SRF-18 Portable AM/FM Stereo Speaker with Built-In Amplifier

We wanted a small portable radio to move around between the workshop, the truck and the below-grade basement. As expected, this radio (and none of the other radios and antennas we've tried) cannot pick up AM stations here in the mountains. But this little guy picks up FM stations from as far as 200 miles away, even in the basement. Other than a low price for good quality, though, we also really wanted an mp3/cellphone/iphone port so we can listen to audiobooks and our music files while travelling in our truck, which is too old to offer an mp3 plugin to the truck speakers. Now, even when driving down an interstate in the rain, this little radio allows us to listen to a book, our music, etc. The sound quality is perfectly acceptable, though not as good as the truck speakers. NOTE: this radio does not plug in to AC or to cigarette lighters. It is solely battery powered, but we use the Eneloop batteries and a smart charger to make recharging simple, quick and relatively inexpensive. After a month of use, we found this radio to be a good buy that looks pretty durable.

I can't stop smiling :) this radio is that good! Buy one and join the "be happy" clubhouse. Hap-Hap-Happy! this radio is so fine. I'm totally biased in my opinion for your information. Sony fanboy forever. Features I like about this radio: * FM Stereo....through headphones...through it's own dual speakers. * Audio in...plays back in stereo! * AM Reception is fantastic, will do a band scan in the future. * Audio out. * It's a Sony. * Nice analog controls...so easy to tune. * Headphone port is clear with no noise at low levels..sweet! * Overall look, its so sleek. * Audio quality is great for small speakers..I'm not into bass..it's perfect for me. Features that could be added or improved on: * LED power indicator. Important. * Dial on front instead of top. If you have $45 to drop, buy this radio now and enjoy some sweet tunes! Its so good. Really, pass up all those smaller portables, even the 306...this radio will make you smile...I'm still smiling :)

This is a stereo radio, and it seems that the last SRF series radio was produced in 1980s. So I purchased it at once when I saw it on sale. By the way, look around, I purchased it lower than $30. In terms of functions, it has a stereo sound, which is very rare in today's radio market. Its small stereo speakers do provide clear and fuller sound for a single people indoor listening. Its reception is very good, better than my $10 Sony ICF-S10MK2, and Sony sw-33 shortwave radio's Fm reception. Besides, this radio has a stereo earphone jack. For many people, stereo earphone jack may be thought as a of-course function in any audio piece today, however this is the only Sony FM/AM Radio in today's market coming with both speakers and stereo headphone jack.(Before the coming of this one, i think that only Sony short wave radio priced more than $100 has stereo headphone jack ). This jack is a great plus to many people need it. This radio has another function: to serve as a media dock to play the music put into it. For this function, its small speakers provide the sound what they can provide. I have no complain for this part. Now, why do I give 4 star? its stereo headphone jack is not as good as Sony sw-33 I have. I think that main problem is output power. It can not drive 300ohm Sennheiser HD600 headphone properly, though it can handle sony v6 headphone. But sony has the tech in its shortwave radio to drive 300ohm headphone. So hope that sony can upgrade this part in the new update of the radio. By the way, if sony can make this radio drive 300ohm headphone as its shortwave radios, then this radio can even be used as a headphone amplifier. In short, if you do not know what I am complaining about, then this is a five star radio. Maybe, I expect too much for $30 bulks. ----------------------------------- Update 12/07/2018 I come back to buy another one for my office. This small radio has magic in filtering the digital feeling of songs from laptop and iphone, and make them feel like old radio warm songs. Now, when I am working with my laptop, I connect this radio to the laptop and play youtube music at the background. The sound from this radio is so different from the sound directly from speakers of the laptop. It is also different from any Bluetooth connection speakers. The sound is simply warm and sweet for 1 ft or 2ft away one person listening.

At last! A compact radio lacking nothing. Sony got this right as few manufacturers do. Here's what I like: (1) Both FM and AM bands (2) Great tuner, no drift (3) Compact, no larger than a 10K strap (4) Stereo speakers (5) Stereo head phone out (6) Audio in and audio out (7) Tuner light (8) Swing-out collapsible antenna (9) Pleasant speaker sound (10) Phenomenal out-put sound (11) Concise intelligent physical design (12) Requires only 2 AA batteries with easy access and replacement. (13) Radio plays till BOTH batteries are exhausted and that goes for NiMHs. I plugged this little radio into my Bose room mates, and WOW! Take it with me while gardening, grocery shopping, etc. I pray this never breaks, and if it does that they don't try to "improve" it.

