Long live CDs and cassettes. They only die when we can’t play them anymore, and luckily the Sony CFD S70 can play both and radio. It’s definitely a contender as one of the best tabletop radio, even though anyone from that era knows it’s really a boombox. It does not have the best speakers, but it works fine if you want to experience music the old-school way.
Why We Like It – Sony CFDS70 Review
The Sony CFD S70 is the perfect radio boombox for the listener who has a collection of cassettes and CDs they want to play from. With good sound quality and surprisingly deep bass, this radio will definitely take you back to the days before streaming. While it won’t make a great bookshelf speaker, it’s certainly a nice tabletop speaker.
- Can play radio, CDs, and cassettes
- Surprisingly large bass sound for its size
- Portable with a long battery life
- Not ideal for playing digital music
Performance
If you’re buying the Sony CFD S70 to listen to FM radio it won’t disappoint. It gets good reception and has a convenient digital tuner. You can preset up to 30 different radio stations for quick access, unlike the Anker SoundCore Playtime Bluetooth portable, which is just a small, but powerful speaker.
Being much different than the Sony HT ST5000, this Sony also has a CD player and cassette player built into it, which perform as expected. The full stereo sound is a nice touch, and the speaker also has a mega bass boost to give the bass some extra punch.
The radio conveniently works off of AC or battery power, the latter of which has up to 19 hours of playback time. It’s great given how portable it is, just like the Bag of Rhythm, which is a boombox in a bag.
Design
The CFD S70 is an update on the classic Sony boombox design that the company has been producing for decades. That’s to say that Sony knows what they’re doing. Controls are straightforward and easy to use. It’s a good product that’s well designed for those who prefer the older methods of music playback.
Value
It can be hard to find a CD cassette boombox these days, so just being able to get one from a top audio company like Sony is valuable enough. Even top-rated radios like Sangean WR-11 Wood Cabinet and Soundance SDY019 don’t have CD or cassette capability. The funny thing is that this radio would probably be cheaper twenty-five years ago, but here we are.
Sony CFDS70 Review Wrap Up
With good sound quality across all playback methods, this Sony is a solid, versatile boombox radio that you can enjoy in any room of the house or outdoors. It’s portable enough to take with you and has long battery life. If you just want a radio, maybe the Panasonic RF-2400D is a better bet. But if you want the versatility to play CDs and cassettes, this is a good buy for enjoying those playback methods.
