Kaito KA321 Pocket-Size 10-Band AM/FM Shortwave Radio with DSP (Digital Signal Processing), Black

This little radio is a great, small, hand-held radio. I am very impressed with the signal pick-up strength. I live outside of Denver, CO, in Aurora. I travel all over the city on busses. This little radio does a great job with FM signals and antenna is a boost to clarity when needed. I rarely ever need the antenna extended. The antenna is NOT used for the AM stations, as expected. I find that AM doesn't come in a well as FM when I am on the bus. And, of course again, the AM stations sound best when radio as a whole is rotated to a certain position. I use a suction cup on busses to hang radio on window, when I want to listen to AM stations. FM comes in great on the bus. The headphone port works as expected, with nice stereo output and PLENTY of volume.The mono speaker quality is what one might expect from a small speaker (no deep bass, but decent enough for general listening.) I listen to talk radio (850 KOA) when I water the flowers and the grass from my deck. The sound coming out of this Kaito is crystal clear and my wife laughs because the radio is so small, yet decent sound. It is a little bigger than a deck of cards, but not as thick. Oh, I enjoy the little piece on the back side that flips outward to make a prop for the radio. It looks kinda cool sitting on the handrail of my porch.I have found a couple shortwave radio conversations and that was fun, but mostly I listen to AM and FM.The red light is hard to see unless you look orthogonal to the face of the light. This is a slight drawback as the light greatly assists in finding the best tuning spot on the analog dial.I guess another drawback for me, personally, is when this radio hangs from my wheelchair's under-the-seat hook, the opposite side of the radio rests on my sandals; often times the tuning dial or the volume dial rub on my sandals and the results are quite unexpected when this happens. I tried shortening the string (which is a fine length for general purposes), but the dials still manage to rub somewhere. So, I wish the the handy tie strap attached to the opposite corner of the radio. :) Not a big deal.I highly recommend this little Kaito radio. (Oh, and after 20 hours of listening, the batteries are still strong.) I don't know the battery life, as of yet.

EDIT: I bought the radio in September 2013, and almost 2 years later it still works great, and I still use it. A great pocket radio - great price and it seems made to last! I am thinking of buying another even, as having another one of these around the house will be nice in case I lose this one (perish the thought).I didn't expect very much when I ordered this product because, while the reviews were generally positive, I didn't think a pocket radio with FM/AM and shortwave could be all that great at such a cheap price. I'm happy to say my doubts were wiped away as soon as I had the radio in my hands using it the first time!I have had the radio for a few weeks and it has worked without issue during this time. I use it almost every day, mostly for FM but I like to also scan the shortwave band to see what I can pick up. The shortwave doesn't work as well inside of the house but it can be surprisingly quite clear when I tune it outside. I have listened to shortwave programming from China, Australia, etc. It is not my first shortwave radio, actually my second, but the price is about 1/5th the other one I purchased. That radio had digital tuning while this radio has only an analog interface. If you're new to shortwave listening, remember to start with the upper frequencies for daytime reception scanning and near the bottom for nighttime reception. Just a general rule that should save time when you just want to see what's currently broadcasting.Tuning is at times difficult because you can move past the best tuning spot with just a tiny move of the dial. After you get it just right, the station sounds very clear over the built-in speaker and never drifts or fades! Selectivity is superb, the FM channel you're listening to never sounds mixed with another. I never hear the station drop out in reception unless I'm moving it around the room, and even then it performs well. Shortwave is unpredictable by nature and with only the included whip antenna, you can't expect it to be very stable, so you may need to clamp a long wire to it which I haven't tried yet. The sound with headphones is a very pleasing stereo, not mono, which was something I was looking for in the radio before I ordered it. Sound is great either way, so no worries in this regard. On headphones, a slight amount of static may be heard in the background. This doesn't bother me as I barely notice it though it's something you should consider.Finally, I can't say enough about the battery life. If you're like me, you've long since started using rechargeable batteries because it's so much more convenient for many devices which seem to suck batteries dry in no time. This radio has been using the same regular AA batteries I put in it when I got it, and I haven't had to change them yet. I am very pleased that the radio seems to last a long time between battery changes, and I'm sure you will be, too. Although there is no low battery indicator like some radios, the little red LED that shows a station is tuned in is likely to dim at some point before the batteries are about to die, so I am watching to see if I can use that as a warning indicator.In summary, the interface is simple and meant for a low budget but it is not a low quality radio for the money. I think you're getting quite the deal with this product, so I highly recommend it - even if you have a much more expensive radio with big speakers sitting around, you should just buy one of these to have as a convenient, portable radio. Best pocket FM radio I've ever owned so far.

The tuner seems unusually vulnerable to interference. When used side-by-side with my “old standby” this radio had both hits where it found signals the older radio could not find, and misses where there was no audible trace of otherwise solid signals. I’m still working on figuring out the quirks, but it has good sound and it feels like it will be a “keeper” for everyday use