distortion is negligible, and there are no buzzes or other annoying misbehaviors from the cabinet. Hook your iPod up to the aux inputs and you'll have hours of uninterrupted listening while you work.

Complaints: I'm a little leery of the door on the top-loading CD. It has one of those push-to-lock, push-to-release latches that have a tendency to wear out in my experience. Hopefully, this one will prove to be higher quality, but I would have preferred a simple spring-loaded pushbutton latch. Also, the included FM antenna is the usual piece of garbage, in this case a three-foot long thin wire attached to a coax connector. I immediately replaced it with an old Terk antenna with much better results.

The parameters of what a "table radio" is have been redefined recently, and while this offering from Teac may not be on the bleeding edge of the category, it is a worthy product that merits serious consideration if you're in the market.

Loved the look of this radio and it looks great in my art deco-inspired home office. However, the CD player almost IMMEDIATELY stopped working. The buttons are hard to push and sometimes have to be pushed a couple of times before they work. The printing on the buttons is small and hard to read. The volume button is awkward to use. All in all, I would never buy this radio again. It looks great, and that's about it.

I bought one of these for my workshop recently, and I'm very pleased with the purchase. No, it's not a Bose Wave or Cambridge SoundWorks table radio, but for the money it gets a lot closer to those well-regarded units than anyone has a right to expect. The 50's art deco styling is a nice touch, an eye-catching change from typical high-tech sterility.

The first thing you notice about the unit is it's weight; it has a hefty, substantive mass for it's size, and it's evident that any resonances will be well-damped. On the underside is a downward-firing 3" subwoofer. On the back are a coax jack for the FM antenna, left and right RCA jacks for aux input and a dial to adjust the subwoofer output. A 1/8" headphone jack is on the left side, and the CD transport is on top along with a snooze bar. A digital display is centrally mounted on the front; above it are three buttons to choose from CD, aux or tuner functions. Below the display are the CD controls, and on either side of the display are three (six total) small buttons that control timer/sleep functions, repeat and shuffle modes, tuner presets, AM or FM band, memory and clock adjustments. At the bottom center of the unit is a lighted power button flanked by the volume and tuning controls. Looking like something off of a '52 Studebaker, these chrome knobs are electronic rocker switches rather than mechanical dials. Volume is adjusted in 2-dB steps from 0 to 80 dB. A full-featured remote in matching color is included.

While it won't make you forget your audio system or home theater, this little stereo from Teac is more than adequate for casual listening in the office, kitchen, or, as in my case, workshop. It puts out a good amount of respectable, well-balanced sound. The subwoofer works quite well at adding weight at the bottom end, and the quartz PLL tuner is a notch above what I've usually encountered in compact systems. At maximum volume, distortion is negligible, and there are no buzzes or other annoying misbehaviors from the cabinet. Hook your iPod up to the aux inputs and you'll have hours of uninterrupted listening while you work.

Complaints: I'm a little leery of the door on the top-loading CD. It has one of those push-to-lock, push-to-release latches that have a tendency to wear out in my experience. Hopefully, this one will prove to be higher quality, but I would have preferred a simple spring-loaded pushbutton latch. Also, the included FM antenna is the usual piece of garbage, in this case a three-foot long thin wire attached to a coax connector. I immediately replaced it with an old Terk antenna with much better results.

The parameters of what a "table radio" is have been redefined recently, and while this offering from Teac may not be on the bleeding edge of the category, it is a worthy product that merits serious consideration if you're in the market.

For Aiwa, they've made some decent electronics over the past couple of years. Still, it is just a shame that I really don't see their devices anymore, in favor of companies like Sony and Panasonic. With Aiwa's HS-TX516, it has a good display of playback within the cassette, and a good quality of use when you're outside. Still, since they've been introduced, Aiwa's neckband headphones are just truly uncomfortable around the ears. I suggest if you get this, try getting another set of headphones. Sadly, I recommend the HS-TX716 over this, because it has a TV Tuner and a Weather Band added on to the features this walkman has. If you can't find this one, you might as well try and get a Sony Walkman instead.

I got a chance to try out my radios this weekend on a road trip to Mississippi.The up to 5 miles line of sight statement is simply not true with my radios.We were traveling in two cars each with a radio.There was times when I could see the other car about 1 1/2 to 2 miles ahead and we could not talk to each other due to a broken up siglal.I even held the radio out the window.The manufacturers must have poor vision because I can't see well and I could not get reception in line of sight distances.If we were close enough to see peoples heads in the car we could talk. I dont understand why manufacturers cant just tell the truth.They could state that it is posible but very very unlikely that you will get 5 miles out of this radio.....The good part is they have a good camo job on them and all their buttons work well.

I have owned this model since November 2, 2002. I have the model CS832R which is like the CS830, except, mine has remote control for CD. The CD player works great. The AM and FM Stereo work great. The Cassette Recorder in this Boom Box, is only FAIR in performance. Cassette Recorder makes a sound when playing or recording, from inside the unit; that sounds like a belt slipping. It can be heard with your music at low volume level. Also, this cassette recorder will at times, without warning, pull the loop of tape out of the cassette you are playing, and wrap it around the idler wheel. Furthermore; this cassette recorder makes only FAIR sounding recordings. Whether you record from CD or Radio(unit has NO MIC for live recordings);your recordings will sound like listening to a radio station that is slightly not tuned in. The bass in your recordings will sound slightly fuzzy/distorted, mid and treble are ok. Unit has auto shutoff only in play or record mode of cassette. Unit does not shutoff in Rewind or Fast Forward; you have to hit stop key. Volume output of unit is not really loud(less than 1 watt per channel). CD is NOT programmable; but does have repeat function. CD player makes spinning sound in use. You get what you pay for; and there are better choices out there; then this unit. Stereo separation is great on this unit. AM/FM tuning dial is NOT that accurate. This unit will perform like it's price! Don't expect more.

I purchased this 2-way basically for fun. We have used them in our cars to see how far the range would reach and are disappointed to say that the 3 mile range is not at all realistic if you live around any buildings. If you have a large field or are out on a boat the range is a little closer to 3 miles, but not quite. This is a 2-way for the mall or a festival. A definite plus is the ease of use. The buttons and instruction book are simple and it took us approximately 5 minutes to learn most functions. The belt clip is a nice accessory but is a pain when trying to put the antenna up and down because you have to remove it from the case each time. It weighs the same as the 4 AAA batteries it requires and is smaller than some cellular phones.