Customer Reviews

Sangean DT-300-VW Pocket-Sized Digital Radio with Tuner

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Most portable radios are big on promises, but small on performance. The DT-300VW delivers exactly what it promises. If you are interested in purchasing a small radio without the cassette or CD functions, this is exactly what you need.

I collect high-end, high-performance radios, which usually weigh 2 or 3 pounds. I wanted a radio that would fit into a small pocket and could be carried anywhere. The DT-300VW is roughly the size of a deck of cards and weighs only 3.4 ounces! This radio can go anywhere and is the ideal choice for the active person or traveler. Women will find that it fits easily into a small space in their handbag. It makes the "Walkman-type" radios seem bulky in comparison.

Don't let the small size fool you! The DT-300VW is big on features. First off, there is a "quality feel" about the unit. It's extremely well-constructed and durable. Many portables and Walkmans experience FM reception problems in the far surburban/fringe areas. I live 40 miles from downtown Chicago and the DT-300VW pulls in every Chicago FM station flawlessly. In fact, the reception is quite impressive for a unit this small, pullung in most FM stations within a 60 mile radius.

The AM daytime reception is very good, but the nighttime reception is unbelievable! After the sun goes down, the AM band comes alive with stations from all over the USA, Canada and Mexico. I consistently receive stations that my expensive receivers have never received--or receive intermittently. I'm not suggesting that you buy this radio for AM DXing, but the AM reception is absolutely amazing.

The internal AM antenna is extremely directional, and you must position the radio for the best AM reception. This might be irritating if you're moving around while listening. On the other hand, this directional reception allows you to almost completely "null out" strong local stations and receive distant stations on adjacent channels.

The radio also receives the audio portion of TV channels 2-13. This feature works great. It also receives NOAA weather stations and works very well if you live within about 50 miles of a NOAA broadcast station. The NOAA weather feature could make this radio a lifesaver.

The speaker is only 1-inch in diameter and sounds a bit "tinny". A set of earbuds come with the unit and are the best earbuds I have ever heard. Personally, I do not like earbuds--but that's a matter of personal taste. I simply bought a portable stereo headset to go with the unit, and the sound is quite exceptional! There is no "Bass Boost" feature, but the sound is clean and impressive.

You will find the clock, timer and sleep features to be convenient. The alarm feature "beeps" softly, but still manages to wake me up from a deep sleep. The DT-300VW may first appear to be somewhat complicated to program, but the owner's manual is well-written. Follow the simple instructions and you'll succeed. After the second try, you'll remember how program it without the owner's manual.

I compare the features, reception, sound and quality of the DT-300VW with my $200-$300 radios! I tend to be a skeptic when it comes to the claims made by most radio manufacturers, but this tiny wonder is worth the steep price tag! Prepare to be blown away...

The DT200V for about $10-$20 less performs better, lacking only the DT300VW's weather band.

The 300VW is a little smaller and lighter. Both are small enough for a shirt pocket, perhaps with a bit of sag.

The weather band doesn't work very well, getting the same station on every channel on my DT300VW.

The DT200V can be operated in the dark; this is impossible with the complex operation of the DT300VW.

The performance difference is most noticeable on the AM band, where the DT200V does remarkably well in distance reception.

The DT300VW uses AAA batteries instead of AA, and has a (unusual) subminiature jack on the earphone jacks, requiring an adapter (included) to use any other earphones.

For some strange reason, Amazon has posted no information on this truly awesome unit. It is an ultraportable radio with AM, FM, VHF TV (Channels 2-13) and the weather band. It has nine presets per band and includes earbuds, plus has an internal speaker for listening without headphones. It also has a built in clock with long and short range alarm.

This tiny portable easily surpasses the DT200 I owned for 7 years. It also has the additional weather band, alarm, better LCD screen, smaller size, better speaker... And I paid less here at Amazon.com for the newer DT300 than I did for that DT200 years ago. I also was unable to find a better price anywhere, online or off, for this tiny marvel.

I have some much more expensive equipment such as the Sony SW77 shortwave receiver and a Tandy Pro-64 handheld scanner. The DT300 acquits itself remarkably well in comparison on the AM and FM broadcast bands. The NOAA weather signal does not come in quite as well as it does on the Pro-64, but it is loud and readable which is the real bottom line.

The convenience of this featherweight, which is slightly smaller than a pack of 100mm cigarettes, coupled with its performance and price make it a portable not to be passed up. It goes where bigger units can't.

