Why Joel Wants to Return His Degen DE-1127

 

 

Just received a Degen DE-1127. In general it's a nicely designed unit.

But: While the FM sound quality is acceptable - just - on the entire SW band is a loud digital burbling sound, with no reception of stations at all.

On AM this sound decreases as you tune down from 1600kHz but is still audible at 800kHz. Recordings made on AM are useless, and even FM recordings have strange frying background sounds.

The signal quality on AM is about the same as those tiny pocket radios that used to sell for $5.00

We also have a Sony ICD-UX91F which makes superb recordings - but of course no AM, which is why I bought the Degen.

Back it goes - but will the replacement be A1? It's not cheap sending stuff back - around US$20.00 - so it will be interesting to see how the seller's customer care handles a unit that was "all tested before despatch"

Any comments on whether I should swap it for an 1125 or 1126? Need to record from AM and FM, and play MP3's - prefer 4GB memory or more. Size isn't really an issue.

Jules' Response:

You should send it back, you obviously have a bad one.

I had a DE1126 that was returned due to radio-generated noise on all bands when recording, completely ruining them. Its sensitivity was only fair on all bands, despite trying a few different antennas.

Its replacement, the DE1127, has been rather different. It records well from MW and SW but still makes noise on the FM band when trying to record - this noise starts as soon as I hit record and affects the broadcast as well. I can only describe it as a constant loud rat-a-tat-a-tat sound, very annoying to listen to.

I first tried the 1127 with the whip on SW - hopeless. A wire helped a lot but you have to get it at the right length or it will overload. I then attached it to my external Sony AN-1 and it woke up! No overload, beautiful clear SW, and with that antenna it is more sensitive than my Tecsun PL-380, which surprised me.

I am happy with it for what it does but forget it if you want good FM or MW DX. It does record FM in stereo, despite the machine gun going off whilst recording.

I wish they'd sort the FM problem, add 1 kHz steps, and add SSB. Otherwise it does what I need, which is to record SW programs for later.

Such has been my experience so far.

I hope that you have better luck if you try another. The eBay seller I got both from was good to deal with when I needed to return the 1126.

I would recommend that you don't go for the cheapest postage to Hong Kong. I did that and it took a month to get there from Australia. When posted after I originally purchased it the unit took only 10 days to arrive. If you want it quick you'll have to cough up. Be aware that they may use the cheapest, slowest postage to send your replacement. This happened in my case - the item I exchanged it for arrived after another month. You may want to have a word with the seller about that.

Good luck!

 

Comments

[John]

I had one of the Degen precursors to this model and just threw it away---truly. There were strong birdies on the AM BCB band, some were on top of clear channel stations and locals, and its SW performance was very poor. I liked its size and promise, but it just did not perform. This was in 2009. I'm surprised that Degen still thinks that people will like radios with these design defects.

[Keith Beesley]

My DE 1126 is a mixed bag.

Pros:
1. FM reception is excellent.
2. AM (MW) reception is OK, better than average but not as good as my best AM radios.
3. ATS (auto tuning storage) works.
4. Radio record/playback functions work, although it is a somewhat cumbersome process involving several steps. Audio quality of radio recordings is somewhat degraded.
5. Wake-up alarm (to radio or an old-school telephone bell sound) and sleep (auto shut-off) work well. You can pre-set multiple alarms or multiple power on/power off at different times of the day if you choose.
6. Mp3 playback (of downloaded mp3s) works.
7. Speaker audio on FM and mp3 playback is surprisingly good for a unit of this tiny size and slim profile.

Cons:

1. SW bands are useless, the unit barely hears anything, and what you do hear is covered up by all kinds of noise. I haven't tried it with an external SW antenna, nor have I tried it out in the country, away from city noises and local transmitters.
2. No SSB or synch (wouldn't expect them in a unit at this price point).
3. Whip antenna is really too short for SW.
4. No tone control or bandwidth-select options.
5. No LW band.

You don't see many devices that combine mp3 recording capability with a LW, AM, or SW tuner, usually only FM, and I think I know why: the engineers haven't quite figured out how to do it yet. Many in another couple of years, if the demand is there.

On the other hand, if you are mainly an AM/FM listener, and need a handy pocket/travel radio, this may be for you. If you are a big shortwave listener, you won't be happy with it ;-). If you want to record programs off the air, your best bet at this point is probably to use a good radio with a "line out," connected to a dedicated digital recorder.

[Gary]

"7 Gadgets That Won't Be Around in 2020"

"So which popular products today will join the likes of VCRs, cassette players and transistor radios in the next few years?"

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11277886/1/7-gadgets-that-wont-be-around-in-2020.html

I didn't realize that transistor radios were already extinct.

[Gary]

The link above seems to show only 5 of the 7 gadgets. This one shows all 7:

http://www.mainstreet.com/slideshow/smart-spending/technology/7-gadgets-won-t-make-it-2020

[Joel]

A followup on the DE-1127:

Recording from AM or FM is a three keypress operation - one of them being to ask you if you want to record at 129 or 96 BPS.

Well, duh. This should be preselected in a setup menu - not that there's much difference.

It gets worse - once your recording starts, the station volume is increased greatly - and there is no way to turn it down - the (+) and (-) volume buttons don't work.

Joel.

[Account Deleted]

Thanks for the review.
I want to order this receiver from Hong Kong.
I have the Tecsun-380WT but I want a more compact FM/AM receiver with MP3 player.