Sony ICF-S79V AM/FM/Weather/TV Radio
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- Display: LCD
- Tuning: Digital
- Type: Shower
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Great Product
Pros
Very good design, very good radio reception, easy to clean.
Cons
None that I can think of.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Buy it for sudsy pleasures
Twelve years ago I found myself wandering around downtown Chicago. My wife was delivering a paper at a scientific conference and I was wasting time until it was time to go and hear her. I wandered into one of the boutique type electronic store and spied a Sony shower radio. I thought it was ridiculously expensive at almost $40, but I bought it. The radio was a simple, smooth white plastic and about the size of a paperback. It had very simple analog controls and it also had a rubberized button on the top to turn the radio on and off and to operate a 60 minute timer. It was a wonderful radio with decent mono sound and pretty good reception. Every few months I had to take it down and scrub it down with a toothbrush to remove little patches of mildew. I only changed the batteries on the radio twice in 11+ years and it ran like a champ (despite being in a humid bathroom) during all of that time. It finally died a dignified death. For those of you who are wondering…yes this was with daily showers. The $40 radio wasn't expensive, it was a great value. This would become the standard that I would measure future shower radios.
When my original Sony died I was without a shower radio for a few months. I finally decided to get a replacement and went shopping. At first I tried to go "on the cheap." I bought a jWIN JX-M65 (absolutely horrible) and then I tried a jWIN JX-M55 (It worked, but it was nothing great). These got returned in favor of a Jeep shower radio. This clunky radio wasn't too bad but I missed the simple elegance of my old Sony. The Jeep radio went to the kid's bathroom and I went cruising on the internet to find a Sony. My efforts landed me a Sony ICF-S79V, 4 band shower radio for about $50 bucks. I wondered how it would compare with my gold standard.
I don't have the same expectations for a shower radio as I do for a table radio. For me, its main purpose to keep me on time as I gather information about the news and weather. With that said, this radio performs very well indeed.
The ICF-S79V is a small radio with a solid feel. It is made of very smooth, white plastic and it has very few nooks and crannies to gather mold and mildew. It is roughly 5.5" x 5.5" and just shy of 3" deep. It has a handy nylon rope to attach it to your shower head, but it also has a nice base if you want to leave it on a counter top. This radio would also be fine for a kitchen environment. There are no open ports on the radio (earphone, external power). The radio does have a short wire for FM that has a suction cup on the end that allows you to place the wire for best reception.
Power: The radio is powered by 3 C type batteries. Reports on the internet suggest that they last a very long time. I'll be curious to see if battery longevity is anywhere near as good as my old Sony.
Controls: Controls are excellent. Most options are controlled by pressing buttons that are protected by a rubberized top panel. The only exception is the volume control which is a very nice, easy grip knob on the side of the radio. Ergonomics are excellent.
Extras: Beyond the basic controls the radio can be set to shut itself off automatically. You also have a timer that you can set to alarm after specified times (3 minutes, 20 minutes, etc.). This function can also be customized. Tuning using the up and down buttons is slow, but this isn't a problem as you are given 25 presets, including 10 for FM and 5 for AM. You also have a largish LCD clock to keep you on schedule.
Sound: The radio has a 3 1/8" speaker and delivers very nice, clean sound. The emphasis is on the mid and high range making it perfect to punch through the din of a running shower. Although mono and not hi-fi, the sound is very decent and totally adequate for the radios stated purpose. Volume is excellent.
Reception Conditions: I live about 35 miles west of Chicago in a somewhat difficult reception area. Add to this that the radio is in a bathroom with lots of RF shielding pipes and no window. This is a difficult reception situation.
Weather Band: This radio comes with a 5 channel weather band. The Sony did an excellent job and actually picked up weather channels at all 5 selections.
VHF TV Audio: This radio can pick up VHF audio channels 2-13. It did a good job picking up all local broadcast VHF TV channels (2, 5, 7, 9, 11). Five presets are available.
AM (MW) Band: The Sony has a very sensitive receiver. It is not the caliber of a CC Radio but it is darn good. It is especially nice to have 5 AM presets so I can easily change to a different station (even with soap in my eyes!).
FM Band: FM is also very good. I was able to tune many Chicago stations, including NPR at 91.5 and Classical WFMT at 98.7. Moving about the shower could make weaker stations fade a bit. However, considering the adverse reception conditions the Sony did a great job. The only problem I had was that a local station at 95.9 obliterated WNUA at 95.5. FM sound from the mono speaker was excellent and really tuned to sound good in a shower. There are 10 FM presets, 5 each for FM1 and FM2.
