Sony CFDS70B.CEK Classic CD and Tape Boombox with Radio - Black

I'm not the typical purchaser of this boombox, in that I bought it for one purpose only - to transcribe some 40-year-old cassette recordings of interviews. This entails running a tape for a few seconds, pausing to write down what I've just heard, running the tape again, pausing again, sometimes reversing to repeat a section... I was afraid that the mechanism of such a cheap machine might quickly give up in protest at treatment as cruel as this, but I've now been torturing it for many hours and it has passed the test of my torment with flying colours. The CFD-S70 certainly feels remarkably solidly built for something with such a modest price tag. It's astonishing, really, how much Sony are giving you for your money. The radio section of the CFD-S70 includes both FM and AM, and there are three preset buttons for your favourite broadcasters. Tuning and volume are controlled by up and down buttons, which usually age better than twiddlers. Convenience features include a good LCD display, 3.5mm sockets for headphones and audio input and a sleep function. The sound quality on both speech and music (aided by "megabass") is merely acceptable rather than positively good, but it's thankfully free of the abrasiveness that afflicts some low-end audio kit. If your budget is too tight for the celestial sound of a Ruark - which, by the way, I cordially recommend for anyone who can afford Ruark prices - and you want an all-in-one audio system that can do pretty much everything except access the internet, I'd say that this is probably a pretty safe buy.

I used to have a large stereo system, but with age I realized that blasting music out, led zeppelin doesn’t quite sound the same when you’re 66 and wearing hearing aids lol. So after getting rid of the system, I started looking for something that I would be comfortable with. I then came across the Sony CFDS70B.CEK Classic CD and Tape Boombox with Radio. For me it seemed to tick all the boxes that I needed, CDs, Cassettes, (yes they are still around!) and lastly Radio all in one setup, the only thing missing is a remote control, unfortunately, however, that’s wasn’t a dealbreaker. I have to say that on unboxing it, I just looked at it and wondered if I’d made a mistake, but it was here so I thought I’d give it a spin, which I’m glad I did. Put on a CD and checked out the volume, impressive, even turning the volume up, the sound was good. Then came the cassette test, which was pretty good too, lost a small bit of clarity when the volume was turned up, but as I wasn’t going to be blasting it, it still did an amazing job at the volume I chose. Then the radio which I tuned to a couple of my favorite channels which was pretty easy to do. Overall I was really impressed with it, all the buttons were nice and smooth when pushing them down, it even has a megabase for those who like to hear and feel extra bass that vibrates through the body! I have to admit I haven’t tried using the AUX yet but can’t foresee any problems. It would be nice to have a remote control, but for the price and sound, I can live without it. So it’s a five-star review from me.

Our 1996 Awia unit which I bought in Saudi Arabia finally packed in but only the CD player ,all other functions were fine, but my we have quite a good library of cd's so we needed a replacement . I have a quality separate systems for our lounge but this was only for the conservatory, and my wife is the main user when she wants a bit of peace and quite listening. When I looked at what was available on the market today, it was obvious nobody was making high end boomboxes as they now call them due to streaming services Spotify etc. but we only wanted to use this on the odd occasion. It is ideal for a second non quality sound system. The design is basic and the construction is not top quality , but for £59 you do not get much for your money these days. My quality Pioneer twin tape deck cost me £360 in 1985. We have good radio reception in our area so tuning in the FM/AM radio was no problem and the presets set up no problem. The Sony manual says to use Normal Type 1 tapes only, but I have use chrome and type 2 and metal tapes no problem, perhaps Sony means you can only record using Normal Type 1 tapes. First thing I checked was that the CD serial number was not on Sony's list of design fault units, as batches of faulty CD players have had to be replaced due to faulty mechanical units. Mine was ok. Overall this Sony Boombox is adequate for what we need , a bit on the flimsy side and manufacturing costs have been kept to a limit, including building this unit in China, just like my Apple MacBook Air M1 series. It's early days yet as we only took delivery yesterday , will update review as and when required.

Thoroughly recommend Hughes Direct for speed and efficiency of purchase. A great little boombox with the essential option of a tape player now old mix tapes and new releases are back, although I suggest the opening/closing mechanism could have been smoother/cushioned. Sound is good for the radio, CD and tape player and the bass boost option gives it a kick although not quite a 'boom' and there's no other option for more control over the sound. Overall, great for the price and old tapes sound bright in the kitchen/garage/office but if you're really serious about your music and looking deeper tones and the versatility of an old EQ-driven/bass-heavy boombox, I suggest investing in a more substantial unit.

There is no remote control so no stars were really given. sounds ok. The play button for tapes points left, it normally points right because the deck seems to work upside down. It plays the side opposite the one I expect from all previous tape decks (I have used many) Confusing, but now I understand, not a problem. Only works with "Normal" position tapes so no good for more expensive ones. My main interest was to have something to play my huge tape collection on. Digitising that would take the rest of my life. It is good enough for me to be happy overall and it is portable. I have a Bose, fantastic sound, cost a lot more but it does not play tapes. Horses for courses. I also wanted an FM radio for when we have power cuts, my DAB radio gobbles up batteries. FM radio is essential for news eg Storm Desmond, United Utilites phone lines jammed 24/7 for days due to everyone trying to call them "when will the power be restored"? Local radio is brilliant here.

Very usable radio,cassette tape and CD player.

Initially this was a slightly disappointing product. The sound quality is passable, but the controls - who thought that seemingly randomly distributed black buttons on a black casing was in any way user friendly? Also, while the digital tuner works reasonably efficiently, when used on mains, it will always lose its station when unplugged. There are three available presets. Unless you actually like Radio 2, that's a lot of retuning every time. But worse is the cd player. Like others here, mine failed when just out of warranty. Any confidence I had in Sony as a brand is now gone. Avoid.

I have had the earlier version since 1995 and apart from the lead connection now being a bit unreliable, it has been excellent! The present update is - smaller,better tone, easier layout, more variations,and a lot cheaper! Do not hesitate (but get the best deal) this is so good - more than enough power, provides CD, Tape and record, Radio, and ease to use. I am glad that I have updated and improved!!