Sangean PR-D19BK

Sangean PR-D19BK Review – Detailed Guide with Pros, Cons & More

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The folks over at Sangean really like to talk about their radio’s “sturdy protective bumper” so, naturally, we wanted to put it to the test. 

Over the course of a month, we used the Sangean PR-D19BK in a variety of different environments and conditions. 

In this post, we’ll discuss our findings to determine whether this portable radio is worth buying or not. We’ve also provided some alternatives for you to choose from.

Sangen PR-D19BK

The Sangean PR-D19BK is available in two stunning colors, Black and Blue. It’s quite compact and lightweight which means you’ll have no trouble carrying it in your backpack. We stress-tested by dropping it and using it in harsh environments and found that it stood up extremely well.

Alternate #1

Sangean PR-D7 AM/FM Digital Rechargeable Portable Radio

This rechargeable radio is incredibly robust and the perfect device to have by your bedside. That’s because it comes with a sleep timer feature that automatically turns it off after a set time. We were particularly impressed by its long battery life during testing.

Alternate #2

Sangean DT-180 AM/FM Pocket Radio

If you want a radio that easily fits into your pocket, then you may want to consider the Sangean DT-180. It even comes with a lock switch that ensures any buttons don’t accidentally get pressed while it’s in your pocket. We found that it fits into most regular-sized pockets with ease. 

Quick Summary of the Main Product

The Sangean PR-D19BK is an incredibly versatile radio that you can choose to use indoors or outdoors. It’s got the perfect set of features to be a great companion by your bedside as well as when you’re camping underneath the stars. 

It comes equipped with an alarm feature that you can set so that after you doze off while listening to your favorite station, you can still wake up when you intend to. 

Its backlit LCD display ensures that you can see everything you need no matter what the external lighting conditions are like. Furthermore, the buttons are large with clear labeling to ensure a user-friendly experience. 

As for its “sturdy protective bumper”, we were genuinely impressed by how much it protects the radio’s body from direct impact. To test its durability, we dropped it onto a variety of surfaces from different heights and it stayed strong. 

Of course, we were able to eventually break it after we dropped from the top floor of our office building. However, as long as you drop it from any reasonable height during use, it’s not going to affect its performance or damage it at all. 

Check out the latest brand reviews after careful testing and usage from our expert team here.

Features and Benefits of the Sangean PR-D19BK

Clock and Alarm

The radio features an internal clock that you can easily set manually by going to its settings menu. Once the clock is set, you can use it as an alarm whenever you want to wake up at a certain given time. 

The alarm has two different modes: a buzzer and a radio. The buzzer mode means that a loud alarm sound will play when the set time occurs, and the radio mode means that the radio will start to play when the set time occurs. 

If you like waking up to the sound of your favorite morning radio show, then this radio is definitely worth considering.

Battery Operated

If you’re an outgoing person and intend to have the radio with you, then it’s perfect for that as well. That’s because it can be powered with 4 AA batteries. 

If you intend to go on a long camping trip, then you can even take some extra batteries with you to ensure your radio never runs out of power. 

Important note: AA batteries are not included with the radio. 

Intuitive Button Layout

Lastly, we want to give a shout-out to the button layout and overall “feel” of the radio. It’s built with a lot of care which becomes quite apparent when you use it. The buttons feel tactile and are satisfying to use. 

Furthermore, they are placed in a fashion that ensures a streamlined user experience so you don’t waste time switching to your favorite radio station. 

We fell in love with this radio’s overall design and we’re fairly sure you will too. 

Sangean is one of the most popular radio brands. Find out Sangean’s pros, cons, features and more here.

Factors to Consider Before You Decide to Buy the Sangean PR-D19BK

Battery Life

This is an important feature to consider when buying a radio that you intend to use outside. The Sangean PR-D19BK can be powered with 4 AA batteries. It should be noted, however, that you don’t have AA batteries with the radio. 

If you use the radio with a full set of AA batteries, then it lasts you about 20 hours. It can last you up to 25 hours if you use the radio on 50% volume. Overall, we feel that the battery life is fairly satisfactory. 

Portability

When it comes to portability, this radio certainly does fit the bill. While it’s not ultra-portable since it’s not small enough to fit in your pockets, it’s still quite lightweight and fairly compact. You could easily chuck it in your backpack and not feel a thing. 