I guess a shower radio is a simple pleasure. It is a great way to start the day prepared with news and weather information. On the surface, it should be a pretty simple concept to design, but it would seem some manufacturers (aka jWIN) miss the mark. Sony got it right when I bought my last one 12 years earlier. They seem to have even a better product with the ICF-S79V with its easy to clean surface, excellent controls, decent reception and the addition of VHF TV sound and Weather Band.. I guess in this case Sony is "the one and only." Buy it for sudsy pleasures.
When my original Sony died I was without a shower radio for a few months. I finally decided to get a replacement and went shopping. At first I tried to go "on the cheap." I bought a jWIN JX-M65 (absolutely horrible) and then I tried a jWIN JX-M55 (It worked, but it was nothing great). These got returned in favor of a Jeep shower radio. This clunky radio wasn't too bad but I missed the simple elegance of my old Sony. The Jeep radio went to the kid's bathroom and I went cruising on the internet to find a Sony. My efforts landed me a Sony ICF-S79V, 4 band shower radio for about $50 bucks. I wondered how it would compare with my gold standard.
I don't have the same expectations for a shower radio as I do for a table radio. For me, its main purpose to keep me on time as I gather information about the news and weather. With that said, this radio performs very well indeed.
The ICF-S79V is a small radio with a solid feel. It is made of very smooth, white plastic and it has very few nooks and crannies to gather mold and mildew. It is roughly 5.5" x 5.5" and just shy of 3" deep. It has a handy nylon rope to attach it to your shower head, but it also has a nice base if you want to leave it on a counter top. This radio would also be fine for a kitchen environment. There are no open ports on the radio (earphone, external power). The radio does have a short wire for FM that has a suction cup on the end that allows you to place the wire for best reception.
Power: The radio is powered by 3 C type batteries. Reports on the internet suggest that they last a very long time. I'll be curious to see if battery longevity is anywhere near as good as my old Sony.
Controls: Controls are excellent. Most options are controlled by pressing buttons that are protected by a rubberized top panel. The only exception is the volume control which is a very nice, easy grip knob on the side of the radio. Ergonomics are excellent.
Extras: Beyond the basic controls the radio can be set to shut itself off automatically. You also have a timer that you can set to alarm after specified times (3 minutes, 20 minutes, etc.). This function can also be customized. Tuning using the up and down buttons is slow, but this isn't a problem as you are given 25 presets, including 10 for FM and 5 for AM. You also have a largish LCD clock to keep you on schedule.
Sound: The radio has a 3 1/8" speaker and delivers very nice, clean sound. The emphasis is on the mid and high range making it perfect to punch through the din of a running shower. Although mono and not hi-fi, the sound is very decent and totally adequate for the radios stated purpose. Volume is excellent.
Reception Conditions: I live about 35 miles west of Chicago in a somewhat difficult reception area. Add to this that the radio is in a bathroom with lots of RF shielding pipes and no window. This is a difficult reception situation.
Weather Band: This radio comes with a 5 channel weather band. The Sony did an excellent job and actually picked up weather channels at all 5 selections.
VHF TV Audio: This radio can pick up VHF audio channels 2-13. It did a good job picking up all local broadcast VHF TV channels (2, 5, 7, 9, 11). Five presets are available.
AM (MW) Band: The Sony has a very sensitive receiver. It is not the caliber of a CC Radio but it is darn good. It is especially nice to have 5 AM presets so I can easily change to a different station (even with soap in my eyes!).
FM Band: FM is also very good. I was able to tune many Chicago stations, including NPR at 91.5 and Classical WFMT at 98.7. Moving about the shower could make weaker stations fade a bit. However, considering the adverse reception conditions the Sony did a great job. The only problem I had was that a local station at 95.9 obliterated WNUA at 95.5. FM sound from the mono speaker was excellent and really tuned to sound good in a shower. There are 10 FM presets, 5 each for FM1 and FM2.
I guess a shower radio is a simple pleasure. It is a great way to start the day prepared with news and weather information. On the surface, it should be a pretty simple concept to design, but it would seem some manufacturers (aka jWIN) miss the mark. Sony got it right when I bought my last one 12 years earlier. They seem to have even a better product with the ICF-S79V with its easy to clean surface, excellent controls, decent reception and the addition of VHF TV sound and Weather Band.. I guess in this case Sony is "the one and only." Buy it for sudsy pleasures.
