Review on 📻 TECSUN PL-380 DSP FM Stereo. MW. SW. LW. World Band PLL Radio Receiver with LCD Display and Enhanced ETM Function by Joshua Cameron

Tecsun PL-380 is very popular with radio amateurs who want a small, inexpensive radio receiver with the ability to connect a large number of transmitters, and that includes AM (AM), FM, Shortwave and Longwave. I will not comment on LW as there are no LW broadcasts in North America. But the PL-380 is sensitive and selective to MW, FM and HF. Sensitivity and selectivity are as good as any radio of this size and price I've come across. It has an excellent bandwidth selector for AM modes which is very effective in giving this unit incredible selectivity. The scan mode called ETM is also great for quickly storing up to 100 listening stations in each mode. With ETM, I save all the radio stations that I can listen to at the moment, then I look through them all and each memory has something to listen to. Very good. Later, by performing a new ETM scan, that set of memories is replaced with the set of SWs that are now audible. So if you're looking for a receiver with these features, this is it. ETM is also useful on AM, as the tuning knob moves in 1kHz increments, making daily tuning in the North American MW band tedious (although the 1kHz feature is great for separating distant stations). It seems petty to complain about such a small device that offers so much technology at such a good price. But there are also disadvantages that you should be aware of: The sound quality of the PL-380 is quite harsh due to the built-in speaker. Worse than most small radios and I have a lot of them. But FM sound is really good through quality headphones. But even through headphones, this unit isn't my favorite for casual AM (SW, MW) mode listening. Many DSP receivers implement an aggressive AGC design that results in "pumping" the volume level on weaker but fully audible stations in AM mode. PL-380 clearly suffers from this. With FM this is not a problem at all. Thus, in this price range, the PL-380 is a good choice for "DXing" (long-distance reception) but not for general listening. If you can afford double this unit, consider the CCrane Skywave before committing to the PL-380. It better integrates the needs of both the listener and the DXer. I have both radios and if I could only keep one it would obviously be the Skywave.