I did not test the earbuds supplied with the receiver as I have a set of benchmark wide response buds and case already. But frankly I used my now retired DT200 in the speaker mode 90% of the time and expect to do the same with the DT300. Despite the tiny size, the clarity of the speaker is rather amazing. The clean volume attainable is more than sufficient to overcome office noise when placed on your desk or normal background when played from your shirt pocket.

I ordered mine on a Saturday and received it Tuesday which is outstanding service from Amazon.com. If you're in the market for a portable, and having one in your extreme winter weather vehicle survival kit is highly recommended , this is THE one to buy! You will not be disappointed!

I'm surprised by how much use I'm getting out of this little radio. I just wanted a tiny FM radio to listen to while I ran but before long it had become part of my standard equipment when driving or travelling.

Why An AM/FM/TV/Weather Radio Is A Good Thing: because it gives a radio the greatest shot at giving you the programming you want. When I'm travelling, I click it on shortly after I wake and in five seconds, I know whether I should dress for warm weather. When I'm interested in music, I've got FM. When I want old-style radio drama (or the great stuff you can only get by listening to the BBC' netcasts) network TV shows come dashed close. Et cetera.

Why This Is A Good One To Buy: The sound is crisp and rich (assuming you toss out the original headphones and use a proper set) and it's very good at finding stations. Not the _best_ at pulling in signals under challenging conditions, but considering that this unit is the size of a cassette tape, it's fine. It's tiny enough that you'll just toss it in your bag or briefcase whether you think you'll want it or not, and the lockout switch prevents the thing from switching off or flipping stations as you jog.

A switch on the side chooses between Headphone or Speaker output. The speaker should be thought of as a Convenient Little Bonus. I doubt its designers intended for you to listen to Beethoven's Ode To Joy through this little thing. But it's perfectly fine for talk radio, and its presence means you can get the weather report without having to find your headphones and plug 'em in. (You do need to have headphones (or a wire) plugged in to get FM and TV signals, though; they serve as an antenna.)

...I think the layout is this radio's best feature. Once you've programmed in your favorite stations (10 per band), you can "surf" pretty effortlessly. The Up and Down buttons naturally fall under your thumb. Walk with the radio in the palm of your hand -- its corners are curved for a comfortable grip -- and you can change stations without even looking at what you're doing.

I also take issue with the "Editorial" review, which claims that you lose all of your presets when you change batteries. That hasn't happened to me even once. I also (respectfully) disagree with the reviewer who said that the buttons and headphone jack were cheap and broke easily. All I can say is that I've used this thing for months and it's still as good as new.

Nonetheless, there are Complaints and Room For Improvement. I wish the Alarm feature were louder. It works as a Reminder but it's not something that'll stir you out of REM sleep. Well, at least that's my experience. I sleep like a mummified pharoah.

The slipcase is next to useless. It's flimsy vinyl, it makes it difficult to work the radio's buttons, and I'm sure that if I tried to wear it on my belt it'd tear off and get left behind on some street. Better to buy one of those stick-on belt clips.

I also wish they'd put the headphone jack on the top of the unit instead of the side. If your phones don't end in a right-angle plug (or if you don't go and get a cheap little adapter) you could easily damage the jack. But you'll get the adapter because otherwise it's not so easy to listen while the radio's in a pouch or a pocket.

Overall: you might balk at the price of this little radio but the first time you're waiting Lord knows how long for the airport shuttle to turn up and you find that you're able to spend the hour listening to "The West Wing" instead of merely cursing the entire airport shuttle industry, you'll regard this as a very good buy.

this little radio has great reception, pulling in distant stations clearly and producing good sound with deep bass. unfortunately after about 6 months of intermittent use the headphone socket became loose and the plug would move and the signal went out to one of the earbuds. i tried to contact the company but got no reply. no service at all. no answer to emails or phonecalls!! too bad.

This is a fine radio. The editorial review contains a big mistake, you don't lose your settings when you change batteries provided that you change them one by one (instead of removing both batteries, you should remove one, add a new one, remove the second one and add another new one). With this procedure I haven't lost my settings in the last two months. I like the radio, I only wish the AM reception was a little better.
I use different headphones and also have rechargeable batteries. With these accessories, the product is just fine.

