HDR-16

This Sangean HDR-16 HD Radio/FM-Stereo/AM Portable Radio is, in my opinion, a superb portable radio. I first became acquainted with HD Radio (HD stands for Hybrid Digital NOT High Definition) when we got our two new Subaru Foresters in 2014. They were equipped with HD Radios. Now that 'famous' consumer site (which does not allow its name to be used but I'm sure you know the one I mean) claims to be not impressed with HD Radio and says that, in automobiles, it's six of one, half a dozen of another, if you have it or not. But my wife and I have found it to be a real asset. In the Philadelphia, PA area in which we live, there is only one station which plays classical music (to which I listen) and jazz (to which my wife listens). Unfortunately, on 'straight' FM, the type of music is split: from 6 AM to 6 PM (Monday through Saturday) classical music is broadcast; from 6 PM to 6 AM jazz is played. (On Sundays, classical music is played only in the afternoon.) But with an HD Radio in our cars we can each easily listen to the type of music we prefer and at any time we like. In our home, however, until now, we did not have an HD radio. We each could listen to the local station's separate classical or jazz streams over the internet but, due to our rather slow (by today's standards) internet connection, if both of us were using our respective computers, often the music would 'cut out' and this was an annoyance. Having read the reviews here of this particular radio, and discounting those which complained of things in which we were not interested, I decided to save some money and purchase this model. It arrived yesterday and I have been playing it for many hours since. I am truly and completely pleased with it. Now I want to tell you that I have absolutely no interest in using it as a clock-radio. When I want to set a wake-up alarm I use a CLOCK, of which we have many in our house. I also have no interest in using it as an emergency radio. We have FOUR (4) NOAA WEATHER RADIOS. One is a plug-in type which is always on, the other three are portables, two of which we take along when we travel. These are true emergency radios. So I have not even bothered with the Menu options which allow the user to set up these options. As a matter of fact, when I received the radio, I immediately inserted the batteries and turned it on. Unlike my usual practice, I did not read the owner's manual. As a radio, this is so easy to use that, in my opinion, ANYBODY ought to be able to use it without reading that booklet. Just looking at the extremely well-labeled controls is about all you'll need to do in order to use this radio. Now, of course, there are some things mentioned in the easy-to-read manual that can use some explanation but they are, frankly, easy to figure out even if you don't read the manual. Common sense is all you'll need. If, however, you want to use some of the 'esoteric' features of this radio, then you will need the owner's manual. (In any case it's helpful to read it and I did so this morning.) Now you will ask, "How is the performance?" In a word, superb. We live about 40 miles from the Roxborough antenna farm (from which most Philadelphia stations broadcast) yet I am able to receive in HD most of the FM stations WITH THE RADIO'S ANTENNA COLLAPSED! This is truly superb performance in my opinion. I listen to just two local AM stations and they both come in perfectly. One features HD, the other does not. The HD sound quality, on both AM and FM, is excellent too. You must remember that this is a portable radio. It is not a high fidelity instrument. If you are expecting to be 'blown-away' by the sound, forget about it! It sounds as well as any portable radio I have ever heard (with the possible exception of the GE Superadios I and II) but those others cannot receive the extra HD broadcasts. This radio also has a superb line-output stage via which I am playing an HD-2 classical station (WPEN-HD2) through my main stereo system (Yamaha A-S701 integrated amplifier and Klipschorn loudspeakers). I am playing this HD station as I am writing this (at around 4:30 PM) and I have been playing it continuously using the radio powered via its AC adapter since about 8:30 this morning. The sound is excellent for a radio broadcast. This portable radio is much more versatile than a standalone AM/FM/HD tuner or even an AC-powered AM/FM/HD table radio. I am really pleased with the sound quality I am hearing using this radio as tuner in my system. As a side note, I should mention that FM (and by extension HD) broadcasts will never be truly high fidelity. They can't be. Back in the 1940s and 1950s FM broadcasts were getting better and better, approaching the highest fidelity attainable. This was, of course, in the 'mono' days. When stereo was set to come in, there was one system (the Crosby system) which was as accurate in sound quality as was mono FM. This was because it was essentially two mono channels, both of equal high fidelity. Almost everybody was sure that the system would be accepted by the FCC. As a matter of fact, some receiver manufacturers 'jumped the gun' and released Crosby-equipped receivers before the standard was approved. BUT - the FCC rejected the system, approving a system advocated by GE and Zenith. This system was NOTICEABLY inferior in terms of sound quality in stereo mode. Why was it accepted? In two words, commercial interests. When the Crosby system was in use for stereo transmission, MUZAK and other such background commercial systems ("elevator music") could not be transmitted. But with GE and Zenith, they could. And who cares about sound quality anyway? (I'm being facetious.) The degraded sound quality has carried over somewhat to the HD broadcasts though, in truth, they are somewhat (only somewhat) better than most 'straight' FM transmissions. Getting back to this radio, it does sound quite good for a portable radio and, feeding its sound through a good high-fidelity system, you will hear sound quality as good as most stand-alone tuners. And with portability as a bonus! Are there any 'cons'? Of course there are! Unlike our Subarus, the memory buttons do not remember the HD band to which you were previously tuned. In other words, if you program, say, WPEN HD2 into a memory slot and turn off the radio (or even tune to another station), if you press the memory button you will NOT be taken back to WPEN HD2 but only to WPEN's main channel from which you must manually tune to the HD2 transmission. I wish that this were not the case but there it is. [Please See Update at the End of this Review.] However I am of the opinion that you just cannot go wrong with this radio. Before you buy one, however, you should make certain that there are stations in your area which transmit the kind of music (or talk) shows that you like over an HD system. If there are no such stations in your receiving area, there would be no point in buying this radio. But if there are, and you can afford the price, by all means buy one. (And buy it from Amazon. If you are unhappy within the first 30 days, you can return it at no cost to you.) I do want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this review and who is considering my opinions. Lawrence H. Bulk ====>Update: September 24, 2017 I like this radio so much that I bought a second one for use in another room. I just discovered something about that new unit. When checking the Menu, I see that my first one (the one about which I wrote the review) is V. 32. This new one, which arrived Tuesday, September 19, 2017, is V. 38. This one DOES INDEED remember the HD station entered into memory. Thus, it works like most car radios and other such and makes this radio essentially "perfect," at least for me. If you buy a new one now, I'm sure you will get the later version. Check to make certain. If you received an older version, while the radio would not be unsatisfactory, I think that you should insist that the seller take it back and offer you a later version. Now if there were only some way to upgrade my older radio to the newer version ...

