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Rating: 
Summary: What a portable digital radio and cassette player should be
Review: I bought this product because our family just joined the YMCA--where if you want to listen to TV or CD players, they recommend a digital radio with headphones. I like Aiwa, and the picture looked like a great design. I was not disappointed. This is what portable radio/cassette players should look and feel like. Slim, light, low profile buttons--but does not seem too flimsy ... Easy to put in the batteries. Pop in cassettes with no problem. Intuitive interface--with one minor exception. (When you use a preset radio station, you have to "change modes" before tuning manually. Okay.) Good sound. Excellent reception. And the little "remote control" wand that you insert between the unit and the headphones is gnarly--even if are not sure what you need it for. The unit needs a second or two when you push Play, Rew, or FFwd, and it then beeps for some strange reason--but the response is always smooth and reliable. No problems so far. The headphones are small and not adjustable!--and I have a small head. But perhaps the idea is for them to go around/behind your neck, and then the strange ear clips suddenly begin to make sense. One minor thing the unit could use is a belt clip or a loop for a sports strap--be prepared to set it down or carry it. I spent extra money because I am tired of ... "walkmen" that do not work and break in a week. So far I can recommend this to anyone who wants a good portable radio/cassette player for a little extra money--but does not need a high end unit that you can take up Mount Everest or into the Pacific Ocean.
Rating:
Summary: Well Priced Unit
Review: I bought this unit to replace an AIWA JX779, whose tape player wore out after 2.5 years of use. That previous AIWA unit was overkill for my purposes because it had a recording capability I never tried, but it had an excellent radio, tape player, and remote control -- all of which I need. An alternative I tried was the Panasonic RQ-SW88V. I use the 418 about three hours a day, seven days a week. It takes a pair of AA batteries, which gives fairly good playing time. However, I use two pairs of NIMH rechargeable batteries interchangeably -- I change the batteries after every three hour session, which maximizes battery longevity... The radio is good but not as good as that of the 779 nor of the 88V -- its more sensitive to antenna orientation and it doesn't hold fringe stations as strongly. Like my previous AIWA, the preset station memory seems to last even if battery power is absent. The memory setting process is about like that of other cassette stereo players -- tedious enough that you don't want to do it more than once a year, if that often. You can preset 20 FM and 10 AM stations. There are two FM ranges of 10 presets each. Its all too much for me, as I only use 5 stations per range -- so I set the 5 stations twice in each range in the same order so that I never lose my way when I'm using the remote without seeing the LCD panel. The tape player is adequate except over rough terrain, when it skips and wobbles -- I've never encountered that problem with a portable tape player before. It doesn't happen with the other two units mentioned above. This might be a problem for a jogger. Although it's convenient to change batteries in this unit, one thing to watch out for is the plastic piece in the body which the battery compartment door latch engages. The previous 779 used the same mechanism, and that piece of plastic broke after about a year and a half of use so that I had to use a rubber band around the body to hold the battery cover in place. If possible, I would suggest carrying it so that the longest dimension is horizontal rather than vertical -- this takes some of the pressure off of the battery compartment cover and its latch piece. The remote, which I use extensively, is pretty good but like similar units might be trying for someone with large fingers or for anyone with gloves (me 6 months out of the year). The remote seems easier to use than the on-unit controls, although the latter have more functions, including a button for repeating tape phrases and an S-Bass setting -- neither of which I have ever used. The nearly twice as expensive Panasonic 88V is better in almost all features (except it only uses one AA battery), but it has a fatal flaw: I use the unit in conjunction with a radio powered remote dog trainer, and the Panasonic remote control switches stations/tape directions whenever I use the dog trainer remote! The AIWA remote is immune to this problem. I don't use the included "neck" earphones but rather a set of Sony earbuds instead. There is no strap or carrying case included, nor would I expect one at this price. It is the same size as the other two units mentioned above, but it has rounded corners which make it easier to put into and take out of a pocket or other carrying spot -- unlike the Panasonic 88V, which has a very ungainly tape compartment latching knob that gets caught in fabric. The body is thin gauge aluminum, which is light and reasonably dent-resistent, although I've managed to acquire one dent and numerous scratches because of how I carry the unit in a waist-pack with assorted hardware. When battery power is too weak for tape operation, the unit does NOT chew up the tape like the previous AIWA unit -- it just produces sickly sound quality and eventually stops working. Obviously I give it heavy use and it holds up reasonably well. Dictated by ScanSoft NaturallySpeaking
Rating:
Summary: Well Priced Unit
Review: I bought this unit to replace an AIWA JX779, whose tape player wore out after 2.5 years of use. That previous AIWA unit was overkill for my purposes because it had a recording capability I never tried, but it had an excellent radio, tape player, and remote control -- all of which I need. An alternative I tried was the Panasonic RQ-SW88V. I use the 418 about three hours a day, seven days a week. It takes a pair of AA batteries, which gives fairly good playing time. However, I use two pairs of NIMH rechargeable batteries interchangeably -- I change the batteries after every three hour session, which maximizes battery longevity... The radio is good but not as good as that of the 779 nor of the 88V -- its more sensitive to antenna orientation and it doesn't hold fringe stations as strongly. Like my previous AIWA, the preset station memory seems to last even if battery power is absent. The memory setting process is about like that of other cassette stereo players -- tedious enough that you don't want to do it more than once a year, if that often. You can preset 20 FM and 10 AM stations. There are two FM ranges of 10 presets each. Its all too much for me, as I only use 5 stations per range -- so I set the 5 stations twice in each range in the same order so that I never lose my way when I'm using the remote without seeing the LCD panel. The tape player is adequate except over rough terrain, when it skips and wobbles -- I've never encountered that problem with a portable tape player before. It doesn't happen with the other two units mentioned above. This might be a problem for a jogger. Although it's convenient to change batteries in this unit, one thing to watch out for is the plastic piece in the body which the battery compartment door latch engages. The previous 779 used the same mechanism, and that piece of plastic broke after about a year and a half of use so that I had to use a rubber band around the body to hold the battery cover in place. If possible, I would suggest carrying it so that the longest dimension is horizontal rather than vertical -- this takes some of the pressure off of the battery compartment cover and its latch piece. The remote, which I use extensively, is pretty good but like similar units might be trying for someone with large fingers or for anyone with gloves (me 6 months out of the year). The remote seems easier to use than the on-unit controls, although the latter have more functions, including a button for repeating tape phrases and an S-Bass setting -- neither of which I have ever used. The nearly twice as expensive Panasonic 88V is better in almost all features (except it only uses one AA battery), but it has a fatal flaw: I use the unit in conjunction with a radio powered remote dog trainer, and the Panasonic remote control switches stations/tape directions whenever I use the dog trainer remote! The AIWA remote is immune to this problem. I don't use the included "neck" earphones but rather a set of Sony earbuds instead. There is no strap or carrying case included, nor would I expect one at this price. It is the same size as the other two units mentioned above, but it has rounded corners which make it easier to put into and take out of a pocket or other carrying spot -- unlike the Panasonic 88V, which has a very ungainly tape compartment latching knob that gets caught in fabric. The body is thin gauge aluminum, which is light and reasonably dent-resistent, although I've managed to acquire one dent and numerous scratches because of how I carry the unit in a waist-pack with assorted hardware. When battery power is too weak for tape operation, the unit does NOT chew up the tape like the previous AIWA unit -- it just produces sickly sound quality and eventually stops working. Obviously I give it heavy use and it holds up reasonably well. Dictated by ScanSoft NaturallySpeaking
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