HDR-16

This Sangean HDR-16 HD Radio/FM-Stereo/AM Portable Radio is, in my opinion, a superb portable radio. I first became acquainted with HD Radio (HD stands for Hybrid Digital NOT High Definition) when we got our two new Subaru Foresters in 2014. They were equipped with HD Radios. Now that 'famous' consumer site (which does not allow its name to be used but I'm sure you know the one I mean) claims to be not impressed with HD Radio and says that, in automobiles, it's six of one, half a dozen of another, if you have it or not. But my wife and I have found it to be a real asset. In the Philadelphia, PA area in which we live, there is only one station which plays classical music (to which I listen) and jazz (to which my wife listens). Unfortunately, on 'straight' FM, the type of music is split: from 6 AM to 6 PM (Monday through Saturday) classical music is broadcast; from 6 PM to 6 AM jazz is played. (On Sundays, classical music is played only in the afternoon.) But with an HD Radio in our cars we can each easily listen to the type of music we prefer and at any time we like. In our home, however, until now, we did not have an HD radio. We each could listen to the local station's separate classical or jazz streams over the internet but, due to our rather slow (by today's standards) internet connection, if both of us were using our respective computers, often the music would 'cut out' and this was an annoyance. Having read the reviews here of this particular radio, and discounting those which complained of things in which we were not interested, I decided to save some money and purchase this model. It arrived yesterday and I have been playing it for many hours since. I am truly and completely pleased with it. Now I want to tell you that I have absolutely no interest in using it as a clock-radio. When I want to set a wake-up alarm I use a CLOCK, of which we have many in our house. I also have no interest in using it as an emergency radio. We have FOUR (4) NOAA WEATHER RADIOS. One is a plug-in type which is always on, the other three are portables, two of which we take along when we travel. These are true emergency radios. So I have not even bothered with the Menu options which allow the user to set up these options. As a matter of fact, when I received the radio, I immediately inserted the batteries and turned it on. Unlike my usual practice, I did not read the owner's manual. As a radio, this is so easy to use that, in my opinion, ANYBODY ought to be able to use it without reading that booklet. Just looking at the extremely well-labeled controls is about all you'll need to do in order to use this radio. Now, of course, there are some things mentioned in the easy-to-read manual that can use some explanation but they are, frankly, easy to figure out even if you don't read the manual. Common sense is all you'll need. If, however, you want to use some of the 'esoteric' features of this radio, then you will need the owner's manual. (In any case it's helpful to read it and I did so this morning.) Now you will ask, "How is the performance?" In a word, superb. We live about 40 miles from the Roxborough antenna farm (from which most Philadelphia stations broadcast) yet I am able to receive in HD most of the FM stations WITH THE RADIO'S ANTENNA COLLAPSED! This is truly superb performance in my opinion. I listen to just two local AM stations and they both come in perfectly. One features HD, the other does not. The HD sound quality, on both AM and FM, is excellent too. You must remember that this is a portable radio. It is not a high fidelity instrument. If you are expecting to be 'blown-away' by the sound, forget about it! It sounds as well as any portable radio I have ever heard (with the possible exception of the GE Superadios I and II) but those others cannot receive the extra HD broadcasts. This radio also has a superb line-output stage via which I am playing an HD-2 classical station (WPEN-HD2) through my main stereo system (Yamaha A-S701 integrated amplifier and Klipschorn loudspeakers). I am playing this HD station as I am writing this (at around 4:30 PM) and I have been playing it continuously using the radio powered via its AC adapter since about 8:30 this morning. The sound is excellent for a radio broadcast. This portable radio is much more versatile than a standalone AM/FM/HD tuner or even an AC-powered AM/FM/HD table radio. I am really pleased with the sound quality I am hearing using this radio as tuner in my system. As a side note, I should mention that FM (and by extension HD) broadcasts will never be truly high fidelity. They can't be. Back in the 1940s and 1950s FM broadcasts were getting better and better, approaching the highest fidelity attainable. This was, of course, in the 'mono' days. When stereo was set to come in, there was one system (the Crosby system) which was as accurate in sound quality as was mono FM. This was because it was essentially two mono channels, both of equal high fidelity. Almost everybody was sure that the system would be accepted by the FCC. As a matter of fact, some receiver manufacturers 'jumped the gun' and released Crosby-equipped receivers before the standard was approved. BUT - the FCC rejected the system, approving a system advocated by GE and Zenith. This system was NOTICEABLY inferior in terms of sound quality in stereo mode. Why was it accepted? In two words, commercial interests. When the Crosby system was in use for stereo transmission, MUZAK and other such background commercial systems ("elevator music") could not be transmitted. But with GE and Zenith, they could. And who cares about sound quality anyway? (I'm being facetious.) The degraded sound quality has carried over somewhat to the HD broadcasts though, in truth, they are somewhat (only somewhat) better than most 'straight' FM transmissions. Getting back to this radio, it does sound quite good for a portable radio and, feeding its sound through a good high-fidelity system, you will hear sound quality as good as most stand-alone tuners. And with portability as a bonus! Are there any 'cons'? Of course there are! Unlike our Subarus, the memory buttons do not remember the HD band to which you were previously tuned. In other words, if you program, say, WPEN HD2 into a memory slot and turn off the radio (or even tune to another station), if you press the memory button you will NOT be taken back to WPEN HD2 but only to WPEN's main channel from which you must manually tune to the HD2 transmission. I wish that this were not the case but there it is. [Please See Update at the End of this Review.] However I am of the opinion that you just cannot go wrong with this radio. Before you buy one, however, you should make certain that there are stations in your area which transmit the kind of music (or talk) shows that you like over an HD system. If there are no such stations in your receiving area, there would be no point in buying this radio. But if there are, and you can afford the price, by all means buy one. (And buy it from Amazon. If you are unhappy within the first 30 days, you can return it at no cost to you.) I do want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this review and who is considering my opinions. Lawrence H. Bulk ====>Update: September 24, 2017 I like this radio so much that I bought a second one for use in another room. I just discovered something about that new unit. When checking the Menu, I see that my first one (the one about which I wrote the review) is V. 32. This new one, which arrived Tuesday, September 19, 2017, is V. 38. This one DOES INDEED remember the HD station entered into memory. Thus, it works like most car radios and other such and makes this radio essentially "perfect," at least for me. If you buy a new one now, I'm sure you will get the later version. Check to make certain. If you received an older version, while the radio would not be unsatisfactory, I think that you should insist that the seller take it back and offer you a later version. Now if there were only some way to upgrade my older radio to the newer version ...