The radio weighs a little less than a pound and is about the size of a small paperback book. We brought it with us on many outdoor trips as part of its testing and barely felt its weight in our backpacks.

Build Quality

When it comes to building quality, it definitely does deliver with the aid of its protective bumper. The bumper ensures that the radio’s body stays safe from any external impact or drops. 

As mentioned earlier, we really put it to the test and found that it was able to handle a significant amount of punishment. Hence, you won’t have to worry about it breaking down on you when you take it on camping trips, etc.

Pros and Cons of Sangean PR-D19BK

Pros

  • Comes with a foldable antenna
  • Compact and lightweight 
  • Has two different power options
  • Built-in alarm clock 
  • Built-in sleep timer

Cons

  • Does not come with AA batteries

Social Proof

To check what other people’s experiences were like with the portable radio, we read some Amazon reviews. 

Most people were really pleased by the radio’s sound quality, how easy it was to use, and its alarm feature. 

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social proof
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Similar to Sangean PR 19BK Portable Radio

#1: Best Rechargeable Alternative – Sangean PR-D7 AM/FM Digital Rechargeable Portable Radio

This portable radio comes with a sleek and minimal layout that is sure to look great both indoors as well as outdoors. Not only does it look great but it’s also very easy to set up and use. 

The backlit LCD display ensures that you’re able to use it no matter the lighting conditions. Furthermore, the display shows you the battery indicator, the time, as well as if you have an alarm set or not. 

Speaking of which, yes, this radio also has an alarm feature similar to our main product. The part that makes this radio different is the fact that it comes with a rechargeable battery. 

The rechargeable battery is really what sold us on this radio. During our testing, we found that with the battery fully charged, the radio can easily work up to 18 hours and even up to 24 hours if you keep the volume at 50%.

Factors to Consider Before you Decide to Buy the Sangean PR-D7 Portable Radio

Battery life: As mentioned earlier, the radio comes equipped with a built-in rechargeable battery that you can charge by plugging it into an electrical socket. 

It works for about 18 hours with the battery fully charged. However, if you’re ever outdoors and want to use it, you can also power it with 6 AA batteries. 

Portability: The radio is fairly lightweight and quite small in size. You can easily fit it inside a standard-sized backpack whenever you want to take it with you. It takes up minimal space and you won’t feel it at all in your bag.

Build quality: The radio is quite well-built and you can immediately tell as soon as you hold it that it’s made from high-quality materials. There are no jagged or sharp edges and everything is securely held together. 

Pros

  • Lightweight
  • Built-in alarm system
  • Works for both AM and FM bands
  • Responsive knobs and controls
  • 10 channels preset
  • Sleep timer feature

Cons

  • Does not come with AA batteries

Best Rechargeable Alternative

The best rechargeable alternative is the Sangean PR-D7 Portable Radio thanks to its Lithium-ion battery, great battery life, and user-friendliness.

#2: Best Pocket-Sized Alternative – Sangean DT-180 AM/FM Pocket Radio

While the other two entries in this post are portable, this product is what should be called ultra-portable. This is because it’s small enough to easily fit into your pocket and your pocket would still have space for more items. 

It’s quite lightweight as well which means it won’t be annoying to carry around in your pocket either. Furthermore, despite being lightweight and small, the portable radio is extremely well-built. 

This ensures it won’t break easily in case of any impact while it’s in your pocket, etc.

Factors to Consider Before you Decide to Buy the Sangean DT-180 AM/FM Radio

Battery life: The radio is completely battery-powered. You’ll need 2 AA batteries to power it. However, its battery life is incredibly long. 

Portability: As mentioned above, this is a pocket radio and the smallest device that’s being talked about in this post. Hence, it’s safe to assume that it excels at portability. You can use it while on the go with ease.

Build quality: As mentioned earlier, Sangean has really ensured that the radio is not fragile despite being super lightweight. This is an issue that occurs with many electronic devices, however, that’s not the case here. 

The radio features great construction and a design that ensures it won’t break easily from drops or external impact.

Pros

  • Pocket-sized
  • Comes with 15 memory presets
  • Built-in sleep timer
  • Great build quality
  • Affordable

Cons

  • Does not come with AA batteries

Best Pocket-Sized Alternative

The best pocket-sized alternative is the Sangean DT-180 AM/FM Radio thanks to its small form factor, light weight, and budget-friendliness.

