Header banner
Revain logoHome Page
Matt Eason photo
France, Paris
1 Level
656 Review
61 Karma

Review on πŸ“» Classic Walnut Tabletop AM/FM Wooden Radio - Sangean WR-15WL Review & Features by Matt Eason

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Buy one and feel good

I have four Sangean tabletop radios. I have 2 WR-11s, a WR-2 and now this WR-15BK. They all sound great and I doubt I can tell them apart blindfolded. I was lucky with the radio. I suspect these analog radios are a bit more durable than digital ones, but that remains to be seen. I don't find much difference between this model and the WR-11, but the WR-15 doesn't have the tuning index that I like in an analog radio. It would also be nice if Sangean illuminated the labeling of the control buttons on all of its desk models. But these are subtleties. These are great radios. I doubt there is anything in this price range that can compete. My comments are based on the fact that I mostly listen to FM. I've listened to AM and read some complaints about reception and sound. I think the sound is ok, but different than AM when I hear it on a laptop with a smaller speaker. I would not buy such a radio for AM Talk Radio. With a portable radio, it's easier to position it for better reception. The music I listen to is mostly American standard. A few words about antennas. Three of my four radios needed an antenna. One works great without an antenna due to its good placement in the bedroom. According to Sangean, the supplied antenna can be screwed into the back and simply left hanging. It may or may not work. You have to experiment. The wire antenna has an "F" connector at the end. You can buy a piece of coaxial cable and a female-to-female adapter and connect the antenna to the coaxial cable. You can loop the end of the wire antenna with a zip tie and hang it anywhere you have a signal. The other end of the coaxial cable is screwed into your radio like the originally supplied antenna. In one case I decided to use a hanging wire antenna for two radios. I bought a Revain "splitter" for about $3. A radio is connected via a 50 foot coaxial cable. Everything works and the sound is great. This is for FM. If you're not getting good FM reception, you may need to experiment. Sometimes moving the antenna a few inches can make a difference.

Pros
  • Confident
Cons
  • Security