Disclaimer: Best Radios UK is audience supported. If you buy via links on here we may get a small commission. This doesn’t impact the price you pay & lets us keep the site free.
The Sony CFD-S70 Boombox
Features
- AM/FM radio
- Saves up to 30 preset radio stations
- 2 x 1.7 W speakers offering stereo sound
- Mega Bass function for extra bass
- Line-in port for connecting an MP3 player or other device
- Cassette deck with a record function
- CD player that plays regular CDs, CD-R/RWs and MP3 CDs
- CD player is programmable and has shuffle and sleep timer functions
- Headphone jack
- Mains-powered or portable using 6 x C (R14) batteries
- Telescopic radio aerial
Dimensions: 31 cm wide x 14 cm high 21.2 cm deep
Weight: 2 kg
Model number: CFDS70B.CEK
Performance and use
CD player
The Sony CFD-S70 Boombox has a top-loading CD player that can play regular CDs or CD-RWs and MP3 CDs. This means you could burn hundreds of songs to a single disc as MP3s and play them on the CD player.
One good thing about the CD player is that it offers gapless playback. This means there isn’t any pause between tracks, so if you’re listening to a recording of a live concert or other CD where the tracks run into one another, you won’t notice it.
The CD player also remembers the track you were listening to when you switched it off and will let you resume playing from that point.
Cassette player
Depending on your age, the cassette player could either be the main reason why you’re interested in this product, or it might be completely irrelevant to you. If you have a large collection of tapes collecting dust, the Sony CFD-S70 Boombox will let you rediscover them. You can also use it to record from the CD player or the radio, though the recording quality isn’t especially clear.
It’s important to note that the product doesn’t contain a built-in microphone, so you can’t use this cassette player to record yourself. Some people buy the Sony CFD-S70 Boombox with the intention of recording themselves practicing an instrument, and only later realise that this isn’t possible.
Ease of use
The Sony CFD-S70 Boombox is generally easy to use, and comes with a clear and straightforward user manual. Most of the controls are obvious, so you will probably only need the manual for things like programming CDs and saving presets. These functions are intuitive too, unlike on many other machines where they are unnecessarily complicated.
Sound quality
This is a small and inexpensive radio, so you wouldn’t expect it to sound amazing. The Sony CFD-S70 Boombox sounds decent for speech and pop music, but isn’t great for genres such as classical music where you want to be able to hear finer details.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Decent sound quality for the price
- Feels sturdy and well made
- Good range of features for the price (AM/FM radio, cassette player, CD player)
- Good amount of volume, enough for using for things like dance/aerobics classes in relatively small halls
- CD player plays MP3 CDs
- Small and light
- Attractive design
Cons
- No aux-in connection
- Several buyers found that either the CD player or cassette player stopped working after a few months, suggesting issues with reliability.
- Can sound quite tinny
Verdict
The Sony CFD-S70 Boombox
This product’s main flaws are its somewhat tinny sound and issues concerning the reliability of the CD player. If you need excellent sound quality and a more reliable CD player, you should consider choosing a different model.
Alternative CD player radios
One similar product is the Roberts CD9959 Swallow
A higher quality alternative is the Roberts ZoomBox2, which arguably has better sound quality than the Sony CFD-S70 Boombox and also offers DAB radio and a USB port for playing MP3s, though again it doesn’t feature a cassette player.
You can also check out our roundup of the best radio CD players.
The power cable doesn’t fit properly. It is loose and keeps falling out.
Found the instructions for MP3 discs VERY difficult to interpret. Have almost given up trying. Very disappointing from a well known name and supposedly quality product.
I got this because my old unit was very crackly on AM radio. Compared to the sound of my old unit (when it worked properly) this is very muffled and poor, like it was stuck in a cupboard or something. The instructions for the radio presets were utterly incomprehensible and I gave up trying. This means having to tune in to the channel each time. I should note that the sound quality is equally poor on CD, FM etc. – the problem largely being the speakers.
VERY disappointed. 3 out of 10. You can get better than this for £20.