Sony SRF-59 Ultralight Has Good AM, But Don't Expect Strong FM

Another Radio Lover Who Can't be Cured who goes by the moniker "Michigan Radio Addict," writes this about the Sony SRF-59:

Picked up one of these a couple of months ago. I'd heard the raves from the ultralight crowd, and for the price, the headphones alone are worth it. AM reception is quite good, though the dial calibration is laughable. 

I was disappointed with the FM reception, however. The SRF-59 lacks a dedicated FM antenna, and uses the headphone cord in lieu of that. For me, at least, this isn't a good solution. Lots of hiss on most of the FM stations I regularly listen to. It would be helpful if the radio had the ability to switch from Stereo to Mono to clarify weak signals. Instead, there's a Local/DX switch for FM, but even on DX, I can't get decent reception. 

If the FM stations you want to listen to are reliably strong, or if you only want AM, this is an excellent buy. And as I said, the headphones are good enough that even if you bought this and just threw away the radio (yes, I realize that's a mortal sin), you still wouldn't feel ripped off.

Comments

[ix]

i dropped 25 on SRF-39fp on ebay, to see what the fuss is about, and since i lacked a basic am/fm walkman

indeed, the FM is hard to achieve quieting, and the AFC is so aggressive it often locks onto a powreful signal like 1 mhz away from where you want it.

[Account Deleted]

Russian (European) version which I have has Mono/Stereo switch instead of DX/Local