Quote:
Originally Posted by jrbdmb /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Fixup.net's favorite AM/FM pocket radio is the analog Sony SRF-49, SRF-59, SRF-S83, and SRF-S84.
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I've lost track of how many SRF-59s i've been through. I've lost at least five over the years, and managed (not sure how) to break a few as well. Which is fairly amazing, given that the little thing is built like a tank.
But I just keep buying another one. The analog, thumb-wheel tuning, in my experience, just blows digital tuners out of the water. Literally none of the small, digitallly-tuned portables that I've tried are able to pull in more than a small handful of the strongest stations.
And I generally do NOT want to hear what they are playing. If I hit the lottery, I would gladly hand the entire prize over to Justin Timberlake if he would agree never to sing again.
I live in Manhattan, which is a multipath-distortion torture chamber. Yet, with the SRF-59, I am able to pull in three different NPR stations, along with a solid group of rinky-dink college stations from around the tri-state area.
And the sound is solid, as long as you keep the volume to roughly 60% or less. Keep the volume down, run the sucker with an amp, and you are in FM nirvana. I have used the SRF-59 both with portable amps and with-- I kid you not-- my main system as a tuner section. I record quite a bit from FM (last I looked that was still legal, but at the rate things are going...) The results are more than good enough to archive on my drive for later enjoyment.
AM reception is poor, unfortunately, but I suspect that has to do with the location more than the radio. AM is generally a tough nut in the city in my experience.
But I fear that this sub-$20 doller wonder may be on its way out. It's been in Sony's product line forever (10+ years?) and it looks increasingly anachronistic on Sony's website alongside all of the digital dreck that people snap up as if it's cocaine. As far as I know, it's the only manually tuned radio they still offer (not entirely sure of that). Point is, in the world of iBling, it just ain't sexy to be an analog, manually-tuned radio. I have heard no rumblings about the SRF-59 being discontinued, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear of it before long.
I mean, why maintain a product just because it works well? Analog? Manual tuning? The other kids will laugh at me!!
Heavy, heavy sigh.