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Sony ICF-M410V Portable AM/FM/TV/Weather Radio

Sony ICF-M410V Portable AM/FM/TV/Weather Radio

List Price: $59.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: don't buy -- especially from J&R Music World
Review: At work, we ordered this for the office. When we ordered, amazon wasn't selling it directly -- you had to purchase through an amazon affiliate, J&R Music World, and you had to pay shipping. What you don't see in any of the specs is that THIS RADIO DOES NOT COME WITH AN A/C ADAPTER. The A/C adapter costs $19.88 through J&R, and who-knows-how-much through Sony, the manufacturer. I don't understand how this radio came to be in amazon's "Top Selling" list with that grievous omission. It's probably the most returned radio as well... if you can return it.

J&R has a 14-day return policy, and you foot the S&H for it all. Various members of our office took it home to find an A/C adaptor for it among their odds and ends, but none worked. By the time we decided to return it, we couldn't. And the A/C adapter comes at an outrageous scalper's price!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Radio .....but NO PLUG included!!
Review: Buy this radio-- but buy the plug along with it!!!
I love these Radios w/TV sound reception!! (great for the office, kitchen, bathroom, BLACKOUTS!!) I've owned others- a Sony, a GE and a hand held portable/transistor - so I've got a lot to compare.
This radio is VERY nicely designed--compact and portable; easy to read and set. Sound quality is VERY clear and it's nice to have the sleep timer and push button tuning (MUCH better than to fish for the stations on a dial).
The color: "putty" is a bit outdated. (Black would have been better), but it'll do.
All and all it's a GREAT little radio!!!
But....here's the disappointing news....There's NO adaptor included!! NO way to plug it in.
WHY??
You'd think those adaptors would be the easiest thing to include. (how many old ones have I thrown out??!)
Anyway, it says that you HAVE to use a 4.5v adaptor (and of course what's left in my junk drawer are a 3, a 9 and a 5.5v).
So now I have to figure out where to pick up this adaptor!
And that's why it only received 4 stars!
Also--I don't remember being prompted by Amazon to make this additonal purchase when I added this item to my shopping cart. (...Hint to Amazon...)

Anyway, just be sure to purchase the adaptor when you buy this radio and you'll be a happy camper (these TV/radios are GREAT for camping, too...)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great radio!
Review: Great radio, very nice sound, compact size! The weather band and TV band comes in loud and clear. The AM/FM reception is excellent. A terrific compact radio at an excellent price! The memory settings are an added plus. You can't go wrong with this one. Better than other radios of this size with the the same features.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: static noise uwing the ac adaptor and AM
Review: I bought this radio for AM usage. when you plug it in with AC, you get noise on AM. sony discontinued the old adaptor that had no problem with nose and introduced this one. i thought sony meant quality. this radio is junk for me and i am returning it. i called sony and they were aware of it, but not too concerned. they told me to search the net and find the old adaptor. it sells at a premium, no thanks sony.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: it is a pity that fm is not stereo sound
Review: I got this radio, and found that it is mono output to the earphone of FM, it is really a pity, if is a stereo output!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: All in one and it's a Sony
Review: I just ordered my third radio simply because we find ourselves carrying our "bathroom" ones around to different rooms and outdoors as its TV reception and weather functions are so handy. Tonal quality is excellent for a small radio. Its vertical and thin design takes up less space than comparable radios. I live about 90 miles from the nearest TV station and the reception is good although you have to align the radio for reception. On weather mode I inexplicably have to increase the volume for a station located in our city. Given how handy and portable the radio is, a small handle would have been nice.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: solid performance for its class
Review: I listen to AM for news in the morning and evening, and classical or jazz FM on occasion. I am not a radio expert as some of the previous reviewers, but have a quality stereo for serious music listening.

I purchased this radio to replace a similarly priced Radio Shack model which broke after 6 months. I did not want to get another from Radio Shack, nor buy a second Grundig G-2000A (the "Porsche" design -- nice enough, but pricey for the sound quality). As some reviewers have noted, there does not seem to be much selection among portable table radios. I use it in the kitchen in the morning and around dinner, and sometimes move it around if I am working elsewhere in the house (the Grundig sits in the bathroom).

