Prunus J-170 Retro Style AM FM BT MP3 Shortwave Radio Review

The Prunus J-170 Retro Style AM FM Bluetooth MP3 Player Shortwave Portable Radio has a Distinct Look that will Turn Heads at your Next Party. The Low Tonal Speaker Audio helps to Replicate the Warmth of Older Tube Radios from the 1940's. Wood Cabinet, Easy to Use Controls, Rechargeable, Bluetooth, TWS Feature, Excellent Audio, Built in Carrying Handle, and Access to all the Features from the Front of the Unit makes this worthy of your Green.
(paid links below) As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. There are no additional costs to you.
▶ The Prunus J-170 AM FM Shortwave Radio at Amazon: amzn.to/43tyvUw
▶ The Prunus J-150 BTS AM FM Shortwave Radio at Amazon: amzn.to/402pNtn
▶ Todd's Shop: www.amazon.com...
Features I like about the J-170:
Classy, Retro Looks.
Easy to Operate.
Rechargeable.
Wood Cabinet.
Speaker Sounds Great playing Music, and Old Time Radio Shows.
Shortwave Reception is Good when attached to a simple Length of Wire.
AM Reception is Decent.
Bluetooth.
MP3 Player. It will remember current Track, and Track Position when Radio is Powered Off.
TWS Function Allows the Use of a Second J-170 to Create Stereo Playback in the BT Mode.
Built in Handle.
Bass Port.
Affordable Price.
Features that could be Added or Improved on:
Replaceable Battery. This thing is Huge, and should not be an issue to add this :)
A longer Whip Antenna. FM requires this, if you live in a Suburban/Rural area.
An AC option.
Overall, this radio gets a Recommended Buy from me when the Price is South of $30. Otherwise check out the smaller J-150 BTS. A fantastic, little radio that has a Removable Battery, plus the option of D Cell Operation.
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#prunus #j170 #shortwave

[@todderbert]

(paid links below) As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. There are no additional costs to you. ▶ The Prunus J-170 AM FM Shortwave Radio at Amazon: amzn.to/43tyvUw ▶ The Prunus J-150 BTS AM FM Shortwave Radio at Amazon: amzn.to/402pNtn

[@Larry2463]

The PRUNUS J-150 is apparently no longer available at Amazon. The page for J-150 says the following. "Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock."

[@prunusradio]

@@Larry2463 sorry about that, It sell too fast exceeded our expectations. But no worries the J-150 will be restock within 1 week.😀

[@flyboy6258]

If it had a battery access door, it would be a buy. They don't last forever. Thank you for your review.

[@radellaf]

Can’t help but wish those play-ff-rew buttons were analog car radio style presets. My dad would probably love a retro styled radio, but wants at least 5 if not 10 one-button memories

[@fixman88]

Very nice sound quality, I'll probably pick one up! I already have the J-150 but mine doesn't have the solar panel (I put two of my rechargeable lithium D cells in it so it will last a WHILE between charging them). Another cool thing is the slot on top to stick your phone. The TWS thing is a part of the Bluetooth standard, starting with version 4.2. I have a few Bluetooth speakers that can use it too.

[@DizJakeOG]

Really nice looking and sounding radio. Great job on the video.

[@Seekthetruth3000]

No dial light, no tone control knob. Good review.

[@garyblackerby3226]

Modderbert potential… yes indeed!

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

Really loving this wave of Retro-style multiband and MP3 playback radios from Prunus. They really make it hard to resist x3 LOVE this design as much as the J-150 BTS. The camera doesn't even do it justice because it looks even nicer in reality. Especially the golden paintjob looks more like a nice goldish Copper tone in reality, which i think looks absolutely gorgeous and fits the woodgrain texture on the side really really nicely :) Nice that the USB slot is on the front. Less likely to break off by accident when it's on the front with the Buttons. Even a bit bigger than the J-150. They really are kicking it with the designs and the price. And yeah i'd LOVE to see a dedicated Antenna Mod video for this model :) Would be nice to see what's inside.

[@prunusradio]

Great idea, we may can try to made a inside series video for PRUNUS radios to attract more friends to follow us.

[@ys-zk2js]

48 FM stations found matches the (very) retro look of the radio😂 It does look good though. My grandparents had a very similar looking one in France and boy was I glued to it as child when visiting them. I’d buy one of these but I really wished they had used the MP3 buttons for band selection instead of the super boring boring band selector switch . Would have made it even more “realistic” for a retro looking radio. The grunding use these “fat” buttons to select the bands. Anyways, still a great (as always) review from you Todd 👍🏻

[@victorboucher675]

Thank you.