This is a great little radio. The reception is good, the design is slick, and the battery life is great. One of the cons in the Amazon.com review isn't completely accurate. The radio will keep your presets if you replace the batteries quickly. As long as the amount of time the radio doesn't have any batteries in it is only a few seconds, the memory isn't erased. My complaint is the headphone jack. The connection on mine became loose after only a few months of use. I use mine at work and it just sits on my desk all day. It doesn't get treated severely or abusively. Once or twice a day I'll switch my headphones from the radio to my computer, and I guess that wore out the jack. Now I have to jiggle the headphone plug in the jack to get sound in both ears. Without jiggling, I just get sound in my right ear. I'm really disapointed because otherwise this was the best portable radio I've ever had.

I love radios and have owned over thirty. I am constantly looking for the holy grail - a radio with great reception and plenty of features. I haven't found that yet but I can do comparisons. Here are the pros and cons of this one:Pros:1) This is truly a pocket radio and very light. It feels lighter than a deck of cards.2) Digital tuning - a rarity in pocket radios. You can quickly scan from station to station and from AM to FM to TV.3) Has a speaker built in. You don't need headphones. The sound quality is adequate for talk radio and AM music. The volume is adequate for quiet environments.4) It has TV audio and the reception was ok on the four major stations in my area.Cons:1) There is no built in FM telescoping antenna. You need to insert headphones or the included wire and switch it to speaker in order to get most FM stations. A small telescoping antenna would have been an improvement. I find the hanging wire annoying and I think it is just a matter of time before I lose the wire.2) The reception is not as great as the Amazon review suggests. I found that there was a good deal of static on several AM stations and AM is very dirctional. FM was great on headphones, though.3) The cary case is a joke. It looks like an afterthought. It is a membrane thin piece of vinyl that will not protect the radio.4) The ear buds are also a joke.5) Weather reception was the worst I have ever heard on a modern radio.6) The tuning light is bright and, no doubt, draining the batteries like crazy.If you are looking for a pocket radio that is digital and has a built in speaker, this will do. I see lots of room for improvement, though. I also think it is overpriced. I think it should be 39.99. It would be about right at that price.

Sangean has made an innovative little radio that is easy to use and a pleasure to listen to hour after hour. The DT-300VW crams a lot of features into a very small package. It slips comfortably into a shirt pocket, and it's a perfect portable radio to bring to baseball games and other sporting events. I have had mine since 1998, and I still use it fairly regularly.

It is easy to flip through memorized channels with the up-down buttons. The digital readout tells me the station instantly, without the guesswork of analog radios. I can change bands with the touch of a button, and another button allows me to search for a new station. There is also a stereo-mono button for improved FM signal reception. The radio provides 9 memory positions for each band (including weather), which is plenty for most users. When favorite channels are memorized, it becomes extremely simple to find something to listen to.

Sangean did not scrimp on performance. Reception is very good, and sound quality is excellent, especially on FM. I personally find the FM sensitivity above average but not awesome, although "your mileage may vary." The headphone cord acts as a de facto antenna, so it is impractical to listen to the radio's external speaker without a headphone attached to attract signals.

I like the simple blue on/off button at the top, which is very easy to find quickly and without looking. I also appreciate the lock switch, which keeps from changing the controls unintentionally. But, if the radio does switch on accidentally, it turns off automatically in about 90 minutes, saving battery power.

Battery consumption is very respectable. Having used my radio for probably more than 250 hours, I can say the average battery drain for a set of AAA batteries has been about 9-10 hours. That is well along par with any Walkman-type radio, especially considering the battery size and the radio's features. Of course, using the radio's external speaker for extended periods will reduce battery life significantly.

Judging from its small size, it's clear that the external speaker wasn't meant for demanding use. However, in a generally quiet room, with the radio less than three feet away, the speaker does just fine at low to moderate volume. Anything more is asking too much. This is primarily a headphone-oriented radio, and the speaker is simply a nice extra for some flexibility.

I've gotten several interesting reactions from people encountering the radio for the first time. On one occasion at work, the radio was hidden in my shirt pocket as I listened quietly with the external speaker. A visiting co-worker was truly puzzled at the mysterious sound coming from somewhere around me, until I showed the radio. His look of incredulity was priceless. On another occasion, an envious teenager wanted to know what it was, because he had mistaken it for a pricey MP3 player.

I have used several ultra-small radios like this. In the 1980s, Toshiba produced a very small, analog AM/FM stereo that was about the size of a Zippo cigarette lighter. It performed very well, although the retail price was prohibitively high. Today, this Sangean radio tops it in all respects, and at a reasonable discount price. It is well worth the money.