Aiwa HS-PS173 > Reviews > Let me down when I most needed it!

Author's product rating:   

Sound Quality	Good
Ease of Use	Very Easy
Look & Design	Good
Range of Features	Limited
Value for Money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Straightforward, some good details, AM radio, low cost
Disadvantages:	Broke very quickly !  Screwed tapes easily .  Also on the large side .

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

I bought this for £3.99 in ASDA, a few days before going on a long train journey.

I have had millions of Walkmans over the years - don't get me started on iPods and MP3 players and that, I've had all kinds of trouble with them! - so for this journey I just wanted a good, straightforward tape player and radio as I had a couple of tapes I wanted to listen to, and I didn't think radio receptio across the country would be good enough to rely on the radio on my phone like I usually do.

So, cheerfully, I picked up this colourful, cheap and cheerful thing from said store, and took it home to investigate.

Well, that didn't take long!

It plays tapes and it has an analogue AM/FM radio that one has to tune in oneself with the dial. You can't, accordingly, preset radio stations, and unless you're like me and compulsively familiar with the whereabouts of those you listen to, this could get really annoying.

The actual player itself is extremely light, feels as cheap as it is, is made of very "thin" feeling plastic.

It's certainly not slimline, either, and is actually rather wide even for what it is, I couldn't get it in a pocket comfortably.

Comes with headphones, but mine didn't come with batteries (like many Walkmans, it runs on 2 x AA batteries) though I have seen it sold with batteries in Dixons since.

It's not an unattractive thing, and the blue seethrough screen is useful for, er, seeing how far through your tape you are!

It has basic functions such as stop, start, fast forward and rewind, but it does seem to take *forever* to do just about anything.

The headphones were reasonable quality, came with pads that I never use cause I find them horribly uncomfortable, though I know you're meant to.

The sound wasn't too bad, clear-cut for the most part and a good variable volume level, although the modification dial on the thing that alleged you could change the tone and pitch of the sound just basically lied.

The volume control was also analogue, and as such, it often slipped or adjusted itself when I wasn't expecting it! There is a 'hold' function too which is intended to prevent such things I think, but I often forgot to use it...

For two or three days this not-so-little thing lived fairly cheerfully in my bag and delivered reasonable sound, played tapes well enough, and gave me access to Radio 5 on AM which a lot of my past Walkmans haven't delivered, so when it came to football being on, that was a definite bonus! Radio reception was clear enough, not perfect, but certainly reasonable.

I did find myself twice with tape everywhere when I tried to play it after having carried it for a moment or two, and had to open it up, untangle the stuff, and try again - it seemed to need tightening as the mechanism didn't hold it well during transit.

The main problem, though, is that I came to my train journey, and set myself up.

Half an hour down the way, I was greatly enjoying an audio book.

Lovely journey, indeed.

I stopped the tape for a moment when I went to buy myself a drink, and then, then, then the trauma occurred.

On pressing 'play'...nothing!

Now, I'm not too stupid when it comes to these things.

I changed the batteries for fresh.

I changed the headphones, just in case.

I looked for obstructions, wondered if I'd dropped it, poked it in all pokeable places.

I tried the radio, FM and AM.

I checked the rather useless instruction pamphlet that was still knocking about in my bag, but it had no suggestions.

I checked the 'hold' button wasn't on and the volume and everything, really.

Absolutely.

Nothing.

Happened.

Well I very nearly cried, I tell you, because, I had made such preparations for my journey!

And, that was that!

Never could get it to work again.

So, for three days, it seemed fine, and it hadn't run out of battery.

Sure, it was a bit chewy with the tapes, but, such is "old" technology at times, I could work with that!

It's just, it died on me *completely*.

I accept it might be a one-off, a condition of my bag, or something, anything, but I never could find a reason for it!

I wouldn't buy this make again, even in a more expensive version, simply because of the fact that this broke.

I realise that Walkmen aren't all that fashionable these days, with MP3 players and the like taking over the known universe, but for speed and ease of entertainment, I do like to have one around.

I'm off looking for a new one soon - but it won't be one of these!

That said, there are surely worse you could give a go, and for the low price, well, if you're stuck somewhere and desperate for something to listen to, you could do worse than grab one of these for under a fiver and pass a few hours in its company, but don't expect it to be anything too special, or, like me, you might end up disappointed.