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Reviews For: Sony ICF-704S

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Sony ICF-704S
Reviews: 1MSRP: 69
Description:
Portable 3 band radio
Product is in production
More Info: http://Sony
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0014
VK2GJF Rating: 2014-01-20
Good portable radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Having an interest in high performing MW radios, I thought I'd take a punt and purchase this radio to determine if it is indeed a good performer on the MW band. Make no mistake, this radio is designed just to be a portable domestic AM/FM with shortwave with no pretense to be a DXer.I was lucky to locate a service manual and noticed that the radio shares a lot of the same architecture as the popular Sony ICF-S10Mk2 pocket radio. It shares the same chip namely the CXA1019S as the Mk2. It obviously has a larger ferrite rod than the Mk2 and is touted to have good audio. So how does it perform? On MW, while not as good as the Sony EX5-Mk2 or the Sangean PR-D5, it certainly can boast very good MW performance. I was able to receive the daytime marker stations and it showed good sensitivity and reasonable selectivity. On SW, the radio is very sensitive however it lacks any fine tuning control making tuning this analogue radio an art-form. You need the patience and dexterity to tune around but it receives well. Unfortunately, it only had coverage from 5.95 to 18 mhz so some of the important SW bands are left out. On FM, the radio is reasonably sensitive but not a DX'er. This radios strong point is the powerful audio it achieves making listening enjoyable. From 4 AA batteries or AC input, the radio is versatile. So if you are looking for a portable radio that's fun to use and can be used in the shed, I can recommend it. There are hours of tuning pleasure with this radio! It is a bit plasticy but for the price, you cant expect a top shelf radio. Recommended.