About as good as you can get for the money and very high quality. I got this for when I travel abroad, often to remote places, and have been very pleased with it. Back light, clock, alarm, just about anything you'd want to keep you company.When not traveling I'm not a DXer or shortwave hobbiest, so some of its features are lost on me. However, I do listen to NPR hours a day and it makes for a great (albeit pricey) small radio- the reception is the best I've found (and I have a lot of radios!). The built in stand makes it easily rest on a table top.While it does everything, it is darn complicated initially so read and keep the manual. Also, read one of the reviews below to get the appropriate AC power supply (www.universal-radio.com).Wish list? Protective case (pretty standard in this class) and an aux input for mp3 playback.