Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony ICF-S79V Weather Band Shower Radio

first, thanks to those of you that reviewed this item before me - it helped make my decision
second, this is a great radio! it's just what i needed for the bathroom - helps me get to work on time, the radio works the best!! and i should know - we live in a very rural area and every other radio i tried got little to no signal - get LOTS of stations on this little radio - and has tons of functions also...hubby loves the weather feature too!
do not hesitate - get this item!

We bought this first in 1999 and had the water hitting it directly for 4 years until the rubber covering for the control panel began to disintegrate. The sound quality is fine (AM is a little tricky) and the weather band is a nice feature to have in a shower radio. Having just the radio is fine; I can't imagine juggling shampoo, soap and CDs in the shower! Batteries last a long time (about 9 months on average). We happily purchased this exact same radio to replace the first one. It's a great shower radio for the price.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3AJX7RW8G631C My Score: 4.5/5 (rounded to 5/5)

The good
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nice digital buttons
large C batteries - will not have to change them often

The OK
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OK radio reception(not bad but not great)
Sound is good(not super)(only has one small speaker)

The Bad
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Does not say its water resistant anywhere or that its a shower radio - I would like to see this.

Notes
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-I said it includes batteries... it does not.
-There is also a little 1 ft wire that hangs off the back that i did not show.

After researching shower radios and looking at ones that cost almost twice as much, I decided on the Sony ICF-S79V and I am impressed with the following points:

1. Great fit and finish.
2. Not too big. Seems smaller out of the box than photos on Internet suggest. This is good for cluttered showers.
3. Easy-to-use controls for clock, tuning and presets. I didn't even need to consult the manual.
4. Excellent sensitivity for AM (internal ferrite antenna) and FM (a pull-out wire from the battery compartment).
5. Full sound to overcome shower noise.
6. Sony's decision to require 3 C batteries insures long-lasting life between battery changes.

So far I have not found any weaknesses with the radio. Sony has found a niche in their shower radio. I give it the fullest recommendation, especially for the 45-dollar price (and free shipping no less) I found on Amazon.

I have had this radio for almost two years and unfortunately it has recently started acting up (turns off by itself and won't turn back on until you take the batteries out for several hours). It wasn't until I was without it for a few days that I realized how much I love this radio. It makes getting ready in the morning so much more enjoyable because you can listen to your favorite radio stations or the morning TV shows. I have also purchased other shower radios which were impossible to tune into a clear radio station. This one is great because of its digital tuner and preset AM/FM/and TV station buttons. I often take this radio out of the shower and use it to listen to TV shows while I am working outside. When this radio eventually dies for good, I will not hestitate to replace it with another one by Sony.