My New Radio

A very, very old cartoon.

I guess I’m a little old timey, but I don’t like listening to the radio from the internet or cable. I like my radio on radio. So when my old Radio Shack DX-390 gave up the ghost after 24 years, I was downright mournful.

Portable radios dominated
 the market for 40 years.

I wondered, “Do they still even make radios?” Turns out they do. Not only that, but the table (or tabletop) radio, a type that went out of style in the early 70’s has made a big comeback. I started looking at Bose radios, but they were too expensive, and real ugly. Then I browsed the Tivoli tabletop models. I don’t think you’d find a better looking radio out there, but the tuners, along with the rest of the controls, are mostly analog. I may be old timey, but I love digital tuning and volume control. Finally, I looked at what Sangean had to offer. Sangean manufactured my faithful old Radio Shack model and it was the best all-round radio I ever owned. Sure enough, Sangean had jumped on the tabletop bandwagon and produced some great looking radios that also had the modern specs I wanted.

I ordered a Sangean WR-22, which was delivered yesterday. It’s a beauty, wood cabinet and a jet black control panel, with a big bright (and dimmable), display. Heavy too, I bet it weighs more than a dozen iPhones. The audio quality is great right out of the box, though I turned the bass way down.* It amazes me how these new tabletop radios can fill a room with music. It also has RDS (radio data system) on the FM, which tells you what station you're listening too, and sometimes the song or program as well. It can also set the clock automatically, but only if the station keeps its time correctly. (Are you listening KENW?)

The radio has 5 preset buttons, just like the car, so everybody can have their favorite station in an instant. (I like National Public Radio, but my girlfriend prefers Cow Country Radio.) It also has a remote control, perfect for when you are across the room and the old swamp cooler kicks in, or when somebody starts snoring and you just don’t have the gumption to get out of bed to turn up the volume. A word of caution, like so many things these days, this is a microprocessor controlled device and you’d be wise to use it with a surge protector.

Out here on the High Plains, the biggest issue in a radio is often reception. Either you’re 50 miles from the nearest broadcast tower, or you live in a canyon, or your house is covered in stucco on chicken wire making reception difficult. Fear not, the WR-22 has powerful tuners (some have compared it favorably to the legendary GE Super Radio) and also has AM and FM antenna jacks in the back if you need to upgrade. It also has a clock (RDS or manual) with alarm settings, snooze, nap, Bluetooth, and a USB port for MP3 listening from a thumb drive, and probably some other good stuff too.
The radio costs $128.00 ($22 cheaper than my DX-390 cost in 1993), before taxes and delivery. Whether you listen to “All Things Considered” or “Unshackled!”, country or Tejano, rock or R&B, this is the radio for you.
Be sure and tune in for my next radio review, in about 25 years.

Sangean WR-22, highly recommended.

 * The overabundance of bass was due to the LOUDNESS setting being turned to ON. I turned it to OFF and that solved the bass problem. I have also read that placing the back of the radio too close to a wall can exaggerate the bass as the woofer is on the back. Anyway, the audio quality has risen from great to perfect.