Coby CX70

The Coby CX-70 is pocked-sized AM/FM radio that boasts and ultra-slim compact design, dynamic bass boost system, sensitive AM/FM tuner, LED power on and power off indicator, standard 3.5mm or 1/8" headphone jack, convenient neck strap, and it requires two AAA batteries to run. It also comes with a pair of standard earphones. The earphones are pretty cheap and plasticy, but they do work in a pinch. They are particularly uncomfortable, but I find myself still holding onto them, as I always have a need for extra headphones.

The Coby CX-70 looks very slick, and it is indeed very small, and slides very easily into a pocked. The controls, however, are very cheap and hard to use. There is a plastic wheel control for both the volume and the tuning, and both are very hard to turn. They sometimes get stuck, and sometimes it's hard to feel if you are turning the knob or not; particularly with the volume knob, since the tuning knob at least has an indicator of the current frequency. The battery compartment on the back is a standard plastic door, and it is easy to change batteries, and the door stays shut.

I originally purchased this unit as the receiving end of a FM-based in-ear monitoring system, but I found this radio to be inefficient and noisy. The radio would distort way sooner than other radios and portable radios (such as a Sony Walkman), and it made the vocal monitoring too distorted and noisy to hear clearly. At the price I paid for it (under $10), I am not particularly surprised, but I at least expected to get a clear audio signal, beyond the cheap controls and lack of advanced features. I eventually did settle with a Sony Walkman AM/FM radio, which works way better, but is a bit bulkier, and doesn't fit as well in my pocket. Overall, I would not recommend this radio for much…stick with something a bit more mainstream.