Great companion for many years
Pros:
Solidly built, a superior performer, built-in speaker, 19 mixable presets, extremely long battery life.
Cons:
Flimsy belt clip, can only scan "up" the presets, no display backlight.
The Bottom Line:
This is an excellent radio that will serve you well. Get one while you can.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
The Sangean DT-200v has been on the market for a long time & rightfully so. I've had mine for 15 years & it's been my constant companion on trips, at baseball games, in the hospital & just around the house. Some may think it a bit pricey, but the performance is well worth it.
TV BAND NOTE: Before I get to the meat of this review, I must mention that all U.S. television stations will be closing down their analog broadcasts in favor of digital TV, by February 17, 2009. Once the digital switch is made, this radio will no longer receive anything on it's TV band.
Generally: The Sangean DT-200v is slightly smaller than a pack of cigarettes & solidly built. It receives AM, FM stereo & TV channels 2-13. There is a small built-in speaker with a switch to use either the speaker or the 1/8" stereo headphone jack. The ability to switch from FM stereo to FM momo is also offered. There's even a switch to lock the controls to prevent it from accidentally being turned on, or changing settings. There are 19 (an unusual number) station presets which can be "mixed" among the 3 bands. There is no set number of presets per band like other radios. The headphone sound is great even though there is no bass enhancement. The speaker is small & sounds like it in terms of frequency response, but the radio puts out a lot of sound for the speaker's size.
PERFORMANCE: This radio is an incredibly strong performer. on AM, in most ways it's better than the CCRadio Plus. It's sensitivity is just as good & the selectivity greatly surpasses the CCR+. On FM, reception is a dream, with very high sensitivity & great stereo sound through the headphones. FM reception is much better than the CCR+. I'll admit, I don't use the TV band much, but when I have, I've been able to pull in stations with ease. Again, much better than the CCR+ as well. Please see the "TV BAND NOTE" (above).
The battery life is extraordinary. I get about 100 hours out of a set of alkaline batteries. Probably more if I were to use the higher end lithium cells.
Now for the nitpicking: There are 19 station presets to navigate through. The "preset" button only lets you scan "up" the presets. If you start (for example) at preset 3 & want to get to preset 1, you will have to go all the way through past 19 before it will jump back to 1. There's also no display backlight. The belt clip is a bit flimsy, too.
Over the years the control labels have worn off...Probably after about 10 or 11 years. The ear bud phones that came with it lasted about 5 years, but I use it all the time. I'm on my second pair of $5 Sony earphones.
Sangean's DT-200v is a great product. I hope the newer version is as good. I will be buying a second DT-200v before they discontinue the model, because I want a spare...Even though this one's showing no signs of a single problem.