I have had this radio for a week now and I love it! It is very well built and feels very solid. It is way better than I expected. You can feel how sturdy the handle is when you swing it up. The station tuning and volume knobs are nice and tight with very little play as far as wiggling around goes. The appearance is flawless and all the seams where the parts come together is very uniform and tight. The case is a heavier plastic and the finish has a very nice gloss to it that is easy to maintain. The push buttons have a very solid feel to them. Programming stations to the presets is as easy as press and hold...wait for the beep! Battery consumption is more than fair. I tested to see how long the batteries would last at volume level 16 and found they lasted quite well. The radio uses more of the battery than most radios do. I measured the used batteries at 1.12 volts. Most radios will only use them down to 1.3 volts. I got at least 30 hours out of the first set of batteries. The sound quality did not falter much at all until right at the end. The sound quality I found as astounding considering the radio size. The bass and treble works surprisingly well. You can actually follow bass notes without a problem. It doesn't have low bass, but for it's size, the bass is surprising. The crossover points for the treble and bass were well engineered. The overall sound quality was bigger than I expected. The reception: This unit receives FM as well as I had hoped. I am even able to listen to one station my other radios won't pull in. The FM really pays off when in low reception areas like concrete buildings. The AM section works very well and easily receives double the stations my other radios do. I took time to test both the headphone jack and the line out jack. I used a pair of HyperX gaming headphones to listen. Here is where the bass the BIG sound is! I had to turn the bass down a little and the treble up a little. The sound was crisp and clear on a HD station, comparable to a home audio system. I tested the record out on a very good Bluetooth speaker system that has an aux in jack. It performed very well. I do agree with previous reviewers that this would be a great FM tuner in a larger home stereo system. I am a curious person and I like to see what is inside stuff, so I cracked the case and looked inside. Everything is discrete surface mount technology. it is very clean and uncluttered. What surprised me most is the size of the magnets on the speakers. Their size indicates a higher level of quality than you would normally expect. The solder points were solid and nicely done. The wires are a decent gauge and hot glued in place for extra durability. My bottom line is...this radio will outlive me for sure! I am happy and I feel I got more than I was expecting in several different categories. This was the best portable radio purchase I have made!

