I used to sell radios and other electronic equipment in my younger days and I have had my Sony XDRS55DABB.CEK radio now for a year or so. I admit to not using it that much as it is not one of the better ones I have owned and it is now relegated to one of the lower down drawers in my basement where I keep stuff I don't use too often.

This was bought as a portable radio for my own personal use but I have been personally somewhat disappointed with the length of the battery life to be honest. I find that it works far better when plugged into the mains as the reception is better. Whenever I have used the batteries it seems to struggle more to locate (and maintain) a decent reception and also I personally find I have to fully extend the aerial if I ever use the battery option.

It came with a full set of instructions and cost me £30 from a seller on Ebay. It is very simple and easy to use and when I first switch it on it searches all the digital stations which are available. I can easily save these stations by depressing the STORE button on the side of the radio and the memory will store the stations fine until the next time I use it. The memory in this respect does not let me down even if I have not used it for some time.

It is a good size to be transported around but as I say I find the battery life is poor and will average me approximately 8 hours at a time of continuous use (alkaline batteries). It is not a stereo portable radio - sound eminates from simply one small speaker located at the front of the device, however, I fing this is perfectly ample and the sound quality is good I feel depite there being only a single mono speaker. In my opinion the sound is good and not tinny considering it is such a small sized radio.

The radio is FM/DAB and I liked the fact that when it arrived it came complete with a handy carrying case. The carrying case has become lost over the years but the radio itself is durable and very robust and has survived many knocks and tumbles from all of my family.

I personally feel that the aerial is a little flimsy however, and when fully extended it is prone to bending. Apart from this, however I do feel this is a decent little radio and worth the money and one I can heartily recommend.

Review also poste don Ciao as sorehead