
Interested in the DSP/analog combination, I ordered a Degen 321 2 weeks ago, and it arrived a few days back. I want to share my first impressions with you. It's really small. As small as a Tecsun R912, only a lot less deep. The sound is more mellow than the R912, which I consider a good thing. It doesn't feel rock solid, but it doesn't feel flimsy either.
Tuning is a bit hard, the wheel doesn't rotate smoothly enough to my taste. It's not a major problem, but it leaves something to be desired. FM sensitivity and selectivity is good, but I expected that because of the DSP.
MW sensitivity is the most disappointing aspect of the DE321: it doesn't come close to, for example, the Grundig G8 and the well-known Tecsun DSP ultralights (or the R912, for that matter). I suspect a (too) short ferrite bar.
With An-200 Loop Antenna
MW sensitivity seems excellent, though. I just experimented with the AN-200 loop antenna, and that works very well sensitivity-wise (but feels like cheating to me). SW sensitivity is remarkably good. I compared it to the Kaito 1102, and it's quite close, to my (positive) surprise. It lacks the 60m and 75m band, unfortunately. It was also a nice surprise to find that the analog tuning scale is really spot-on; I haven't found that on any of my analogs thus far. I don't know whether it's just my particular radio, or whether all DE321's share this treat.
I should add that drift is virtually non-existent on the DE321: I fell asleep yesterday with a CRI French broadcast, and woke up half an hour later with the same station, still perfectly clear.
All in all: rather a mixed bag, with MW sensitivity as the major drawback, but SW performance as the most appreciated feature. And it looks cute as well:). For its price, it's worth buying it, in my opinion.
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