Comparison of the Sangean PR-D5 and the C.Crane CSW

The Players.

two of the recent radio offerings that have piqued the interest of fellow radio geeks are the sangean pr-d5 and the ccradio csw by ccrane,(formally the kaito 2100. now sold exclusively in the u.s. only under the ccradio name). the sangean is an attractive, sleek two band am and fm receiver with dual speakers. the ccradiosw is a larger traditionally shaped multi-band with am, fm and shortwave. while i know the two radios were designed for different niches, i think a comparison of the sets may help in deciding where to put your money, especially in today's sparse landscape of choice.

Tuning Performance.

on the am the sangean was equal to the ccsw. this is pretty impressive as i have concluded the ccsw was close in am performance, even to my panasonic rf-2200, my go-to receiver for rating dx ability. on both sets i easily listened to the am flame-thrower kmox out of st.louis,mo. keep in mind this from the charleston. sc area, almost half a continent away. but this was at night, outside with no structural encumbrances. on the fm, while the sangean performed admirably,i thought the ccsw nosed it out. my n.p.r station of choice is about 60 miles away. i use this outlet because my local n.p.r. is all classical all the time and unless i need a sedative,.. well you know. so this more distant station is the benchmark i use for fm pulling ability. i had to swivel the whip on the sangean to the right attitude for it to grab the signal clearly. the ccsw nabbed just by pulling the antenna straight up. could be because the ccsw has a longer whip. both radios performed well and certainly up to expectations, especially on the am. one caveat, your results may vary. i live on the east coast in a rather small metro area. obviously, i have no signals from the east to crowd my dial which clears the way and being in a smallish metro, i don't have a lot of local dial crowding.

Audio.

the audio set up of the sets in my opinion is for different listening habits, heres why. the ccsw as i said, has shortwave capability, which by the way performed equally to my rf-2200 on sw. shortwave listening and tuning is of a more close-in intimate nature. the ccsw large monoural,(stereo with headsets) speaker is well suited for toned flatened sw listening as well as enjoyable music listening when toned up to your tastes. i found the fidelity and tonal qualities of the ccsw exceeded my expectations. now, for the sangean, great sound but completely different. twin 2.5" speakers make for nice sounding music with suprising punch.it seems better suited to listen to at small distance as it allows you to discern some seperation of the highs and lows. the lack of tone control, which the ccsw has separate bass and treble control, was in my opinion,a detriment to the sangean. not that the sound was bad, i just like to monkey with the tone depending on what i'm listening to. when comparing audio to my rf-2200 the ccsw was close, the sangean sounded great, i just wish it had tone control. overall both radios have good audio punch.

Gadget Factor.

by virtue of having more bands, knobs and functions the ccsw is more the gadget, which appeals to me. the sangean is more a more straight forward layout with just am, fm, again though, these radios are for different niches. shortwave ability is a waste of money if you don't partake.

Conclusions.

all in all i think it comes down to your interests. if you enjoy shortwave with a set that provides good musical fidelity and a dash of gadgetry, then the ccsw for you. if you couldn't care less about sw and you're looking for a quality sound and excellent am dx ability, get the sangean. 70 to 80 dollars is a good buy on the sangean. and i think 139.00 is fair or better for the ccsw. these two have given me a little more confidence in modern radios when comparing them to vintage.

Thanks to Herculodge reader Gerald Johnson for this review.

Comments

[Mike W]

Greatly appreciated, Gerald, because as I've posted elsewhere here (perhaps ad nauseum, sorry if so), I own a PR-D5 and am torn between picking up a CSW, a vintage RF-2200, or a SR I/II in lieu of the ever-receding Satellit 750.

I'm no radio engineer but I've tried or at least read up on quite a few sets over the years, and I consider the PR-D5 to be an under-appreciated sleeper. It's a match for the CCRadio, and I was expecting the CSW to under-perform it, certainly not to exceed it. I'm glad to hear they're comparable.

I just caught Arnie Coro from Havana for the first time in ages, then a little Radio Sweden, and it has me thinking I'd like a set with SW and a decent tuning knob. I think I'll get a CSW.

I love the solid old analog sets, but the bottom line with the RF-2200 is you're accepting a lot of trade-offs for that last performance increment. I hope I'll get one eventually, but it's really one for the purists.

[gerald johnson]

if you enoy shortwave tuning and monitoring, id get the ccsw. you already have (pr-d5) a radio that will do what the ge super does, and probably does it better.