This is a fine radio, and I love the fact I can now enjoy some of the HD radio broadcasts being offered by AM stations piggy backing onto the FM HD channels, so I can hear a higher quality presentation than AM affords, that being said with all the bells & whistles they added to this wonderful radio, who was asleep at the wheel when it came to providing a display setting switch? Even a Lo/Hi setting if stepped attenuation couldn't have been programmed into the eprom would have been a better solution than offering none at all. The manual makes reference to viewing the menu display to display the current firmware value for the radio, and that it's for display purposes only, I've got to believe if the genius who signed off on the final version of this unit could have seen fit to include a usb jack to enable cell phone charging, & quite possibly the ability for a firmware update to be installed on the device, so if/when enough consumer feedback chimed in about those features which could possibly be enabled or enhanced through a flash-update, not only would that have gone a log way for Sangean to protect the consumers value of the radio they invested, but shown some forethought to ensuring their devices truly meet (or can be made to meet) what customers are asking for, vs. a pre-selected check off list must have, nice to have, won't have features. Other than that one issue with the display not being able to be dimmed, this is an excellent radio, I live on Long Island New York, and it picks up the city grade signals with no issues, as well as those from out on Long Island (AM & FM) & across the water up to Connecticut. No external loop needed for decent quality reception, (my unit is placed on a bed stand just by my window) I will mention nifty-difty wicky-jive O feature I DO love on this Sangean HDR-16 HD, a ~TONE~ Control Yes, being an owner of the Sangean PR-D5 unit, which this HDR-16 replaced in my bedroom, I was so enamoured by how well that unit has been performing over the past few years, I figured time to upgrade & enhance my bedroom/sleeptime listening experience & move the old PR-D5 to the bathroom, now if the PR-D5 had implemented the same level of "logic" in incorporating the tone controls in that device as they did with the HDR-16, that would have been Great! Sangean folks, note to those who review lists of customer must haves: "we, the great unwashed consumers" appreciate and enjoy the ability to custom tailor the sound to our liking - Please consider allowing us the ability to always have that ability, It can't possibly cost more than a few pennies to enable that design into the chips your devices consists of. That's my Susan B. Anthony's worth evaluating & reviewing this device. I'd have given it an easy hands down (5) S*T*A*R*S if the radio had that one feature that myself (and apparently a few others) feel is an important one - the ability to dim the display, or at least toggle the damm thing off if incorporating a hi/low switch wouldn't otherwise allow, but other than that - for the price, you can't beat this radio for reception, built nicely - and the controls have a good feel to them. If anyone from Sangean feels like contacting me directly and engaging me in a one on one with regards to how this device could pack even more bang for the buck, and hire me on as a customer control Q/A agent, I'm open to hearing from you :) ~Joe Tedd~

