Sangean PT-10 AM/FM Stereo LW/SW Shortwave World Band Travel Radio Review

I am a die-hard "small SW radio" fan and 'news junkie'. Will not buy the $1.- American newspaper when I can have the news free. Also, I will not acknowledge that ever since the Cold War is over, propaganda transmissions on SW (in English) are "over and out". HOWEVER, when you are in (Central) Europe, (North) Africa, Central and South America and you do not speak the local Arabic, Hungarian, Russian, Japanese, Hindi, and Urdu these little radios will keep you connected to the BBC or other English Language News.

PROS:
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Sound: very good for this size.

FM sensitivity very good. I compared to the Sangean ATS 909 -- Sangean's top of the line. However for weak stations, annoyingly dependent on antenna position.

AM sensitivity good (not outstanding).

SW "haphazard". Good on 49m and 31m bands. On 19m and 16m I could not pick up some stations which came in loud and clear with ATS 909.

LW: I could not test in the US. Past experience with other Sangean radios in France and 'Eastern Block' was only "mediocre".

The accuracy of the dial is exceptional! I could actually use the numbers on the dial to retrieve a SW, AM or FM station.

Cons:
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I did not like the design. The leather case is press-buttoned to the radio. Looks cheap, klutzy and ugly (with or without the case). The competition (e.g. the small Kaitos) looks and feels far more elegant.

Unfortunately, the mechanical built puts this radio in the "Chinese $25- to $35.- class".



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Sangean PT-633 AM/FM Stereo/Sw Travel Radio Review

I picked up this radio on an impulse purchase for about 40 bucks. My job takes me all over North America, so I wanted to have a radio that I could use for AM, FM and SW listening, but I didn't want to lug around something bulky and/or expensive.

This radio is one of the very few SW pocket portable models you'll find that still uses analog tuning. While it does mean that you don't know what exact frequency you're receiving until you get a verbal confirmation, I still sometimes prefer to tune through the bands using an old-fashioned analog dial.

It features a two zone clock -- one for local time, and one for world time. That's handy for fast calculations of when a particular station is broadcasting. The alarm feature is easy to use, and there's a 60 minute sleep timer as well.

Sound is decent (what can you expect, really?) from the small speaker, and pretty good when using the supplied earbuds. You can even listen to FM stero through them.

Sensitivity seemed best (to me) on FM, AM (or MW) seemed a little noisy, but that may have just been due to interference. Strong SW stations came through loud and clear. I attached a 23' wire antenna to the whip, although it's not a necessity.

Bottom line: This is a nice little radio with good performance for the price. It's not intended for daily or serious SW listening. For that I would recommend the Grundig S350 or YB400PE (among others.) The size makes it very easy to stick in a briefcase, and it's easy to use.

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Sangean PT-50 AM/FM Stereo SW Shortwave World Band Digital Travel Radio with World Time Review

This radio only can tune in stations via an old-school tuning knob, making it a MAJOR pain to go from one station to another!!! It has NO preset capability!!! And what "genius" decided to NOT include a power cord??? I would've had to shell out $25 extra at Radio Shack just to be able to plug this freakin' thing in!!! You're better off getting this model:

Sangean PT-80 AM/FM Professional Digital Stereo LW/SW Shortwave World Band Travel Radio

It has preset capablity, auto tuning, an included power cord, and an optional antenna to improve shortwave reception. You'll get more bang for you buck when you get this model.

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Am/fm Utility Radio Review

Am/fm Utility Radio I purchased this for my husband as a Christmas gift, after shopping around on-line and in the stores, with not much success. He really liked it, the quality of sound is excellant, along with all the other great features. You can charge your cell phone, it has a digital clock, it also has an LED light. Again the sound quality is great. All the other cheaper radios I looked at in the stores, didn't compare to this. We actually kept it in the house for a few days and enjoyed it before he took it out to the garage. I would highly recommend it for the guy who loves to work in his garage or basement or to take on a boat, and have a quality radio (stereo sound).

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Sangean PT-80 AM/FM Professional Digital Stereo LW/SW Shortwave World Band Travel Radio Review

Pro: Not too large for a compact radio. Superior signal sensitivity and image rejection. Antanna is nice and sturdy. Reasonably priced. Tuning knob aids band-scanning a lot. No muting during band-scanning. The radio has a large LCD display.
Single-side-band is handy for listening to radio amateurs and utility stations.

Con: Leather case does not fully protect the sides and bottom of the radio. Magnetic clips are slightly weak. The case sags when acting as an elevation panel. The radio requires 4 AA cells; slightly inconvenient when using away from home. No power adapter supplied. The radio does NOT display the metre band; it says only "broadcast band" when entering into a broadcast band.

Overall, I like this radio, despite its flaws. I am planning on buying one for myself. I highly recommand it.

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Sangean ATS-404 AM/FM Digital Shortwave World Band Receiver Review

The Sangean ATS-404 AM/FM Digital Shortwave World Band Receiver is a great little radio. I have had mine for a bit over one month and really do like it. However, it is somewhat larger and heavier than I thought it would be. I bought it to take along on overseas trips, but I am afraid it is going to be too bulky for comfortably stuffing into my carry-on bag. Oh well, the unit is going to be a lot of fun at other times.

So far, I have not been troubled by the short battery life (20 hrs.) described in previous reviews. I suppose that could be a problem under certain circumstances, but AA batteries are easy to replace anywhere in the world that has paved streets.

I am a bit shy about describing my experience with the Sangean ATS-404 because several of the earlier reviews were apparently made by radio experts or aficionados much more knowledgeable than me. I am just an ordinary guy that likes to listen to the radio once in awhile, but I do have some observations from my experience with it that might be helpful.

First, the radio is touted to be an entry level shortwave unit. I thought that shortwave stuff might be fun to play with, but I quickly found out that listening to most programs from Europe and elsewhere is silly because I am usually asleep when they are broadcast. Nighttime is apparently best for shortwave reception. I find it best for sleeping. Further, the interesting shortwave broadcasts are hard to find among all of the bands and frequencies available.