I like this small radio just fine. I knew it was going to be small but it turned out to be smaller than I anticipated. I keep it on a high shelf in my bathroom. The sound quality is excellent. There are two reasons why I rated it less than perfect. First, the power button is located on the right side of radio. When I reach up there to turn it off or on I often move the tuner wheel that is on the top. This happens because I have to steady it on top as I turn it on/off. This happens because it's so small…and I keep it high on a shelf. Also, I've found it cutting out some times. I'm not sure what's happening there. I think the tuner had gone off station perhaps. I'll have to watch this and see if it continues. All in all, I can recommend this radio. If you're looking for a small radio with excellent sound then you'll like this radio.

I am accustomed to having music play in the background while at work. Many would agree with me that music helps improve the working environment. That is, unless it keeps skipping or shutting down, spurring a mood that is quite the opposite. With all the modern day gadgetry available, it's just a matter of picking which of those gadgets best suits the purpose, and does so at the least expense. Don’t forget about this remarkable little Sony SRF-18 that proves why an AM/FM stereo radio should still enjoy a high priority at a time when Smartphones are the primary device for keeping up with current events. Remembering the 1950s, a simple solid state electronic design like a portable AM radio impacted society in a very huge way. They touted the industry's latest breakthrough - the transistor, and everyone carried one of these radios in their pocket just like they do with the Smartphones of today. But they didn't have to stare into them for 24/7. The Sony SRF-18 is a huge improvement over those simple radios with limited transistors of 60 years ago because it now plays FM stations, and also plays music in stereo (both of which didn't even exist in those days). But there is more. The reception and playback components are better, there are more stations to tune into, and it works so well that it is doubtful anyone would even care how many transistors are included in the circuitry. The biggest plus is in its inherent reliability to stream local radio stations without interruption. It doesn’t really matter how well the phone is designed when your music stream suddenly stops for reasons unknown. Not only do the phone services cost more money than it is worth, but it is disappointing when everything has stopped streaming because of complications in an unreliable phone service. And that's not all. This radio has an AUXiliary IN port, an AUXiliary OUT port, and a headphone jack (all are stereo). This combination usually found on more expensive radios means there is a huge ability to enrich the enjoyment offered by attaching it to power components like a boom box, or power speakers. Also, Bluetooth is very much a possibility using some very inexpensive accessory components without being physically built into this radio that is not much bigger than a Smartphone (but costs a whole lot less). Simply enough, you don't need a huge and expensive radio to accomplish what this one serves as a basis, and does so very well. My only wish is that Sony will provide a simple little external power input on any follow-up models of the SRF-18, and keep the two AA batteries for when backup power is necessary.

So I just needed a basic radio with an audio-in jack that's small enough to stash just about anywhere. This is the one I picked out, and it works great. It's hand-held size, I can easily tune into most of the usual stations around here, and when that gets old I can plug in an analog audio source. With fully charged batteries the volume can get pretty loud, although the sound quality isn't amazing. Great for talk radio, not so much for Radiohead, but I've found that setting it up a few inches in front of something solid helps keep the tinny-ness down. Using the built in amp and pass-through jacks to boost an audio source or a set of headphones is interesting, but I haven't found any particular use for it yet. Lastly, a fairly fresh pair of AA batteries lasted for about a month of regular use. All things considered, I'm pretty pleased with this thing.

Just wanted something small to listen to baseball games in my area. This is a little bigger than a smartphone, and receives good reception. Speakers are small and do not sound very good for music, but it is adequate and convenient since you can connect a portable device (iPod, tablet, whatever has a headphone jack). I connect my phone or iPod to it using the supplied phono cable and play music while doing chores or cooking. The external antenna is only for FM and it folds out of way for my purposes. Runs on 2 AA batteries and doesn't consume much power at all. Very simple device built with quality components. Hope it lasts 20 years!

Works all day on a set of batteries. Nice and small too which will make it great for camping or listening to the game.

Design and quality is too good. Reception quality is great. Is compact and handy. Has Audio - IN and OUT feature which make it cool.

very very good

This is almost perfect -Sound was as expected -Even smaller than I thought -still running on the same batteries after at least 50 hours use -I knocked this in the pool by accident and took 30 seconds to get out, took the batteries out right away and let it dry.. still works the same -the only disappointment is a lot of the stations blend in together with the tuner being so small and its really hard to get it just right -frequencies don't match up with the numbers on the radio too well making it even harder I'd sacrifice some battery life for a digital tuner

Great sound and perfect for a black out