Sangean PR-D5 Review

The Sangean PR-D5, looking very much like the single-speaker Sangean Sonido, does not have have Weather Band. However, it boasts 2 stereo speakers and RDS as evidenced on the Sangean Website. Currently the Sonido is selling for 89.99 on Amazon. Buying from a vendor, one can purchase the new PR-D5 for about 70 plust 7 dollars shipping on Amazon.

Update: After reading about the PR-D5's exceptional AM ferrite antenna I could not resist buying it for 70 dollars (after I applied a 25-dollar coupon) on Amazon. The radio was delivered a few days later. I've been using it as a bedside clock radio in place of my Sangean WR-2 and here are some initial impressions.

1. The FM reception is very strong, better than my Sangean WR-2 because the PR-D5 has a telescopic antenna. To give you an example of superior FM reception, 89.3 comes in clear on the PR-D5 whereas you have to hold the piggy tail wire antenna on the WR-2 to get 89.3 clearly. Also the very weak 88.9 comes in fairly strongly on the PR-D5 and barely comes in at all on the WR-2.

2. The AM reception is very strong, as good as Sangean advertises. I'd say it's a tie with the very strong Sangean WR-2. Both radios are tied for first for my very best AM performers.

3. In theory, the PR-D5's dual stereo speaker should sound richer, fuller than the WR-2's monoaural speaker but I can't tell the difference. The sound is equal for me. Of course, sound is very subjective. In fact, I actually prefer the single monoaural speaker of the WR-2, especially for AM talk radio. The voices seem slightly muddled with the dual speakers of the PR-D5 yet the voices are clear for FM talk radio. With the stereo speakers, the PR-D5 doesn't seem suitable for "quiet" AM bedside listening, but for filling a room, like a den or a kitchen, the PR-D5 is highly recommended.

4. The heavy weight and deep depth of the WR-2, much greater than the skinny, light-weight PR-D5, gives the WR-2 a more solid feel. For tactile category, I like the WR-2. You feel assured that you won't tip over the WR-2 when you're toggling the presets. To the PR-D5's credit, the radio does not tip over when you use one hand to toggle the presets.

5. No remote for the PR-D5. You do get a remote for the WR-2. Also the WR-2 can bypass the auxiliary mode when you're toggling between bands whereas with the PR-D5 you must go through the auxiliary mode. This is a minor point about the PR-D5 but it bugs me anyway.

Conclusions: Easily, at 89 dollars the PR-D5 beats other portables, like the overpriced 159-dollar Tivoli Songbook. But as a bedside clock radio I prefer the look, feel, and ergonomics of the 140-dollar Sangean WR-2. If only the WR-2 had the PR-D5's FM reception, it would be a nearly perfect radio. Who knows? Maybe Sangean will update the WR-2 and give it the PR-D5's powerful FM sensitivity. I can only hope. For now, I'm wavering between which radio to keep by my bedside as the stereo speakers of the PR-D5 seem less than ideal for AM talk radio while its telescopic antenna renders superior FM to the WR-2.

Update: I ended up replacing my WR-2, equipped with a 5-inch ferrite antenna, with my CCR-2, fit with an 8-inch ferrite, as my bedside clock radio. The PR-D5 was too dark to see at night as a clock radio and it was too easy to activate the alarm mode while toggling the AM/FM band button. I'm keeping the superior reception PR-D5, however, as it sits proudly on my kitchen shelf.

Further Impressions: Having owned the PR-D5 for over a year now, I've focused in on its most glaring weakness: Its dual 2.5-inch speakers lack richness and depth. However, others praise the sound, so maybe I'm being persnickety. 

Comments

[Mike Walsh]

I just saw the PR-D5 on Amazon and am looking for a couple of new radios after not having bought any in about 5 years. I think I posted on one of Jeff's Amazon reviews somewhere that I wait for the Herculodge review now before buying a gadget, and meant it as kind of a joke at the time, but here I am waiting for the Herculodge review of the PR-D5.

FYI, I emailed Universal Radio asking which radio had better MW performance in their opinion, the KA2100 or the PR-D5, and I was told the latter. I just opened my steadily-deteriorating CCRadio to try to fix the power button, and that gave me a chance to measure the ferrite antenna. As suspected, 200 mm on the nose. So we know where Sangean is getting the antenna and possibly more from.

I expect the PR-D5 to have performace comparable to the CCRadio, at a substantially lower price.

[Terry (The Raging Dxer)]

eHam review rates the vintage Sony ICF-S5W higher than the PR-D5:

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/7051

(I need a second job to fund my radio addiction.)