Sangean PR-D5 BK AM/FM Portable Radio with Digital Tuning and RDS

I was a little weary about the cost of this little radio, but it was well worth it. I love the ability to preset stations and not have to "tune" into each station every time. The reception is great and the sound quality is really good. Sound is nice and clear. I have it on a desk plugged into the outlet so I have not used the battery function nor have I used the Bluetooth function. Nice and compact so it fits well without taking up so much space. Very nice unit!! I would spend the money again. Very satisfied!

After reading some of these reviews on the PR-D5 I have to wonder whether they are talking about the same product. This is a fantastic radio, great value for the money, simple to operate and has great sound from its stereo speakers, sound that rivals way more expensive radios.There are no Bass and Treble adjustments on this radio but I find it is not needed. The balance is just right for me. The quality of the stereo sound is wonderful and rivals the sound from more expensive stereo systems. Remember, this is a portable unit, not a house Hi-Fi system.I saw a review that said there were no AM stations that could be heard. There are three inputs with this radio that can be selected using the push button (labeled 'Step/Band') in the front: 1) FM 2) AM 3) Auxiliary (you can plug your iphone, ipad, etc, in and play it through the radio). If the input was at the AUX position then there wouldn't be any AM stations playing. The reviewer should carefully check to ensure that they didn't accidentally select the AUX position.The PR-DE pulls in FM stations very clearly. In case you are picking up a weak FM station (station is far away from you) there is a Stereo/Mono switch on the side of the radio. Selecting the Mono setting will eliminate the hiss on weak stations. Very nice feature.So far I haven't had to extend the FM antenna, the stations I listen to were all coming in loud and clear! The PR-D5 is superior in picking up FM compared to the rest of the 'many' radios I own.The AM ferrite antenna is built into the set. It doesn't use the telescoping antenna for AM. Just lay the radio flat and turn it to get the best sound. The Sangean PR-D5 has a 200 mm ferrite bar which is larger than the average radio has. This results in superior AM performance. One reviewer mentioned that they don't hear many stations during the daytime. That is the way AM propagation works. During the Daytime you will hear local AM stations well, The AM band comes 'alive' in the evening and you can hear stations from hundreds ( or more) miles away. The local stations reduce their power which also allows you to hear the other less powerful stations which are now in the clear. Not hearing AM stations in the daytime is not a radio problem, it's the way the AM band works.I travel between upstate NY and Washington, DC and I love to listen to 880 AM WCBS New york station. In the evening it comes in load and clear from about 300 miles away. Many other DX (distance) stations can be heard throughout the AM band during the evening hours. This radio does a great job in picking them up. Because it's a portable, the PR-D5 can be rotated to get the best sound on AM. If this was a bigger tabletop radio that would not be so easy or feasible to do. It's a portable but the sound is comparable to a big tabletop radio. Rich tones and great stereo from the two built in speakers. To test this out, find a classical music FM stereo station and listen yourself. It's a beautiful sound for just a $60 radio.Setting the time on the built in clock is very simple to do. The easiest way is to tune to a FM station that is broadcasting in RDS (Radio Data System). You can tell because the display will have text scrolling about the radio station that is currently selected. Once a RDS FM station is playing then press and hold the 'CT/Display' button (on the front of the radio) for two seconds and it will update the time from the radio station. Couldn't be easier! You can also set in manually by pressing and holding the tuning knob for 2 sections. When doing this the hour display will blink and you can turn the tuning knob to advance the hours. Press the tuning knob one more time and you can adjust the minutes, press it again to exit out.Once the clock/time is set you can set the alarm to wake to music. you can also set the radio to turn off after playing for a set time (sleep mode). Once the clock is set it continues to display. You can see the time display if there is any light in the room. You can also press the 'CT/Display' button to have the display line lighted for about 10 seconds. Not having the display lit all the time is not a problem. That would unnecessarily drain the battery and is not really needed. With any ambient light in the room, the display can be read just fine.The Sangean PR-D5 takes 6 'C' type batteries or you can use the included wall plug. If you use Alkaline batteries, they will last a very long time. The manual says 70 hours of play. I have gone several months without having to change the battery. I also purchased a 12 pack of C Alkaline batteries for about a dollar a piece, total of $12. If the batteries last 3 months then that is about .13 cents a day for the added advantage of being ready for a power outage and the flexibility of easily moving the radio from room to room at will without needing to unplug and replug the wall power supply. You can also use rechargeable batteries which work fine but are not as powerful and will not last as long as Alkalines. The rechargeable C type batteries are not cheap plus you need to also purchase a recharger and recharge the batteries (which can take several hours, depending on your charger). I prefer to just buy the alkalines, since they last over three months.The PR-D5 does not have a carrying handle but I don't see that as a problem. The radio, even with the 6 'C' batteries loaded is not that heavy and you can easily pick it up to move it from room to room.If you are in the market for a portable AM/FM radio and you are looking for a well-made (constructed), affordable radio that delivers on quality sound, picks up FM and AM stations from hundreds of miles away and does it well, then for $60 this is a no-brainer. Great radio!

