Sangean WR-2 AM/FM RDS Tabletop Radio Review

[@Gary65437]

I just bought this radio Oct 2021. Very pleased with the quality upgrade over my 20 yr old cheap $20 radio for $117. Got the wood grain cabinet. Wish I had your stereo equip catalog to find a small simple good stereo.

[@papakrampus3062]

Labeling for the rear panel of the set: AUX IN is the green 3.5mm (1/8") jack, REC OUT is the red 3.5mm (1/8") jack, both receiving a 3.5 mm (1/8") male phono plug patch cable. A good set indeed, highly recommended.

[@tomkirby3281]

I just got the WR-2 to replace my old similarly priced Tivoli. The Tivoli has problems with fine tuning (apparently, some of this may be the grease drying on the controls), but the WR-2 at least has a digital readout to let you know the frequency. On the Tivoli, you needed to trust them that the dial was accurate. I found out later that the company I bought my WR-2 from wasn't the cheapest, but the radio got here fast, and it is more sensitive on weak stations than the Tivoli ever was. It's also much easier to tune. I'm happy about everything except the price I paid.

[@barryestell6324]

I bought the Sangean WR-2 and love it , paid $180.00 ,,sound & turning is outstanding ..bought out of the Hammacher Schlemmer

[@s9plus20]

Very informative review, thanks!

[@doncarlitotan]

Thank you for putting up this review. What you have is a sangean WR-2 v1. I don't know when or what year they stated rolling out the v2 WR-2 with speaker calibration updates, much complex clock settings, feature etc upgrades.

[@padmeshsethuraman5617]

Is version 2 sounding better than ver1?

[@rickd523]

I knew you'd utilize the headphone jack! You geek you're just like me. This radio for me would be headphone out to my pre processor into JBL desk speakers. I gotta have that FM jazz station! You proved the Sangean's excellent audio output from the headphone jack and it's exactly what I'm looking (listening) for. And, oh look, a clock! I bet you wear a pocket protector. Wanna talk flashlights? ;-)

[@vwestlife]

Overall a good performer, except for the narrow audio bandwidth of its AM tuner. That's an unfortunate consequence of these modern DSP-based tuners being built for worldwide use, so they design it according to European specs (where the AM audio bandwidth is restricted to 4.5 kHz) and not to American specs (where AM stations are allowed to transmit with up to 10 kHz audio bandwidth). So while the narrow bandwidth is good for DXing of weak signals, it's not suitable for enjoyable listening of music on AM.

[@beachpreachr2505]

I researched table receivers for my home office. Sangean won out based on reviews and I'm happy to report this is an outstanding receiver with great features. The sound from the REAL wood cabinet is simply fantastic. A very sound and well thought little system.

[@antimattercarp2720]

How many AM stations play music near you? All I get is spanish stations.

[@USARAY1947]

Terrific review, thanks.

[@josegozaine9645]

which one is better at reception? Sangean Wr-2 or Sangean WR-11?

[@doncarlitotan]

Just found out that there are three versions of the WR-2.

[@texasbornandraised78]

I have a clear one where you can see the components and the special Bose like air ways

[@martinbecklen6486]

I own a 5-6yo Sangean table top radio and am terribly annoyed by the 'feature' that anytime you touch ANY control, the display goes to full brightness until you haven't touched a control for 8-10 seconds. I was hoping you might have determined if this occurs with this WR-2 model. You seem to have the full brightness turned on. Thanks for your review.

[@skwalka6372]

This happens when you buy Chinese caca. Don't buy Chinese caca and problem solved.

[@gatrwrksMarshall]

I have the Sangean WR-2, it's a great radio and I love it. I got it as an Early Christmas present back in Dec of 2017. This radio does a good job of pulling in my favorite stations with no bleedover from adjacent stations. Have you hooked up your RCA rabbit ears to yours to see how it performs?

[@njpete987]

Thank you for this review. From the stations you tuned to, it looks like you're near Morristown NJ. I'm in Chatham. I just purchased the the Sangean PR-D7. It a very nice radio and picks up all the stations I like without an external antenna. My only real complaint is this: the audio has too much base and there is no way to adjust it. I'm a big AM listener, and the last thing you need when listening to news and talk stations is a lot of base. I see from your review there is a base and treble adjuster on the WR-2. Does that work well? Also, how well does it work without connecting an external antenna? I really have no interest in doing that. Lastly, it was not clear to me if the WR-2 runs on batteries or just house AC. Really looking forward to hearing back from you. Thanks.

[@stereophonicstuff]

Indeed your complaint is shared by me. The bass can be lowered by three steps after pushing in the volume knob (if I'm not mistaken). The bass and treble controls do make adjustments to the audio; moreover, there is a "loudness" (or similarly titled) setting in the menu which behaves in a similar fashion to the loudness button on stereo receivers. Disabling it will additionally help quell the boomy bass. Use of the WR-2 without an external antenna works just fine. I found it to be more than sensitive enough to pull in all the AM and FM stations I listen to. AM could use a small boost, however, simply by connecting some wire or one of those small loop antennas commonly bundled with stereo systems. For FM, the included 75 ohm wire antenna is more the adequate for most uses. The radio can be powered of AC power using the industry standard figure-of-eight power connection (like what boomboxes uses) or a 12 volt 1 amp DC power supply.

[@barrycurran5045]

Thanks to StereoDustParticles' reply I located the loudness control on the menu and after some fiddling, disabled it. What a difference! It would have been far better to have that function on the remote or the front panel since the resultant tonal balance is ideal for voice but not for music. Now perhaps I will not return the radio to Amazon. With my high frequency hearing loss the boomy base had been intolerable for news and documentary programming. Now not so bad. The bass and treble boost still work with the loudness off, but even stepped to max, do not reach the level of compensation achieved by the loudness function on its own. RIAA curves and all that.

[@markcantrell774]

Can you hook up any more speakers to this raido

[@matthewunglesbee3449]

How do I hook up a coper wire to pick up more stations?

[@hdofu]

I have the Hd version of this radio the hdr-18, it came with a whip , looks nice but it can be really picky about decoding digital

[@johnbereza7782]

Has anyone mentioned that what you're calling an audio output on the back clearly says aux in?

[@jimdalgetty]

I have a Tivoli 2.The reception STINKS!!!If you get any station it sounds GREAT!!!!

[@kennethflorek8532]

4:35 Manufacture date September 2015. So manufacturers stockpile production runs to be sold years later?

[@Browningate]

But is radio their philosophy like it is at Radiosophy? 😉

[@polishhotdog933]

I had a Tivoli Model one, poorly built junk.