Sony ICFP26 Portable AM/FM Radio,Black

I couldn't decide which one to get, so I ordered this Sony ICFP26 as well as the Sangean SR-35. For me, the Sony is the clear winner between the two. The sound quality is outstanding for a small portable radio. If you plug in a pair of good quality headphones you will hear sparkling highs and deep bass. Pretty impressive for an inexpensive pocket radio. Sensitivity is excellent on both AM and FM. This radio will pick up stations that some car radios struggle to pull in. Tuning is smooth and uncomplicated without any extraneous responses (unlike the Sangean radio, which has plenty of them). Sony made a trade off here on AM to go in the direction of better sound quality at the expense of selectivity. What this means is that if you have a strong local station, you're not going to be able to pick up a weak station within 10 or 20 kHz of that frequency. It is simple physics; sharp filters degrade the audio quality. I prefer the choice that the Sony designers made here. This radio is much more listenable. If you have a local station that broadcasts good quality sound, you will be shocked how nice it sounds on this Sony radio. The radio has a modern, updated appearance. In my opinion it could be a little slimmer, but the choice of speaker and the use of AA batteries rather than AAA cells probably added to the thickness. I prefer the AA cells from the standpoint of battery life. I use AA Eneloops in almost all of my devices now. As others have pointed out, the FM antenna bracket also projects outward from the back and adds to the thickness. I am not a fan of the design of these whip antennas. All of them invariably break at some point, usually causing the case to crack as well. It would be nice if someone would figure out how to get rid of them entirely without degrading FM reception (they are not needed for AM). I did not notice any spurious responses or odd noises tuning across either the AM or FM band, unlike the older ICF-S10MKII that some people seem to think was a good radio. My copy of that model squealed in between stations making it impossible to receive weak stations and I got rid of it. This radio is free of any such aberrations. Despite all of the good points mentioned above, accurate tuning requires a bit of practice on an analog pocket radio because of the small diameter of the thumbwheel tuning knob. If you don't have the patience for it, or would like a radio that allows you to quickly jump between several stations at different points on the dial, you might prefer a radio with digital tuning. They generally cost more and sometimes the battery life isn't as good, but that might not always be the case. With this radio, if you plug in a pair of stereo (or mono) headphones, unlike older models, sound will be heard in both ears. It will be mono, not stereo, but it sounds good. Of course on AM, you wouldn't get stereo anyway; at least not on most radios. AM stereo went out of style a long time ago, unfortunately. I occasionally see complaints from people to the effect that when you set a portable radio down, the signal goes away on FM. Don't blame the radio! The problem is that when you are holding the radio, your body is serving as the other half of the radio's antenna system. When you take your hand away, it can have a big effect on reception. If the station you're listening to is a strong local station, you probably won't notice this, but on a weaker station it might disappear entirely. There are no really good solutions to this problem, but basically what you have to do if the station goes away when you set the radio down is readjust the radio's antenna position or move the radio to a little different spot. All portable FM radios that I have ever used suffer from this issue, unfortunately. If you buy this radio, I hope that you will enjoy it as much as I am enjoying mine. I am very happy with my purchase.

I've owned several of the Sony ICF-S10MK2 models over the years. Most important for me was they were AM/FM, small, cheap, battery powered and with an external speaker. Lots of small radios require headsets which is not what I wanted and many with external speakers are bigger and need to be plugged in. I listen to sports talk most of the day while working from home. Sometimes I'm out in the yard with the laptop/wifi or doing something else. These small radios are convenient to take them wherever you go. The batteries last forever. They last me for many weeks and I'm sure my usage is higher than the average user. The biggest issue I had was with the antenna constantly getting loose and me having to tighten the screw. After one too many drops my last S10MK2 finally broke. I was sad to see that the model was no longer made and the remaining stock are going for $130. So I tried this new model ICFP26. Everything I loved about the old model is still true here. The plastic where the antenna is screwed into seems a lot sturdier than before. Time and many drops will tell if it is an improvement. Another change is that the power switch was previously integrated into the volume wheel and it is now part of the AM/FM switch. The tuning and volume wheels are also much wider making them easier to scroll. They also seem to give a finer grain control. I a minor issue I had with the old model was sometimes it was hard to get the volume just right. Either too low or too loud with little movement on the volume wheel. The new wheel is more responsive. I'm giving this 5 stars even though it could be a bit cheaper. I'm sure I'll buy another when this one needs replacing. If it lasts as long as the old model it'll be worth it and I don't doubt that it will.

