Herculodge Review of the Sangean LB-100 Lunchbox Radio

(Re-post)

A few months ago, I spent $104 on the Sangean U3 worksite radio and was, in spite of warnings about its bass-heavy speakers, exceedingly pleased with speaker sound and AM/FM sensitivity. 

Even before I bought the U3, I wanted the Sangean LB-100, which had been praised by many, including Val and Peter, but was unavailable in the US market until recently.

So for about $75 and free shipping on Amazon, I bought the LB-100. I fretted the possibility that the LB-100's AM might not be up to par with the U3, an observation made in Russ' review. 

But a side by side reception comparison results in what appears to be identical, and very impressive AM and FM. 

One thing I don't like about both the Lunchbox and the U3 is that the non-rotation screw-in FM antenna doesn't give you any option to perform fine-tuning when wanting to get in a troublesome station (all worksite radios have such an antenna built like this to be rugged). Not that you need to adjust the antenna much. The FM sensitivity is so good that such adjusting isn't necessary. However, for weak FM stations like 89.3 and 88.9 it would be nice to have a rotating FM antenna. As strong as the FM is on both radios, I can't grab the weakest FM station I know of, 88.9, on the U3 and the LB-100 like I can with the Redsun RP-2100 (CCrane CSW) or the Grundig S350.

 

Now for AM reception. Very sensitive. The sound is very appealing through the 5-inch speaker, just like on the bigger U3. If the U3 has a slighter advantage on AM sound, it might be because of its bigger speaker. I'm not sure if it's the speaker or the bigger ferrite, but I'm giving just a scintilla of edge to the U3, but we're really splitting hairs here. On the LB-100 570 and 710, prone to birdy, came in loud and clear. The Sangean PR-D5 with is 8-inch ferrite proved no better than the LB-100 and the LB-100's overall sound is not surprisingly much better. 

Unlike the U3, which has a clock, headphone jack, and aux port, the LB-100 has none of these and is, in spite of being digital with 5 presets for AM and FM, a very bare bones radio, a sort of 1980 Ford Ranger truck, which didn't even come with a radio. 

You might want to pay an extra $25 and get the added features of the U3 and as Russ has pointed out enjoy a bigger ferrite AM antenna (though I personally didn't hear any difference in AM between the two).

One thing Russ pointed out is that the footprint on the LB-100 is not small at 8x8 inches. I was going to use the LB-100 in the kitchen but its size may make me change my mind and take it to the work office or use in one of the bathrooms.

I do want to commend Sangean on the battery compartment (takes 4 C batteries). This is not one of those latches that you snapped broken because you breathed too heavily on the hinges. This hinge uses a big screw and looks like it was built to last. 

Conclusion: At the $75 price point, the LB-100 has a rugged look, a loud yellow color, excellent fidelity, and strong AM and FM reception. Recommended. 

 

Comments

[Gary]

Jeff - The PR-D5 is far more sensitive than the LB-100 on AM. They're not even close.

[Jeffrey McMahon]

Gary, I'm sure you're right but I compared them from Torrance where stations are local so they seem similar.