Best Radios By Category

The Game: Radios will be judged on reception sensitivity, ergonomics, speaker sound, and build quality as we examine the following categories: small portable radio, general house radio, kitchen radio, clock radio, outdoor radio, and computer-room radio.

Number 1. Best Small Portable Radio. The winner is a tie between the $150 Eton E5 and the $99 Grundig G4000. Reception is similar, the Eton is more modern but for the price perhaps I'd give the nod to the G4000. As I write, Amazon has the G4000 on sale for 89.99.
Number 2. General House Radio. The winner is a tie between the $75 Sangean PR-D5 and its slightly more expensive cousin the $89 Sangean Sonido. Reception is comparable, which is to say fantastic, but the 3-inch monoaural speaker of the Sonido is richer than the 2.5-inch dual speakers featured on the PR-D5.
Number 3. Kitchen Radio. The winner for its full, rich speaker, which will fill a kitchen, is the $100-150 Boston Acoustics Recepter. Amazing reception. AM talk radio sounds intimate. No AM background noise. The Recepter's unique technology must be real  and not just company rhetoric.

Number 4. Clock Radio. The winner is the $150 Sangean WR-2. Solid and heavy, the WR-2 feels like high quality and it is. Great AM reception. FM would benefit from a telescopic antenna, but you can connect a dipole FM antenna to the back. Honestly, the FM is excellent and I haven't even rigged an additional FM antenna. My minor complaint is that the alarm functions are NOT intuitive.

Number 5. Outdoor Radio. The winner is the $199 Tivoli PAL. Tivoli radios are very attractive and are big players in the upper end radio market, but the PAL is arguably their most famous and deservedly so. A rubber cube with automatic battery recharger, this analog radio produces big sound and has excellent reception. Several months ago, the PAL was supposed to go extinct, but I'll assume Tivoli wisely addressed customer demand for the beloved PAL. This popular radio cost me $130 when I purchased it in 2004. Its 70-dollar increase is disheartening and I daresay not justified. If you don't need rubber protection for outdoor wear and want a great digital radio with iPod connectivity, you'd be wise to spend $125 LESS on the aforementioned Sangean PR-D5.

Number 6. Computer-Room Radio. Why is this an important category? Because all the radios mentioned here will SUFFER COMPROMISED RECEPTION FROM COMPUTER INTERFERENCE WHEN PLACED TOO CLOSE TO THE COMPUTER. Therefore, a computer-room radio should have a remote and be kept a good 5 feet away from the computer. The winner is the $49-150 Eton Sound 100. Featured on Amazon with the biggest variations in price I've ever seen, the Eton Sound 100 offers similar performance as the Sangean WR-2 but has a telescopic antenna for better FM reception. I bought one for myself at the full price, one for my wife for 99 dollars and one as a gift to my father for 69 dollars during an Amazon "hot deal." I was shocked to see it reduced another 20 dollars a week later and was tempted to buy another one but didn't. Some might not like the plastic shell and opt for the Sangean WR-2, which is a good alternative choice.

For all my radio reviews, CLICK HERE.

The Game: Radios will be judged on reception sensitivity, ergonomics, speaker sound, and build quality as we examine the following categories: small portable radio, general house radio, kitchen radio, clock radio, outdoor radio, and computer-room radio.

Number 1. Best Small Portable Radio. The winner is a tie between the $150 Eton E5 and the $99 Grundig G4000. Reception is similar, the Eton is more modern but for the price perhaps I'd give the nod to the G4000. As I write, Amazon has the G4000 on sale for 89.99.
Number 2. General House Radio. The winner is a tie between the $75 Sangean PR-D5 and its slightly more expensive cousin the $89 Sangean Sonido. Reception is comparable, which is to say fantastic, but the 3-inch monoaural speaker of the Sonido is richer than the 2.5-inch dual speakers featured on the PR-D5.
Number 3. Kitchen Radio. The winner for its full, rich speaker, which will fill a kitchen, is the $100-150 Boston Acoustics Recepter. Amazing reception. AM talk radio sounds intimate. No AM background noise. The Recepter's unique technology must be real  and not just company rhetoric.

Number 4. Clock Radio. The winner is the $150 Sangean WR-2. Solid and heavy, the WR-2 feels like high quality and it is. Great AM reception. FM would benefit from a telescopic antenna, but you can connect a dipole FM antenna to the back. Honestly, the FM is excellent and I haven't even rigged an additional FM antenna. My minor complaint is that the alarm functions are NOT intuitive.

Number 5. Outdoor Radio. The winner is the $199 Tivoli PAL. Tivoli radios are very attractive and are big players in the upper end radio market, but the PAL is arguably their most famous and deservedly so. A rubber cube with automatic battery recharger, this analog radio produces big sound and has excellent reception. Several months ago, the PAL was supposed to go extinct, but I'll assume Tivoli wisely addressed customer demand for the beloved PAL. This popular radio cost me $130 when I purchased it in 2004. Its 70-dollar increase is disheartening and I daresay not justified. If you don't need rubber protection for outdoor wear and want a great digital radio with iPod connectivity, you'd be wise to spend $125 LESS on the aforementioned Sangean PR-D5.

Number 6. Computer-Room Radio. Why is this an important category? Because all the radios mentioned here will SUFFER COMPROMISED RECEPTION FROM COMPUTER INTERFERENCE WHEN PLACED TOO CLOSE TO THE COMPUTER. Therefore, a computer-room radio should have a remote and be kept a good 5 feet away from the computer. The winner is the $49-150 Eton Sound 100. Featured on Amazon with the biggest variations in price I've ever seen, the Eton Sound 100 offers similar performance as the Sangean WR-2 but has a telescopic antenna for better FM reception. I bought one for myself at the full price, one for my wife for 99 dollars and one as a gift to my father for 69 dollars during an Amazon "hot deal." I was shocked to see it reduced another 20 dollars a week later and was tempted to buy another one but didn't. Some might not like the plastic shell and opt for the Sangean WR-2, which is a good alternative choice.

For all my radio reviews, CLICK HERE.