SangeanHDR-14 HD Radio/FM Stereo/AM Portable Radio,

This is a really nice portable radio. My main use case is day trips to the beach or park. It’s small, like an old school Walkman if that means anything to you, but the speaker is still plenty powerful for the size. It can easily slip into a beach bag, backpack, or even shorts pocket.I usually just want enough sound for my wife and I to listen without bothering anyone else too much and the built in speaker is definitely up to that - don’t need to push max volume even with background beach noise. If I’m looking to bump it louder, I have a $6 Bluetooth transmitter that plugs into the 3.5mm headphone jack and a jbl go bluetooth speaker.I also have a sangean hdr-16 - another portable hd radio that’s my go to around the house or backyard. It’s bigger, which means the antenna and speakers are as well, with all the benefits that comes with. The 16 is more like a big hardcover book in size - still plenty portable but actually takes up some space, while the 14 can generally be tucked into an already fully packed beach bag or one of the smaller pockets on a backpackWhether the HD Radio is worth it to you will depend on how close you are to the radio tower. I think it’s a neat technology and I prefer the HD broadcasts when available - the sound quality is noticeably better than a standard FM broadcast, and the station is actually 3 broadcasts in one, so you’ll have more to choose from. For example my local NPR station has classical on their second band, and the BBC world service on HD 3 - the local top 40 station has alt rock on HD 2 and talk radio on HD3. But the HD broadcast range is usually like half the range of the standard FM transmission. The less dense / more rural your area, the less likely you’ll have access to the HD band. I live on the east coast where the air waves are densely packed, at any given time I can generally find several stations that are close enough for HD, but I would imagine there’s lots of places where it gets you nothing

Though I am not a radio collector, I have quite a few radios. I wish to listen primarily to classical music.As I live in the Philadelphia, PA metro region, which is, in my opinion, a "vast wasteland," at least regarding radio stations, I wanted an HD radio as I had found, from owning an HD radio in my car, that classical music can be heard 24 hours a day, something that cannot be done with a "straight" analog AM/FM receiver.I purchased three (3) Sangean HDR-16 models (to keep in various rooms of my house) and these provide excellent sound quality but they leave something to be desired, at least regarding HD reception. (I am aware of the FCC's restrictions on HD transmission power.)Having heard that this HDR-14 is actually superior in HD sensitivity to that of the HDR-16, I decided to give it a try.It IS superior in HD sensitivity! There are exactly two (2) stations that transmit classical music in my area. One is only "half" classical, at least with its analog signal; the other half is jazz music (WRTI 90.1 MHz).But this station transmits in HD and it switches the HD1 and HD2 signals at night. In other words, when the main analog channel (and the HD1 channel) play classical music, the HD2 sub-channel plays jazz. When the main analog channel switches to jazz (along with the HD1 channel), the HD2 channel plays classical music.Switching is, of course, not particularly onerous but it's a shame that this station cannot transmit both all at the same time (which would probably require a second frequency).However, in addition to that station, there is a relatively little-known station: WPEN-HD2 Burlington-Philadelphia which is "piggy-backed" onto a sports-talk radio station (97.5 MHz). The sports is on HD1 and the classical music is on HD2 (and the sound quality is excellent).Unfortunately, where I live, reception via the HDR-16 is spotty at best. Sometimes the station may play for hours with nary a hiccup but other times, well, forget it!Hoping that the HDR-14 would be better at receiving this station, I purchased one. I have been using it extensively (on batteries) since I received it (on March 2, 2019). (I cannot comment on battery life. The radio does have a low-battery indicator light but it has not yet been activated.)Its reception sensitivity is markedly better than any of the three HDR-16s I own. This HDR-14 picks up WPEN-HD2 in places in my house where the HDR-16 won't pick up any HD signals at all. And its reception is consistent on a daily basis. When I want to listen to WPEN-HD2, I can do so whenever I wish with this radio.Setting the radio is VERY easy and there are quite a few options, all of which are explained in the extremely readable owner's manual (but you don't really need that manual; everything is logical and common sense is really all you need for setting the various options within the menu).I am very pleased with the HDR-14 but, as always, there is a "fly in the ointment."And that is the sound quality. As the HDR-14 is a small pocket-size radio, you cannot expect outstanding sound quality from its speaker - and you don't get it.What I had hoped was that. through headphones, the sound quality would be excellent. No such luck here either.Now I do not want to damn with faint praise. This radio is very, very good and I'm glad I have it. I only wish that the sound quality, at least via headphones, would be at least as good as that achieved via the HDR-16.One of these days I'm going to try using it with a Bluetooth transmitter, running the sound into a stereo system but I'm afraid that I do not have high hopes - after all, if sound through headphones is only "okay," what difference can I expect in sound quality through a stereo system considering that the Bluetooth transmitter will be connected to that same headphone output?What we need, of course (Sangean please take notice) is a combination of the HDR-16's sound quality (ore even better) and the HDR-14's sensitivity (or even better). If such a radio were ever introduced, I would buy one (or more)! I also suggest that an external antenna input be included to allow a better antenna to be connected to the radio.I do not know what the fate of HD (regarding radio, this means Hybrid Digital - not High Definition) radio will be in this country. Many AM stations have already abandoned transmitting in HD (including our one news station KYW 1060 kHz - though they do transmit on an FM HD subchannel, the problem there being that the audio is delayed by quite a few seconds, something that it was not when they transmitted on AM HD). That loss is really too bad. AM HD sounds just about as good as analog FM (actually better as there is no hiss).And, at least in the Philadelphia area, the FM stations that do transmit in HD have one or more HD subchannels but they all transmit the same kind of "garbage radio" as the main channel. How many people are going to buy an HD radio just so they can listen to more of the same trash?But that's enough of my complaints. The Sangean HDR-14 is a very good radio and, when considering only pocket-sized radios, I believe that it stands head-and-shoulders above any other pocket-sized radio I own. Its sensitivity on analog AM and FM is quite good (and its FM section can be "forced" to receive in mono only which will improve analog FM sensitivity - HD remains in stereo) and its sound quality is certainly on a par with any of my other comparable radios.Therefore, if you are interested in a high-quality HD radio, I can highly recommend this one.Thank you for reading all of this and for considering my recommendation.Lawrence H. Bulk

I have a bunch of HD-capable radios, plus two cars that get HD as well. I can report that this one is the best for travel in North America. It's small, light, and very capable. Its reception on AM and FM is solid, and its sound through headphones is excellent. The speaker is about what you'd expect in a radio this small: serviceable, but not great. Use headphones if you can.The user interface takes some getting used to, but not much, and it does work well. I like that it has four "pages" for different locations. I have five buttons each for AM and FM set to work in the four places I frequent most: Santa Barbara, Baltimore, New York, and the Bay Area.Other reviews here knock the build quality, but I don't see it. It's a solid little radio.I give it four stars because five-star reviews have become less trustworthy. And this radio isn't perfect. But what is?