Sangean America DT-210 DT-210 AM/FM Digital Tuning Pocket Radio
by Sangean
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sangean America DT-210 DT-210 AM/FM Digital Tuning Pocket Radio
Customer Review: Top quality mini AM/FM/TV radio
Summary: 5 Stars
If you're a lover of FM stations distant from you, this radio is among the very best to get reception. It has a switch to choose between Mono and Stereo and the reception is always better and with less distortion in Mono for the distant ones.
I walk my Lab an hour every morning in a nature preserve and listen to either one FM (NPR) station 30 miles away or another 70 miles away in mono. Reception of both is excellent. I've bought a number of Sonys and other brands of "Walkmen" types but all have lacked a Mono-Stereo switch so Stereo reception of these stations is often stuttering at best or absent at usual.
This radio replaces a Sangean DT-300-VW which I used daily for 4 years. Unfortunately the DT-300 recently died but, fortunately, I decided to save $15 and take a chance on the DT-210V.
WOW! I like it much better than the DT-300 for three reasons: (1) the sound from the speaker (which is how I listen) is FAR better than that from the 300. (I slip the radio in the upper left pocket of my Cabela's Safari vest and listen to it there; I don't want earbuds or head phones masking all external sounds.) (2) The batteries seem to last longer. (3) The reception seems to be better.
While I occasionally miss the DT-300's WX weather band, I have another mini radio dedicated to that I can take along if need be.
The only downside is that manual is not entirely user-friendly nor or all the functions on the radio. It has a control so you can set the dial to switch between several presets. I had to call Sangean for help in using it. But on my radio, one must press this then press that so fast that only about 1 out of 20 times can I do it fast enough. It's easier to just run the digitial dial between 89.3 and 91.5 as needed.
Excellent radio, superior performance, great value.
(I've read many of the other reviews and see a very few which are negative. If YOU get this radio and don't get the performance that those of us who love it have written about, then your radio must've slipped through Sangean's quality control. Call them, ship it back, get a replacement.)
Customer Review: Excellent special-purpose radio.
Summary: 5 Stars
This little radio is a little pricy, and it doesn't have the world's most awesome sound quality. The trade-off, though, is that for its *size*, the sound quality is great.
You don't really get a feel from photos or descriptions of how tiny this thing is. If you need (as I do) a very, very small radio that you can carry in a pocket and listen to without headphones, this a great deal.
The speaker is very, very small, but it's more than adequate for NPR in a hotel room. It's not nearly powerful enough to listen to music at a decent volume, but it's really not designed for that.
The reception is great, unless you try to run it without the headphones plugged in. Because the headphone cord doubles as the antenna, playing the radio without anything plugged into the headphone jack means you get almost no reception. Sangean includes a plug-in antenna for headphone-free listening, but it's not neccessary. If you just leave the phones plugged in when you switch the speaker on, you get excellent reception. The stereo-mono switch is wonderful: I can't imagine why every other manufacturer doesn't include this feature. Great for weak signals; reduces the noise and static level on distant stations.
The user interface is very intuitive. I personally would have preferred a few direct-access memory buttons for favorite stations (a la Sony), but it's actually pretty easy to program and recall stations by scrolling.
Headphone listening is excellent. Disclaimer: I didn't even *try* to use the included headphones. I have listened to this radio through Bose QC2s and Shure E2s. Sound quality is great with either set, and I've been using the E2s with it ever since.
On the whole, this is a really well-designed niche product. It does what it does flawlessly, but you need to be clear about your needs. If you're looking for a radio to listen to music with, get something bigger. If you need a really tiny packable radio with reasonable sound quality, you can't beat this unit.
Customer Review: A Robust Little Radio - No Regrets!
Summary: 5 Stars
I had my eye on this radio for a few days and purchased it when it came up as a Gold Box Special. I'm very glad I did.
