Sony ICFP26 Portable AM/FM Radio,Black

This is my honest opinion on the full retail price since I did not receive any discounts or free items to review. I like analog radios for their longer battery life and longer life in general compared to digital radios. I actually didn't need that ICF-P26, but wanted to see what was going on with the new little Sony, as the legacy model it replaced is one of my favorites. Sony has stopped manufacturing the ICF-S10MK2. It remains the most revered analog AM/FM pocket radio of all time with production spanning three decades in essentially unchanged form. The original retail price of the legacy S10MK2 model was $9.99, which rose to $12.99 over time. Sony is now offering the new ICF-P26 model for $20 retail. A comparison between these two Sony pocket AM/FM models is fitting since the P26 is the apparent successor to the S10MK2. Unfortunately, it looks like there will be no S10MK3. To be completely honest, I've never really liked the tone of the S10MK2, but I do appreciate the strong AM reception. I wondered if the replacement P26 sounded as good or even better on reception and hoped it sounded better, so I bought a P26. Is the P26 just a cosmetic repackaging of the same old S10MK2 as a way to charge more for essentially the same thing? The new cosmetics are a nice update, but not worth the 50% bounty. It turns out that the P26 is mostly new on the inside while retaining the familiar features of the legacy model such as the red tuning LED, wrist strap, right tuning knob, left volume knob, grip for earphones/headphones on the left, exactly the same design pivoting to the rear left FM antenna mounted and is even almost exactly the same size and weight. The P26 is improved in several areas while Sony missed opportunities to improve it in others. Some valid longstanding criticisms of the S10MK2 have been fully addressed in P26, while one has been toned down and at least one other has been completely ignored. They also changed some things that no one ever complained about. Ten notable improvements and changes I found in the P26: 1-The new IC is incredibly energy efficient by 150%. The capacity of the Sony P26 alkaline battery is 100 hours for FM against 40 hours for the S10MK2. Both are rated a bit longer in the morning. In typical real-world use, you'll get even longer battery life than in the stress test format. 2- A smoother voice and more detailed sound on FM music is immediately apparent. The new IC draws more pleasing sound and better detail from the small speaker at a reasonable personal listening volume for less listener fatigue. Of course, you can still make it sound bad if too much volume is applied. Both the old Sony model and the new P26 use the exact same size speaker, but the two radios sound very different when tuned to the same classic FM station. The tonal advantage goes to the P26.3 - Finally, the P26's 3.5mm headphone jack works with stereo headphones to deliver mono audio to both headphones ending a long complaint about the left side only audio from the headphone jack on legacy model. It was never really a big deal for me, but it seemed like a big deal for others. 4-The hinged battery cover is now nearly impossible to lose, although you'll be opening it much less often. darkens as the batteries weaken, signaling the need to replace them. The LED battery monitor only works when the radio is powered on, so it also serves as an indicator light even if the red tuning LED is not on and the volume is turned down. 6-Convenient combination OFF/AM/FM slide switch on the right side. If you want the same station at the same volume as last time, just slide the switch UP to the appropriate band and it plays at the same volume as long as the tuning hasn't drifted too far. One click for AM and two clicks for FM. Easy to do with the thumb of one hand. AM/OFF/FM might have been a better arrangement. 7-Flat housing base with a seating rail that completely wraps around the base of the radio. It is more stable than the legacy model which relied on two very short rails molded only to the narrow sides of the bottom of the case. The old S10MK2 falls off so easily you can sneeze on it and it falls off. So either I hang one by the strap, hold it continuously, or lay it on a table like it's already fallen because that's where it's going to end up anyway. The new P26 can still be knocked down, but not as easily. 8-The P26 strap is a much thicker and softer material instead of the legacy model's thin strap and it's also longer, making it easier to put on and take off a male sized wrist. The strap is optional instead of also factory installed. Strap mounting holes have been moved to the opposite side of the radio from the FM antenna, making the strap less likely to get caught between the FM antenna and the radio case when folding the antenna for storage, but now the strap tends to come my way when adjusting. This new location is the better of the two though. I think a strap is a useful security feature on a handheld radio, so I installed it. 9- The much maligned swivel FM antenna and antenna mount are retained from the S10MK2, but a new large plastic antenna mount is screwed into the back of the P26 case reinforcing the entire mount to hopefully prevent you from bending it. The downside to this new mounting bracket is that it adds depth to the unit. Also, new small retaining stops are molded into the housing to help hold the antenna in the stowed position, but they don't perform much better than the retaining stops on the legacy model. The FM antenna layout on the S10MK2 has always been an issue, and while you can still break the antenna on the P26, these changes will help some. (An antenna that stores inside the radio is a better idea, although it doesn't swivel.) 