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Reviews For: Sangean PR-D5

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Sangean PR-D5
Reviews: 13MSRP: 99
Description:
AM/FM RDS Portable radio. 6 "C" Batteries. AC adapter. "Humane" alarm wakeup. 5 am, 5 fm presets.
10.75" x 5.33" x 2.67" in size
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.sangean.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00134.5
DXTUNER Rating: 2008-06-24
Wow! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just 20 minutes out of the box and already I'm impressed. The PR-D5 exhibits phenomenal AM reception. Distant AM stations I usually receive fair-good (if at all, or when I can) on desktop general coverage receivers using external antennas come through with excellent/local quality on this PR-D5.

I've merely removed the radio from the box, placed it on my table & powered it on -- no turning or rotating of the radio position, no sequestering from electrical outlets or sources. Nothing special done at all. Detroit, Cleveland, New York -- and some spanish-language stations I've never received before -- are booming-in as though they are local.

Not much more needs to be said, except that the PR-D5 easily matches or beats the Kaito KA2100/Redsun RP2100 on AM reception. No question about that. The sound is nice & rich also.
W4DST Rating: 2008-03-13
Super value and performance Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I was very surprised at both the AM and FM performance of the PR-D5. It apparently uses the dual coil ferrite antenna circuit for AM, same as the Sangean made CCRadio, and this accounts for the excellent AM sensitivity. The AM reception of the PR-D5 is second only to my vintage Radio Shack 12-655 TRF AM receiver. This is quite an accomplishment as the 12-655 is one of the most sensitive AM portables ever made.

On FM, my only complaint is that selectivity is a little wide for my tastes. Judging from my tests, it probably uses 230KHz filters in the IF section. It should be possible to replace these with 150KHz filters for a big improvement in selectivity. The sensitivity is excellent. I can receive FM stations from 5 different states here in the mountains of SW NC. The RDS circuitry is head and shoulders better than the pathetic performance of the Sangean ATS-909. The PR-D5 is also a much better FM, and AM, receiver than my Grundig Satellit 700. Both the '909 and '700 have been sold.

Like previous reviewers, I think the radio does need a carrying handle. Other than that, this is a well designed radio and, in my opinion, well worth the price. Whether you are an AM or FM DXer, this is an excellent portable receiver to add to your shack.
N2DY Rating: 2007-10-18
Nice Surprise Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this radio for a little AM portable DXing. It was advertised as an AM DX specialty radio due to its decent size ferrite bar antenna (at least by today's standards). I was pleasantly surprised by its performance. Sensitivity is excellent and, as the previous reviewer noted, selectivity is very good. I compared it to a wide variety of portables that I have and none was better.

It is designed as a regular consumer radio and so it tunes in 9 or 10 KHz steps. Shorter steps such as 1 KHz or 5 KHz would have been nice.

FM broadcast reception is superb also. Selectivity is pretty good on FM as well. It has dual speakers and so stereo signals sound terrific.

Tone quality is good, although bass and treble controls would be useful.

It also would be nice if the radio had a carry handle. It can run on batteries as a portable, but it looks like more of a table top radio.

It is a little expensive for an AM/FM radio but it may just be worth it if you are an AM enthusiast. Is the radio perfect? No, not really, but since it meets my need for a good AM DX portable, I gave it a 5/5. I am really enjoying it.