[@defaultuserid1559]

Check out the new Prunus J-199 please. 10 Watts and it looks like it takes 2 D cells or what looks like 2 18650 rechargeable cells. Also runs on AC. I'm getting one so we can compare notes later if you get one. Great video BTW. You've turned me on to some great gear at reasonable prices and some obscure brands I would never have checked out myself.

[@todderbert]

The J-199 has 9kHz fixed stepping I believe. Maybe Prunus can jump on here and confirm.

[@prunusradio]

@@todderbert yes, it's 9kHz on AM step

[@defaultuserid1559]

@@todderbert So far I like the J-199. It's really cool looking. The sound is pretty good but not overly bassy. It tunes AM better than I thought it would and I have no trouble tuning my normal stations in Baltimore and Philly so I don't know about the 9KHz stepping. It has the weird tuning of a DSP circuit of course. Happy with FM so far. It comes with 2 unmarked 18650 cells used in parallel. The AC should only be used on FM, BT and MP3 functions - the amount of interference on AM and SW when plugged in is pretty bad. Just some rough feedback after using it a day running on the 18650s mostly.

[@chrismoser3481]

Prunus logo reminds me of something…

[@radellaf]

Georgia, of course.

[@madmax2069]

Prunus a tree

[@radellaf]

@@madmax2069 Interesting, yes, the peach tree is in that genus (Prunus persica). That completes the connection of name to logo. cool.

[@madmax2069]

​​@@radellaf I was mainly coming from the angle of prunus sounds like Prune us, like go prune us a tree

[@CL-ty6wp]

I read it as Primus at first glance

[@tenfourproductionsllc]

People say shortwave is dead, AM is almost dead, and FM is declining but yet we have more choices of more radios by far than anytime in history at a price that is by far the lowest in history.

[@littleBIGrobots]

Hey Todd, been enjoying your reviews. I am looking for a small desktop radio, maybe one that is also portable, so I can listen to stations from all over and just enjoy exploring. But, I also want one that might be good for emergencies? I like this one, but also enjoy some more expensive ones. Not sure if you have an all-in-one you likw? Thinking of spending up to $100.00.

[@todderbert]

I'm a fan of the C.Crane EP-Pro. It's an AM FM Stereo Receiver only, but has Bass/Treble Controls, Simple Analog Dial, and a Long Range AM Antenna inside. Runs on DC Adapter mostly, but also will take four D Cell batteries. An inexpensive choice may be the Sony ICF-19 AM FM Radio that takes D Cells, and runs for Four hundred hours on a Set of them.

[@littleBIGrobots]

@@todderbert thanks so much! I'm excited to get more into radio. :)

[@todderbert]

@@littleBIGrobots cool! I have been enjoying some NPR news lately. Old Time Radio shows, Coast to Coast AM, and more...Radio is still alive :)

[@jja2085]

For sound quality which one would you buy,the 170 or the 150?

[@todderbert]

I prefer the brighter tone of the J-150. If you like a deep, lower tone, then this J-170 wooden cabinet design may be for you. The J-150 has a user replaceable 18650, or it can run on two D cell Batteries. A plus in my book. The J-150 is used almost daily on the radio bench tuned to Shortwave Broadcasts.

[@jja2085]

@@todderbert Thanks for the feedback,looks like I'll go with the J-150.

[@bobriemersma]

I have adequate numbers of AM/FM receivers. I'd really like a SW broadcast bands receiver that's sensitive and selective. I don't see any point in faux-analog dials, so Santa give me a legible LCD and good quality buttons to direct-enter station frequencies. Memories? Great, but don't bury them in a maze of display hints and multi-button clicks. MP3? BT in? Nope, just give me BT-out to earbuds/phones/speakers as an option.

[@radellaf]

Yeah I have never seen a BT out, though I have run headphone out to a BT (or FM) transmitter. The analog DSP dials have their place but there are plenty out there like you describe. R-108, the new xhdata 109, and then lots of good ones near $100

[@DEATHVIPER1777]

Can you replace the battery if need be? No AC?

[@todderbert]

If you can solder, then yes. It is enclosed inside the radio.

[@airwolf1987]

Is it very sensitive?

[@todderbert]

It is good, but not overly sensitive. It will receive quite a bit depending on your location.

[@airwolf1987]

@@todderbert have you ever picked up ham operators on it? I love listening to hams. I thought about using the 2 radios trick. You put 2 radios together. One for shortwave, the other on the AM band. Tune through the AM band to get rid of "duck talk".

[@gregorycampbell5907]

Headphone ?

[@todderbert]

No, I wish they would add one to these types of radios.

[@rayo631]

Do you ever pick up English radio stations

[@todderbert]

I do pick up BBC on occasion. Normally it is African/Chinese stations.