Customer Reviews

Sony ICF-S79V Weather Band Shower Radio

5 star:		(241)
4 star:		(61)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

If you've ever bought a shower radio (I've bought & tried several), you know that they all s*#k. This is the first one that DOESN'T s*#k. Not the slightest bit. This one is fantastic.

It's got a digital tuner - no dealing with tiny tuning knobs and guessing if you're on the right station. It's got an accurate digital clock. It's got weather band. It's got tv audio (channels 2 thru 13). It's got an antenna wire with a suction cup at the end so you can actually better tune in your station. All the function buttons are simple & waterproofed. The sound is great - for a mono shower radio. It's got a heavy duty string to hang it on your shower head, or just set it on any flat surface - it's solid and will stay still. And to top it off, 3 C batteries in this thing last forever - instead of a single 9 volt or a few AA's that other shower radios usually have. Sony did good here.

Just buy it. Then buy another whenever you can't think of a good gift to get someone - people LOVE getting this as a gift. I've given several.

I looked at several brands of AM FM TV Weather radios for use during severe weather when power might be out. I was searching for specific features:

1. Battery power (for power outages)

2. TV band (tornado tracking is sophisticated enough to get down to street-level tracking on TV. NWS hasn't caught up yet)

3. Decent sound quality

This radio met all my needs with the added bonus of being water-resistant. (I must admit I am baffled by the term as EVERYTHING is water-resistant to one degree or another.)

Reception is good in all areas of my home (including those areas where we cower when tornados are lurking). The radio includes a wire antenna for FM reception which stows in the battery compartment.

Sony recommends leaving the three "C" cells in the radio and changing them every year. This maintains the time and radio presets.

Pros: Good reception, solid design, handy controls, good sound.
Cons: Bigger than some.

To avoid finding the radio with dead batteries (or worse, corrosion in the battery compartment), I set reminders in my Palm to change various batteries annually.

I've had this radio for a year now. I use it most mornings for 20 - 30 minutes, and I'm still on the original batteries. I have it hanging on the shower wall where it occasionally gets splashed. I haven't had any trouble at all with it not being waterproof. I think the sound is good quality, and the digital tuner and pre-set buttons are easy to use. I like the one touch on/off button as well. I would highly recommend it, and would like one for our second bathroom as well. For the price, it's a real bargain!

Having tried almost ever shower radio on the market -- I was close to giving up until I saw this one. Granted it costs more than the "average" shower radios -- but there is reason. It works! You also save tons of money on batteries as it just doesn't eat them like the others. My husband and I both use this in the a.m. and we each have different radio stations we like. We have not had trouble pre-setting the channels or switching back and forth between them. Seems like the more negative reviews of this product are due to placement of the radio. Keep it out of direct waterfalls; maybe get a small shower shelf to place it where you can easily see and use the controls? Lastly, the timer-off button is my favorite. I set it for 20 mins; giving me time to shower and finish up in the bathroom in the a.m. before heading to work. You don't have to worry about getting back in the wet shower area to turn it off. Give this a try - treat it well and you'll be happy !

I really enjoyed this shower radio. It sounds great, it has a digital tuner with many presets, and it gets good reception. But, after using it for about a year it stopped working. Water had seeped into the back of the radio and caused one of the batteries to leak, and the leaking acid in turn had corroded a wire. I'll probably get another one, but keep in mind that this radio is not completely waterproof.

Seems like the nicest shower radio out there, and has a lot of nice features, but is not very water proof. First one quit working, and when I opened the battery compartment, it was completely rusted. It was hung on a towel rack at the far end of the shower, and didn't have a whole lot of direct water sprayed at it. I tried to clean it out, but I think too much water had gotten in and fried the unit. We ended up throwing it out. We liked the radio so much we thought we'd give it another chance and purchased another one. The second one started to have the same problem. I cleaned up the battery compartment and let if air out for a few days and it started working again. We now only use it on the bathroom counter. I still think it's a nice radio, but not really worth it if it can't be used in the shower. I think if the battery compartment cover had a better rubber gasket, and was able to be tightened down, then it would be perfect.

I bought this radio, 3 years ago, they havent
changed it. This radio has survived,
Thunderstorms, outside,camping. Very hot showers.....
A two year old dropping it on the floor.
Just last week , my 3 year old pulled the antenna wire
off,and it still picks up f.m. Wow.
I am going to buy another one.
I feel this radio is definately worth the money!!!
Would make a nice gift for a radio person.

This shower radio cost a bit more than other shower radios for a reason. It works! It's built solid and has lots of nice features. The volume knob is easy to use with wet hands. The digital tuner tunes 'right on' and pulls in the stations I've had a hard time getting with other radios. There are 5 presets for each band AM,FM1,FM2,TV, and Weather that make it EZ to change stations when all soaped up. The digital clock is a nice feature so you know how late you are. It also has a timer(good for kitchen use I guess) and several auto off delays. The speaker sounds nice too and isn't tinny. I tried several other shower radios before this one and they were all junk. I am very happy with this one. Well worth the extra cost. I guess you get what you pay for.

The Sony ICF-S79V is a another good example of the old phrase "you get what you pay for". At $50 I was hesitant to purchase this radio but I'm delighted I did, it is worth every cent.

1. Battery life is simply amazing, I listen to it for a minimum of 1-2 hours each and every day and I'm still on the first set of batteries after 5 months, I've even accidentally left it on for the entire day several times. Wow!

2. Excellent reception for all bands; Am, Fm, Tv, and Weather.

3. Simple, convenient buttons and operation. The o

4. Peace of mind with water resistance, I've not placed it in the shower but do have it in the bathroom which often gets quite steamy.

5. Excellent sound for the type of radio it is, clear and loud.

6. Small footprint takes up little space.

7. Like the wire antenna, didn't think I would at first. It is better than a hard antenna sticking up waiting to be bumped and/or broken.

8. Timer and auto-off timer are quite nice also, even though I sometimes forget to use the auto-off timer.

9. Digital tuning and display makes it simple to find the station you are looking for.

10. The fit and finish is outstanding, the radio looks and feels very well constructed.

Overall a worthy purchase.

I had one of these for 5 years. It finally died, only because the button covering wore thin from use and water got into where it wasn't suppose to. The batteries last a really long time and the timer is crucial! Other radios that don't have this feature run through batteries quickly.

I bought a fancy CD radio from Sharper Image and it totally sucks. The batteries last about a week or two and it doesn't have a timer. What it does have is a sleep alarm that you can accidently hit and have go off in the middle of the night.

I'm returning my Sharper Image radio and buying another Sony. Best $50 bucks I've ever spent. With the weather radio feature it can really come in handy.