I shopped for several weeks for just the right boom box. I wanted something that would survive the rough construction site abuse it would have to take at work. I initially passed this one by trying to avoid push-button volume controls and radios "that look like space ships." But I came back to it because of its hardiness, even though I had vowed to get one with a rotary volume knob. Both the cassette and CD doors have mouldings inside that prevent dirt and dust from getting into the mechanisms. (Most others looked like they would let stuff get in the cracks, but if any gets into the cracks on this model it's confined to an interior trough separating it from the sensitive moving parts). It is very solid feeling and very durable.

It is stable laying flat or standing up and sounds great either way (but if you're a thump-hound you might find it a tad lacking in bass despite the "mega-bass" feature.) The preset sound settings are, at best, a fair substitute for tone control, but that's pretty standard these days. I would have liked a Jazz setting. (It has Rock, Pop, Vocal, and Live)

The store I tested it in was on the fringes of the city and so radio reception was marginal on most of the boom boxes in the store. This model, however, pulled in all my favorites without even extending the antenna. This is the primary frustration I had with my old radio, it simply didn't have a very good tuner. This one is really nice. Having a digital tuner is a very nice convenience. Plus I think it pulls in stations better than other models (both cheaper and more expensive ones).

The CD player works great as does the cassette. I have not made a recording with it yet. The alarm clock function seems like it would be useful, but the LCD display has no illumination so its alarm clock capabilities would be of limited use for me, especially at night.

This is the only boom box I have ever heard of that comes with both an AC adapter and a 12v car adapter. What a great convenience! However, the one complaint I have about this model is with the AC adapter. It is one of those "wall-warts" with a big heavy block that plugs into the wall. Every other boom box I have had just used a cord to get AC to the unit and it had the adapter built into the radio. Instead, with this model you have to lug the bulky adapter around separately. On other models you could wrap up the cord and stuff it in the battery compartment. Not with this one. The adapter is too big - it's very large, about the size of a can of SPAM. The car adapter is relatively compact although it does not fit in the battery compartment either. In short, this nicely portable radio is encumbered by having to carry bulky accessories separately.

I have not used it on battery power yet so I can't testify to its efficiency. It takes 6 D cells for the main unit and 4 AA batteries for memory backup so your preset stations will stay in memory. The clock and alarm settings are also retained.

I use this unit as my primary source of music away from home. I use it at job sites and in the office (I carry it around a lot which is why I have found the power adapter to be cumbersome). A little bit of me wishes it had a remote control, but that's less of a complaint than a testimonial to what a great radio it is -- I want to use it as a stereo. All in all it's a great item. A tad pricey for it's class but for the extra durability and dirt and water protection I found it worth the money.

Good luck and happy shopping.