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Review on πŸ“» Sangean DT-800BK Rechargeable Pocket Radio - AM/FM/NOAA Weather Alert (Black/Gray) by Mike Bigglesworth

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Exceptional FM sound quality; Free Tuning Button

The Sangean Pocket 800 (DT-800) has so many features that beat the CC Pocket and the Sangean SR-35. The most notable feature when you first turn on the radio is the FM sound quality. It's as clean as the Sangean SR-35 and almost as clean as a smartphone speaker. Also exceptional for FM is the fact that the tuning step can be changed from 100 kHz to 50 kHz and 200 kHz. Frequency coverage can also be changed from 87.5-108MHz to 64-108MHz, 76-108MHz and 76-90MHz when traveling internationally to countries that do not have the same coverage as the US. The Sangean has one thing other radios don't and that's a digital volume control. If you're out with the radio in your pocket, it would be much harder to accidentally change the volume. With CC Pocket, I could accidentally do that with the analog volume control. Another unique feature of the Pocket 800 is the settings control. Push the dial up to adjust, push down to tune. To search, press down or up, then search in that direction. This differs from other radios as they have arrow keys which can be fiddlier than this new tuning control. RDS information and automatic time setting are not available with other pocket radios. This means that song information is available on FM or other information provided by the radio station. However, this is not available on AM. If an FM station with RDS is tuned in, it will automatically try to set the time. AM on this radio is as good as any other digital radio. In the reviews, many people have complained that this radio has some noise on AM, but I don't find it. The radio tunes to stations that I could easily receive with the CC Pocket. Maybe it's something that Sangean has already fixed and has already fixed, or maybe it's my separate device. Exceptional and unique for both bands is the automatic scanning and saving of found stations. The radio does not remember these stations in order, but according to signal strength. Then 20 stations are stored in each band as requested by the ATS. I mainly use this radio to listen to music on FM. However, I do enjoy listening to the radio on the AM band from time to time. One thing I would almost never use is the WX range. That's great for emergencies, but not for everyday listening. The reception in the group is excellent. Unlike its predecessors, the Sangean DT-200X and DT-400W, this radio is worth the money. Like the previous models, it has a belt clip. Another notable feature is the battery cover, which does not detach from the radio. Overall, this radio is currently the best radio on the market. UPDATE: The settings button is a bit loose. I'm not sure if this is part of the design or if it's a device defect. However, I tried to really play around with the button but I couldn't get it to break. I'll update this review if the settings button status changes (or not).

Pros
  • Top marks for support and durability from testers
Cons
  • Appearance

Comments (2)

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May 29, 2023
This is a very awesome pocket radio.
January 10, 2023
Almost exceptional!