I have had this radio for a week now and I love it! It is very well built and feels very solid. It is way better than I expected. You can feel how sturdy the handle is when you swing it up. The station tuning and volume knobs are nice and tight with very little play as far as wiggling around goes. The appearance is flawless and all the seams where the parts come together is very uniform and tight. The case is a heavier plastic and the finish has a very nice gloss to it that is easy to maintain. The push buttons have a very solid feel to them. Programming stations to the presets is as easy as press and hold...wait for the beep! Battery consumption is more than fair. I tested to see how long the batteries would last at volume level 16 and found they lasted quite well. The radio uses more of the battery than most radios do. I measured the used batteries at 1.12 volts. Most radios will only use them down to 1.3 volts. I got at least 30 hours out of the first set of batteries. The sound quality did not falter much at all until right at the end. The sound quality I found as astounding considering the radio size. The bass and treble works surprisingly well. You can actually follow bass notes without a problem. It doesn't have low bass, but for it's size, the bass is surprising. The crossover points for the treble and bass were well engineered. The overall sound quality was bigger than I expected. The reception: This unit receives FM as well as I had hoped. I am even able to listen to one station my other radios won't pull in. The FM really pays off when in low reception areas like concrete buildings. The AM section works very well and easily receives double the stations my other radios do. I took time to test both the headphone jack and the line out jack. I used a pair of HyperX gaming headphones to listen. Here is where the bass the BIG sound is! I had to turn the bass down a little and the treble up a little. The sound was crisp and clear on a HD station, comparable to a home audio system. I tested the record out on a very good Bluetooth speaker system that has an aux in jack. It performed very well. I do agree with previous reviewers that this would be a great FM tuner in a larger home stereo system. I am a curious person and I like to see what is inside stuff, so I cracked the case and looked inside. Everything is discrete surface mount technology. it is very clean and uncluttered. What surprised me most is the size of the magnets on the speakers. Their size indicates a higher level of quality than you would normally expect. The solder points were solid and nicely done. The wires are a decent gauge and hot glued in place for extra durability. My bottom line is...this radio will outlive me for sure! I am happy and I feel I got more than I was expecting in several different categories. This was the best portable radio purchase I have made!

Producto de gran calidad MUY recomendado 👍🏻

Un gran pero pequeño equipo portátil con funciones básicas, y excelente calidad de su sonido HD. El mejor de la familia Sangean.

This portable HD Radio is my new favourite thing. I purchased it six months ago and I've gotten many hours of enjoyment out of it. The HD tuner is great; easy to use, with good reception. It's easy to move between HD-1 and HD-4 on any frequency, and the display is intuitive, showing a plus sign when you have not yet reached the final HD channel for that frequency yet. Also, even for non-HD listening, it's a very good, high-sensitivity radio. I often sit on my front porch in SouthWestern Ontario and listen to AM stations at night from New York City and Chicago. FM reception is great also, and the whip antenna is of a good length. The sound quality is good overall. This is not a high-powered system with giant woofers. It gives great reproduction for voice and also good reproduction for music, but you're not going to feel the bass vibrating through your body or anything. It has 3.5 mm inputs and outputs so you can easily connect it to other audio devices. I'm very pleased with my purchase. Would totally buy it again.

Buena calidad de audio, excelente opción

Aunque la banda AM tiene baja sensibilidad, en FM se nota la diferencia entre FM convencional y FM HD cuando está disponible. El FM HD lo capta automáticamente.