I disliked that it took 2 tries to get a good one. The first radio I received would "hang" about every third power up, ignoring all buttons and requiring a battery removal to unlock it. Amazon was helpful though, and sent a replacement immediately. Second try was the charm. I just set this radio up side by side with my GE Superadio II. I ran thru both the AM band and FM band on both of them. The HDR-16 pulled in every single station that the older GE did (and that's a lot of stations). I would have to call the reception a dead tie. Where one struggled, the other struggled. I own the Superadio II and III, as well as a Panasonic RF-2800. As a tuner, this radio definitely holds its own. To be fair, the Superadio II still beat this new one for sound quality. The two 2.75" speakers on the Sangean just couldn't quite match the 5" main speaker and 1.5" tweeter on the old GE Superadio II. Still, the HDR-16 weighs just 2.5 lbs. to the Superadio's 6.5 lbs, so it is certainly more portable, plus you get stereo output.. The rubber feet have good grip, so pushing the buttons doesn't send it sliding. I have software version 38, and the changes in and out of HD are about as graceful as they can be. The FM HD stations tune and lock in 3 seconds or so. AM HD is a different animal, as HD struggles with the weaker signals. Right now I have 6 AM stations indicating HD signal, but only the local one locks into HD mode. It is still just late afternoon though, so the noise levels are high, and the signal strengths are low. The non-HD quality is still excellent though. Oh, and the included AC power adapter is not giving me any added noise on the weak AM stations. It's about perfect, with no need to go to batteries to gain any noise margin. The recorder output gives a nice clean output without regard to your listening volume setting, and the tone controls do nothing to the recorder output. The headphone outputs do use the volume and tone controls, and with good headphones the sound is quite awesome. It really shows how good the tuner is. Some Koss PortaPros were plenty to really let the audio output shine. I tried the Aux input as well. I fed in professional quality audio, and it came out about as expected from two 2.75" speakers. It was clean, amplified well, but wasn't overly impressive. The trade-off for portability and light weight was the lesser sound from the smaller speakers. The tone controls work fine but can't turn this into Hi-Fi sound. If you want that, use a good set of headphones, or connect the recorder output to your home stereo.

Detailed reviews for this model already exist. I won't duplicate them. Instead, let's dive into the Pros and then Cons: PROS • HD channels are easy to find thru manual tuning and HD seek button. Ensure you get this service first in your local listening area. • Easy intuitive controls. You'll figure out the major features without the owners manual (included). • The RDS text that auto adjusts time and date is through radio stations. Mine in Texas didn't show Daylight Savings. Display shows one hour behind; therefore, I adjusted time manually using the time dot gov website on my phone. • Reception is entirely hit or miss depending on where you live. I'm in a small town: On some days, I'll receive distant stations with clarity. Other days, not so much. In my case, AM stations are terrible. Staticky and un-listenable. Your experience will vary. • Sound. I'm happy with the dual speakers and the adjustable controls for treble, bass, tone, etc. • Display is bright. I leave the radio on at night to distract the tinnitus (hearing issue). The Display is bright enough that I cover it with a handkerchief to hide the brightness. • AUX In. Worked great with running a speaker wire from my phone to the radio. It's how I listen to Blues radio through my Tune-In app. As well as ESPN radio from other cities. CONS • Power cable died in 9 months. Bought an aftermarket power cord thru Amazon. Simply type in "Power Cable Sangean HDR-16" here and you'll get choices. I picked the first one in the list. • C Batteries. Why?!? I don't know. Wondering why the designers couldn't accommodate AAs. Both C and AA are 1.5-v, after all. Couldn't find C batteries at my local chain grocery store. Ordered them thru Amazon. • Fragility. In my estimate, this is a delicate radio. Try not to drop it or it's game over. If they had ruggedized it, I will say this would truly qualify as a PORTABLE unit. For now, it sits in my bedroom. For now, that's all I have. Ten months with this radio so far. I'll likely edit as I see fit. TL;DR. This unit is worth your money. If you live within a diverse reception area, you'll love listening to radio.

Sounds great and will tune HD stations. Uses batteries or plug it in. Clock is displayed after tuning.

