A quality portable radio.
I was so pleased with this radio that I subsequently bought a second one.
I originally bought this radio based on reviews; and mainly use it to listen to music, but also some sport, conversations (with experts), discussions and commentary - on a range of topics. I am just a long term radio listener (going back to valve days and crystal sets in the early 1950s, and before TV arrived), with no particular specialist knowledge.
Digital radio was new for me. I ventured into that unknown world for the first time with this radio. The improvement in the FM music stations I listen to is significant – beautiful, clear and strong. Stellar performance in that area! With this radio sound quality for me has gone from the previous ‘good’ on to ‘excellent’ - on the same music stations that I used to listen to on FM and now do on digital. A young relative plays in a youth orchestra and several of their performances, in Adelaide, were broadcast nationally on DAB+ recently (a month ago I had no idea what that even was). They sounded wonderful on this radio!
The Sangean DPR-45 is at the large and heavy end for a portable radio. Still it is easy enough to carry around the house, but is probably best kept on something firm like a table or shelf. I also take it outside several times a week - when I am gardening. It can easily be put into the car when travelling, to use at another location. It has a 5 inch (about 127 mm) speaker, which is big for a portable radio. The speaker impedance is low (4 ohms, which is a good thing) - my very limited technical knowledge suggests this is probably an indication of good quality and design. All of that makes for a better sound out of the speaker, especially for music. So none of these things are a problem or an issue for me.
Setting up was easy and intuitive. The clock setting, station select (both manual and auto select) and preset procedures were straightforward - even for a Luddite like me. I only used the 5 preselect buttons for each band (as that was plenty for me) and did not delve into the mysteries of how to preset the full 15 stations per band capability. With guidance from page 21 of the manual that should be fine too.
It's city performance (including during a short stay in Sydney) is impressive and, as a result, I now only listen to the digital versions of the FM and AM stations I used to listen to. I also checked it out in three country areas and compared this radio with two other, fairly average, portable radios I have used for years (a Grundig Concert Boy 60 and a Bush Thomson). For comparison I just focused on the FM and AM (aka MW) bands, as neither of these two radios had digital capabilities. All three radios were battery powered for my checks and comparisons. After checking 5 stations in each band the Sangean DPR-45 was consistently significantly better than both at each country site. I think its better speaker was a factor. One site was in a forest, another in a valley and the third in the mountains. Obviously the superior radio!
You usually get what you pay for, and I am delighted with my choice - so much so that I bought a second one.
This is a quality portable radio.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
