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Sony seems to always manufacture a great product for the best price. Very contemporary design and great sound. Such a concept. I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to audio and I needed a decent radio for my office since my blankety-blank IT manager won't let us stream music anymore. This little Sony am/fm is a winner.
In day time. Next door station NPR was coming in perfectly. I thought getting new technology would improve on my 30+ years old Panasonic night reception of an admitedly weak station.
I contacted Dependable Resource (bought there via Amazon) and they deserve 5 stars for the total refund including shipping both ways. Too bad. It would have been just what I was looking for: a simple, good quality radio.
All I wanted was a good quality radio to get my favorite FM station (classical music) while reading in bed. The only way to get the station was to move the Sony to the middle of the bedroom AND rotate it to the perfect angle; couple of degrees off and the signal was lost.
I received this model in the afternoon and immediately tuned it to my station: Nothing. The old radio was receiving just fine.
At higher volumes (i.e. Considering the price Sony tried to sell this unit at when it was brand new, you can't help but see it a huge underachiever. Nothing about it feels cheap or chintzy at all, and the knobs mimic the "slow tuning" type of response of its analog competitors, despite the ICF-M1000's tuner being digital. I don't regret buying it. I wanted a decent radio with a Aux input for my office.
It looks nice and I play podcasts from my iPod through the Aux input. Has a substantial weight to it that also lends an impression of real quality.The sound, well, is unremarkable, IMHO. But don't expect too much. There is a reason it's now sold for one-third the MSRP. loud enough you don't mind everyone in the room hearing it) it does sound better, but it's still nothing amazing. The 'listening experience' of this radio is just adequate; it doesn't 'fill the room with music' or 'sound much bigger than it is' or meet any of those other cliche's we always hear about audio equipment.
After reading a ton of reviews, I decided to go with the ICF-M1000 instead of spending north of a hundred bucks on a Tivoli or similar. It's not going to wow anybody. Ho hum.Priced at fifty dollars, the ICF-M1000 is fine. The ICF-M1000 is not a total dud by any means, but my expectations were higher.It looks great and has a great quality "feel" to it. I admit I have never heard the Tivoli Model One in person, but if I spent over a hundred bucks for a radio, its sound had better be more memorable than this one. I find myself constantly fiddling with the Tone setting to find a tone that makes whatever I'm listening to more audible.
The finish is much nicer looking than I expected. At lower 'background' volumes (as I play it, again, in an office) much of the dynamic range disappears.
It lacks any presets, but the tuning knobs works fine. The sound quality is very good for its size, even better than my ancient Advent 400 but of course not equal to a stereo system. I thought this slick black radio was so good that I bought another. At well under $100 (I paid closer to $50 at Amazon), this mono radio is a bargain. It gets static free FM reception with its built-in antennae (my favorite station is 75 miles away).
The clarity of sound is superb, and I'm glad I purchased it. But it still would be a welcome improvement in the unit. I keep the radio in my office, which is in a building with thick walls, overlooking Lake Michigan. I listen only to one station, a classical music one, so the absence of pre-set buttons is not much of a problem.
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