Sony SRF-M37W Walkman Digital Tuning Weather/FM/AM Stereo Radio (Black) by Sony
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Digital camera reviews of Sony SRF-M37W Walkman Digital Tuning Weather/FM/AM Stereo Radio (Black)
Digital camera Review: 6 Months Later...
Summary: 5 Stars
...and this radio is proving durable and an important part of my morning walks. The original headphones are ok, but I bought a $28 set of Sony headphones and this little puppy was up to the challenge, almost as if I had upgraded the amplifier inside and got a rich boost in the highs and lows. I like the little switch on top that locks in the station you're listening to; if you forget to use it, chances are some part of your hand or clothing will cause a change as the presets can be sensitive.
I've dropped it a few times, on wet roads or the floor in the house and it "keeps on tickin" - Sony just announced they're discontinuing the Walkman line, I'll be picking up another soon just in case.
Digital camera Review: 66% Junk
Summary: 2 Stars
Based on largely positive Amazon reviews, I bought two of these radios. I gave one to my friend. Our intended purpose was to use them at the gym to listen to TV while we trudged and grunted through our work-outs. At first both radios worked well enough but after about one battery's worth of play, my friend's unit lost one speaker channel. She returned the Sony and got a replacement which has begun a buzzing sound. The one I have still runs both channels but it doesn't seem to be picking up the FM TV transmissions as well as it did at first. I've asked the Gym People if the transmitting equipment is messed up but they say it's not....so I'm really unclear where lies the fault. I don't want to unfairly blame Sony for the poor sound quality/buzzing but the channel definately went out on one out of three radios and that's squarely on Sony. I've always been impressed w/Sony products but I'm beginning to wonder...are they making them in China now?Digital camera Review: A Few Things I Would Change
Summary: 4 Stars
Overall a very nice product. I bought this ostensibly as an upgrade to the radio I was using, the Sony SRF 59: Sony SRF-59 FM/AM Radio Walkman with Sony MDR Headphones
I think the AM reception *might* be marginally better than the SRF-59. The FM reception is not. I would rate the two nearly identical in FM reception, with maybe a slight edge to the SRF-59 under some conditions.
The digital controls are a nice feature, and I like that it uses a AAA cell instead of a AA cell. Battery life seems quite good, and the clock seems to keep great time.
Unfortunately the buttons are just a little too easy to push, so it is not uncommon to accidentally change the channel or turn the unit on or off. Fortunately they provided a "lock" feature to lock out the keys, but it is a bit of a pain to have to "unlock" it to change the channel or turn it on or off. I have to keep the keys locked when the radio is in my briefcase, to prevent it from being turned on and wearing the battery down (thus losing all of my presets and clock time!)
It seems like it would have been SO much easier if they had just made it so you have to HOLD the power button to turn the unit on or off. As it is, you merely have to bump the button to do this. This would seem to be a very easy firmware fix.
The other thing I don't like is the location of the headphone jack, on the side. If you have a right-angle plug on your headphones, you'll be OK, but if you don't, it could be an issue, and here's why. When using it in AM mode, you want to have the unit horizontal for best performance from the ferrite rod antenna. The unit is already almost too wide for shirt-pocket use, having a straight earphone plug pushes it over the edge. I ended up buying a 1/8" right-angle adapter to address this issue.
I am glad they stuck with a rotary volume control, on top of the unit!
Yes, this is a nice unit, and I can recommend it, performance-wise, but if you want a nice, simple, cheap, and rugged AM/FM portable in a perfect form factor for a shirt pocket, go for the $15 SRF-59. Add a set of Sony MDR-EX71 earbuds and you are golden!
Digital camera Review: A bit dated, but a durable performer
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had this for a little over a year, and use it while exercising outdoors. It's taken a real beating - dropped it several times, gets wet in the rain/snow, and so on. But, it just keeps on working! Got to love a product that can take a punch.
Reception is pretty good - can pick up several stations quite clearly, and a few more with some static. Sound quality is decent. You won't mistake it for CD-quality, but it's radio, after all. Battery life is very good - goes a few months on an AAA. I just switched to rechargeable batteries, but even with regular alkalines it's pretty cost effective.
The only downside I've encountered was the headphones. Found them to be very uncomfortable, and replaced them very soon after purchasing with a set of ear buds (not sure of the brand - perhaps Sony as well).
It's not as flexible as a MP3 player but I find the radio reception on this to be far better than the reception on my MP3 player that has an FM tuner. Yes, a conventional FM radio is a bit dated, but then again, so am I - sometimes it's nice to just listen to the radio. For the price, this is a great performer.
Digital camera Review: A good basic am/fm walkman
Summary: 4 Stars
Just got this yesterday. AM sensitivity is very good.. as good as the radios in my cars. FM reception is about average for a walkman type FM radio (with the headphone wires being used for FM reception. Sound quality on FM could be better (due to lack of an equalizer. For AM it's about average. I threw out the ultra cheap headphones that came with it and am using very high quality earbuds for listening. Features i would like to see on this: equalizer or loudness button to add slight boost (perhaps 5 db boost)to audio frequencies above 10,000 Hz and below 100 Hz.... bigger display and a backlight. I would have been willing to pay an extra $25 or so for those added features along with more station memory. But overall, it's worth the money and I like the styling too. I would recommend this to family and friends.