Sangean DPR-35

The good and the frustrating – The good: Fair FM reception: much better than my old Sony SRF M97 DAB excellent Rechargeable battery duration is a good surprise Sound quality is good (with earphones) The ugly: Aerial is a joke and will not last (keep it inside and use earphones cables instead!) Supplied earphones are very cheap (broken in one day) Swithing between favourite stations is horrible! It is a minimum 8 steps operation!!) Impossible to upgrade software (bugs) Show details

Small DAB with speaker – Definitely the smallest DAB with speaker I’ve seen. It is very compact and lightweight. As such, sound is not deep or very loud, but is clear and perfect for personal use at low to mid volumes. The tuner gives a good strong signal. The telescopic antenna is very thin, so be careful not to bend or snap (all good so far)! The preset function is… Read more ·  1

a little complex to use due to lack of direct preset buttons. One disappointment for me is that the display is always backlit (it does dim from full to mid brightness after about 10 seconds). The display doesn’t have an off setting, so I cannot use at night next to bed. Battery life is quite good and the radio is easy to recharge using the supplied micro USB charger with plug. The charger is filtered so it doesn’t affect sound or signal while charging.

Not worth it – Very disappointed. Reception is bad on most radio stations. I use my iPhone to listen to the radio with no problems. Useless for taking it to watch a live AFL match as the broadcast is 20 secs behind. No need for this product as iPhone works better. Show details

Sangean DPR-35 - Pocket size Digital Radio – I recently purchased the Sangean DPR-35 DAB+/FM Digital Radio. First impressions are completely satisfied. I was also looking at the pocket sized Sony XDR-P1DBP which I'm sure I would have been happy with. I ended up getting the DPR-35 as I purchased it second hand but basically unused for half the retail price - so quite an incentive. I purchased… Read more

it for two reasons;- 1. To play through the AUX input in my car. 2. To fit in my shirt pocket for Digital Radio whilst walking. I already have a bigger Sangean DAB+ Radio in one car and a Sony Digital Radio in the other, but I wanted a smaller radio in one of the cars for obvious reasons.

The DPR-35 replaces the DPR-34. Other that some front decal changes there doesn't appear to be obvious differences between the two - but I wasn't able to find a comparison between the two models.

The DPR-35 doesn't sound quite as bright in the top end compared to a couple of other larger DAB+ radios. I don't mind this as Digital Radio can sound a little harsh in the top end due to all the signal processing technology used, and how the broadcasters process the audio. So a slightly mellower sound reminds me of analogue, which is a good thing IMO. It still sounds bright, just not as harsh as digital can sound. Using the built-in speaker is quite adequate - particularly listening to spoken word, and provides a reasonable volume for a tiny device. Obviously for music, headphones/buds are really needed to hear the lower frequencies.

The signal reception of the DPR-35 appears excellent compared to the two other Digital Radios I have in our cars that use a telescopic antenna. They are obviously not designed for mobile use. The DPR-35 seems much more robust as far as reception goes, even in a car environment. The 3.5mm audio cable or ear buds also acts as an antenna, so using the telescopic antenna in the DPR-35 is largely negated. This is a good thing as without a little care it would be easy to bend or even break the DPR's antenna. It's a little flimsy, but has to be in a small radio.

The DPR-35 has a rechargeable (non-replaceable) lithium battery that claims 20-30 hours use depending on whether you use the speaker or the 3.5mm output. The 3.5mm output is also stereo. The radio can charge from the provided charger, or any 5v output using a micro USB cable. Some earbuds are also provided.

The LCD display is not as high definition as the display on the Sony pocket radio, and doesn't smooth scroll across the screen. It does scroll - just in a jerky fashion twice per second. A minor negative in the scheme of things.

The LCD backlight can be set to be always on if desired with a corresponding reduction in battery life. This is not necessary as with this setting off, the backlight will reduce to around half intensity after 12 seconds and always stay on regardless. So the screen is always backlit for constant visibility. Sony don't have this option. Either the screen is always brightly lit or turns off after several seconds. No other option. This is quite a selling point of the DPR-35 IMO.

Dimensions W x H x D (mm) 56 x 102 x 22