Eton Sound 100 AM/FM Radio, Silver Review

After many weeks of research I decided to buy the Eton Sound 100. Especially when the blue model came available at a big discount. The first day of use was exciting because the sound quality this unit produced was far superior to any bedside radio I previously used. But soon the quirks (bugs) became obvious. Here is my list of reasons for returning this item and opting instead for the Sangean RCR-22 (which has not yet arrived but I am hopeful)
1. The bass level was way too high. Needs a better balance. I had to stuff the back opening with tissue paper in order to dampen the bass a bit. If you are into big sound with really big bass then this is your unit.
2. The case rattles at the highest volume levels. I'm sure this would not be an issue if the bass wasn't so intense. This is a minor issue since I would rarely set the volume up all the way.
3. LCD display is way too bright and not adjustable. I read some reviews about this issue but thought they were whiners. I stand corrected. I had to cover the unit with a heavy-fabric ball cap at night just to get the light down to a normal level. I also had to turn it around so the back was facing me. Do not buy this unit if you are not willing to cover this unit at night in order to sleep.
4. Display hard to read when standing over or when not looking square into it. Also, VERY annoying is the fact that when the radio is on the display shows the radio station in large digits and relegates the time digits to the top corner of the display. You cannot read the time unless you are at eye-level and at least 12 inches from the unit while the radio is on.
5. The volume knob is buggy. Sometimes I'd turn it one notch and it would gain/reduce one or more levels. Sometimes it would gain/reduce just one level as I would expect. One time I used the remote to reduce the volume and it actually started to increase. Again this is a minor flaw but for a moderately expensive radio you expect good fit and finish on the most basic elements.
6. FM reception not as great as I expected from some of these reviews. My car radio gets better reception. My bedroom is on the second story and the unit placed right under a window. Sometimes a station would sound decent with that antenna fully closed and tucked away. Then I would fully extend the antenna and that same station would sound worse (whats up with that?). Other times a station would sound better depending on where I was physically standing in the room. Felt like behavior from a dime-store radio. My top 5 favorite stations came in fine almost all the time so this may not be an issue for you. I am hoping the long reputation of Sangean's radio quality is an improvement.
7. Alarm clock a bit strange from what I was used to. You basically program the radio station and volume you wish to wake to at the time of setting the alarm. I was used to just setting the wake time and whatever was the last used station and volume level was your wake settings. I am not sure if this is an improvement. Given more time to get used to this I probably would have appreciated it.

I still give this unit a 3 because its big sound really blew me away and it's alarm clock functions are easier than my previous Sony unit. I barely needed the instructions manual and I was setup and ready to go in minutes. Other things I liked...

1. Cool styling
2. Very easy to set time/presets/alarm
3. Perfect size for a nightstand
4. Headphone jack for private listening
5. Line-in jack for mp3 player. Also a line-out for external speakers.
6. Only 3 buttons on the top of the unit which makes it very easy to find the sleep and alarm-off buttons in the morning.
7. Digital tuning (I love this) and automatically stops at next clear station when you are scanning. Scanning is really easy also, you just hold the up/down buttons in for an extra second.
8. Battery backup available, but not even needed for short outages. There must be a built-in capacitor that holds all your presets and the time for at least 30 minutes or more. This was very nice to find.

So there is a lot to like about this unit...if you don't care about sleeping in the dark and don't mind the other annoyances above. I would have gladly lived with all the cons above except for the issues I had with the display made me return it. The other stuff I can live with. The Eton Sound 100 feels like a 1st generation product. I look forward to improvements on future models because this unit really has a lot going for it as an entry model. I wish they would use an LED display, not LCD.

Buy it here now!