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- Verified Buyer
Update, June 2022: Nearly six years. All below still applies, but I will report that the button sensors are now getting a bit worn and sometimes have to be pushed more than once. I'll be honest - I usually read 5 star reviews last. Many review a product when they've just gotten it and are excited by the new purchase. When I review products, I review them after I've owned them for a good while. I bought this specifically to be a shower radio. If that's what you're after, I'll say again nearly two years after my four year review that this is the product to buy.******At this writing, it's July, 2020. I bought this item in July 2016 because I enjoy listening to radio and podcasts during bathroom time. It's mounted in my shower stall below the shower head and above the shower handles. I found I couldn't get quality sound no matter how loud I turned up the radio outside the shower. This radio has taken a shower with me every day since then and it still works as well as the day I bought it. I spent around 80 bucks for it and it might be my favorite all-time Amazon item purchase. I recently purchased a second that I keep over the kitchen sink.I remember the questions I had in my mind when I bought it so I'll share what I've learned after 4 years of use:Q: Will this radio really stay on the wall in my shower when I'm constantly getting it wet?A: Yes. Totally. I've had it for four years. I use a handheld shower sprayer. I've drenched it for four years. It's firmly stuck to the wall in my shower and has never come loose.Q: Won't the batteries or components get wet?A: No. I've drenched it. The batteries don't get wet. Ever. The display is as prominent as the day I first used it. The buttons work fine. I have no worries that it will suddenly short out. It works great.Q: Even if the batteries stay dry, how long will they last?A: No kidding - FOREVER!...well, close. This might be the most impressive aspect of this item. I put cheap, dollar store batteries in this radio and it's my constant companion almost every time I go into the bathroom. Somehow, the batteries last for many months. Seriously, don't worry about battery life for this radio. It's amazing how long they last. Also, there's a battery strength indicator on the display - when it gets to one bar, it means you've got at least a couple weeks. There's no reason to buy a plug-in power supply or worry. Just buy some D batteries at the dollar store twice a year and you'll be fine. You'll be in the shower and actually say to yourself - "How the heck are those batteries lasting so long?!"Q: How's the volume?A: The volume is good. The volume control goes up to 30. I have a hearing issue, especially with background noise, because I'm more than 50% deaf in one ear. For radio, I set the volume to 20 or 21 while in the shower and I have no problem hearing anything with the water running full blast. Occasionally, the volume isn't so good when picking up streaming over Bluetooth. This has more to do with how the source material was recorded than the quality of the radio volume. If you're looking to blast music for a serious bathroom jam-out session, this is the probably the best you'll find as shower radios go - just look at the ratings of the others on Amazon.Q: Does the Bluetooth work?A: Yes. The Bluetooth connects as well as it does for any device I own.Q: How's the radio reception?A: I live relatively close to a small-ish city, in a good-sized metropolitan area. I listen to radio a great deal and I have no issues picking up the more popular local AM or FM stations in the nearby city. Radio reception is dependent on a variety of factors, so I can only say that I'm happy with it. This radio is as good, or better, than any radio I've owned when it comes to radio reception.Q: What about the emergency alarm feature?A: In the four years I've owned this radio, it's gone off maybe three or four times. When it's gone off, I've already known why it was going off - major storm coming in, etc. If the radio isn't within 20 feet of you, I doubt the alert would wake you up. If you're worried that alerts might be going off all the time, I wouldn't worry about it. If you have the opposite concern, and are wondering if the radio will alert you to major events before the internet and media, the answer is that it won't. The alerts would only be useful to someone with no contact with any kind of external media.Q: The clock is battery operated, so does it keep time?A: Yup. Unless you entirely kill the batteries, the clock will keep accurate time right up to the last breath of the batteries.Q: Whats the deal with the emergency light?A: In the event that your power should go out while you're in the bathroom, the radio has a flashlight built into the side. The light power is like a flashlight you'd buy for a buck or two, but much better than a cheap LED light. So far, I've never had to use it for real, but I push the button every now and again to see that it works.Any negatives? Yes. There's a minor design flaw. When you're in the shower, splish-splashing around, you occasionally find that what you're listening to has suddenly been muted. This is because the grates over the speaker can get filled with water when hit with water at a precise angle. This is easily fixed by simply tipping the radio and letting the water drain out. If you have a hand sprayer in your shower, you can also just give the speaker a zap of high thrust water. Also, about a year ago, while changing batteries,the spring in the battery compartment between the battery and the contacts came off. I simply position it back in place when replacing the batteries and it works fine.Final tips:Read the instruction manual.If you want a shower radio, this radio is a no-brainer. Buy it.