Yes, I admit it--I am in over my head with shortwave. I even bought a book about shortwave radios that included programming schedules. I am still confused. I suppose a true shortwave fan might find this radio more usable in this area than I have so far.

The radio has a great "preset" feature that I like and use all of the time. Radio stations are easy to program in and to scan. I enjoy the sleep feature, the dual time display and option to lock the radio for travel so it doesn't turn itself on in the airport like my last radio did.

The AM and FM stations come very well and the digital tuning seems to be right on target every time. The Sangean-404 comes with an AC adapter which is nice, but it doesn't charge batteries in the radio. There is a backlight for the display window, but it is sort of feeble and is almost useless except in complete darkness--like maybe a cave or a closet with the door closed.

A set of low end ear buds is included along with a rubber-like envelope that serves as a case. I haven't used either one yet.

I think maybe this review sounds more negative than positive, but I didn't mean it to come out that way. The Sangean-404 is a dandy radio, I use it every day and I do recommend it.



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Sangean U-3 Utility Radio Review

I bought this radio for my boat. When I received it I read the owners manual and it said nothing about the radio being water resistant. However it did say "do not operate near water". This would be fine if my boat stayed in the back yard! Also it would not work on battery power. It worked great plugged into a wall outlet, and it worked fine using the dc adapter I bought for it. It is a large sturdy radio tho, with a very good sound. I don't use it on the boat because it may void the warranty and I can't use it on the beach because of the battery power problem. I can use it in the car with the dc adapter but it is really big and takes up the whole passenger seat. Amazon won't take it back because it is not their product. I have tried to contact Sangean but so far have had no luck.

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Sangean MMR-77 Emergency AM / FM Portable Radio Review

This little radio was purchased as a gift for my mom who suffers from Macular Degeneration. So she is homebound, can't see TV as she is legally blind, and her only real entertainment is listening to the radio. The analog dial is what cinched the deal for me. She can't use a digital tuner. But when I saw the radio and heard it's great sound, I knew I had made the right purchase. It's small size is perfect for my mom. She's been through lots of hand held radios but this one is by far the best she's had! She uses rechargeable batteries but in case of a power outage or if she just can't get batteries, the crank is easy for her to manipulate to recharge. Nothing is perfect, such as the little alarm it has. I don't think she'd ever use it. It's about the decibel of an alarm clock. But, that's okay, it still works and sounds great. Made my mom happy and that's all that mattered.

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Sangean RCR-8WF Internet Clock Radio Review

I purchased the RCR-8WF as a replacement for an old Panasonic clock radio mainly for the Internet radio capability and for use at night. It is not a bad radio but seems more like a work-in-progress than a well thought out product.

My issues with it are:
1) The sleep timer takes three button presses to work. Turn the radio on, press the sleep timer button, then press select. Try doing this in the dark when you are half asleep! It should take one - press the sleep button. This is the way their other radios work.
2) The display brightens to full when any button is pressed. The manual says that you can dim it in this mode but is does not keep the setting. You can dim it but then comes back full brightness the next time you hit a button.
3) The internet radio takes about 15-30 seconds to change stations or to come on the first time. I understand the technology involved, and could deal with this if it were not for the other issues.

I contacted Sangean a week go about these issues and still have not heard back. I will be returning it and waiting for a more mature product.

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C. Crane FM Reflect Antenna Review

This antenna is great. I used to get horrible reception from a boombox on my favorite stations, and [...] but I lost the FM antenna, so I bought this one. I now get very crisp reception - almost CD quality sound - and I am thrilled to listen to my favorite radio shows ("Brunch with Bob [Marley] and Friends", and almost anything on KPBS/NPR) over the airwaves. If you live in San Diego, I recommend checking out FM 94.9 from 9am-12pm for "Brunch with Bob and Friends". [...]

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Terk Technology AM-1000 Advantage Passive AM Indoor Antenna Review

I am way up in the mountains where AM reception is not even good from stations 50 miles away. Got this to pick up baseball games broadcast 300 miles from here. Works well at night, but daytime listening is still barely possible. But I was very impressed with the fact that it works next to the radio without being plugged in, and with the fact that it is so easy to tune in.

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Sony XDRF1HD HD Radio Tuner Review

I have a fairly high-end audio system -- around $3500 for amp, CD player, and speakers, so I was a little nervous about adding a component that sells for under $90!

The tuner is pretty basic and easy to use although I did have to refer to the instructions to figure out how to use the presets. After playing around with it for 5-10 minutes you're good to go. Because the unit itself is rather small, and I have it on a rack with my other components, it's pretty hard to read what station you are on from a few feet away without getting up and walking over to it. But that's a minor issue really.

When I first turned this on and heard the sound I was quite disappointed. Here in Austin we have a HD channel devoted entirely to local music which, aside from just being curious about how HD sounds, was the primary reason I bought this tuner. The song I heard sounded very tinny and totally lacking deep bass. After spending a good half-hour checking out the other stations, I came to the conclusion that perhaps this technology simply exposes more flaws in the source material, just as HDTV might show more blemishes of the on-air staff. Perhaps some of the local music simply isn't engineered as well as what we hear on the traditional analog stations.

Upon discovering a jazz HD station I really began to warm up to this tuner. The quality is more consistent and I am getting the deep bass and a more balanced and rich sound. And even the HD signals of the analog FM stations sound quite good. I don't know that I'd go so far as to say that HD radio comes close to CD quality, at least not on my system, (on a scale of 0-100, I'd give it about 80 in that regard) but this is way better than not having radio access at all, except through a Bose wave radio.

Overall, I have no regrets whatsoever.

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Sony ICF-SW7600GR AM/FM Shortwave World Band Receiver with Single Side Band Reception Review

If anyone is considering, the Sony ICF-SW7600GR world band receiver radio, I suggest looking for another portable set. I read the reviews and then made the purchase. My main interest was to purchase a good shortwave radio.

