Has the Sangean QC Problem Spread to the Sangean WR-11?

Jaranath writes:

I'm afraid Sangean's problem may have spread to the WR-11. I've been shopping for a decent tabletop with aux input for a while now. Based on the comments and articles here, and Amazon reviews, I went with a WR-11 rather than the 12, appealing as the 12 seemed. Unfortunately the WR-11 that I received appears to have the same sound issues so many have described in the WR-12. AM, FM, Aux, all are bass-heavy and muffled.

I haven't spent much time listening on FM to test the drift issue many have mentioned, but the sound is definitely poor. Given Derrick's comments here and the Amazon review update, I'm taking a chance and ordering a WR-12 from Amazon (note: Specifically FROM Amazon, not a slightly cheaper Amazon partner, since the Sangean rep vouched for "all the units sold by Amazon").

I'm hanging on to the WR-11 for now for comparison purposes...let's hope that I'll only be returning the WR-11. I'll let you know what I find and write some Amazon reviews accordingly.

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Comments

[Gary]

Another alternative to the analog WR-11 is the digital WR-2. It has full-range bass and treble controls, unlike the WR-11. Plus it has a button to select Aux mode, so you don't have to keep plugging the cable into the radio.

[Jaranath]

Thanks for the advice! Yeah, I've heard that's another one to consider. Don't like the looks quite as much, but it's not ugly by any means. The WR-12 does have a position on the selector knob for Aux so presumably you can leave the cable plugged into that one...? I was mildly annoyed to discover that the WR-11 automatically switched with the cable, but I should have noticed that earlier.

[Jaranath]

I received the WR-12 today. I won't pretend to have an expert ear, but yes, it does sound substantially better to me than the 11. The muffled, bass-heavy effect isn't there and it sounds generally clearer and more detailed. Playing with the tone controls, I can roughly approximate the 11's sound by turning bass all the way up and treble all the way down.

I can't swear if this particular WR-12 is improved over the ones others have been so disappointed in, but it's a big improvement over the 11 and the no-name radio it's replacing. I'm pleased with the sound and intend to keep it. If I run into any problems or notice any issues (such as the tuning drift) I'll pass them along.

I hate to qualify my impressions by emphasizing my non-expert ear, but I think it's important not to mislead, given the level of interest in these models. I've not listened to a WR-12 that has been confirmed as "bad" so I can't necessarily swear this one isn't similar to them. I think the safest conclusions you can draw from my impressions are that my particular WR-12 sounds nice to the average Joe, and my particular WR-11 didn't.

One other thing: I can confirm that the Aux position on the selector does allow you to leave an input cable plugged in and still listen to radio.