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- Verified Buyer
This radio could have been absolutely perfect for my needs. I wanted a shop and jobsite radio that could take abuse and not tip over. This Sangean "Toughbox" is well protected, is very stable, has good station reception, can charge your NiMH batteries in-place, is protected from rain and dust, and plays my iPod and portable CD music boxes with ease. The large 5-1/2" speaker that other rave about... Well, that's the problem. It's so bass that it overwhelms the treble and midrange tones. I listen to classical music, and this radio doesn't do too well with that kind of sound. It'd be great for rap, country, and rock-- music that isn't particularly compromised by woofy distortion. Still, I really like the radio when played at low volume, and my iPod and CD music sounds great. I tried the "Lunchbox" yellow radio, and another "Toughbox" radio before the one I finally kept. They're all the same sound, but only in FM radio mode.When I received this radio, I thought it was going to be the size of a kid's lunch box, but it's bigger. I love that it's built well for the big klutz that I am. The sound it gives is loud and perfect. I only listen to am talk radio stations and this radio is so clear with my am stations. Before this radio, I had the Sangean PR-D4W AM/FM Weather Alert Portable Radio. That radio is supposed to be the best for am reception. No way! compared to my big yellow lunch box! and this yellow radio is less money. The thing I like most, is this radio has a handle and is so easy to use. I also have 2 little yellow Sangean DT-400W AM/FM Digital Weather Alert Pocket Radios for when I walk my dog and to listen to at work. I only buy Sangean.Specifically bought this to receive AM 1230 in the Imperial Valley. It works great. AM stations are loud and clear, and this unit is very heavy duty!Great sound. Great functionality. Easy setup. The Bluetooth function is great which adds all internet audio sources (Spotify, YouTube, etc.) and connected device stored audio. The BT setup was so easy!Very easy to operate. The sound is amazing and I just love it!Durable and easy to transport.Cool Looking!!!!!!Easy to use with Bluetooth!I chose this radio over the Sangean U3 based on size, weight, and price. The U3 is larger, weighs about 12 lbs (I don't want to carry that extra 5 lbs up a ladder if I don't have to), and is about $30 more expensive (at the time of this writing). Everything about this radio is great except...the antennas. I'll explain. You'll see lots of reviews complaining about the sound distorting above about 75% max volume. It doesn't. This is the 2nd of these radios I've had. I returned the first one immediately when my favorite, and one of the hottest (meaning strongest signal) AM talk stations crackled on low volume. I thought the speaker was bad. It sounded blown. My replacement TB-100 sounded exactly the same. Doubtful I'd get 2 factory duds in a row so I spent some time playing with the radio. I tuned the radio to a hot FM station that I know comes in 5x5. I heard NO crackles or pops whatsoever. Still, I was getting distortion above 50% to 75% max volume while I was on battery power. When I plugged the radio into AC power, I was able to crank the volume 100% full blast with NO distortion. So with a 5 watt speaker it's a bit of a power hog for C batteries. Sangean probably should have designed this to run on D batteries or a big 6 volt battery (but then the radio would be heavier). That aside, what people have been perceiving as a bad speaker or mismatched speaker/amp combo is really the fact that the antennas in this radio are too small which causes less than perfect reception. The external FM antenna is ALMOST 6 inches tall?! Ridiculous! The antenna is flexible and rubber coated and the unit is about 12 inches wide. So there's no reason Sangean couldn't fit a flexible 12 inch antenna in the box! My cheap Sony pocket radio had a 17 inch (telescopic) antenna. This should have come with a 12 inch FM antenna--period. The internal ferrite AM antenna is only 3 inches. THREE inches?! Seriously?! Come on, Sangean! As a general rule of thumb, when building a radio, you should try to put the longest ferrite antenna in it that will fit in the cabinet. Have you heard of the legendary GE Superradio III? It's renown for amazing AM reception. The ferrite antenna in it is nearly 8 inches long! Size matters with antennas. Sangean should have put in a longer ferrite. As long as possible, in my opinion. Please take into account that I'm a former professional radio DJ, former CB'er, and an overall radio enthusiast so I'm pretty critical and picky about my radio gear. To its credit, even with