Customer Reviews

Panasonic RF-SW50R Shockwave Portable Radio (Red)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I workout a lot of times in the gym and run on the treadmill all the times.i mostly carry the waist pouch with CD/radio but it's inconvinient all of the time switching the bag left and right in order to avoid hiting something.when i run in the treadmill, the pouch bag also bounch up and down.
I've been looking for armband radio that come with am/fm radio and i think this one solve the problem. the sound is Great with extra bass (XBS) on all station. even my wife try it and love it, now i need to buy another one for myself co'z she got the first one i have.
Overall , Highly recommend
Nat

First and most imporantly the reception is AWESOME! Very very stable! 10 times better reception than Sony SRF-M37V radio walkman. The indoor reception is great and outdoor is flawless! I had the sony walkman and when I walk around my neighborhood it picked up a lot of static, very annoying, the reception seems to fade in and out, gets worse if unit is placed in jacket pocket. Then I got this Panasonic and walked the same route, no static! Very rarely this radio gets static, even if there's static(rare) its very faint and only happens indoor. Bad thing about this unit is lack of belt clip but the armband is great. I tooked the armband off the clip and added a small cloth band so I can 'slide' it to my belt, worth the hassle because the reception is just that super solid. Buttons design could be better, the volume dial, dx/local switch, bass switch are located on bottom of the unit, would be better if on top... Too bad there's no TV reception. The size of this unit is not small, its slightly taller and wider than Sony but thinner. Overall this radio is awesome!

The RF-SW50 is a hot-looking, portable radio, with an XBS bass booster that really works. Every morning, on my way to the train station, I listen to 1010 Wins on AM. Whenever there is a commercial, I would switch to my favorite FM station, Z100, and listen to music. The transition between the stations is extremely easy and convenient. Panasonic made the radio simple to use. One button does it all: turns on the radio, switches between bands, and changes channels. The quality is GREAT on both AM and FM.
However, there is one minor problem with this product. When I purchased my first RF-SW50, after continuouse use for about 6 months, it suddenly broke down. The On button would't work, and there was nothing I could do to fix it. I tried installing new batteries. I knew that the mechanism inside was working, because I could see the "lock" icon on the screen when it was Off. I have read other people's reviews with the similar issue.
You're wondering why I still bought a second radio of the exact same model. I bought it because i believe it is one of the best portable radios out there, considering its price. I noticed that everybody who complained about the radio breaking down said it happened after a few months. When i looked at the specs of the radio, i saw that the radio had a 1-year warranty. I thought ot myself, "if i keep my reciept, and the box, i can be sure that if the product does break down again, i will be able to send it back to Panasonic and receive a new one."
Overall, this is a great product. It is easy to use, stylish, and very useful. Just remember to keep your receipt and box, so that in case of a malfunction within a year, you will be able to send it in to Panasonic and receive a new one.

I previously owned this radio and was very careful with it, but it stopped working after about 1 1/2 years due to a design flaw. I babied this radio and kept it in a protective case, but it began to malfunction and ultimately stopped working. The casing and buttons do not protect the radio's circuit board. Mild pressure to either the case or the buttons began to turn it off, and it then stopped working. Panasonic is normally a very reliable brand, but not in this case. A much better alternative is the Coby CX-9 mini digital AM/FM stereo pocket radio with neck strap, also sold by Amazon. This is an awesome radio, especially for the price! The reception is great and the control buttons are easy to use. I've owned the Coby radio for several months and have been very pleased. It has a clip you can attach to your pants/shorts/shirt pocket, or you can hang it from a strap around your neck. You can't go wrong with the Coby radio!

THIS RADIO IS A MUST FOR ANYONE LISTENING TO THE GAME AT THE STADIUM. IT IS LIGHT WEIGHT AND DOESN'T GET IN YOUR WAY WHILE YOU ENJOY THE GAME. THE RECEPTION WAS VERY SURPRISING. I FOULD I COULD GET SIGNALS FROM STATIONS MILES AWAY. THE CONTROLS ARE EASY TO OPERATE AND THE SOUND QUALITY IS VERY GOOD FOR THIS PRICE.

This is the 4th radio of this type I've owned, the last being a Sony SRFM73. After reading the poor reviews of the Sony sucessor version, I decided to give this Panasonic a try. I must say that I' ve been a little disappointed in my first impression. If you're considering this unit you should be aware that the headset is very weak. I don't like the way it fits in my ears, and the minijack doesn't sit properly in the socket, so that when I first plugged in, there was no sound, and I had to fiddle around with it to get a connection. Then I would lose good connection when the cord was bumped. I ended up using the head phones from the Sony, which work better. That said, I don't think the reception is that great. The sound was a little fuzzy. Things I like, are the small size and the price.

I have been using this radio for a very long time. If you are a serious radio listener(especially talk radio), you want to get a radio that has station memory. One of my only complains is that there is a lack of a belt clip. The headphones that come with them are okay, but I ended up getting another set because the original set kind of hurt my ears. If you are worried about the battery use, just do like I did and get a rechargeable battery set. They help anyway if you have some other devices that eat up batteries. I go to school at Georgia Tech and I commute, so I get bad reception in many places, however, it's like that with other radios also. I find that the analog tuners cannot get my favorite AM radio stations. I remember just sitting there tuning forever. It's just a waste of time. This reception is almost as good as my car radio. They are great if you want to go to the stadium and hear the game while watching because some stadiums require small radios that don't get a great signal, but this model has a reception that is just about as good as you can get.

The radio broke only after a few months of normal indoor use at the gym(8-10 hours per week). Some of the preset buttons stopped working first. Soon thereafter, the unit just stopped working completely. Very disappointed with the purchase.

These FM tuners must be quirky little things and highly dependent on local conditions. All I can say is I could not receive any of the local FM stations I wanted to listen to in the middle of Washington, D.C. nor the nearby suburb of Arlington, Va., not using the stock headphones nor my good Sony earbuds. Not on the regular or "city" sensitivity setting. Bah! Back to Amazon with these.

This radio is super light weight so that it stays on your arm. The controls are easy to learn and use.(even for 50+).The tuner is excellent.This would make a great gift for any male 7-70.