Sony ICF-S10MK2 Pocket AM/FM Radio, Silver

Anyone who thinks AM/FM radio is dead needs to read the article over at Slate from Dec 14, 2014 entitled "Don't Count AM/FM Radio Out Just Yet". Broadcast radio is still extremely profitable and big here in America and isn't about to disappear anytime soon. Besides, everyone should have a good, portable, low battery usage AM/FM radio at home in preparation for natural disasters.Given the large number of Taiwanese and Chinese brand portables on the market, why stick with the Sony brand even though it is also made in China like all the other brands? Because Sony has developed some excellent AM/FM chip technology for radio reception and these Sony proprietary chips are used in almost all of Sony's portable radios. The ICF-S10MK2 is one of these Sony radios. Reception of AM and FM is surprising good for such a lightweight, inexpensive radio. Unlike some of the recent "Fully Digital" radios that are based on the Silicon Laboratories chip, I find that the Sony radios handle Automatic Grain Control (AGC) functions much better on the AM band. You won't be treated to the irritating digital "pumping" AGC effect on weak AM stations like you find on many of the radios based on the Silicon Laboratories chip sold by Sangean, Kaito and Tecsun. The Silicon Laboratories chips are getting better in this regard but still have problems in the area of effective AGC functions.The speaker on this little gem is also a big plus. It puts out decent sound for its small size. Tuning is analog, which is a bummer, but the advantage of this over a digital display tuner is that you get much better battery life. The size and weight is a little too high to consider this a shirt pocket radio. Quality of construction is OK, considering the low price of $10 - $12 US dollars. I've seen much worse in this price range from some of the "no-name" Chinese producers.Along with the ICF-S10MK2, I also own Sony's SRF-59 AM/FM Walkman (ultra-small, analog dial) and the much pricier but much sturdier SFR-M37 AM/FM Walkman (small, digital dial, sporty model with presets). The SRF-59 is very small with amazing battery life and it can easily fit it a shirt pocket. However, it requires you to use headphones. The SFR-M37 adds the weather band along with AM/FM and also has no speaker. It runs on a single AAA battery and has acceptable battery life. All three of these Sony portable AM/FM radios are good buys.On the high end, I own a much larger Tecsun PL-880 that has AM/FM plus shortwave that I absolutely love! It has great sound from the enclosed speaker and does an excellent job at shortwave reception. However, in that class of portable radio you are looking at something that is about the size of a paperback book and that is much heavier. The price (~ $160 ) is also much higher than what you'll pay for these small Sony AM/FM portables.If you know some people that don't have any AM/FM radios in their household, consider buying a couple of these small Sony ICF-S10MK2 AM/FM radios and handing them out as and inexpensive but useful gift. When natural disaster strikes (and eventually it will) they'll appreciate having one of these little gems to turn on after the power goes out and their internet goes dead. Most broadcast stations have emergency generators and can continue to broadcast on the airwaves even after the power goes out.

First off, I wouldn't really call this a "pocket" radio. Yes, it will fit in your pocket, but barely. I would say it's more of a "hand-held" radio, although it's still very, very light and portable. If you want a true pocket radio, I would take a look at the Kaito KA200 pocket radio or the Sony SRF-59 (both of which I also own and will write a review soon). The KA200 is incredibly small compared to both Sonys. However, the sound and reception of both Sonys is superior.Now, let me explain why this Sony's slightly larger physique is really an advantage (compared to the smaller KA200).- 1. The speaker is larger than the KA200, which produces a much cleaner sound than the smaller speaker and gets quite a bit louder.- 2. The AM reception is quite a bit better. The larger the unit, the larger ferrite bar can fit inside (AM uses the internal ferrite bar, while the FM uses the external telescopic antennae). Reception on both bands is absolutely fantastic.- 3. Controls: The volume and tuning wheels are slightly larger on this radio, making them much easier to use.- 4. The Sony holds larger batteries. It takes two AA batteries. A lot of the smaller radios I've seen/used take the smaller AAA size. So, I figure you would get 2-3 times the run time compared to a similar unit that takes two AAA's. Battery life is exceptional. I can't really tell you how good because I haven't been able to run out the original batteries yet.I mainly use this radio to keep up with the pro Minnesota sports teams when I'm away from a TV (cleaning, doing dishes, chilling out on the patio, etc). It's great for this. The speaker provides great sound and gets reasonably loud. It also works great for casual music listening.*PROS*- Small: Not really pockets size, but definitely hand-held size.- Reception: No complaints here on either AM or FM. In fact, this is probably this radios biggest strength. It's better than any other pocket (hand-held) radio I own. The telescopic antennae is probably about 17-18" when fully extended. The FM antennae also tilts side to side and can be folded down along the left side of the speaker when not in use. The tuning wheel on the right side is also very easy to work with.- Sound: Small built-in speaker provides pretty good sound for the size. It's not going to blow your mind, buy you won't be disappointed either. Another thing I really enjoy about this radio that I haven't really seen any other reviews mention is that in the rear of the unit, there are speaker holes cut out of the plastic that gives the impression that there is an additional speaker in the back (although there is only one). This just gives the sound another avenue to escape and the effect is that it makes the sound go in all directions no matter which way the speaker is facing. This is incredibly awesome when using AM because you have you adjust the internal antennae by rotation the unit horizontally. So, even if you have to point the unit away from you to get a distant station to come in, you're not sacrificing sound.- Batteries: Takes two AAs. This is probably the most common battery and the easiest to keep on-hand, at least in my opinion. Battery life is ridiculously awesome too. I've had this radio for a month now and have been trying to wear out the original batteries I put in it. So far, I've used it every day and even left it on overnight a few times, and have not yet been able to kill the batteries. Awesome.- Tuning light helps you locate stations quickly.*CONS*- Can be tricky to listen to at really low volume. Under most normal listening scenarios, this is not an issue. Also, there is quite a jump between low volume and high volume. Be careful when you're turning it up while listening to earphones/headphones. Also, the volume wheel can be kind of scratchy at the very low end of the volume range.- Speaking of earphones/headphones, the jack is actually an "earphone" jack, not a "headphones" jack. This means that if are listening through a standard set of stereo headphones, the sound will only come out of the left side. You can buy a couple dollar adapter to make the sound come out of both sides, although it will still be mono sound coming out of each one. If you plan on listening primarily with headphones, this unit is probably not the best choice. I would recommend the previously mentioned Kaito KA200, or Sony SRF-59 (both of which have a stereo headphone jack).Overall, I have been extremely impressed with this unit, especially for the price. I believe it's the best radio you can get for around ten bucks! After having it a week, I actually bought two more as backups or in case Sony stops selling this model. This would also be a great radio to have around in case of emergencies because of its simplicity and the fact it uses AA batteries and has a long run time. Buy it now.