This radio cannot pull in the signal very well at all even after clipping an extension wire onto the antenna.

I located an old Grundig YB305 portable digital shortwave radio to compare to the Sony. The old Grundig is far a better radio then the Sony. The Grundig YB305 pulled in every signal and locked on. The Sony scanned right over them as if they weren't even there. Here's a brand new Sony radio and I am going to have to see if I can get some warranty work to fix the problem.

To compare the sound, I will say the Grundig YB305 is better. There is a fuller rich sound for playing the FM music. Sony is okeh, but not great.

You would think that if it's a Sony it's gotta be good, but the Sony is a phoney.

Currently I am only using the Sony as an AM/FM radio.

I looked into warranty work and Sony will replace it with a refurbished one that may have cosmetic damage. I didn't purchase this radio to trade it in on someone's old refurbished radio. The cost to me would be the price for mailing the radio in, maybe $25. $25 extra to listen to SW...that is if the replacement radio will work as intended. Still taking a chance here. I am now attempting to locate someone who can maybe fix my radio. If not, I will continue to use it as an AM/FM only.

In the old days the radio could be brought to a Sony repair station to be fixed. There used to be one in the area but that is not the case now. Getting someone else to fix it is not worth the cost as the total would equal the purchase price.

Appears with the mass produced chinese @#$* products there is no quality control. You may get a good one or you may get a bad one. Word of advice, do not throw out the box right away like I did on trash collection day.

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Sangean DT-110 Digital Pocket AM/FM Stereo Receiver Review

Great: Reception, bass boost
Good: Sound quality, Priority Station key, Button Layout, Case/Belt Clip
Needs Improvement: Could be smaller

I think $40 for a radio is a reasonable price. I was really looking for an audiophile radio for a higher price but could not find one. I had an Aiwa CR-LD100 for a decade but lost it. Very small, great sound.

The Sangean DT-110 arrived on time with earphones, case with belt clip and manual. You can auto-set station memory for AM and FM seperately. It is easy to set and even swap stations in memory. You can assign three stations to the priority button and access them quickly.

I'm buying a radio, not earphones. To test I used Klipsch Image X10 earphones. The radio sounds great for the price range. The bass boost is intelligently designed similar to the Super Linear Bass on the Aiwa. It is not designed for dirt cheap earphones which is a good thing.

I easily pick up powerful FM stations from 70 miles away. The AM reception is such that I do not have to turn the radio to tune local AM stations. There is no hiss on local stations and near hiss free on stations at a medium range.

The buttons are designed ergonomically so that you can distinguish them by touch. The Hold switch stops everything but the analog volume wheel. The position of the wheel prevents unwanted changes. The Hold switch also serves to preserve memory on battery changes. Digital volume control is annoying when the steps in volume change are too large. The analog wheel is an intelligent choice.

I use Rayovac IC3 15 minute rechargeable batteries available on Amazon. They actually do recharge in 15 minutes with the Rayovac charger. I have not had to recharge them after using the radio daily for a week. The batteries are about two years old.

This radio is a little larger than I am accustomed to. I haven't cracked it open. It may be the AM antenna. The Aiwa was smaller but did not have near the reception this radio offers. The belt clip is a good compromise.

For the price I am very pleased with the radio and recommend it. I will continue looking for a smaller radio with high fidelity sound.


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Sangean WR-1 FM/AM Wood-Cabinet Radio (Black Cabinet, Silver Face) Review

Sangean has been known to make really good radios, and this one does not disappoint. It was received on time and it was even better than pictured. The radio itself is just the perfect size (using it in the kitchen). The dials/knobs are perfect, very easy to operate and locate all radio stations. The sound is great as well. Overall, I am very pleased with this purchase.

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Sangean WR-2 Digital AM/FM Tabletop Radio, White Review

I have heard enough about HD radio, so I saved enough gift certificates, and finally bought this "new" "digital" radio.

when I opened the package from amazon.com. I ordered a white one, but the package box is for the walnut color. i thought that i got lucky, because it costs a little extra for the walnut color. but inside, it is still the white radio. When I turned on the radio, all five preset buttons have already been set to my local radio stations. So obviously, amazon sent me a used radio even though it looks new from outside. and i paid the price for a new radio. there is probably an amazon center close by where i live, that is why somehow all those 5 preset radio stations are all in my local area.

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If you are thinking about buying a HD radio, don't buy this one. I did my search several times on amazon with different keywords to find what products they have. This one has "digital" in the name, somehow, I thought that it is a HD radio. After all, it costs just as much as a HD radio. It is not. The first thing that I noticed was the usual statics from AM radio stations. I was surprised by that. Then I tried to find a way to tune to those FM sub-stations, I can't find a way to do it. I got to the Sangean's web site, and called them. They told me that this radio is not a HD radio.

so I immediately packed the radio, and sent it back to amazon via UPS.

This unit only has one speaker, even though the FM sound quality is pretty good, but you can buy a pretty good radio with CD player or tape player in one unit for less than $100. And the sound quality might even be better.

And if you really want a good tabletop radio, just add 20 or 30 dollars more, buy yourself a HD radio, from what I read, the sound quality will be far more better. and you can get many more FM stations, too.

Therefore, I rate this radio a 3, it is just too expensive for a plain radio.

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Sangean ATS-505P FM Stereo/MW/LW/SW PLL Synthesized World Receiver Review

I was looking for a radio that I could take camping with the assumption that I would have difficulty picking up stations, especially out in more remote western regions. I have only purchased one table radio in the past and do not know anything about radios unlike many people reviewing these. I have absolutely no 'professional' background in radios.

I researched on the net for some time and found Sangean continuously mentioned --- not always in the best light, but generally favorable.

I have found that the radio does have a really nice, clean sound. I have a far less expensive table top radio at home, but one that has nice, and larger speakers, than the Sangean. But the Sangean is as good, if not better, sound-wise.

