Well after more time with it, here is why its not what I want, but it gets 5 stars: even on AM this thing will not turn into the busted FALLOUT noisebox I wanted. AM roughs it up a bit, but it still insists on being a clean, normal little stereo. It locks onto stations on FM and AM with almost no static to ride, so there is not much room to fake that drifting wasteland crackle. For a 5W unit it actually sounds very good: full volume is a little ragged but still totally listenable, and it is not tinny at all. What I wanted was the bass gone and the treble slammed, some “retro” mode that strips the low end and leaves thin, sharp mids. What I actually have is a heavy, solid shop radio where the power matches the speakers and the midrange sits perfect for country. The big surprise is reception: whatever they did with the antenna, it walks all over my DeWalt stereos. Not as loud, but it grabs stations and hangs on. So I am still annoyed there is no FALLOUT static box hiding in here, but for the price it is hard to argue with what it does well. Remember, radio ONLY, FM AM, thats IT, no aux, nothing. I think the fact its simple means the money actually went into what matters, and you can feel it in the weight of it, even though its exactly the size you would expect. Buy one, or three. Now I have to find a crappier product. What a weird review.