10- The red tuning LED seems more useful than the old one. The P26 is not perfect. Here are my four disappointments and #1 is huge: 1-The P26 I received is a weaker receiver than either of my S10MK2s on AM and FM. With any analog pocket radio model, you can get a good one, a good one, a good one, or a dud. This explains the disparity of opinions. The P26 I got is good at FM and just AM while other copies may be better or worse. The type you get largely depends on how well the radio is aligned at the factory. Very little time is spent on the accurate alignment of cheap pocket radios, so it's kind of a gamble. If you're not a technician with the right test equipment and knowledge, resist the temptation to try a do-it-yourself alignment because you can make it worse or even destroy the radio. It is at the reception that my P26 loses two stars. I felt that for 50% more money it should be better than the legacy model, but it's not. 2- An improvement has led to something that you might consider a disappointment if you don't know what's going on. Remember how I said it sounded better with more FM music details? This new voice is both a blessing and a curse. The speaker output power on the P26 and S10MK2 is 100mw, but a P26 will generally be judged as softer in volume as the audio section of the new IC obviously has a wider frequency response which makes the sound of the richer little speaker. Lower frequencies consume more output power. So the more bass or lower mids sent to the speaker, the more power it takes to achieve the same apparent volume as a radio with no bass or lower mids like the S10MK2. The P26 is still loud enough for a pocket radio, which is personal listening volume. Cleanroom filling audio is not an attribute of any pocket radio I have ever had.3-After much criticism that the phone jack is not located on the top of the S10MK2, Sony left the socket in the exact same lower left position on the P26. This is because the top is also the best place for the internal AM Ferrite bar antenna which takes up almost the full width of the top and moving the socket to the top panel would mean moving the antenna to a less ideal location or shortening it, which would be even worse. For handheld use, you can alleviate the side plug location problem yourself by getting a headset with a 90 degree angled plug instead of a straight plug. It doesn't really matter to me since I don't use earmolds but people who use headphones are pretty vocal. 4- EMI is still a problem on AM without a miracle innovation in the P26. In rooms with a lot of RF noise from computers, fluorescent or CFL bulbs, neon lights, Wi-Fi, cell phones, small appliances, sewing machines, etc. ., the AM band will still only be usable for strong local stations. This is also the case for all other analog AM portables with such sensitivity. All pocket AM/FM radios seem to exhibit their best reception when you hold the radio in your hand and that hasn't changed here either. Summary: The new Sony ICF-P26 I received is almost a worthy replacement of the ICF-S10MK2, but not quite. For one thing, compared to the legacy model, my P26 sounds slightly better and has incredibly longer battery life. It's a very sensible emergency radio since the batteries last 150% longer. However, my copy is below receipt. Yours may be better, or it could be worse. My new P26 doesn't have the value to me at $20 that the S10MK2 was at the original retail price of $10 or even the final retail price of $13 when it was discontinued. Yes, the P26 has other improvements, but those are things no one complained about like battery life and no one ever suggested adding a battery status monitoring LED. The battery monitor LED is pig lipstick and doesn't really impact reception or sound which are the two big things people look for in a pocket radio. I don't foresee the production of the P26 spanning three decades like the S10MK2 did. I'm not disappointed enough to return my P26 as it sounds nicer on FM music and I'm going to use it for that. Based on two weeks of experience, I can say that my new ICF-P26 is an above average sounding FM pocket radio that looks neat, but isn't an outstanding receiver as it was the legacy model. My Sony ICF-38 which is still in production sounds better and picks up better than the P-26, but it is much bigger, heavier and more expensive. As of this writing, final inventory of S10MK2 models is in retail channels, including Amazon. If you want one, hurry and bring your wallet as prices have already shot up 300% to 400% and will almost surely rise as stocks dwindle. If the P26 was better than the S10MK2, this price spike wouldn't happen on the legacy model, would it? Joni Mitchell wrote a line in "Big Yellow Taxi" that read, "Doesn't it always seem like you don't know what you got until it's gone," and it seems like the Sony ICF-S10MK2 legacy will be missed more than I thought.