The Sangean also picks up far more stations than my 'average' table radio which was my primary concern. I can't tell you if it's better or worse than other comparably priced radios, just much better than my 'average' home radio.

I do have to agree with some other reviewers that the radio has somewhat of a 'cheap' feel and look. But, the radio does perform as I hoped.

My only other, small negative is that the radio comes without 'feet'. I always have the FM antenane extended, and the radio will not sit up with the weight of that turned to the side. I'm going to have to fabricate something so it sits upright on a flat surface.


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Sangean HDR-1 Table Top HD Radio Receiver Review

The Sangean HDR-1 has great sound, and excellent fit and finish. I ran the radio through its paces and found it did pretty much everything it was supposed to, with one exception; I could not get a radio stations RSS feed to automatically update the time on my unit. If you need is for a handsome radio to fill a 150 sq ft room with high quality music/etc this unit is a good fit. In my area Washington DC, and the promised secret channels are more a smattering than a full on buffet of programming, but I think it's worth the premium. The quality of digital radio is rather good, the radio has a good `voting circuit' that switches between analog or digital depending on which is better.
As for AM, an old friend in the business said it best when stereo AM was all the rage; "great just what we need, two channels of static". The quality is there, but there are other problems with radio station coverage and interference patterns. Sangean spent their money on the FM tuner, and I think they got it right.


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Sangean SG-622 AM/FM 10 Band Shortwave World Band Radio Review

I bought this for my husband to listen to the REDS on the radio and when I received it, it did not pick up the station I needed. I returned it within one week. Waited to get my money placed back on my CC for 3 weeks, finally, I contacted the company. they did not get back with me. I then tried to use the A-Z Gaurantee through Amazon. Finally, Amazon was able to reach the company. They said that they never received the radio. I then forwarded the receipt of shipping from post office where I had returned it, and they still said they would not refund my money. So, needless to say, I have no radio, they still have the money I payed them for the radio and to ship it to me, plus the money I payed out to ship it back to them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WILL NEVER BUY FROM THIS COMPANY AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Sangean ATS-606AP AM/FM Digital Compact Shortwave World Band Receiver Review

After much research for a small radio that can receive shortwave for an extended overseas trip, I settled on the Sangean 606. I already have a Sony SW7600GR (standard in the industry IMO) but wanted something smaller and less valuable (the Sangean is about 1/2 the size as the Sony).

Initial thoughts were that 1) it was chunkier than I was expecting and 2) the plastic casing seemed cheap.

I've now lived with it for ~2 months and I'm thrilled. Reception for FM and AM is on par with the larger and more expensive Sony and it is marginally easier to use. I also prefer the sound of the Sangean over the Sony (NPR talk radio mostly). With automatic station setting, fine tuning, alarm, light, etc., it is an ideal travel radio. Other nice features at this price point is the protective case, SW reel antenna, and AC adapter (not included with the Sony!). I've used it daily for ~2 months on the same set of batteries.

If I were doing a lot of shortwave listening the Sony would still be preferred, and the quality feel of the Sony is 2nd to none.

Biggest complaints? the flimsy up/down tuning buttons and that Amazon suggests buying an additional antenna that already comes with the radio.

Full disclosure- this is my 4th Sangean but that just speaks to how good they are in receiving tricky AM & FM radio stations.

UPDATE: I paid ~$115 for this Sangean and when I bought my Sony SW7600GR it was ~$200. If you can get the Sony for ~$25 more than this Sangean, I'd probably go for it. Just make sure it is the same made in Japan radio it used to be!

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Sangean HDT-1 HD Radio Component Tuner Review

After all the mumbo jumbo I read on this HD tuner I really had my doubts despite the low cost. I bought it on Amazon from Egroup. The unit came in perfect shape. I live in the Dallas area. I have the tuner hooked up to an Onkyo 606. I play the tuner through the 7.1 home theater speakers, and the secondary speakers for whole house sound. I use a Logitech Harmony 880 to control the whole system, Sangean an easy addition. The controls are well thought out. The remote is cheap, but stores nicely with my dozen other remotes.

The tuner sounds great and the reception is fantastic compared to normal FM. It is not CD, but the fidelity is several times better than normal FM. The quality leap you get going from FM to FM HD is about like the quality leap you get going from AM to FM.

In Dallas, I could get about 6 FM stations clearly. Now, I can get about 36 FM HD broadcasts clearly. I don't know how many regular FM stations in addition to that. I'm sort of snubbing them. There are about 6 AM HD stations in Dallas. The variety in HD is remarkable also. I have all 20 FM presets filled, plus the 6 AM stations loaded, and the remaining 14 AM presets empty. Who cares. Thank goodness it doesn't lose presets in a power loss. This is the first time ever I could get the local classical station without periodic multipath.

Dallas must be HD Disney World. Signal drop and switching to normal FM wasn't a problem. Look up the HD Radio website and see if you like what HD broadcasts are available in your area before buying.

Optical out on this unit gets you another type of out, but I doubt you could tell the difference over the RCA jacks. At the price the HDT-1 is going for, see Egroup, paying more may not get you enough.

The LCD doesn't turn off. It displays the time in fairly large numbers. It's not as bright as a 4 watt night light, more like an LCD alarm clock. Some people think those are too bright, but not bright enough to keep from tripping over things on the floor at night. The LED on my subwoofer is brighter, the red led on the Sangean is brighter, etc.

Somebody said they had a conventional FM tuner that sounded better than this. Really? What did they pay for it? Looking back at the reviews I read, if the reviewer sounds like a audio snob, or someone with an agenda, quit reading and move on to the next review.



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Sangean WFT-1 Internet Radio Component Tuner Review

Like others have said, User Interface is clunky and the manual is skimpy. However if like me you're just interested in listening to a few stations (in my case, I'm in LA and I wanted to get BBC stations), it's perfect once you've setup the presets. Without reading the manual, and with a wired internet connection, I was able to get my stations within 10 minutes of opening the box. Searching for additional stations not listed in their list is not elegant through the UI, but found what I wanted (stations in Melbourne, Australia, and independent stations in the UK). My only gripe with the internet radio part, is that with so many stations out there, it amazes me it only has 10 presets. With the same keys on the remote, they could have made it 99.

