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I love mine!
I got mine about 5 months ago, when I decided to hit the gym seriously. I haven't been without it since -- it's practically grown into my arm now. The AM/FM/TV and weather band settings are great. I also like how easy it is to set your favorite stations. They're right about the volume control, though. It's pretty easy to accidentally turn way up or down. I wish there was a "volume hold" like the key-lock feature. Also, I wish the face were backlit, so I could read it in the dark. And get yourself a better set of headphones. All connection issues will end there. But the battery life is terrific, and the unit is very durable. Piece of junk I am an avid runner, and I live right in the city of Boston. I can get exactly 2 stations with this product. The worst thing about the product is the connection between the headset and the radio. It is horrible. Slight movement of the connection and you lose some or all of your sound. I brought the first one back, and my second one is just as bad. I'll be returning this one this weekend for a refund, never to buy another one. Nice but with some reservations I have owned the Sony SRF-M80V for nearly a year. I bought it for it's compactness and sound quality, because I have owned many Sony products for years and respect their quality and because I needed a radio that allowed me to use it while being very physically active outdoors: (mowing the grass, running, biking, etc.). It's best attribute is it's sound. I am constantly amazed how good it sounds-when the signal is strong enough, that is. The 'Mega Bass' is definitely a "must have" feature. Sensitivity is fair to good, although I can get much better reception from more distant stations on my home entertainment stereo / tuner than I can on the SRF-M80V,(I live in a suburban area). It's reception is VERY "directional" (especially when worn on your body, which is 99% of the time), as most small portable radios are. This is aggravating when you are running, walking, riding a bike, or doing just about anything except just sitting around. When you change directions, even slightly, the reception many times fades, drops out completely or you get a lot of static or "interference". However, if you sit in one place,(sit in a chair on the patio, for example), orient the unit well and don't move around a lot, you don't have this problem. It actually works much better when OFF your body. But, for a portable radio, this "directionality" can be very irritating, nonetheless. You are, obviously, going to probably strap it on your arm (as it is designed to be used) and MOVE around when using it! Also: I am a 53 year old. My eyesight is still pretty good, but I still have a difficult time reading the very small display on this Sony without my mild prescription reading glasses! If I am riding a bike or doing some other "multi-tasking" physical activity, I have to often stop completely just to tune the radio or change one of it's settings. I know this may be a bit unfair, since the design is so small and has benefits because of it's small size, but there is ample physical room for a much larger text display - as well as some bigger keys! I think Sony messed up by not making the text display and keys much larger than they are. Battery life is excellent. I'd recommend getting some rechargeable nickel metal hydride AAA batteries if you plan on using this radio a lot, (it uses 2 'AAA's and for the $50 bucks purchase price, you DON'T even get batteries included in the box- kinda "cheap" if you ask me!). I bought (4) Sony rechargeables and they have been great. The radio only uses 2 'AAA's at a time, but I always have 2 spares charged up when I need them. The "key lock" capability is a really great - and you soon realize it is a totally necessary - feature! The TV sound and weather radio channel capability is great to have also, even if you don't think it is before you buy it. I listen to them both a lot. I can cut the grass or ride my bike and listen to the audio feed for the 'ABC Evening News' news.During the recent power failures, I especially appreciated these features. Not being able to see the video is not that much of a loss, really, I have found. Lastly, being able to wear this unit on your upper arm is a great feature,(you can also opt to wear it on your belt if you prefer). The headphone cord can be more easily run up your sleeve and under your shirt so it doesn't just hang and get caught on stuff,like the headphones cord on a wear-on-the-belt type small radio does. I'd recommend this unit to anyone who wants a durable, quality radio receiver for an active lifestyle - but especially if you live relatively close to the broadcast towers, (like in an urban or semi-urban area). However,if you want to use it in the "boonies" a lot, I wouldn't highly recommend it. Too bad it doesn't have a small, pull up antenna (like a cell phone) to improve it's reception in difficult areas. Bottom line: I am glad I bought it and, despite some annoyances in design, I'd buy another one if I lost or irreparably damaged mine. Don't waste your money, your wallet will thank you... The product has plenty to offer, TV/AM/FM tuner, weather stations, plenty of presets, etc. I was turned off by the product a few weeks after purchasing it. The volume control is by far the biggest dissapointment. If it is clipped to your belt, bending over or any such movements will cause the belt to turn the volume knob accidentally as the knob is horribly placed on the inner part of the radio, closest to the body. There is an audible hiss even at it's lowest setting. Fine adjustment of the volume to your exact liking is a lesson in frustration most times. At a low setting which I usually like, the sound only comes out of the right earpiece. Unfortunately, I never got around to returning the product and I suffer with it on a daily basis waiting for it to break so I can get a better one. Avoid this product like the plague!! Not very impressed I have started running and was interested in finding a small radio to bring on my runs. I tried this one out from the local store and was very disappointed. The reception for me was horrible. Stations that I could get clearly on my car radio were barely audible above the static in the headphones. I preferred using the belt clip to the arm band, but the belt clip wasn't very tight so as I was running, it would slip off my shorts and fall to the ground. Also the headphone cord was barely long enough to be able to run comfortably while its at my waist. The final thing that contributed to my dislike of this product was that the volume control was located kind of on the corner of the unit. When it was fastened on my short at my waist, I could easily bump the volume control and the volume would skyrocket. Overall, I thought this model was poorly built, but I could have dealt with all the idiosyncrasies of the product if the reception had at least been fair. Within a week of buying this product, I returned it to the store for a full refund. | |