I compared this to some other radios under $50 which included the Sangean SR-35, the Kaito KA-210, the Sony ICF-8 and the only digital-tuning radio I tested, the Sony ICF-M260. My interest is primarily AM through a speaker. Eneloop batteries were installed in all radios and all radios were allowed to break in for about 6 hours before I began to test and listen. The break-in time is important because performance changed somewhat during this time. Of this group of radios when placed on a countertop, AM voice was the most intelligible without becoming shrill or otherwise irritating (like the Kaito KA-210). Held at arm's length, the radio had to be turned almost all of the way up for a satisfactory volume. Amplifier specifications state a power output of only 100mW which is purposely limited for extended battery life, but I think it is a bit too little. Attaching my quite neutral Sony 7506 headphones produced monaural sound in both earpieces with a centered image. AM sound was the best of all the radios with more extended high frequencies and good bass, but overall quality was not as high as my older Sony Walkman M-35 which was specifically advertised as having wideband AM. However, I enjoyed AM listening through the headphones with the ICF-P26. Tuning was tedious with this radio because it is rather coarse. Small movements of the tuning knob resulted in larger movements of the tuning needle, the opposite of the Sony ICF-8. I was able to pick up a greater number of AM stations than most of the other radios with selectivity and sensitivity being very good in comparison. However, the tuning light indicator was lit almost the entire length of the band, so it was mostly useless. The indicator on FM was substantially better but not as useful as on the Kaito. Among the vertically oriented radios, this Sony and the Sangean were the most physically stable on a shelf or cabinet and least likely to tip over. I have two complaints which are common to the 3 Sony radios. The first is Sony's use of raised lettering of the same color as the radio's case instead of ink silkscreening, making the markings very difficult to read, especially in lower light circumstances. The other is the method of attachment of the antenna which is inadequate compared to some of the other radios, especially the Sangean. Pocket radios are susceptible to antenna damage, but instead of employing a proper joint, Sony prints a piece of paper attached to the antenna on the ICF-P36 specifically showing how not to orient the antenna to avoid breakage. This is ridiculous. Have a look at the Sangean and just fix the problem! All these pocket radios under $50 seem to have serious performance and ergonomic shortcomings. You have to pick whatever shortcomings you can live with. Of the radios tested in this group, this was my reluctant choice based on what I value – AM voice intelligibility from the speaker, ability to select and hold a respectable number of both AM and FM stations, reasonable ruggedness and intuitive use not requiring instructions. However, the lack of a digital tuner made the tuning process entirely too fussy and so the search continues.

Mu buena

Love this little gadget! Got a couple in used-like new condition for half the price of new and they were just that, like new. My late grandmother's most priced possession was a cherry red radio very like this one, I remember scheming and plotting to steal it away from her as a little kid :D (never did succeed at that), it went everywhere with her. I got this to listen to the radio while cooking, gardening or soaking in the bathtub. I like to have some background noise on all the time and this is the most portable, cost effective and power efficient option! Good reception where I live, very sturdy plastic construction w/ no creaks or flexing. Appreciate the robust attachment of the antenna to the back of the radio (it can also be unscrewed and replaced if ever damaged), and the hinged battery compartment. The speaker output is loud and clear and even more amazing through headphones (I use really good audiophile grade headphones with them, so ymmv). They're particularly useful on my frequent trips to the drive-in theatre, with headphones plugged-in I can completely drown out all ambient noise. Update: Took these to the drive-in last night, at full blast the sound out of the speakers was surprisingly rich and clear with zero distortion!

Très satisfait de ce "petit" poste radio qui réponds parfaitement à ce que j'en attendais. Je me permets de le recommander.

This is a great little radio for it's size and sound. Picks up stations well but I wished the headphone jack was on the top. Well worth the money.

El producto me dejo mas que sorprendido, desde los acabados, la excelsa recepción,y la forma de sintonizar las estaciones de radio que tiene tintes retro me parece de lo mejor. La bocina que tiene en el interior cumple bastante bien, el volumen máximo que tiene el aparato receptor es bastante alto y basta con poco volumen para poder escuchar sin problema alguno. Lo estoy usando con pilas recargables y ningún queja al respecto, llevo vario días usándolo y nada al menos al momento. En cuanto al envió, fue de importación y llego vía DHL por MEXBUY un día después de lo acordado pero bien protegido el producto. 100% recomendable