This unit can do lots of other things beside internet radio: playing music files from network drives, playing podcasts and FM radio.

Playing music from network drives and playing podcasts worked fine, although it's clunky with such a limited display and I will never use it for this.

The FM radio seems to be a total afterthought - Sangean FM radios are usually pretty decent, but they've stuck a telescopic FM antenna on the back, and no chance of easily plugging in a decent external antenna which limits its quality.



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Sangean DT-180 AM/FM Band Pocket Radio Review

No complaints about this little machine. I haven't used it much, but the sound has been clear. I've used the supplied headphones on other devices and they seemed pretty clear. I found the 90-minute auto-off to be a double edged sword, listening to sports or NPR on the weekend: saves the battery, but might cut out at a crucial play.

Another thing you might not think of: it's easier to find a white device than a black one when you've tossed it into a laptop or gym bag.

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Sangean RS-330 Digital AM/FM Clock Radio Review

My old RS330 died when I knocked it on the floor for the hundreth time. I tried a couple of similar radios and was consistently disappointed. So I was relieved to see that they are still making this wonderful radio. It's ergonomics are perfect. You can tell that a tremendous amount of thought has gone in to its design. The RS330 also has very good reception and sound.

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SANGEAN WR-11 AM/FM Table Top Radio Review

In my small kitchen, I have only a tiny space for a radio between one cabinet and a microwave oven, and I wanted to find the best sound I could reasonably afford to put there. I also wanted to avoid anything powered by a "vampire" wall-wart transformer; when I turn off the radio, I want it to stop drawing any power. The Sangean WR-11 fills both those needs admirably.

When I first plugged it in, I tuned it to a local traditional-jazz station (WBGO-FM) playing a Brubeck quartet, and I was amazed by how much integrity its little speaker gave the sound of a plucked upright bass! Some had complained about this radio's predecessor, the WR-1, that its bass was too boomy. I don't find any evidence of that at all with the WR-11, except on the one or two FM rock stations that really do a sloppy job of boosting the bass in their equalization; and even in those cases, the WR-11 never really loses control of the sound.

As I primarily use this radio as a receiver for my own home FM transmitter (broadcasting whatever audio stream or MP3 that my computer is playing) these stations aren't much of an issue for me, nor is the fairly pedestrian AM section. On both FM and AM, reception and selectivity are strong, and the tuning dial (with a tuning "eye" LED) is both pleasant to use and accurate in feel.

The only drawback this radio has displayed so far (and the only reason I gave it four stars instead of five, after about half a day's use) is a range on the lower end of the volume control where it seems unable to stick at a particular volume, slipping randomly up and down a bit in volume even though I'm not touching the knob. If I were using this radio in a bedroom, I might be concerned about this -- but in the relatively noisy environs of the kitchen, I'm not likely to have the volume knob in this particular position often.

All in all, at $100, this radio is every bit a match for the Tivoli Model One in a slightly shorter package. At $50 (what I paid for it) it's an absolute steal.



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Sangean DT-120CL A/M / FM Pocket Receiver Review

The reception of this unit is very good, nice and clear and better than my car and it is really light enough for a shirt pocket. I have been looking for a radio primarily to listen to Baseball games, either at the park, at home or out of town. I have purchased every Sony, Coby and Nike model on the market trying to find one that has decent reception. I thought poor reception was just a given in radios this size but this one blows them all out of the water, by the way The Sony models are all terrible

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Sangean DT-220V AM/FM Stereo Pocket Size Radio with Self-Storage Headphones Review

Nice compact radio that has good battery life and powerfull reception. Would be better if it had back lighting (like Indiglow) instead of side light which does not light up the whole area very well. (Bright on side near light, dim on the opposite). Has TV channel reception, but that will go away with digital TV. (Knew that, however, when I bought it.) Retractable earbuds are nice.

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Sangean WFR-1 WIFI Internet Radio Review

I've lived with this Sangean wifi clock radio since it became available and here's what I think:

The sound quality is excellent (for a clock radio, lol). Very rich, not tinny, good bass response, clear and tweakable. Obviously the stereo seperation is nil because the speakers are just inches apart.

Frontier Silicon is the WiFi radio portal for this Sangean model. It's very reliable. It would be nice if they had links to the radio stations on their website though.

The Sangean is of very limited use to me as a "media player", because it will only play MP3 files and WMA files. I have nearly 8000 WAV files on my hard drive which this Sangean will not play and only a handful of MP3 files, so for me it is worthless as a media player.

The price is a major disadvantage... 'nuf said.

Realistically speaking, everything this radio does, your computer can do better, and do it for free. All you need is Realplayer (you can even record radio for up to 8 hours with Realplayer) and Windows Media Player(both free)and an okay set of external speakers. It's fair to compare the sound quality you will get out of this Sangean with average quality external computer speakers I'd say.

If you love radio, check out vtuner.com for a free wifi radio portal. All of the stations are there and in addition there are links to the stations.

I'm not sure if there is software to make a computer funtion as an alarm clock but you can always buy one for [...].

So after all is said and done, the best thing about this radio for me is that it frees me from my computer (but of course,uses bandwidth). If I had it to do over again, I'm not sure what I'd do.

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Sangean RCR-2 Digital Atomic Clock Radio with Dual Alarms Review

This is a great alarm clock, with some very nice features, including,

+ The ability to set two separate alarms that go off on specified days of the week,

+ The rock solid time due to the atomic clock synchronization ability,

+ Good, resonant sound from the radio with 7 presets,

+ A good alarm that starts off quiet and gets progressively louder,

+ A bunch of other features, including nap alarms, daylight savings time setting, etc.

