cassette players and walkman

I have owned the Sony SRF-M80V for nearly a year.

I bought it for it's compactness and sound quality, because I have owned many Sony products for years and respect their quality and because I needed a radio that allowed me to use it while being very physically active outdoors: (mowing the grass, running, biking, etc.).

It's best attribute is it's sound. I am constantly amazed how good it sounds-when the signal is strong enough, that is. The 'Mega Bass' is definitely a "must have" feature. Sensitivity is fair to good, although I can get much better reception from more distant stations on my home entertainment stereo / tuner than I can on the SRF-M80V,(I live in a suburban area).

It's reception is VERY "directional" (especially when worn on your body, which is 99% of the time), as most small portable radios are. This is aggravating when you are running, walking, riding a bike, or doing just about anything except just sitting around. When you change directions, even slightly, the reception many times fades, drops out completely or you get a lot of static or "interference". However, if you sit in one place,(sit in a chair on the patio, for example), orient the unit well and don't move around a lot, you don't have this problem. It actually works much better when OFF your body. But, for a portable radio, this "directionality" can be very irritating, nonetheless. You are, obviously, going to probably strap it on your arm (as it is designed to be used) and MOVE around when using it!

Also: I am a 53 year old. My eyesight is still pretty good, but I still have a difficult time reading the very small display on this Sony without my mild prescription reading glasses! If I am riding a bike or doing some other "multi-tasking" physical activity, I have to often stop completely just to tune the radio or change one of it's settings. I know this may be a bit unfair, since the design is so small and has benefits because of it's small size, but there is ample physical room for a much larger text display - as well as some bigger keys! I think Sony messed up by not making the text display and keys much larger than they are.

Battery life is excellent. I'd recommend getting some rechargeable nickel metal hydride AAA batteries if you plan on using this radio a lot, (it uses 2 'AAA's and for the $50 bucks purchase price, you DON'T even get batteries included in the box- kinda "cheap" if you ask me!). I bought (4) Sony rechargeables and they have been great. The radio only uses 2 'AAA's at a time, but I always have 2 spares charged up when I need them.

The "key lock" capability is a really great - and you soon realize it is a totally necessary - feature!

The TV sound and weather radio channel capability is great to have also, even if you don't think it is before you buy it. I listen to them both a lot. I can cut the grass or ride my bike and listen to the audio feed for the 'ABC Evening News' news.During the recent power failures, I especially appreciated these features. Not being able to see the video is not that much of a loss, really, I have found.

Lastly, being able to wear this unit on your upper arm is a great feature,(you can also opt to wear it on your belt if you prefer). The headphone cord can be more easily run up your sleeve and under your shirt so it doesn't just hang and get caught on stuff,like the headphones cord on a wear-on-the-belt type small radio does.

I'd recommend this unit to anyone who wants a durable, quality radio receiver for an active lifestyle - but especially if you live relatively close to the broadcast towers, (like in an urban or semi-urban area). However,if you want to use it in the "boonies" a lot, I wouldn't highly recommend it. Too bad it doesn't have a small, pull up antenna (like a cell phone) to improve it's reception in difficult areas.

Bottom line: I am glad I bought it and, despite some annoyances in design, I'd buy another one if I lost or irreparably damaged mine.

I went back and forth between the Sony S2 Walkman and the Nike/Phillips Nike Sport ACT100 for a couple of months. I've read plenty of positives and negatives about both on both Amazon and Epinions. After noticing the ratio of Sonys to Nike/Phillips at my local gym (10 to 1 in Sony's favor), and striking up conversations with a few of these Sony wearers at the gym, I decided to take the plunge with the Sony. Sony throws in a free t-shirt to seal the deal (not that it was a deciding factor for me).

Having previously owned a Sony Walkman, the feel and layout of the Walkman was familiar to me. I was skeptical that the radio would actually stay on my arm (and not slide down) - but after 7 weeks of use, it has yet to slide down my arm. I'm very impressed with this part of the Walkman.

I could do without the Weather button on the Walkman. Sony designed and positioned it in such a way that it looks like one of the presets. I've accidentally hit it a few times as I was scanning through channels. One quick hit of the band button switches it back to FM, so it's not that big a deal.

The display is difficult to read while on your arm. You have to position the radio in such a way that the main part won't rub between your arm and your body when doing cardio, so the display basically sits near the back of your arm. I simply count down the places on the dial (when I'm on 94.7 and want to go to 93.8, I count down by .1 each time I hit the +/- button) - it's easier than straining to see the dial.

Reception - my biggest complaint. I don't really know if the problem is with the Walkman or the gym. I go to the gym around 8:30 every morning. My gym has 8-10 big screen tv's built into the wall that faces the cardio area (it's a huge gym - Lifetime Fitness). Each tv has it's own radio frequency so you can tune in. Personally, I like to go back and forth between CNN on the tv and Howard Stern on the radio. I only get reception for the channel Howard Stern is on if I'm in the back of the cardio area (about 15 machine rows back). Of course, by being that far back, the CNN reception is not as optimal as I'd like. It would be nice if I could receive all stations clearly at the front of the area, as that is where the best machines are!

The Walkman has a nice hold/lock feature that you can set to prevent the channel from changing or the power from going on or off. My previous Walkman did not have this, and I went through batteries like crazy because it would always turn on in my gym bag (I didn't remove the batteries because I didn't want to reset my presets every day). Some people here have complained about the fact that the hold/lock button does not lock the volume. I haven't had the volume accidentally change, so it's not an issue for me. It does sound like some people find that their volume wheel rubs against their arms though.

The headphones take some getting used to. They never feel like they're completely in my ear. I'm constantly readjusting them to get a better fit.

All in all, I'm happy with the Walkman. It's a vast improvement over my previous one, and the arm band makes it great for cardio.

I really enjoy using my armband radio. It has worked well for me even on my almost daily three mile runs. It still works even after I got caught in a downpour and got drenched. The earphone cord is a bit long, though. It is hard to find a place for it where it will not be in the way or uncomfortable. Other than that, this is the best product that I have found for myself.