the 3 inch ferrite, this radio picked up AM stations 141 miles away while indoors, under a 150 watt halogen light, during the DAYTIME (AM reception is usually better at night on all AM radios).This radio is about 7 lbs and made of very thick, sturdy plastic. You can knock the antlers off a moose with it while still hearing your favorite song. The display is large and easy to read and backlit for a few seconds. You can adjust the tuning steps to adhere to either USA or European increments (instructions are included with the radio).Some have complained about the tone. Personally, I like the tone. I've tested this on many genres. Talk, jazz, contemporary Christian, alternative rock, bluegrass, 80's pop, country. It sounds good with all of them. It's not too bass-heavy for Talk. Sound full and rich but clear. Using the Aux input, I tested my iTunes library. Using the iPhone Settings for Music, I was able to select any of the EQ presets and control the tone. As a general rule, I found Acoustic and Jazz to be two settings that worked well with most stuff. The factory tuning for this cabinet is a bit prominent is the low-mid range so it sounds better if you use an EQ that pulls those frequencies down a bit. I do recommend this radio and I'm happy with it for the most part, by I'm disappointed in the antennas Sangean included. They could have done better. I may decide after the warranty expires to crack it open and put a longer ferrite antenna in it. Any increase in size will help. If one were industrious and handy with tools, one could get ahold of a whip antenna (from a car or old CB radio set), cut it to a reasonable length, affix it to a threaded male end of the appropriate fit for the antenna port, and make yourself a longer FM antenna for this. Boy! A 2 or 3 foot whip on this would pull in the FM very well, I'd think! I whine about the antennas and the reception but many customers seem happy with them, so they aren't bad enough to that the radio doesn't work. It works well. I'm just very picky about my radios.Small antennas aside, it's a good, durable, outdoor radio. Get it!I like listening to radio while I’m working, this is radio is perfect Really good radio for the money.Bought this to replace a disappointing purchase.This takes only 4 C batteries, and if they are rechargeable, you can switch to recharger mode so they charge while the radio is off and plugged in. The battery compartment door opens easily with a screw/knob, no tools required.Volume and stations are adjusted using dials, so it is quick and easy to do. Sound quality is pretty good for what I need.The unit is squat and stable with a good roll cage to take any impacts or falls, but it's unlikely to get tipped over. The handle has a couple of holes that could be used with a bungee cord to hang it at the campsite.All in all...love it!Use this outside on the deck to listen to baseball games, which is on AM radio. Crystal clear sound. Also use the Bluetooth with no issues. Hopefully we don't have to test the ruggedness or the waterproof feature but it seems like it would hold up. Recommend for sure.Sangean is not like everything else from there. They quality is much higher and this unit is no exception. It is much bigger than i expected and sounds great. I use it in a wood work shop and leave my iphone on Spotify outside the shop. Bluetooth does the rest. Bluetooth connectivity is flawless. Great sound. Plenty of volume. Good bass. Overall much better than expected. Glad i got the bluetooth version.I'm using this on by the pool and brought it to the beach this summer. Great little radio and the bluetooth capability is fantastic. I run this on rechargeable battery and I can easily get 6-8 hours of music without running out of power ... mind you I'm not blasting it at high volume.The only reason why I gave it a 4 is the radio reception, which could be better. Radio station that works well in my car or home radio will sometimes have a hard time to be tuned with that radio ... I'm wondering if the antenna is the culprit.I would recommend, especially if you intend to use it on bluetooth mode !Great radio, comes with an extra long heavy gauge cord, but the antenna is a pain. It is a stubby and somewhat flexible antenna, but it stands out past the "frame" or carrying handle. It cannot be folded flat which makes it difficult to store. Also the antenna itself is pretty short which results in sometimes poor reception.I ended up unscrewing the antenna for storage and actually used a longer, metal antenna to improve reception. Otherwise seems like a sturdy radio, but only used it for a few weeks so far. Time will tell.I have not used any batteries in it, so I cannot answer the battery life feature rating.