This could be the perfect clock radio, except for the flaws:

- A really deficient display that is far too bright at night, and has a very limited range of angles for which it is visible. If they had a better (wide viewing angle) LCD coupled with two separate LED back-lights (e.g., bright green for day and dim red for night), it would be a market leader.

- Lack of automatic gain control (AGC) for the AM stations. The weak stations are nearly inaudible and need to be cranked up, while the strong stations are very loud. With a good AGC, one could cycle through the station presets and have the sound levels roughly the same. This could be rectified with a better radio circuit design. Also, they probably could have spent some more money for a better AM internal antenna.

- Substandard documentation. For example, it explains how to set the time so it not longer syncs to the atomic clock signal out of Colorado. It doesn't explain how to go back to automatic syncing. (Here's how you do it: hold the time button down for about 5 seconds, and the antenna icon will start blinking again.)

Overall, I am quite satisfied with the alarm. I would have been willing to pay $20 more for a better display and AM radio reception as explained above.

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Sangean HDT-1X HD Radio Component Tuner Review

I wanted to update to HD radio, since my favorite stations were pitching it as well as compare it to my analog tuner. My home theater/hi fi system is composed of separates (pre-amp processor, amp, DAC, etc.) vs. a Receiver. This is a good tuner to add to such a system. It offers both analog outputs (RCA) and a digital output which you can use to connect to a DAC or directly to your receiver's/pre-amp processor's digital input to help improve and/or modify the sound vs. the internal DAC built in the tuner. Whether you listen to a traditional analog tuner or an HD radio tuner, you're still listening to music that has been digitally ripped. A friend of mine who was the Engineering Director at my favorite Los Angeles classical radio station told me that his station now rips music from CD's or LP's, stores them then uploads it to an earth station in the Northern US, where it is transmitted to a satellite back to a mountaintop in L.A., where it's processed again into analog radio wave or digital (HD) radio wave. And yet, they sound excellent. This is how most stations transmit radio today, even my favorite Jazz station. So for someone to make the claim that by listening to an analog tuner, you're getting that "old-fashioned" analog sound isn't quite accurate. Another point to consider is that many radio stations use compression, to keep the volume steady (lower the high volume and raise the lower volume). This drives me nuts when I hear music playing softly, crescendo to a loud volume, only to have the dynamic impact reduced by the compression. Same in reverse when you hear loud music, then the soft part comes on loud. The Sangean unit helps to either reduce this effect or eliminate it since compression takes place in the ripping process. The Sangean HDT-1X outputs both analog and HD, so you can compare them side-by-side.


A site that reviewed the Sangean with substantially more expensive audiophile tuners is (I have to spell it because of the no U R L rules) positive-feedback dot com. Go to positive feedback online archive and look up Issue 30. It's toward the bottom of the Hardware reviews section under Sangean HDT-1 High-Definition Radio Component Tuner. You will be quite surprised at how the Sangean performed in the review.

Things I like about this tuner.

1. It's inexpensive.

2. You get "extra" radio stations in the sub-bands of each station's frequency; e.g. my old classical station who changed formats' broadcasts in HD. There are usually 1 to 3 extra stations in each sub frequency.

3. Sound in the HD is good (based on the stations I listen to); full bodied, quiet background, very dynamic, musical sounding, better than listening to mp3's or ACC's at 256k. Things like cymbals, triangles, and high pitched instruments, a killer for digital to reproduce without digital harshness, are rendered quite well. Voices sound reasonable and full-bodied. Soundstage is convincing, both deep and wider than typical compressed formats (mp3's, AAC's, etc.).








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C. Crane Sonido Radio Review

I think that this is a excellent Weather Alert radio because it serves it purpose and is easy to operate. My last Weather Alert radio was just to complicated, even in just using the clock radio features. It was a Reecom and even gave child alerts but programming was a major job. This one gives you just local weather alerts and that is what is needed in an emergency. The AM receiver is very good because it is the first radio that I get numerous stations at my location. I live in a low area about 200 feet below hills on both sides of my house. It does very well. The FM band is excellent. The quality of the sound is between very good and great. The clock radio function is excellent. The only downside is no handle and what I feel is less than satisfactory instructions. Otherwise, if you need a NOAA Weather Alert Radio this is an excellent choice.

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Sangean RCR-5 Digital AM/FM Clock Radio Review

This is a terrific clock radio despite a couple of drawbacks for insomniac listening (knocking 1 star off the rating). Features I require in a clock radio (beyond the obvious) are: earphone jack (my husband isn't interested in listening along with me ;), sleep timer, digital tuning (having to fiddle with station drift would only serve to wake me up more); preset stations (again, the less fiddling in the middle of the night, the better); and dimable display (I keep it just bright enough to read the display at night--this is pretty dim, doesn't disturb sleep). This radio has all that and more; I also like the small size of the radio and amber light of the display.

That said, here's what I dislike: when you press and hold the power-on button to use the sleep timer, the display becomes painfully bright, "only" about 15 seconds, but I find it extremely annoying. I'm working on developing a feel for how long to hold the button down without having to look at the display so I can just keep my eyes closed.

The other thing I dislike: the nap timer button is right next to the power-on/sleep timer button, making it very easy to accidentally hit the nap timer button without realizing it while feeling around for the power button, thus treating yourself and any sleep partner to the alarm a little while later. Ugh. Did that twice, then built a little "A-frame" of card stock & taped it over the nap timer button so I don't hit it by accident again. Note the power/sleep timer button *is* dimly (nicely) illuminated, so the nap timer button can be avoided if you don't mind opening your eyes, lifting your head up to see the power button, and focusing your attention on hitting nothing but the power button.

It's too bad the battery backup isn't good for more than a few minutes; hopefully this won't prove to be a significant problem. I didn't find setting the clock, alarms, or digital presets difficult, though I did need to use the manual to figure it out.


