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Koss PP257 Water-Resistant Sports Armband Digital Radio (Yellow)

Koss PP257 Water-Resistant Sports Armband Digital Radio (Yellow)

List Price: $29.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Poor Reception
Review: This purchase was a waste of money, since I found the reception to be too inconsistent when engaged in any activity such as running. Stations fade in and out. I don't use it anymore. Next time I'll get a portable MP3 player.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Nice little radio
Review: This has served us well over the past year or so. My husband and I both take it to the gym. The sound quality is not bad, although the reception can be a bit static-y if you are around lots of interferring equipment or concrete. Good for the money.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Koss PP257 v. Sony SRFM78 Armband radios
Review: All in all, I prefer the Koss, but these are two great radios for runners and other active people. Below is a comparison by category.

Reception:
Edge to Sony due to Distance/Local switch. The Koss does fine in the city, but suffers when signals are weak or adjacent to dominant signals. The Sony can switch to Distance mode. Neither does well in extreme interiors. By the way, on my Sony, I have to tune one frequency up on FM, e.g. tune to 94.2 to receive 94.1. Once you get used to that, it is OK and may be unique to my unit.

Wearability:
Tough call. Edge probably to Sony. The Koss is lighter and more comfortable, but its armband has problems. If your arm is very small, the Velcro patches may not overlap; if very large, they may not meet. The Sony is much easier to put on one-handed, as one half of the band is permanently coiled and can be placed around your arm before stretching the Velcro band.

Button Layout:
Toss-up. The station presets are laid out in a circle. With the Koss, it is possible to confuse the buttons while on the move. If you pay attention, though, a couple of trips and you will learn what is what. The on/off switch of the Koss is much better than the soft button on the Sony. With the Sony, you need to always "lock" the unit when not in use to avoid accidental activation and dead batteries. The Koss also has a lock feature, but that is just to avoid accidentally changing stations.

Funtionality:
You have to give a big edge here to Koss, which has a SEARCH feature. If the Sony has one, I can't find it. When in my home city, it doesn't matter, but when I travel my presets are useless. Without a search I have to run along pushing the tuning button once for every tenth of a frequency! This problem is what led me to the Koss. Otherwise, they both have about the same functions.

Headphones:
You can, of course, replace either of them, but the Koss headphones are surprisingly comfortable (The Sony headphones are the jam-in-your-ear-till-they-are-rubbed-raw type and are unacceptable). The Koss headphones are independent pieces that fit around the ear like a hearing aid, and lay the actual speaker gently against the ear canal. They are incredible light. I still prefer the around-the-back-of-the-head type only because the two independent pieces inevitably get tangled up while stored. Then again, if you run in the cold and wear an ear band, you can easily wear it over the Koss headphones, something you cannot do with many styles of headphones. If you don't want to spend extra on headphones, the Koss is the better choice.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Easy to use but can't hold a station
Review: We bought this radio over the weekend and, when it arrived were supremely disappointed in its performance. While it is easy to use and set, it can't receive or hold a signal worth anything. Should have gotten the sony...*sigh*

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Unhappy in LI
Review: I bought this product because I workout and I wanted music to listen too, but when I have the radio on all I hear is static. I feel that I wasted my money on something that was going to be useful to me.

Thank You

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Weak reception
Review: Good design in some respects - convenient earphones for use while running, etc., and convenient controls. BUT - terrible reception! Fine for local FM stations, but very poor sensitivity and even worse selectivity, both FM and AM. Not a radio for someone who wants to pick up a particular station (e.g., for my main purpose - listening to sports broadcasts), but OK if you just want to listen to any local station for musical distraction while engaged in sports activity.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not too happy with this...
Review: I've had this radio for about 3 months. The headset is great, never having fallen out of my ears with daily 30 minute running use. Unfortunately, the headset stopped working this week due to a broken wire inside the connector. I also have trouble with the reception of some stations that come in fine on other radios. Overall, I'm not happy.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Decide on Koss
Review: I recently purchased the Koss sportband radio. I was really torn between the Koss and the awesome Shockwave (Panasonic, I think) version. Koss is cheaper, and the sound is clear and good. I've noticed in other reviews, a lot of people talking about static, etc. My opinion on that is with most tuners, the clarity comes more from where you are located in relation to the radio towers, etc, than the quality of your radio. If you are in a good location, even a cheap radio will come in clear. Overall, the Koss is affordable, lightweight, the armband works fine, the earphones are comfortable and I am in love with this product now. I use it mainly for outdoor walking and jogging and yard work. I am very satisfied with my purchase--hope this helps.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Poor Performance
Review: Although this product had a 3.5 to 4 star rating when I bought it, I do not agree. I found the reception to be poor and inconsistent and the quality to be lacking. At high volume levels, needed when you are trying to do yard work, the sound quality is extremely distorted. I also find that I often accidentally change the volume level by inadvertently touching the control. Overall, I am not happy with this product.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A great radio for outdoors
Review: I use to jog every morning and I love to hear music... This little gadget its a great deal for those who only wants to hear the radio.


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