Makita XRM04B 18V LXT Radio with Blue Tooth

Probably the best looking job site radio out there, more importantly very good performance. I have the other non bluetooth Makita as well, wanted this one for stereo effect in my garage, and of course ability to stream from my phone. Solid and well built, you really have to search to find out where to put the AA batteries.Was surprised it streams radio station song info, didn't know it had that feature. Also apparently has an atomic clock feature, time set itself within minutes of first use. Connected to bluetooth easily enough, streaming songs were a bit on the low side volume wise, not nearly as loud as the FM radio - In fairness, might be due to my songs, I don't know. Has a myriad of [mostly useless] features for a job site radio, such as clock timer/alarms/ snooze. Wish they would have dumped these features in favor of a charging circuit for the batteries and maybe equalization for the sound, would have been a 5 star in that case.All in all, a recommended radio just around the right price point.

The build of the radio is great and aesthetics are good. I like the small and compact size. My first one that I received, the ac adapter made a buzzing sound and would not power the radio (showed a low power error on radio screen). Amazon had a replacement sent out right away and received it in another two days, so they were great. The biggest annoyance with this unit is when the battery is installed and you are using the ac adapter to power the unit, the radio will cutoff if the ac adapter is unplugged from the wall outlet. It will not cutoff and the backup battery will keep powering the unit when the adapter is removed from the radio itself. The whole reason I purchased this model is for powering it by a welding generator while welding. When the welder is shutoff the radio turns off and you have to remove the ac adapter plug from the radio in order to use it. Also this does not charge the makita batteries. I am fine with that since I knew that from the beginning before I purchased. That would be a nice feature but I'm sure that would add weight, bulk and cost to the unit. What I didn't know is that it will not run period when unplugged unless the ac adapter is pulled completely out of the radio.

I have ordered 4 of these radios from amazon over the last 2 weeks. I had to send everyone back due to a defect in the volume control. This problem is obviously large in scale to get 4 new radios in a row with the defect. When adjusting the volume db by db the speakers will cut out. Maybe the left speaker will work. Maybe the right speaker will work or both will cut out all together. I thought with the third and the fourth radio I had a good one. Nope. After a minute or two of adjusting presets or setting up the blue tooth the volume problem showed it self.....Why did I give this radio 5 stars? Because when Makita finally fixes this problem I want this radio. This radio looks and feels incredible in person. It has a very solid feel with a rubbery finish. The blue back lighting is very cool. The sound is much better than bosch. The sound is very good for the price.Please Fix the Volume MakitaThe only con, besides the volume, the usb charger should be in the back compartment along with the device I am storing back there for music playback.

I also have both of the previous versions of this job site radio, and this is a slight improvement over the previous versions, given it finally has Bluetooth. Other that is pretty much the same radio. I just don't understand why it took them this long to implement. I like the overall sturdy design and it sounds nice, but I still wish it could go a bit louder. Perhaps they could have fit in larger speakers for the higher cost of this new version. They also needed to make a simple IPod holder inside the battery chamber like most other job site radios have. I still put my IPod in there to keep it dry and safe, but it rattles around inside. Keeping it on my person is not an option, since the range is not that far as I am moving around. The biggest issue I have with this sound box is how this still needs to have a play, advance, and mute button controls. I cannot believe they still left that off. A wireless remote would also be helpful, which has those features. Nice try, but still misses the mark. They need to fire their lame engineers and hire some blokes who know what people want. In stead of teasing us like this.

Very disappointed. A unit at this price needs to have an EQ. Because...if your volume goes up to 21-25, it really starts making it distorted. I work somewhere that has considerable backround noise from machines, but nothing you can't talk over. This radio just doesn't cut it in a factory or shop setting, especially with the side facing speakers. Great for contractors in a room doing drywall, I'm sure. Not sitting on a tool cart with the nice looking digital atomic time facing you on your tool box in the shop.A guy at my work has the top end comparable Milwaukee radio that's a few years older that sounds better then this by far. He has an EQ though, and was able to adjust it to sound much better at the higher volumes. Front facing speakers also helped. I think Makita did side speakers to make it more compact though, as the Milwaukee is at least 25% more in size. But they defintely fizzle for me in my big open work area. I have all Makita tools so I had high hopes for this radio. First Makita tool, that I just shook my head...It does feel well built. I would say much more robust then the Milwaukee(another guy has the cheap Dewalt that don't compare to either). If only they put an EQ on this... Why put so much into your top of the line product in that catagory to not deliver Makita?I have no complaints about the quality or clarity under volume 20. Good sounding portable radio in more quiet settings. I just expected more from Makita. Better places to spend the $150.