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Sangean WR-2 Digital AM/FM Tabletop Radio, Black Review

I have heard enough about HD radio, so I saved enough gift certificates, and finally bought this "new" "digital" radio.

when I opened the package from amazon.com. I ordered a white one, but the package box is for the walnut color. i thought that i got lucky, because it costs a little extra for the walnut color. but inside, it is still the white radio. When I turned on the radio, all five preset buttons have already been set to my local radio stations. So obviously, amazon sent me a used radio even though it looks new from outside. and i paid the price for a new radio. there is probably an amazon center close by where i live, that is why somehow all those 5 preset radio stations are all in my local area.

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If you are thinking about buying a HD radio, don't buy this one. I did my search several times on amazon with different keywords to find what products they have. This one has "digital" in the name, somehow, I thought that it is a HD radio. After all, it costs just as much as a HD radio. It is not. The first thing that I noticed was the usual statics from AM radio stations. I was surprised by that. Then I tried to find a way to tune to those FM sub-stations, I can't find a way to do it. I got to the Sangean's web site, and called them. They told me that this radio is not a HD radio.

so I immediately packed the radio, and sent it back to amazon via UPS.

This unit only has one speaker, even though the FM sound quality is pretty good, but you can buy a pretty good radio with CD player or tape player in one unit for less than $100. And the sound quality might even be better.

And if you really want a good tabletop radio, just add 20 or 30 dollars more, buy yourself a HD radio, from what I read, the sound quality will be far more better. and you can get many more FM stations, too.

Therefore, I rate this radio a 3, it is just too expensive for a plain radio.

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SANGEAN Atomic RCR-3 AM/FM Clock Radio Review

I love this thing. It's neat looking, easy to use and has lots of great features. Best of all, it has a humane wakeup system, which means it starts out very low and gradually increases the volume. The analog face is easy to read at night and the light level adjusts itself. The digital clock sets itself automatically. The digital radio tuner means it is accurate to the station instead of all this fiddling around with knobs like on so many clock radios. Reception is excellent. So far, I'm just thrilled with it.

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Sangean WR-1 AM/FM Wooden Cabinet Radio, Walnut Review

I like the old school analog tuner, which is easy to use and pulls in stations really well. The audio quality would be great, except it has waaay to much bass. We have ours on the kitchen counter, and even at moderate volume, the junk on the counter resonates when somebody is just talking on the radio. A great radio should make it sound like people on the radio in the same room as you, not speaking over a PA system at the bottom of a well.

In fact, the bass was so objectionable, it was almost unlistenable. I took a piece of packing tape and put it over the resonance port in the back, which took enough of the edge of the bass to make it marginally acceptable. The only reason I kept this was that it's tuner is so good. I'd avoid this model, or any similar Sangean model unless it had a tone control.

Update: my wife found the bass so objectionable, she went out and bought a cheap clock radio to replace it. To see if the radio could be salvaged, I opened up the box. Aside from the compact transformer based power supply, the radio is contained on two circuit boards, one in front containing mostly radio stuff, one in back containing mostly power amp stuff and back connectors. Amplification duties are handled by a single, unmarked IC in a heatsinked, single inline package. This is possibly a TDA1010 or similar, which is mainly targeted at the car audio market.

There are two issues, I think, that cause the objectionable "boom" sound. The first is the speaker, which is a rather massive 3.5" unit similar to those used in car audio. Replacing this with a different unit might help, either a cheap unit with less bass capability, or a more expensive one with an aftermarket crossover.

The second issue is the cabinet, and some people might find this important for different reasons. The cabinet is not "wood" except by the most liberal definition of the word. It is a wood resin composite -- something like bakelite. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with this, but the material is extremely dense and the cabinet is definitely resonating. Theoretically covering the resonsance port would make this worse, but it seems move the boom to a less objectionable frequency. It might be possible to add weight to the case to shift the resonance lower.

In any case, this case is certainly not "walnut", it is wrapped in tough synthetic sheeting with walnut grain printed onto it. She sheet is actually overlapped on the bottom of the cabinet, and if you actually look at the "wood grain" you see it twists around the corners in ways that wouldn't happen on a real wood cabinet.

That said, the fact that this is not actually wood isn't necessarily a problem, it's a high quality plastic cabinet. In this case it seems poorly matched to the speaker, which is perhaps too much speaker for a cabinet this small. The more I think about this, the more I am convinced the best course of action would be to replace the speaker with a more appropriate one. It's not that the speaker is bad, far from it. It's just too much for this cabinet.

Second update: I soldered in a 220 microfarad non-polarized capacitor in series with the speaker. Given that the speaker is 4 ohms, this should result in a low pass filter with a loss of 3db at 180Hz, 9db at 90Hz, 15db at 45Hz etc. The objectionable "boom" is actually subsonic; you can feel it in other parts of the house. Although the radio is still bass heavy, the boom seems somewhat attenuated. I've ordered a 7.0 mh inductor from Parts Express using Amazon. Putting this in parallel with the speaker should net no noticeable reduction above 200Hz, 3db at around 130 Hz, and 12db/octave thereafter, yielding a 15db reduction at 64Hz, a more dramatic reduction of subsonic boom.

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Sangean WFR-20 WiFi Internet Radio & Media Player Review

I recently ordered this internet radio from amazon. The one I received wouldn't turn on, however. First I telephoned the toll free number for Sangean America. The customer service person told me that I could return the defective unit to Sangean or to amazon.com directly (since it was brand new). I went to the "returns" section of amazon's customer service link on the web and was given a prepaid shipping label to put on the box, which I then took to my local UPS Store. Amazon e-mailed me that the replacement radio would be sent by UPS one-day delivery and would arrive the next day (just a day after my first reporting the problem). It did, was very easy to set up and my wife and I are both delighted with the amazingly quick service from amazon and with the radio itself. We used to live in London and were missing BBC Radio 4 and the UK radio station Classics FM. We are so pleased that we plan to order a second WFR-20 so we can have one in the kitchen as well as the bedroom. The sound quality is excellent and the radio is very easy to use. Thanks!Sangean WFR-20 WiFi Internet Radio & Media Player

