Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic RF-SW70 ShockWave Headphone Radio

I have been using the sony radios for years, having to replace them every few months due to the abuse I place on them. I bought this Panasonic just "for the heck of it" and have been extremely impressed. It will take anything you can throw at it. The reception is very good on both am and fm (though I listen to mostly am). It has a somewhat difficult learning curve with the little joystick and all, but once you get used to it, no big deal. Battery life is impressive as well. I am unsure if this model is even still available, but if you want a rugged little radio, this is the one.

Ok, people. First of all, the city function on this puppy (like all radios with this capability) is designed to make the radio LESS sensitive to radio signals, rather than more sensitive. The idea is that in a large city, there are going to be lots of radio stations, and the city function allows you to filter out the weaker ones that might be competing for the same frequency that a stronger station is using. Make sense?

Anyway, this is actually a pretty decent radio. I bought it on clearance at Strawberries for a measly seven bucks, and for that price I have nothing to complain about.

Reception is decent to very good, and the amplifier has enough power to drown out a lawnmower, which is what I bought it for.

The extra bass function is a little too enthusiastic, in my opinion, but I guess that is why they invented off buttons.

Overall, I would highly recommend this unit if you can find it for anything close to what I paid for it. I'd start getting a lot pickier if I had to pay list price (approx $45.00, or so) since for a little more you can start looking at MP3 players. For example, I bought a basic Rio S10 at Sam's Club for about 55 dollars.

For a little radio, this one performs very well.

The size, shape of the radio are perfect for shoving in your pocket and forgetting about. It has a hold function to keep the buttons from being push, but unfortunatly atleast once a day I would succeed in turning off the hold function from within my pocket. The best feature is by far the battery compartment and the 20 plus battery hours it gets on a single AAA battery. The reception is pretty good, although it picks up disturbances from nearby cell phones. There are a whole list of bad qualities with this radio. The first are the headphones, which are the most uncomfortable one I have ever had the displeasure of putting in my ears. I threw them out within thirty minutes and replaced them with an old set that only had one speaker working; a much better tradeoff. It is unbelievable difficult to remember how to use station preset function. I figured it out twice only to forget it a few weeks later. It also has this city function that keeps all stations from coming in at all. I really don't understand what the purpose is of that unless you want to listen to white noise to fall asleep.
Last week I finally lost my ShockWave radio, though I will miss it, I plan on trying my luck on something a little better. I could have swore that in the late 90's when you paid between $40-$60 dollars for a walkman you used to get something of slightly better quality. Now all you get in this price range is garbage. Is this progress?

I've been using little radios on my commute for years, and this is the best - even better than the old SONY FM/AM Walkman Sports that was my previous favorite. Terrific FM reception, it pulls in a pretty good selection of downtown stations even when my train reaches the outer 'burbs (and it receives very well inside the train, another sign of the tuner strength). The best, most convenient battery change I've ever seen, and runs for quite a while on a single AAA. Size is perfect. Distant/Local switch handles downtown overload pretty well.
Downsides: Memorizing a station requires a Mensa certificate, no auto-off (do any of them?) - but these are minor. Great choice for a commuter radio.

I bought one item like this and like it , sound is clear with extra bass, reception is much better, better than Sony. most of the people mistaken it like Mp3 because of the style. i like listening on radio all the time and one solve the problem, lite and comfortable to carry.
Planning to buy another one just in case, coz i know they don't distribute this anymore. do you think i reccomend this ? , you Bet. i bought a armstrap to put in , and it ready to go. try it , you will love it.