Sony ICF38 Portable AM/FM Radio (Black)
AM/FM Tuner — gives you access to AM/FM radio.High Power/Good Sound Output — makes this an excellent portable for all-around use, at home and away. Ideal radio to have around the house during severe weather or power outages. LED Tuning Indicator — helps provide precise station tuning even in dim light. Tone Control Switch — lets you adjust high/low balance for most pleasing sound. Built-In Carrying Handle — for easy portability. 3 5/8″ Speaker — reproduces a wide range of sound from high to low frequencies. Earphone Jack — for personal listening. Operates on Batteries or AC — with 4 “AA” batteries, or on AC with built-in power cord.
Technical Details:
- AM/FM Band
- Tone Control Switch
- Large Speaker
- Earphone Jack
- LED Tuning Indicator
At the time of publishing this review, the price for this item is $ 21.58
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Review by Tim for Sony ICF38 Portable AM/FM Radio (Black)
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The ICF-38 radio is identical to the ICF-36, minus the weather and TV bands. Sony obviously created this newer model because, as of February 2009, the TV band will no longer be available on analog radio. It’s a shame they couldn’t have carried over the NOAA weather band, though, which is very useful for weather reports, storm warnings, and other emergencies. But then again, it didn’t work so well on the older model.
The ICF-38 is a decent AM/FM portable radio and is very easy to operate. The controls include an on/off switch, an AM/FM switch, separate tuning and volume wheels, and a high/low tone switch. That’s it! There’s also a fold-up handle and a 24″ whip antenna that swivels in all directions. The tone of the radio is good, though somewhat thin, in spite of the tone switch. The reception of both AM and FM is excellent – considerably better than most portable radios in this price range. Tuning the radio is helped by a tiny red tuning eye that lights up when a station frequency has been located. The ICF-38 can be powered either by a wall outlet or 4 AA batteries. Battery consumption seems to be minimal.
One criticism. In modifying this radio, Sony should have seen to the one consistent complaint that users made about the ICF-36: the headphone output is mono, which means it plays out of only one side of a set of head phones. The same is still true for this newer model.
The Sony ICF-38 is a very good, sturdy, and practical radio. It’s fairly small and light weight, and the speaker has at least a decent tone quality. It would make an excellent radio to carry around the house or yard or to the park. Its extreme (almost severe) simplicity of design and function makes it a refreshing change from the far more sophisticated digital radios that are now the norm. I would think it would be a suitable radio for an elderly person. The lack of a lighted display window and digital clock – which some people would find disappointing – means that the batteries will last all the longer. Yes, such simplicity is good, and leaves you to spend all your time enjoying the pleasures of music, news, and talk radio, rather than thumbing through a multi-cultural manual, trying to figure out how on earth to program an overly-complicated machine. For its price and overall capability, the ICF-38 is an excellent item. I highly recommend this radio.
Review by J. Root for Sony ICF38 Portable AM/FM Radio (Black)
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This radio brings in distant stations, sounds good, and takes up little space. The controls are easy for me to use. These were the qualities I was looking for so I am pleased I made the choice to buy Sony ICF38.
Review by A. Montanaro for Sony ICF38 Portable AM/FM Radio (Black)
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This radio has great sound and bring in the stations clearly especially when I use it on the beach.
Review by Galt Chase for Sony ICF38 Portable AM/FM Radio (Black)
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Just what I was looking for–a quality desktop radio with nothing fancy– just a radio. The sound quality is very good and the reception is excellent with a telescoping adjustable attenna. Great value for the price.
Review by 59er for Sony ICF38 Portable AM/FM Radio (Black)
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I’m a big time radio guy, and have used many models over the years. There are two things that really make any radio stand out, and this one has both of them.
The ICF-38 is an excellent performer as far as reception of both AM and FM signals go. Weak signal pick up on both bands is markedly better here than with almost all small portable radios I’ve used, and even more importantly, selectivity (ability to seperate stations cleanly) is better as well. The tone switch (which some radios don’t even have) cuts the treble when desired, if you want a less harsh sounding AM signal. The dial has no clock or light, but an LED for indicating if a station is tuned in. Battery life is excellent if alkalines are used (it takes 4 AA batteries). Output volume is listed as 4 watts, quite loud for a radio of this size, with little distortion at top level.
The other ingredient for a good radio is ease of use and a well thought out design. There are little things here which most people won’t notice that actually make this radio a joy to use. Many radios today that run off both internal batteries and AC require a seperate wall-wart that plugs into the radio and the outlet, but the ICF-38 has the power cord built in so you won’t have to search for it when needed. Also, the battery cover is hinged, which is great as battery covers can disappear as easily as wall-warts (and you can’t just go to Wal-mart to buy a new battery cover). The carry handle flips up when needed, and there is an indentation in the cabinet which allows you to slip in a finger to raise it easily, and you’ll find out how nice this is when your hands are full and you need to bring the radio with you as well. Both slide switches for band selection and power have a raised bump in the middle which makes it easier to change bands or turn it on. Finally, The shape makes it easy to place in most locations and it is very stable, making it unlikely to get knocked over.
If there were no markings on this radio to indicate the manufacturer, I would have easily guessed that it was a Sony product. It has the great performance and clever design that I associate with Sony.