Kaito KA200 Pocket AM/FM Radio, Black

I recently left my little Coby transistor radio (that I'd had for over a decade) out in the rain overnight, and needless to say it was Adios for that one. It was the best $5 radio ever, but having heard lots of good things about Kaito I decided to order this one in black to replace the old faithful Coby. I generally listen to oldies and talk radio while I work outside or take my daily walk up the mountain, and figured the Kaito would be a good replacement and would actually be a bit lighter and smaller size, perfect for my shirt pocket. Let me tell you, this little guy ROCKS! The secret of the EXCEPTIONAL sound quality must be the speaker (or DSP circuitry, or both) but it's amazing how clear and loud this little radio is. While the FM antenna is a non-swivel type and kind of short, it doesn't matter on a radio this small because all you need to do is rotate the radio to zero in on your station if needed, and that's always the case with AM. The sensitivity is rather stunning on both bands, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it pulls in stations from many miles away on AM, much better than the old Coby did. FM is also quite good, but the stronger stations do tend to overlap and cross over a bit if they are close together, which is normal for these little guys with DSP. The vernier scale is a bit off, too, but close enough - - who cares on such a small radio anyway? For being no larger than a credit card, this little powerhouse sure packs a punch, and the sound is not distorted and batteries seem to last forever. I simply can't get over how good this thing sounds, and how well-engineered and sturdy it is built. Time will tell how long this little radio lasts (I'll be more careful about not leaving this one out in the rain all night) but if I get as many years from it as I did my old Coby I'll be a happy camper. One thing for sure - - radios have come a long way since my first old Channel Master "All Transistor" model from back in 1961. Kudos to Kaito!!!

Great radio with good reception. This is my second one, the first is the silver version, this one is grey. The frequency marking on the dial match up with the indicator much better on this one, the silver one is off by a good bit. Sound is clear given the size of the speaker, but this works better for voice broadcasts better than music. Runs a long time on the 2 batteries and has been vey handy so far because it is small and easy to take along.

First it is NOT an iPod, it is lo-tech and not designed for hi-fi, everyday use, etc. etc. It is small, decently built, fairly good reception and in my opinion perfectly suited for the glovebox, go-bag, backpacking [ultralight], disaster pack etc. If it breaks boo-hoo, it is only $12, it takes AAA x2 which is ok since I already have them in recharagables for our 2way radios. A single A battery would be obviously better. I also have the slightly larger Sony which is also a great unit that I also reviewed last year. It is an inexpensive way to be able to get news, weather etc. in an emergency when your smarty-phone looses a signal. It is also a good first-radio for youngsters to see if they are responsible enough to take care of something. One day someone will get clever and put a rubber-whip type antenna on an inexpensive radio like this, I've looked and have yet to find one. I plan on taking this one on the trails and camp trips this year and will post the results. We frequently take our small Sony to the preserves for day-packs to listen to music while having a picknic break.3/22/13 UPDATE: I gave this one to my 9 year old who is my ranger-buddy in the field. He carries this one in an old digital camera zipper case we already had. I taught him the proper way to raise/lower the antenna and it is still fine. Reception in the field is decent. I will often ask him to find a news/weather station on am before we turn in for the night and it pulls am great. fm depends on your location but is not too bad. It is so small/light it barely adds any weight to his pack.

I have a number of pocket radios, ranging in quality from $6 no-brand, to the Sangean DT-800. The Kaito KA200S functions well and has surprising sound for such a small radio (compared to other pocket radios of the next size step up). If you want only one radio, something larger would probably be better. However, if you are a pocket radio fan, you should definitely buy one of these. It slips into a pocket super-easy, and works great with local listening.Why five stars, when I rated both sound quality and volume control with only four stars? It is because packing four-star performance into such a small radio (with a speaker) is a five-star achievement.