Sangean PR-D9W AM/FM/Weather and Alert Digital Rechargeable Portable Radio
Review by E. Snyder : So far so good

Just got it today, boy is it tiny. If girls like cute little radios, I'll have to bring a bat to work to fend them off. :-) Below are some first impressions which cover some areas that others have not mentioned.
- Antenna is normal size, some think Sangeams have large antennas, but it's only because the radio is very small in comparison and they are getting "fooled".
- I'll be using it at work with headphones, otherwise the stereo model (D5) would have been better for me and most others (most people will want stereo, louder speakers, and most people still do not use rechargeables, so the C size alkaline batteries in the D5 model make sense).
- The buttons are rubbery - much better than I expected, so now I don't mind that it doesn't have a knob like the D7 and D5 models (assuming the buttons are durable over time).
- The speaker is not loud at all (specs say only 0.5watts or similar, so I did not expect much and will use headphones at work anyhow). It's loud enough to hear at reasonable levels in normal rooms though. Not a good choice for anyone hard of hearing. Also not sure how it would fare outside on a windy day - would be fine sitting next to you at a beach, but it's not going to work for outdoor volleyball at a noisy beach for exampale.
- I wish it had tone/bass controls.
- Doesn't have RDS (display of the song/artist name). D5 has RDS, but not the D7 or D9w.
- The D7's display has room for the frequency/station and the clock at the same time, unlike the D9w.
- No handle (on a tiny portable radio???). Should at least have a lanyard to carry it. It's very small though, I guess they expect you to put/carry it in your beach bag; etc.
- The case is very narrow, and the feet are very close together (not at the far corners of the case's narrow bottom), so the radio is pretty tippy. Not sure if it will stand up if the antenna was all the way forward (walking to go test...). OK, the antenna won't angle horizontally much forwards (the case's shape prevents the antenna from angling forwards), but it will go horizontal away from yourself (towards the back), in which case the radio tips over. Maybe stability would be improved with 4 AA's (or rocks!) in it. I probably won't bother with batteries though - will be using it work primary, perhaps solely.
- I really wanted a HD radio, but Sangean's HD radio gets poor reviews, and the Sony model is more expensive than what I want to leave laying on my desk at work. I have HD in my car (JVC - very satisfied with it), but in reality, I rarely listen to the HD sunchannels anyhow, and currently the normal analog FM channels sound at least as good as the HD channels anyhow (FM-HD is compressed quite a bit currently). For AM in my car, I only get "WLW AM 700" in HD (Ohio), so AM-HD seems to be a bust, so nothing lost there either (currently anyhow - hopefully FM-HD will get better when the power is increased more and more, and hopefully AM-HD will spread).

- Tested it at work (with literally thousands of computers in the building). The FM band works better than my Sansa Fuze (which works about the same as an ipod) and better than my woeful Sony Walkman AM/FM/TV/Wx radio. AM even works pretty good (very usable for strong stations) - much better than any other radio, especially if placed near a window (Sony Walkman doesn't work well even near a window for AM, and Sansa only has FM).

- After using it for a day at work, I'm a bit worried about the headphone jack. The headphone's connector goes in a bit harder than any other radio I've owned (is this normal???), and with some headphones I have to pull the connector out just a bit for both channels/speakers to work.

Sangean PR-D9W AM/FM/Weather and Alert Digital Rechargeable Portable Radio
Review by Nana : Wonderful Gift Sangean PR-D9W radio

Best friend Judie (50+ years) purchased this radio from Amazon for my 63rd birthday...last portable radio I received as a gift was for my 9th birthday..some time ago! I absolutely love this "tiny" radio with "big" clear sound, easy to operate, and love the feature of "my fav" to set up favorite stations of AM and FM. The WX weather alert is a bonus for sure, as well as, the re-chargeable batteries, head phone outlet, alarm clock, etc. What a wonderful friend and a great gift... If you're looking for great stereo sound, easy operation, and able to put this radio anywhere...I recommend this little beauty!!

Sangean PR-D9W AM/FM/Weather and Alert Digital Rechargeable Portable Radio
Review by trapper : Exactly what I wanted

I bought it for going on vacation to a campground with a low power radio broadcasting station with campgound news. It was tough to tune in with an analog tuner. This radio works great and is very compact. If you are wanting digital stereo look elsewhere. If you want a good, small weather radio (complete with a weather alarm) with a precise digital tuner, this is it.

Sangean PR-D9W AM/FM/Weather and Alert Digital Rechargeable Portable Radio
Review by R. Hathaway : Second time a charm

The other reviewers have covered the features. I only add that the weather alert message setting or weather alert siren will operate whether or not the radio is on. Something that should have been obvious I guess.

My prior experience was with cheapy portable radios. By contrast, this is an extremely well designed and functioning radio. The presets are especially useful for easily flipping between various weak signals such as when trying to follow several football games at once.

Anyway, I was completely satisfied with the radio until I tried out the headphone jack. At that time I noticed the left audio channel for the output jack had a substantial amount of hiss. This was true in all cases, AM, FM stereo and FM mono. Being somewhat picky about such matters I contacted Amazon online for a replacement. Two days later I had another unit. The second unit's performance was identical to the first except that the earphone output functioned properly with very little hiss on both the right and left channel. So I mailed the first radio back in and am now completely satisfied with the Sangean.

Side issue: For anyone considering an Amazon Prime membership, get it. We buy lots of stuff from Amazon during the year and in the case of this radio we received free shipping on the first unit, free return shipping on the first unit, and free shipping on the second unit.

Sangean PR-D9W AM/FM/Weather and Alert Digital Rechargeable Portable Radio
Review by atlantaperson "atlantaperson" : This radio is better than I could have imagined!

For years, I have tried every type of portable radio I could find so that I could listen to my public radio station in the morning, moving it from the bedroom to the bathroom to the kitchen. If it was a rainy morning, I knew the reception would be poor. If it was slightly bumped, the carefully tuned station would be lost. I finally dropped my last "shower" radio and decided to find a more permanent solution.
This Sangean PR-D9W is PERFECT!! The sound quality is unbelievable. I no longer have to worry about losing reception. It is the best purchase I have made. I was hesitant to spend this kind of money for a radio, but if I had only known it could be this good, I would have done it a long time ago. I love everything about it. I purchased the recommended rechargeable batteries at the same time. I want to do everything right by this radio! How wonderful to wake up to crystal clear NPR rather than to undiscernable static! It is small enough for travel, comes with a nice travel sleeve to protect it, and I don't think I will ever be separated from this radio. The weather alert function is appreciated, as our area has been under tornado watches recently and we seem to lose power with the frequent and powerful storms. I feel much more secure having this radio.