I wanted to be able to get HD1,2, and 3 from my local NPR station because after 4 pm on weekdays HD1 became "talk radio" and I want to hear classical music all the time. On weekends there was also a lack of classical during the day. One thing you need to know about HD radio is that it is only as good as your HD station. If you live in an area where HD signals are weak, ie. rural areas, then you are not going to get good strong HD signals. If you live in an urban setting with a lot of HD stations like I do, then you will probably appreciate this radio. You can Google a list of HD stations in your area. Even though I live in a city, Memphis, we have only one HD classical music station, though we have many HD stations. I have found that my HD NPR station is probably the weakest HD signal in the bunch as HD 2 and 3 seem to "cut out" frequently while the commercial rock, country, and hip hop HD stations put out a constant powerful signal in HD2 and HD3. My remedy has been to buy a Sangean fm/shortwave reel antenna for about $13 on Amazon. It has a jack on one end to plug into your radio or if you don't have an antenna input on your radio (the HDR-16 does not}, it has a nice clip that fits on your telescoping antenna and jacks into the reel. I stretch the reel antenna across the top of my drapery rod over my window and that solves the signal strength problem. I am quite pleased with this radio as far as sound, which has treble and bass adjustment, and reception. I am interested only in FM stations, though I hear this radio makes AM HD stations sound like FM stations. This is my first HD radio and my second Sangean. I also have a PRD-19 which I like very much. I think Sangean builds quality radios for affordable prices especially if you wait for a price drop on Amazon. I get my radio advice from Radiojayallen online and Todderbert on Youtube, both of whom are quite knowledgeable. That said, I recommend the Sangean HDR-16 if you live in an HD- available area.

First, this is a rather small portable radio, not a full, powerful audio system with large, full frequency speakers. With that in mind, I find the sound from this Sangean HDR-16 HD radio to be very good. I attached a sample from WRTI, a local station. based at Temple University in Philadelphia. The FM pulls in a large number of stations, although I have not determined distance for these. I like the design: it looks a bit complicated, but with a review of the manual, the functions become clear. The tone control on the volume knob allows for adjusting treble and base levels; no midrange adjustment is included. The LCD display is also very good, I have not yet used the clock function, but the instructions for this seem straightforward. The presets, 5 for FM, 5 for AM, are easy to use and remove. I have not touched on many other features of this unit, but my overall assessment is that the sound quality, useful features, and ease of use of this small, portable unit are worth the price. I'd strongly consider this radio if you are looking for portability, numerous useful features, and very good sound quality in a small package.

Gostei muito do rádio. Som muito bom e o design bonito. Sintoniza bem as estações.

Producto de gran calidad MUY recomendado 👍🏻

ISDB日本方式では事実上の失敗に終わってしまった地上デジタルラジオ放送。しかしこのIBOC(In Band On Channel)米国方式(連邦通信委員会FCCも承認済み)なら、既存のAM・FM放送に重畳するだけで手軽にデジタルラジオ放送が楽しめて、FM放送も最大３チャンネルまで放送系統が拡張できるので、未来のデジタルラジオ放送なら、やっぱこれしかない、といって良いでしょう。IBOC方式が全米のみならず日韓・台湾などでも普及できる予知から、先回りでこのデジタルラジオレシーバーを購入しておきました。

Un gran pero pequeño equipo portátil con funciones básicas, y excelente calidad de su sonido HD. El mejor de la familia Sangean.

This portable HD Radio is my new favourite thing. I purchased it six months ago and I've gotten many hours of enjoyment out of it. The HD tuner is great; easy to use, with good reception. It's easy to move between HD-1 and HD-4 on any frequency, and the display is intuitive, showing a plus sign when you have not yet reached the final HD channel for that frequency yet. Also, even for non-HD listening, it's a very good, high-sensitivity radio. I often sit on my front porch in SouthWestern Ontario and listen to AM stations at night from New York City and Chicago. FM reception is great also, and the whip antenna is of a good length. The sound quality is good overall. This is not a high-powered system with giant woofers. It gives great reproduction for voice and also good reproduction for music, but you're not going to feel the bass vibrating through your body or anything. It has 3.5 mm inputs and outputs so you can easily connect it to other audio devices. I'm very pleased with my purchase. Would totally buy it again.