Sangean DT-160CL FM-Stereo/AM Pocket Radio (Clear)

Sangean did it again, and scored a grand slam with this little gem! I've owned many "Walkman's" growing up, and none of them could hold a candle to the Sangean DT-160 in raw performance. I always had bleed-over from stations that were right next to each other ( San Francisco bay Area ), for example 106.1 KMEL has always had a Field (dBuV/m) of around 62 in the southern parts of San Jose ( somewhat weak, but still great signal ). Now, we have two very power local stations in the San Jose area on 106.5 KEZR ( 42K Watts with Field (dBuV/m) of around 104 ) and 105.7 KVVF ( 50K watts with a Field (dBuV/m) of around 95 ). As you can see, these are extremely strong stations. On all my radios growing up in the 80's and 90's, I would get one of these adjacent stations bleeding in. Not with this radio. That is what I call selective! For reference, I no longer listen to KMEL, but this is still a great test for modern DSP radios, such as this little Sangean. Most of today's DSP radios still fail this test. Medium wave ( AM band ) is pretty good. Keep in mind, the little feritte AM antenna inside is quite small, so finding that "sweet spot" might be a challenge if you are a DXer such as myself. Selectivity on the AM band is pretty good, but not outstanding. But don't let this discourage you, as it isn't that bad. I would say the same for sensitivity, it's darn good, but not the best.The laws of physics apply here, the AM antenna is just to small. You will get powerful stations at night over 500 miles away, not doubt, just not those on the fringe of ,say 800-900 miles. OK, so lets break this down.....Are you looking for a radio that "can" pick up the weakest FM stations from 150- 200 miles away? This radio can do it.Are you looking for a radio that has outstanding selectivity of FM? This radio has it!Are you looking for a radio that is extremely sensitive on both AM & FM? This radio is!Are you tired of buying little pocket radios that have overload/images/double tuning that flood in on open FM channels in your area. This does not happen with this radio.Con's..........................................................No speaker. ( must use headphones )Some might find the tuning/set button a bit finickyNo wrist strap or belt clipHere are a few stations I've picked up over 115 miles away, just with this radio!!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------KOND ( 107.5 ) out of Handord California, serving the Fresno market. 167 milesKHYL ( 101.1 ) out of Auburn California, serving the Sacramento market. 120 milesKFBK ( 93.1 ) out out Placerville California, serving the Sacramento market. 117 milesKHGE ( 102.7 ) out of Clovis California, serving the Fresno market. 133 milesAs you can see, it is a capable little bugger. I'm on a valley floor, and your results may vary. I see no reason why FM stations over 200 miles could not be possible, at higher locations. Happy DXing my friends....

This is a review of the Sangean DT-160Short version:Excellent FM reception, below average AM reception. Operation of radio is not intuitive. Only 90 day warranty.Long version:I'm using this radio in the SF Bay Area.Outdoors:FM reception on this radio is its' strength. FM signals come in strong and lock on quickly, without interference from other stations. AM reception is the radios weakness, although the stations lock on quickly, most are faint and hard to hear. This is in a major metropolitan area!Indoors:FM reception drops to very good, AM reception is poor or non-existent, depending on the building.The radio is smaller than a deck of cards and feels lighter than the 2 AA batteries that power it. I had no problem turning the radio on, as it came on as I inserted the batteries. When I wanted to turn the radio off, I couldn't figure out how to do it. It turns out that the the band selector button doubles as the power button, although there is no lettering such as "power" on the radio. The enhanced bass feature works well. Owners manual is blissfully short and excellent.This radio has a 90 day warranty. Sony and panasonic radios have a 1 year warranty.I bought the "CL" version, the case is clear plastic and you can see the guts of the radio. Very interesting, I'd recommend this for a child so they can see all the parts, including the apparently delicate buttons. I did notice a small button battery that is soldered to the motherboard. I assume this is for power backup for your stations in the memory. Once this battery needs replacement, I hope it doesn't affect the basic operation of the radio, as this battery is not user replaceable. A technician skilled in soldering might be able to replace it, but definitely not the average person.I used a pair of Panasonic earbuds and Philips headphones to test this radio. With the Philips headphones, some of stations seemed to come in stronger and there was less background "hiss" than with the Panasonic earbuds. Try different headphones & earbuds to see which works best for you.If you need a FM pocket radio, this is it. If you need an AM radio outdoors, this may work. If you need AM indoors, look for another radio.Pros:Excellent FM receptionLightweightExcellent owners manualCons:AM reception below averageOperation of radio is not intuitive / simpleNo belt clip90 day warranty

I work in a warehouse and spend my days running around with a cart pulling stock for orders. I sort of got tired of my iTUNES play lists and wanted some random music with news and adds mixed in. This has been great. The battery life is very long and reception is usually OK. There are a few spots in the building where it fades in and out. I keep it is a small protective pouch so it does not get damaged as my job is very physical.Tuner works great and there are buttons to program pre-selects. Sound quality is excellent and clear design is quirky but I like it.

advertised to have auto shutoff option (as with other smaller models). But no auto shutoff!!!, confirmed iby absence of any mention in the manual. yet it is advertised. this is very disturbing. auto shutoff is a major reason to buy this radio.

This radio is the size of a pack of playing cards. Sound quality is excellent. I like the clear case, sorta reminds me of the old Bulova Accutron Spaceview. In order to receive a clear FM signal you will need to use the supplied ear buds or get a set of quality headphones......the wiring in the ear buds or headphone is also the antenna. Go with the head phones, the ear buds are low quality. I tried hooking up a head phone amp. Unfortunately this affects the FM signal....in other words...forget about using a headphone amp. Read the instructions...pretty simple...I also own Sangean WR 12 radio.....the sound quality is better than a Bose Wave.