Sangean PR-D7 AM/FM Digital Portable Radio with Built-in Battery Charger (Black)

I recently read analysis of the Sangean PR-D5 vs. the Sangean PR-D7 radios. The reviews missed the point: These two Sangean radios target different market niches and needs. The PR-D5 is essentially a table radio while the PR-D7 targets folks that need a radio for domestic travel. I'm sure the engineers at Sangean see it this way. Why not buy both radios?The Sangean PR-D7 has a clean crisp sound with very low noise floor on AM and FM bands, a great improvement over Sangean radios of similar size such as the ATS-505 or the ATS-909. BTW, I've tuned in all the major stations in the greater Phoenix area without a problem including the hard to catch 89.5, a classical station.I have been very surprised at the overall performance of the PR-D7 radio and listen to this radio on a daily basis. The Sangean PR-D7 ($59# does 90 percent of what the Trivoli Songbook does at 25 percent of the Songbook's $200 price tag.Still, the PR-D7 could use a multi-voltage AC adapter and a lock switch to be a complete global travel radio #like the Sangean ATS-606). Also, when traveling, cloth pouch would be a really nice touch. And while I'm making my wish list, the PR-D7 in a red or yellow case would be neat and easy to spot in a hotel room so you don't leave it behind.One of the things I like about this radio are the controls, easy to learn and use, plus you can see the frequency and time on the display.Update September 2008: I just recently purchased Sanyo's Eneloop AA rechargeable batteries for my PR-D7 giving me greater flexibility when enjoying this wonderful portable radio. I highly recommend Sanyo's Eneloop batteries.Last week, from my greater Phoenix location, I picked KNX 1070 Los Angeles about 10PM in the evening.Update October 2009: After owning this radio for 2 years, my little PR-D7 fell off a second story balcony and is now in pieces, so I ordered a second PR-D7 this morning. I suffer from cancer and kidney disease, so I've been in and out of the hospital several times this year, each time, my little Sangean PR-D7 went with me.One of the neatest features of this PR-D7 is the no hassle recharging of the AA batteries, the radio automatically does this for you!!!BTW, I ordered this radio from Amazon on a Friday morning and received the radio the next Tuesday morning. How's that for service!!!UPDate June 2013: Thank you all for all the good wishes. I'm ordering a new PR-D7 in black b/c I like the color. I'm now doing three hours of dialysis per session, the very minimum and my monthly labs are very strong.UPDate June 2014: Ordered a second Sangean PR-D7 radio recently in black and noticed a few cosmetic changes to this radio. I no longer take the PR-D7 radio to dialysis or the hospital. I now pack a Sangean DT-180 pocket radio in my go bag. I would love to able to buy this radio in red or yellow colors

When my old GE portable radio died after a quarter century, I went about looking for a replacement with a big speaker. I like a realistic sound, and that's what it takes unless you want to go with earbuds. And I did not want to do that all the time. There are so few portables with big speakers available today. I had looked at Sangean, but their speakers are typically small except for the one for construction sites. And those models are ugly and huge. I found the Sony ICF38, which has a 3-3/8" speaker. That's a bit smaller than the GE but close enough. The Sony is also very inexpensive, less than half the price of any Sangean. The Sony sounded very good, but after a few months I decided to give it to someone whose radio just broke. While the Sony worked very well overall, I decided to enter the 21st century by getting a radio with digital tuning. The Sony was getting a bit tiresome because I was switching among several stations. The analog tuning required quite a bit of movement and a steady finger.I decided on the Sangean PR-D7, which has a 3" speaker, which is among the largest in their line of portable radios. It also means that it has less bass than the Sony. So I expected it to sound more tinny. But it seemed to be the best I could do considering that it has good ratings from the various reviewers. Now that I have had it for a few weeks and the Sony just a short time before, I have a direct comparison. The Sangean actually sounds quite good. It may have less bass, but not noticeably so. Human voices sound just a bit high, but good enough. I don't use it for music. The tuning works perfectly well. Just set the station, and you can easily go back to the original setting. Flipping among preset stations is easy. Its sensitivity is better than the Sony. There are certain areas in my house that loses one of my favorite stations with the Sony. I also have a Sony Walkman SRF-M37W, and it loses reception in exactly the same places. In contrast, the PR-D7 keeps working, albeit with a bit more noise. The ICF-38 also tends to drift occasionally, thus requiring some fine tuning. You never get that with the PR-D7. If you only listen to one station predominately, the Sony is a good inexpensive solution that I would not mind having. But if you are always switching among different ones, the much more expensive Sangean is worth the extra bucks, at least to me.One thing previous reviews mentioned is that the Sangean tends to get hot during battery recharging. I have found that the Sangean does tend to warm up. But I am not sure whether it is during charging or just because it uses a lot of power. I'll have to keep an eye on that. Another deficiency is that it picks up noise if you bring the radio close to the included transformer. So if you have the radio plugged in, move it away from the transformer. The Sony just has a plug, and never suffered from that problem even if you get the radio close to the outlet.Overall, I find the Sangean to be an excellent radio and worth the extra money.

I have been using this radio for 9 days. I agree with one of the previous reviews that this is a very good portable for its size. However, like others, I did find the audio a bit "muddy". For all the extras they put on it, a tone control would have been useful. In all, the controls are very simple to use. I listen to mainly talk radio and news on AM. In a noisey environment, a little more treble boost is needed. I found that it did block electrical interference a somewhat better than most portables, and the station pushbuttons are essential. I don't use the alarm, so can't comment on that.March 18 update: It is regrettable that the mushiness and distortion of sound on AM when I turn up the volume. For all its pluses, including the recharing unit I find the sound is not much better at high levels than my cheap Sony. I am strongly considering a return. I wish I knew if this was inherent with this radio, or a speaker flaw in the unit I received. Today I saw the PR-5 at a local electronics store (they don't carry the PR-7) and the sound was excellent at high volume. This may be a different kind speaker design???. The PR-7 lacks the recharging capability however. I just wonder if others noticed the sound problem in their PR-7. I did not notice if Amazon offered an exchange, or if I should just return and get the PR-5. I hate to use all those 6 C batteries required by the PR-5.