This little radio does a great job, especially for AM purposes, where my favorite newsradio stations are. I had no trouble tuning in on my favorite stations (AM and FM) including one station that broadcasts from Tampa, FL that I'm able to pull in from the opposite coast. The TV does quite well, but my area only uses 3 or 4 channels within the 2 to 13 range, so I hardly use that band area.
The only surprise (for me) came with the needed use of an antenna for the FM and TV stations. Normally, the wire for the ear buds works as the antenna, but if you use the on-board speaker (which works great) you'll need to use the included antenna wire which plugs into the ear bud jack. But that's not a big overall deal.
The first day I used it I accidently dropped it on the brick floor with no ill effects. One battery popped out from the impact. It still works fine - just a few tiny nicks in the front.
I'm glad I didn't buy a cheaper radio, which is what I had originally set out to do. I like this radio. It's easy to handle, it's already taken a beating, and it works really nice. I look forward to using it for years to come.
UPDATE: Five months later and I have fallen deeper in love with this darling little radio. It's been dropped and slobbered on countless times (on tile, brick, and concrete flooring) by a 1 year old toddler. It still looks and runs great. (The lock feature comes in VERY HANDY when dealing with a curious toddler. Super feature.) My husband has complimented me on choosing this radio...it's helped us through Hurricane Charley and helped beat off boredom the days without power afterwards. I do not regret buying this radio and would gladly buy it again and again and again if I had to.
Customer Review: Excellent Radio
Summary: 5 Stars
I had been using a sony walkman headphone radio that had excellent reception because of an external antenna, but it broke when it fell off a shelf and Sony had discontinued these headsets and used ones were selling for $100 on ebay.
This radio was a great replacement. It has excellent AM and FM radio reception. AM reception was important to me because I like sports and political talk on the AM band and many portable radios have poor am reception. The three local npr stations closely packed on the bottom of the FM band also came in clearly.
I live in an urban area, a top 30 radio market, and all signals came in strong with this radio.
Controls are excellently designed. It is really easy to switch stations and bands through the presets and to set presets.
Size and weight of radio make it easy to use while moving around. Its dimensions are similar to credit card with an additional 1.5 inches in length. The waist band works very well. I never liked belt clips with walkman cassette players or cell phones. However, this one works great because the unit only weighs a couple of ounces and the belt clip has swivel so that it will pivot when you are moving around. This seems to keep it from either falling off your belt or digging into your waist.
I also found the speaker option more useful than I thought. Good sound quality and volume. I use it for talk radio more than music. Sound may be a little tinny for music. Headphones provided do provide good sound quality of both music and talk.
Battery power is excellent. I have had mine about three months. Still on the original set of batteries after 35-45 hours of use.
Great Product.
Customer Review: Special ! Simplicity Done Right....
Summary: 5 Stars
Was looking for lightweight portable, mostly for AM station I listen to nowadays, while on go in NYC. Old "walkman" was heavy, staticy. Well, sangean is lightweight, easy to set up and navigate. As I struggle with most set-up, install situations and over-complicated navigation, off the bat for me, sangean was special. Reception is good. I don't like ear buds; am using my own headphones. I'm nearly certain sound will be even better with new pair of headphones. Haven't yet used with wire antenna.
Now, here's anecdote re: sturdiness. I was 'lovin my sangean- the look, quality, convenience, comfort, etc. Took sangean on it's 1st subway trip. At Grand C Stat, 42nd Street, crowd pushed, kid punched me [long story], which ripped sangean [clipped inside my pocket] right out of headphones- onto subway track bed! Was in bit of shock, crestfallen. Being observant, series of NYers started to help, culminating in special MTA squad! retrieving sangean while I was at my app't, based on info I gave a token clerk. Joyful. But after cleaning it, it wasn't working. Next day, replaced batteries. It worked! [Had to re-set up.] Wish it hadn't been thru ordeal, but it seems to be working better with some passed time. Good lessons learned: You can get what you pay for and when you do, it's a joy and does save money in long run.
Only wish is that sangean build on current model's features; for ex, adding recording feature. Based on design, quality of this product, I'd consider any mp3 etc they come up with.