Sony ICF506 Analog Tuning Portable FM/AM Radio with Battery/AC Power

My 93 year old mother is “technologically challenged”. She grew up in a time when technology was, compared to today, very basic, but she loved the simplicity of it. She prefers listening to the radio as opposed to watching television but modern radios with digital tuning, presets and DAB do confuse her and pressing the “wrong buttons” was a regular occurrence. Her old analog radio - her favourite old Sony radio - eventually died after over 30 years of service and replacements, bought by well meaning friends, were all digital versions. I spotted this radio and immediately liked the clarity of the display, the simplicity of using it and the lack of loads of numbered buttons. From being “off” the radio can be turned on by moving switch on the front from “off” to AM or FM channels. Nice and simple. There are only two other controls, Tuning and Volume. Turn the tuning dial to the frequency you want, then adjust the volume. The sound quality is a perfect mixture of bass, midrange and treble thanks to the decent sized speaker. The radio is comparatively light and has a handle so it can be carried easily. From being disillusioned about modern electronic products always being too complicated, my mother is exceptionally happy that a company like Sony also caters for those people who still prefer the simpler, less complicated way of life. Thank you Sony, thank you Amazon.

Excellent radio. Very simple to use - it’s on or off and the sound is very good. It has a proper mains supply (which is the greenest, most efficient way to run a radio) as well as running on batteries Reception is good too - the manual dial and display are designed like an old-fashioned radio but they seem to be linked to a tuning system or sensor which lights up for a good signal. Why buy a simple radio like this instead of a nifty digital one? I previously bought and returned a modern high-tech digital radio which had handy features - but none of those features worked well. Digi radios all seem to have an occasional use mains supply and yet the alarm won’t function on battery power, and battery life is poor or very poor. So what’s the point of an alarm you can’t rely on or a battery-powered radio which constantly needs charging? If you just want the radio to be on, and you like simplicity, this Sony is great. I bought from Co-operative on Amazon UK. Very fast service and great price. I’d rate them highly.

Excellent radio, if a little expensive. Clear, pure sound and easy to use

A great quality radio from Sony. Built more like they used to be. Sound is excellent, very easy to use. Four stars because - the aerial is 'flimsy', for such a well built solid device. You have to be really careful and push it back in from the bottom, slowly. If you grab the top and push it in it bends easily. Also, why no Long Wave? Every other radio seems to have FM/AM/LW. I would have liked Long Wave on it. Finally the on/off switch - it is a slider control on the front of the radio and you have to physically pick the radio up and slide the switch past AM to FM and then FM comes on. It works but it feels odd. An on/off switch on the volume control would be so much more elegant to use. It is a quality radio, good price and apart from a couple of issues above is excellent to listen to. Update after some use - the on/off switch arrangement is a deal breaker for me. Very odd design to switch the radio on and off. I have returned the radio and will look for another. Tired of having to pick up the radio to get at the switch.

I’ve been looking for a simple radio which uses cheap batteries in the event of power cuts and discovered this one. Nice clear reception both plugged in and when using the THREE AA BATTERIES so all set for Winter when power cuts are a certainty in our rural area. Excellent sound as expected from Sony.

Top notch radio great reception/sound and battery life and simplicity and it's a sony which have years of good history for long life and reliability which I presume and hope will be the case...worth paying a bit extra for !

Made several attempts to return and/or get assistance from Amazon as to how to resolve issue. No response

I had a small pocket Sony radio for years, and it was a very good little radio. As it was time to get a replacement, i searched and bought this Sony product, it came very well packed and worked straight away. The sound is very acceptable and easy to set up and find the stations. The only thing is that it had no earphones with it, and so i now have to buy some. All in all, i find it good for value, and would recommend you to buy it. it

I LOVE MY SONY RADIO THANKING YOU VERY MUCH

Very good product

Résistant,simple d’utilisation

Simple mais avec une belle sonorité profonde. Un peu lourd mais dès lors très stable.

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