The Sangean TB-10 is water resistant which makes it a great option for using outdoors. But is it waterproof? Keep reading to find out as our team tested out the features of this radio in detail.

Buyers Guide

buyers guide

The thing about radios is that you really have to assess how you will use them and in what context to truly be able to tell which option would be best. If you don’t know what you need from a radio, then don’t be surprised if you end up with one that isn’t suitable for you. 

Some factors that you should assess when buying a radio include:

Price

Of course, you want to look at what your budget is and how much you’d be willing to spend on a radio. 

You don’t have to go overboard and spend a ton of cash on radio since higher-end models typically have features that you won’t ever need. 

For example, a radio may have a slightly higher price tag because it can save a large number of radio channels. However, if you’re just a casual listener, then you won’t need all that memory. 
Hence, you can opt for a radio with a smaller memory bank and save yourself some cash.

Make sure to assess what features of the radio are causing its price to be so high and ask yourself: “Do I really need all these things?” 

If you truly do, then you’ll simply have to raise your budget. However, if you don’t, then you can look towards some more budget-friendly options with fewer features.

Battery Life

When it comes to battery life, you really have to consider what your radio use will look like. Do you intend to use your radio mostly outdoors? Or do you intend to use it inside right before going to bed? 

For the former, you’ll want a radio with either a rechargeable battery or one that is powered by AA or AAA batteries. With such a radio, you won’t have to worry about how the radio will be powered when you’re outside. 

However, if you only intend to use the radio indoors, then you can simply choose a radio that is powered by AC power. The great thing about this will be that such radios are typically less expensive than ones that have a rechargeable battery. 

Important note: Some radios can utilize multiple different power inputs. They can be powered with AC power, AA batteries, a rechargeable battery, as well as other methods such as solar power. 
Having a radio with multiple power sources can make it extremely versatile. However, such radios can also be more expensive. 
Consider whether you need a radio to have multiple different power sources. If you do, then go for it. Otherwise, save yourself some money by opting for a radio that only works with a power source that is suitable for your needs.

Portability

When considering the portability of your radio, you must once again consider where you’ll use it and how. 

Do you intend to mainly use it indoors in a single room? If this is the case, then portability doesn’t really matter all that much. As long as it’s not taking up too much space in your room, you won’t have to worry about it. 

Do you intend to use it outdoors? 

In this case, you must further consider whether or not you’ll have a backpack or carrying bag with you. If so, then you can opt for slightly larger radios that are still small enough to fit inside such carrying bags. 

If you intend to be outside without any sort of carrying bag, then you’ll want to opt for an even smaller radio still. These radios are called pocket radios because, well, they can fit inside your pocket.

Build Quality

We always recommend our readers buy their radio locally if possible rather than buying it online. This is because when you buy it locally, you are able to inspect the product and even test it for yourself to see if it suits you. 

This is especially true when it comes to the build quality. You can assess the body of a radio to determine how well it’ll stand up to impact as well as just time. All devices exhibit signs of wear and tear but well-constructed products last much longer than mediocre ones. 

Furthermore, you must also consider the waterproof rating of a radio depending on what types of conditions it’ll be in. If you intend to take it out on camping trips, then it’ll be exposed to a lot of moisture. In this case, we’d recommend that you opt for a waterproof radio. 

Range and Reception 

Lastly, of course, you have to consider how far its range is and what the reception quality is like. 

You’ll get an idea of this by reading online reviews as well as the manufacturer’s own claims for the product. The best way to approach this is to read what the manufacturer’s claims about the product are and whether those claims are confirmed by the user reviews. 

Most radios have a range of 3 to 5 miles. 

Wrapping Things Up… 

That’s a wrap for our Sangean PR-D19BK review.

In the end, we just want to highlight how user-friendly its button layout is and how satisfying the keys are to press. You can feel the immaculate quality of its construction when you use the radio. 

Furthermore, the sleep timer and alarm features are something that makes this device the perfect thing to have by your bedside. 

What do you think of the Sangean PR-D19BK? Let us know in the comments section below. 

Our team has tested the latest and old radios and provided their feedback, reviews, tutorial, tips and more here.

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