This radio has done a fine job for a product of its size and price. The sound is relatively full and rich (it's not a Bose, but then it costs a tenth the price), though a bit on the darker side. I have had no trouble with its reception or frequency drift, but I do live in a city, so rural users may have a different experience. It separates channels well. I get all the TV and several weather channels in my area but don't use these features. It does not equal a desktop stereo, but then, I think that would be an unrealistic expectation for its size and price.

The memory presets are convenient, and the radio has both a sleep and an alarm function (you can set it to come on at a certain time, but not make an actual alarm sound). The controls are intuitive. Construction quality seems good but not great; it is mostly plastic. It is a bit too large to be an ideal travel radio/alarm.

Some reviewers commented about a few things which are of less importance to me. The picture alone makes it clear this is a mono device; in any event, a radio this small isn't going to have sufficient separation (or power) to give much in the way of stereo. If you want stereo, spend a bit more and get a larger radio, or save the space and get a walkman type device with good headphones. No AC adapter is included, which is admittedly kind of cheap on Sony's part. Still, something this size is primarily meant to be portable; if you aren't going to move it, and sound quality is your main concern, check out higher end radios (e.g. Tivoli, larger Grundigs) or get a nice stereo clock radio in the $50-100 range.

Negatives include the styling, which looks like a small purse (as another reviewer said), and the plastic is a flat off white color, not very appealing. It lacks either a sophisticated or a relaxed appearance, in my opinion. It has no night light, further diminishing its use as a travel alarm/radio. It seems picky about battery power, reporting low batteries with batteries that run other radios without difficulty.

This radio has served my needs well, but is not outstanding. I am happy with its performance, reception, portability, and ease of use. If your priority is the best sound quality, and you are willing to sacrifice a bit in the other areas, you would be better off with a different choice.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great performance for the price!
Review: I needed a radio with great AM sensitivity and portability. I checked out a number of radios and found the GE 7-2887 Superadio III to be the best, but the size was just too big.

The AM sensitivity of this Sony unit is great! I live in a mountainous region of Arizona and use the unit mainly to listen to talk radio. The daytime AM station is almost 100 miles away and most radios have difficulty even picking it up. This one shines! I attribute this mainly to the larger than normal internal ferrite bar antenna and decent circuitry.

The speaker is large enough to listen at volume, without distortion, and with very good tonal quality for a 3" speaker. I did not notice distortion at "normal" listening levels, nor did I expect to have stereo sound in a radio of this price range.

When listening to AM I use rechargeable batteries. They last 60 hours on average.

FM sensitivity is also very good when compared to other units I tested. The digital frequency readout also appears to be accurate, a problem that often plagues cheaper units. Due to my remote location I could not verify the selectivity of the unit (ability to separate strong radio signals that are close to each other in frequency).

The radio seems to pick up weather stations that have at least a moderate signal. Weak signals simply will not be heard. The unit also has problems with selectivity on this band as even a moderate signal (mine is 30 miles away) washes over onto all the weather frequencies. This is not a problem for most folks, but would be a concern if you live mid-point between two transmitting weather stations.

As "over the air" TV reception is not possible in my area this feature could not be evaluated.

The shuttle style tuner, clock, sleep and activation timer is a great plus!

Bottom line... this is the best portable radio you can buy in this price range!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Just what I needed
Review: I needed a radio with sensitivity (to lock onto a fairly weak station) and selectivity (to block out a nearby strong station). This radio does both extremely well. The sound quality is good for a radio this size. I can't think of anything that it doesn't do well.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Look elsewhere if you need Weatherband...
Review: I received this radio from amazon today and am happy with it except for the faulty Weatherband. (It's the tuner that's bad: all 7 weather channels tune to the same frequency, and none of them well, compared to my smaller, cheaper, older Radio Shack Weather Cube). Sony's technical support was of no help whatsoever, referring me to NOAA's frequency guide on the web. Weatherband shortcomings aside, the radio fits perfectly on a narrow ledge (like a window sill); the 3-inch speaker sounds great for its size, and the five presets per band are adequate for me. The TV channels perform well, too. However, I wonder where amazon gets the inflated "list price" is shows, when 39.99 is the regular price sony sells this model for on its own "sonystyle.com" website. But for $40 or less, it's a good value and performs well (except for the Weatherband, which could be a defect only in the radio I received). Made in China, by the way, not in Japan.


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