Unbelievable sound detail for small radio.Reception is top notchSound nuances so good even audiophiles would appreciate. Not a boom box. Too nice for jobsite, plus has no carry handle. I use it as bedroom music alarm and leave it on before work. Well engineered by Sangean. Highly recommend

I bought this radio because1. This is from Sangean2. Digital Tuning with frequency display3. Stereo Speakers4. RDS Info Display5. Can be used as a mobile phone/laptop speakers6. Looks sophisticated and modern7. Alarm8. Black version available against the white oneThe overall built quality is excellent and has a metal body. You can feelthe richness. It has an ergonomic tuning and volume knob both has a softrubber feel. Nice to hold. The tuning jogs up/down .1MHz steps and can feelthe click. Interesting feature is the frequency scan. You can push thetuning knob and it lands to the next audible station! This makes the frequencyexactly to the .1MHz frequency. Then you can easily long press the memory buttonand store the station into the memory! Cool.One of the greatest features of this radio I liked is its Aux connection. ie. you canconnect your mobile phone/mp3 player and Laptop using a 3.5mm male to male connector(need to buy separately). I bought an 8ft cord.I ordered it when I ordered the radio.It plays the MP3 songs from my mobile phone nicely. Another interesting thing I do isI put Internet radio on my Android phone and play it through the Aux speakers.This opens a huge world of Internet radio!The biggest drawback I would like to notify the Sangean company is that the Bass toneis hardwired into the circuitry. There is no Bass/Tone knob. At least the Sangeancompany can hard wire a bass+treble audio so that it's neither bassy nor trebly :)My Suggestions for Improvement to Sangean. (Hope they read these feedbacks)1. Add a Bass/Tone knob.2. Toggle switch to keep the display lights always on.3. RDS to display below the frequency which is done nicely on Android phone FMradio application. ie. RDS/frequency and time need to be displayed together.Right now RDS info comes after seconds you tune the station.4. Battery Re-charge feature.5. Five more buttons to store the memory. ie. at least 10 FM stations are okay.Five is very less these days.6. The frequency scan by pushing the tuning knob is very hard. Make it soft.To Summarize, this is a very good radio with just one drawback.The audio is bassy. If you like bass audio, then its okay. It is goodfor speech. It makes the speech soft. For music, it requires treble response, so thatthe instruments will be more clear. The stereo capability is noteasily noticeable on speakers.Compared to other FM radios in this price range, this is the best available in themarket today.I think the black version is new. Black is beautiful and looks sophisticated. My laptopand mobile phone are all black. White looks odd, and everyone notice it.Black is cool and you can take it anywhere.I give only 4 stars because of the bassy audio quality and make Sangean toadd a bass/treble knob. Once this is done, I am sure, this radio will bethe best in the world in this price range.Hope you find this review useful.Update:The memory is not stored permanently. When the unit is switched off today and then switched on tomorrow, all the memories goes EMPTY.This is very disappointing. Not sure, whether this is a defect. If you know about this, do let me know.