Acoustic Research Portable AM/FM Radio – Black and Grey Rubberized Finish with Belt Clip, Built-in Speaker and Earbuds; Battery Operated

I have owned AR stereo speakers in the past and was satisfied with their sound quality. This is the reason I took a chance on this small transistor radio. I was not disappointed. The sound quality was crisp and clear, the tuning snd reception inside my condo on a small island surprisingly good. I was so impressed that I saved about to my friends. Having just experienced a destructive hurricane here in SW Florida and days of not power I found this radio smaller, superior and better preforming than the larger, more expensive portable battery powered radio I purchased from you last year, in fact this was the first time I attempted to use the first one and it performed miserably. In such conditions a reliable battery powered radio could make the difference between living and dying. I feel confident this AR Radio will deliver in the next storm!

I purchased this radio assuming it wouldn’t be anything special, but I am familiar with some of the history of the Acoustic Research company, so I thought I’d give it a try.The radio measures 2 inches or 51mm wide, 4.5 inches or 114mm long (includes the collapsed antenna), and 1.125 inches or 28.5mm thick (includes the belt clip). The telescopic FM antenna is 4.375 inches or 111mm in length when fully extended. The AM antenna is a flat ferrite bar located at the top front of the radio, and it is 1 inch or 25mm in length. Two AA batteries are required for power.The black portion of the exterior has a velvety rubber coating that is pleasant to handle. My only concern with the coating is that it may become sticky as it slowly breaks down over time. I was able to operate the controls without issue using one hand.Unlike many other radios at around the same price, I was surprised to see that the enclosure of this radio isn’t secured together with clips. Four screws on the back side hold it together, two near the top and another two in the battery compartment. Once those are removed, the case opens right up, but there are a couple wires connecting the battery compartment to the circuit board, so be careful if you decide to take a look inside.The headphone jack is solid and presented no problems. I heard no static when I tried to wobble the headphone plug in the jack, nor when I rotated the plug. Headphone audio was actually not bad at all. I would have liked a bit more bass, but overall it was pleasing to my ears.I prefer to use headphones with small radios like this one because the small speakers are not the most pleasant sounding. That holds true for this one. Not much bass, not an overwhelming tinny sound, so sort of a neutral, middle of the road sound.I like the tuning control. The ease of movement is very smooth and I found it worked nicely to make slight adjustments when slowly working my way through the AM and FM bands. That being said, because there isn’t much resistance to turning it, I could see this being a problem should one keep the radio in a pocket as it would likely change the frequency if jostled around.My use of radio belt clips is rare, but the one on this radio feels like it should be able to stand up to some wear and tear.The volume control on this radio surprised me. Many inexpensive pocket radios have a control that cranks up the volume with just a slight turn. No so with this one. It requires quite a bit of adjustment to make a significant change to the volume. This is quite nice as it means not worrying about any surprise loudness.The DSP was also not bad, and I’d say it is better implemented in comparison to other similarly priced radios. I heard no weird, subtle sounds while moving through the tuning steps. I experienced soft muting only a few times while slowly crawling through the FM band, and even then I was still able to hear the station without having to turn up the volume.An issue I did notice after a while was that the tuning needle was not always accurate. I’m not sure if this was the fault of the DSP, or the tuning control, or both. Initially it looked good as I checked for a fairly distant station at 88.1. While slowly working my way through the FM band, the frequency indicator needle got further and further from the correct spot. When I reached the local 107.9 station, the indicator was lined up with the 4 in 104 on the dial.Reception is nothing special. On FM I was able to pick up all of the strong stations I’d expect to hear, and a handful of faint stations that took some fine tuning and changes to antenna orientation before I could make out callsigns. AM was the same, no problem hearing strong stations, but not many faint ones. The sensitivity just isn't there.The last thing worth mentioning is that this radio is very strongly affected by hand capacitance. I was frequently able to improve reception, changing a station from barely perceptible to extremely clear, by holding the radio with both hands or by setting the radio down and moving away. Holding it only on the side opposite the FM antenna typically made reception worse.

Thats all that matters. but for the sake of a comprehensive review:Sound quality 7/10 it is passableBattery Life 10/10 long lasting on those AA batteries compared to other portable radios.Volume Control 6/10 the volume control could be a bit more accurate. I have to turn a a good amount of degrees before you start to notice the increase. Also the tuning dial may be accidentally shifted while out and about, but it hasnt happened too often.Nice gift for an older person. Good Emergency Radio too

AR was famous for their stereo speakers and components. When I saw this radio, I had to give it a try. It is amazing the quality and volume from this one little speaker. The reception is great. I tested it against an Apple docking station with 2 3" speakers and 12" antenna for the radio. The Apple with antenna extended was breaking up and had static. This AR sounded great on same station right beside the Apple. I went to a place with better reception and tried both again. Actually even though mono the AR produced a better sound in both the first and second location on both FM stations. The outer case has a non-slip rubber coating. The dial is a slide rule type. The only thing is the reception on this radio is so good it picks up many more stations than other radios so tuning is bit finicky. Once on station it does not drift. I do find that picking up and handling the radio I do knock it off station sometimes.

I bought this radio to listen to baseball games on while outside working around the house and what not.It worked great for about a month then the receiver went out completely and was unable to hear anything in including static on it.

I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO GIVE THIS PRODUCT 5 STARS BECAUSE OMG! IT ONLY COST TEN DOLLARS!!!!!!!!!AND ONE NEVER SEES AN 'AM/FM PORTABLE RADIO' THAT HAS SUCH A SUPERIOR AUDIO SOUND FOR TEN BUCKS. HOWEVER, THE EARBUDS JUST WILL NOT STAY IN YOUR EARS, UNLESS 1 CAN HOLD 1 IN AN EAR TIL YOUR HEAD HITS THE PILLOW AND THAT WILL KEEP THE BUD IN PLACE, THAT IS, AS LONG AS YOU DONT MOVE YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE EXACT POSITION THAT IT WAS IN INITIALLY. UNFORTUNATELY I MOVE A BIT WHILE SLEEPING SO MY FIRST MOVE OF THE NITE DISLODGES THE EARBUD FROM MY EAR, FORTUNATELY I USUALLY HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP AND MY SPOUSE'S OUTLANDISH SNORES ARENT BOTHERING ME MUCH BY THAT TIME. I AM UNABLE TO KEEP BOTH BUDS IN BOTH EARS AT SAME TIME AS THEY SIMPLY FALL OUT OF EARS. BUT I CANT OVERSTATE ENOUGH THAT WHILE ONLY EXPERIENCING 1 BUD AT A TIME, THE SOUND WAS WONDERFUL AND I CANT EVEN IMAGINE HOW INCREDIBLE IT WOULD SOUND IF I WAS ABLE TO USE BOTH AT SAME TIME. FINALLY, THE AUDIO WITHOUT USING THE BUDS WAS ACCEPTABLE AND MUCH BETTER QUALITY THAN A 'TEN DOLLAR TRANSITOR TYPE AM/FM RADIO' WOULD INDICATE.

This is a good little radio I use at work for background noise. The battery only lasted about two and a half weeks, but I do use it a lot. It does what I need it to do.

Acoustic Research used to be a real brand. Like almost every famous brand,the branding was either bought and licensed to China. It's ok but they could have pushed an extra 1/4 watt to the speaker.