QFX J-19 J19 Am/FM/SW1-2 4 Band Radio/Cassette Recorder

Does exactly what it's supposed to do.

I bought my QFX J-19 locally because it was out of stock on Amazon at the time. I bought this radio-cassette in a quest to find the best unit of its type for people like me who have audio cassettes they want to play. This is the one you want to get.Let me tell you why the J-19 is better than other units I've tried. First, a nearly universal problem of these low-cost radio-cassette units is bad tape speed regulation. The two potential problems you'll see are a uniformly wrong speed (so pre-recorded tapes sound too slow or too fast, essentially making them unlistenable), or tape speed that varies too much, causing unsteady, warbling audio. Of the two problems, if you have to choose one I guess you'd pick the first because at least then you can make your own tapes and listen to them on the same machine you made them on. But, really, either problem makes a unit fall far short of what you'd like to have.The J-19 wasn't my first rodeo. I also have two QFX J-7s and one has good tape speed regulation but the other plays too slowly. I have a QFX J-22 boombox and it plays slightly too fast but not so much so that it's unlistenable - just annoying in that the audio isn't exactly as it should be. I have an older Panasonic handheld cassette player-recorder and it plays too slow. An early 90s high-quality Sharp boombox I have, which has dual-cassettes and a five-disc CD changer, has tape speed that's spot on (as judged with pre-recorded tapes) so I'm kind of using that one as the gold standard for my own testing.Obviously the Sharp is excellent but I've wanted a smaller unit for enhanced portability (the Sharp probably weighs 20 pounds). I spotted the J-19 on Amazon but noted that it was out of stock. However, I found it at a local area big box electronic retailer. I decided to go get it, taking 4 D batteries with me, plus a pre-recorded Red Hot Chili Peppers cassette and one that I'd recorded myself in the Sharp. I figured, I'm testing this guy before I even leave the parking lot, and if the tape speed is off I'm just going back in to return it. I don't need any more units of this type sitting around that I never use because they don't work properly.Well...I bought it, got it outside, loaded the batteries and popped in the tape. This thing really impressed me. Not only was the tape speed just as perfect and consistent as the Sharp, but it also had killer audio for a $30 unit with a single speaker - with a tone control for some user customization - plus very strong audio power. Controls feel good, too, and radio reception is excellent on both AM and FM. I am even able to get a few signals on shortwave. (If you're into shortwave, note that the J-19 has great band coverage, going all the way from 3.2 - 22 MHz.)QFX hit a home run with this one. In fact I was so impressed that I headed back into the store and bought another one, thinking maybe I just got lucky the first time and the second one will knock me back down to reality. Nope, the second one performs identically well. (I'll hang on to that one to give as a gift. I do not buy things and return them unless they're defective.)Some other things you notice about the J-19 is that it feels much better finished than other similarly-priced units. I do like the little J-7 (and one of the two I have plays tapes at the right speed) but the tape mechanism is quite a bit noisier than the one in this J-19. For the extra $5 to $10 you pay for this J-19, you're getting a unit with a much higher-quality feel. I do think the J-7 is a worthy little unit, especially if you want one that's a little smaller, but if you can tolerate one that's a little bigger and costs a few bucks more, opt for this J-19.One other thing you get with this J-19 is the ability to play MP3s directly from a USB flash drive or an SD card. Sound quality is exceptional and play is flawless. You get the capability to play digital audio by just throwing files from your computer on a card or USB drive. No need to carry CDs around or hassle with pairing it to your phone. Plus the SD and USB ports are on top. This is a much better design than other units I have that put them on the front, where it's easy to damage the port if you carry the unit with an SD card or USB drive inserted and accidentally brush the side of the unit against something.There's other stuff out there that you could also consider if you're looking for tape playing and recording capability plus other audio options. Sony has the CFD-S70BLK. It costs about $60 - roughly double the price of this QFX - but it also has a CD player so it's a little bigger and heavier than the QFX. Plus, it uses 6 C batteries, while this QFX only takes 4 D batteries and they seem to last very long. I've played a mixture of radio, MP3s, and tapes (mostly tapes) in my J-19 yet my original 4 D batteries are still going strong. Still, the Sony represents a good option if you don't mind spending a little more and you want to play CDs as well as tapes and the radio. It's one of the last all-in-one boomboxes from a major electronics manufacturer so it's worth a look.On the other hand, if you're looking for a quality-built radio-cassette unit that's not expensive and makes your tapes sound great (or, at least as good as any tape ever can sound) the QFX J-19 is the best I've found. Plus you get a very solid performing radio and the ability to play audio from a USB drive or SD card.