Quick Shopping Guide – Jay’s Personal Picks For Performance and Value
Although this website provides in-depth reports on portable radios past and present, to help you shop here is a quick way to find that perfect radio for yourself or as a gift. You can always find in-depth information about any of these radios by clicking on the links to their full reports. And if you access Amazon via any of the links provided, anything you purchase during that session will help to support this free website at no cost to you, and you’ll get Amazon’s best price and return privileges.
There are many other choices but these are all my personal recommendations and favorites – Happy Shopping!
Best AM/FM Portable Radios:
C.Crane CC-2E $169.99 – The best of the best for reception and sound quality – I use mine every day. Also features NOAA Weather and more.
See it at Amazon: (Black Mica) (Titanium)
C. Crane CC-3 $199.99 Same as CC-2E Above with the addition of bluetooth.
Sangean PR-D4W $58.86 Very Good AM/FM on a budget…a solid radio.
Compact/Inexpensive AM/FM Radios
Sangean PR-D7 $55.72 A very nice mid-sized portable
See Them at Amazon:
Sony ICF-P36 $18.70 Good reception at a ridiculously low price.
See It At Amazon: ICF-P36
ICF-506
ICF-19
Sony ICF-506 $46.10 – Excellent reception and built-in AC power for all-day use.
Sony ICF-19 $37.95 – Same radio as above with longer battery life using D cells, but no AC power.
These two radios look pretty much the same other than their handles and perform the same – the only differences are that the ICF-506 has a handle while the ICF-19 has a strap. I recommend the ‘506 for its built-in AC power for use all day long, and the 19 for battery use as it uses larger cells and thus has longer battery life.
Complete Review of the Two Radios Above:
Sangean PR-D19 $57.73 – Small two-speaker stereo model with good reception and nice sound available in many color combinations.
See Them At Amazon: Scroll Down To See All Colors
Best AM/FM HD Radios:
Sangean HDR-14 $72 – Sangean’s smallest HD radio packs surprising HD performance into a palm-sized package.
Sangean HDR-16 $95.99 Best Portable HD Radio – Best portable radio with great reception and HD lets you hear all those “hidden FM channels”.
Sangean HDR-18 $158.10 Best Table Radio with HD – Great performance and a remote control in a nice-looking wooden cabinet.
Best Radios With Shortwave
Tecsun PL-990X $269 at Amazon:
Outside the US get it from Anon-co.com
Tecsun’s newest flagship mid-sized portable is fully featured including Bluetooth and MP3 playback along with top performance and great sound.
Tecsun S-8800 $268 Plus Shipping from Anon.co.com Very deluxe, lunchbox-sized multi-band radio with remote control and full of features.
Available from anon.co.com or Tecsun Australia
Tecsun PL-330 $59.99 at Anon-co.com
The small P-330 is a new addition to Tecsun’s line of multiband radios and is a top performer in its category, besting many similar sized radios of a few years ago. Read The PL-330 Review:
C.Crane Skywave $89.99 – Very compact but with more bands than most radios including AM/FM/SW/Air Band and NOAA Weather. A true traveler’s companion.
C.Crane Skywave SSB $149.99 – Same as above with addition of SSB – Single Sideband for the true enthusiast lets you listen to HAMS in SSB mode– the Swiss Army Knife of radios.
See the Skywave SSB At C.Crane:
Eton Elite Executive/Grundig Executive Satellit $166.21 My personal favorite in this category because it beats all the others for AM reception.
Tecsun PL-880 $159.98 – Best sound in a paperback book-sized portable.
Tecsun PL-660 $128.00 – One of the most popular radios in this category and a bargain at this price.
Eton Elite Traveler/Traveler III $69.99 – Great AM reception, FM RDS plus shortwave.
Best Pocket Radios
Sangean DT-800 AM/FM Weather $57-$58 depending on color
Sangean’s full-featured earbud/speaker portable has many features and top performance in this category:
Sangean DT-160 $37.36 Use with earbuds – Excellent FM performance and a real bargain.
Sangean DT-210 AM/FM Pocket Portable $55 Smallest Of This Group but has top performance and great sound.
C.Crane CC Pocket $64.99 Use primarily with earbuds but includes a built-in utility grade speaker
Sony ICF-P26 $18.00 Very inexpensive pocket portable with speaker at a hard-to-beat price.
Sangean SR-35 $17.70 Pocket portable with great FM sound thru speaker – kind of amazing actually.
Complete Pocket Portables Review:
Special Purpose Radios
Sangean WR-50/WR-50P $129 (Mono)/$183.83 (Stereo) – One of the best sounding table radios I’ve heard includes Bluetooth and a remote control. Very impressive sound.
See The WR-50P At Amazon (Stereo Version)
See The WR-50 At Amazon (Mono Version)
Sangean U4 Rugged Jobsite Radio $172.84 – Versatile power options include built-in AC, external 12 volts or D cells, either regular or rechargeable. A strong player which can fill large or noisy areas and very rugged construction.
Sangean MMR-88 Emergency Radio $46.78 – Better reception than most and this one has all the most wanted features including solar and crank power and the ability to charge your cell phone in a very cute brick-like shape.
Antennas & Great Gift Ideas
Grundig/Kaito/Tecsun AN-100/AN-200 Loop Antenna – $35 varies from time to time and brand to brand. Best Bang-For-The-Buck Antenna for AM Lovers – Several versions but all work identically. Can transform a mediocre radio into a sensitivity champ with no connecting wires. Just place it next to the radio and hear those weaker stations pop in! AM loops are staples of serious AM hobbyists and this one is a bargain.
Terk AM Advantage: $49.99 – Long available the Terk is very well made and features a calibrated dial to let you know where you are tuned.
Sangean ATN-60 Shortwave Antenna $9.99 SW – For SW listeners one of these 23 foot reel-up antennas can greatly improve reception over the built-in whip antenna. This one is very flexible as it can connect directly to the Aux Antenna input on radios that have one, or you can clip it right to the whip antenna for radios that don’t. See It On Amazon:
C. Crane Twin Coil Antenna $199.99
May be the most flexible AM antenna for use with virtually any AM radio. Top performance can bring most decent radios up to Five Star AM performance.
Download product Info and owner’s manuals at C. Crane.com
As always feel free to send me questions.
radiojayallen 
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