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Sangean WR-2 Digital AM/FM Tabletop Radio, Walnut Review

This is a great radio. It has excellent sound considering its speaker size. I have only 3 minor complaints. First, it has has RFI interference when listening on the AM band when florescent lights are on somewhere in the house. Second, there is only 1 alarm setting. Third, the radio displays the station setting playing when the alarm mode is used in radio mode. It would be more useful if the time was displayed. If you hit the Display button to change the display to clock, the radio shuts off. These are minor complaints compared to the pluses. Excellent build quality

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Sangean WR-3 AM/FM Digital Table Top Radio Review

Pros:
-slick design and appearance
-extensive feature set
-reasonably good audio quality

Cons:
-most functions accessed via flimsy remote
-USB port does not interface with iPod
-FM reception shoddy in my home

I bought this radio sight-unseen based on the scant reviews on the net. I have no regrets but a few things are worth mentioning.

1. The bulk of stereo functions are accessed from the remote -- I knew this going in but I find it annoying because it seems like the angle at which you point the remote at the stereo has to be just-so in order for it to register. The remote also feels flimsy with those membrane-type of buttons that don't always register the first time.

2. The FM reception on this is considerably worse than my old JVC MX-44 compact component system (RIP), which is what the Sangean is replacing. This was surprising given Sangean's reputation for excellent radio reception. We have this radio sitting on top of a fireplace mantle so I wonder if the proximity to masonry degrades the signal. Disappointing, nonetheless.

3. The USB port doesn't offer any iPod/iPhone compatibility and won't charge those devices, either.

4. Finally, the audio quality is worse than I expected. The bass tends to be muddy and when you use the EQ to adjust it up, it tends to get boomy.

Don't get me wrong -- all this stuff is more nitpicky than anything else. It is a solid stereo that I'm using in a medium-sized room to stream iTunes music via an Airport Express to provide ambient music/noise in our house. And for these purposes it's great.

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Sangean PR-D7 AM/FM Digital Rechargeable Portable Radio Review

I love this radio as it does everything I wanted and then some. I get good reception even with the antenna down. I alway seem to break the antennas on my portable radios. The earphone jack is great and the hardest thing to find on radios now. The best part is being able to set it to turn off automatically after a set time as I like listening while I'm going to sleep. I also like being able to recharge the batteries right in the radio by plugging it in for the day - a great green feature. It has freed up a lot of space on my nightstand and the white color makes it almost invisible.

KatG

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Sangean H201 AM/FM Digital Shower Radio Review

This is a very good shower radio. It has a clock too by the way (although that isn't in any of the online descriptions). It's a bit heavy with the bigger batteries, (C or D cell, I forget which), but that just adds to the solid feel and quality of this radio. We've only had it a couple months, but so far we love it.

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Sangean DT-180 AM / FM Pocket Receiver Review

Just received the Sangean 3/21/09. Worked fine out of box for 10 mins and then abruptly malfunctioned, producing only static on all bands and stations. Tried various headphones to no avail. Appears to have been a short of some kind. Too bad because it looked and sounded promising. Well designed and the deep base and stereo functions worked as advertised. Sound was good with the supplied headphones. While there was no opportunity for thorough testing, it appeared to be somewhat fragile. Not sure it would have held up to regular transport in a gym bag. Maybe it was just a lemon. Trying a Sony walkman and if that comes up short may give another Sangean model a try, and would lean toward an older version with slightly more heft.

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Sangean RCR-22 AM/FM Atomic Clock Radio Review

Works as it should, the only issue is it is way more complicated than it should be.. After all it as just a clock radio... After you figure out how it works it does just what it is supposed to....Keep accurate time, and wake you up in the morning....

All in all recommended for the price it is a good and reasonably attractive clock radio.

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Sangean PR-D5 Portable Radio with Digital Tuning and Rds Review

This is like the other Sangean I have, which we love, but instead of +/- audio volume the volume is set by a turn-knob on the side. I found that inconvenient and sloppy, as I use the radio behind and above me in the office -- hard to reach and tend to turn the tuning knob.

AM reception exceptionally good, like the other sangean. But the FM reception is not good, terrible.

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Sangean DT-200X FM-Stereo/AM Audio Digital Tuning Personal Receiver Review

I looked for almost a year trying to find a portable radio (with ONLY a radio) that could get the same reception as my old one. This is the only radio I have found that is able to find a signal and keep the station coming in strong whether you're walking around your house, or walking around the neighborhood.

Battery life is great, I use this unit twice daily for about 45 mins at a time and I only have to replace the batteries about once every 4 months.

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Sangean DT-210 AM/FM Pocket-Size Digital Radio Review

The Sangean DT-210 has so far lived up to my expectations based on previous reviews. I've used it 8 to 10 hours a day this week listening to AM stations as a delivery driver. The reception was very good in and out of my truck. A couple of the features that are very important for my usage are lock (keeping radio on and on the proper station when bumped) and the ability to engage or disengage the 90 minute shut-off. A couple of minor negatives are battery life is more like 20 hours with rechargables and the ear buds aren't the best. Overall I'm am very pleased after one week of heavy use.

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Sangean DT-400W AM/FM Digital Weather Alert Pocket Radio Review

I wanted to listen to Car Talk on Saturday while mowing the grass. My NPR station is about 70 miles away and the signal can be a bit spotty. I needed something with good sensitivity. Being a ham radio operator I checked all the technical reviews I could find on pocket size radios and the Sangean DT400W looked like the right solution. I was not disappointed. It pulls in the NPR station better than my Grundig YB. The tiny speaker leaves a lot to be desired and the ear buds (which also act as the FM antenna) are serviceable but they are open air. My big Gravely mower is loud so I upgraded to a pair of Sure SE110 isolated earbuds.

Overall the sensitivity is very good, stereo separation is excellent, controls are straight forward and the construction is rugged enough to survive the occasional drop.

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