Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

After reading a review in a well respected shortwave internet site on the best AM/FM pocket radios - I decided to write this review. The radios tested on the internet site were the Sony, Panasonic, Radio Shack and Kaito current pocket radios. This test concluded that the Radio Shack catalog number 12-467 was the best. Since I own this radio and I also own the Kaito KA 200, I did my own review below: Portability: Kaito is about 1/3 the size of the Radio Shack. The purpose of pocket radios is to fit easily in your shirt and pants pocket. The Kaito fits easily and the Radio Shack does not. Sound: The Radio Shack has a larger speaker and can easily fill a room with sound - but the sound is somewhat muffled and the volume control is not linear (so that the range of lower volumes for bed time use etc. is more difficult to obtain). The Kaito is not as robust in sound volume but the sound is much cleaner and with more natural detail. The Kaito volume control is very smooth and will easily go through a linear range at both low and high volume. Note: these are personel radios and if you are using them as such - the Kaito wins this category. Earphones: Both radios accept left and right earphones. Many other pocket radios just have a mono (only one ear has sound) output. Again, sound of Kaito is clear and detailed -the Radio Shack is robust but a bit muffled. Tuner: The Kaito has a tuning light that identifies the best reception. The Radio Shack does not and is a little vague to tune. Overall - If you want a pocket radio the Kaito is perfect. If you just want a radio to fill a room with sound the Radio Shack will produce higher volume.