After reading some of these reviews on the PR-D5 I have to wonder whether they are talking about the same product. This is a fantastic radio, great value for the money, simple to operate and has great sound from its stereo speakers, sound that rivals way more expensive radios.There are no Bass and Treble adjustments on this radio but I find it is not needed. The balance is just right for me. The quality of the stereo sound is wonderful and rivals the sound from more expensive stereo systems. Remember, this is a portable unit, not a house Hi-Fi system.

I saw a review that said there were no AM stations that could be heard. There are three inputs with this radio that can be selected using the push button (labeled 'Step/Band') in the front: 1) FM 2) AM 3) Auxiliary (you can plug your iphone, ipad, etc, in and play it through the radio). If the input was at the AUX position then there wouldn't be any AM stations playing. The reviewer should carefully check to ensure that they didn't accidentally select the AUX position.

The PR-DE pulls in FM stations very clearly. In case you are picking up a weak FM station (station is far away from you) there is a Stereo/Mono switch on the side of the radio. Selecting the Mono setting will eliminate the hiss on weak stations. Very nice feature.So far I haven't had to extend the FM antenna, the stations I listen to were all coming in loud and clear! The PR-D5 is superior in picking up FM compared to the rest of the 'many' radios I own.

The AM ferrite antenna is built into the set. It doesn't use the telescoping antenna for AM. Just lay the radio flat and turn it to get the best sound. The Sangean PR-D5 has a 200 mm ferrite bar which is larger than the average radio has. This results in superior AM performance. One reviewer mentioned that they don't hear many stations during the daytime. That is the way AM propagation works. During the Daytime you will hear local AM stations well, The AM band comes 'alive' in the evening and you can hear stations from hundreds ( or more) miles away. The local stations reduce their power which also allows you to hear the other less powerful stations which are now in the clear. Not hearing AM stations in the daytime is not a radio problem, it's the way the AM band works.

I travel between upstate NY and Washington, DC and I love to listen to 880 AM WCBS New york station. In the evening it comes in load and clear from about 300 miles away. Many other DX (distance) stations can be heard throughout the AM band during the evening hours. This radio does a great job in picking them up. Because it's a portable, the PR-D5 can be rotated to get the best sound on AM. If this was a bigger tabletop radio that would not be so easy or feasible to do. It's a portable but the sound is comparable to a big tabletop radio. Rich tones and great stereo from the two built in speakers. To test this out, find a classical music FM stereo station and listen yourself. It's a beautiful sound for just a $60 radio.

Setting the time on the built in clock is very simple to do. The easiest way is to tune to a FM station that is broadcasting in RDS (Radio Data System). You can tell because the display will have text scrolling about the radio station that is currently selected. Once a RDS FM station is playing then press and hold the 'CT/Display' button (on the front of the radio) for two seconds and it will update the time from the radio station. Couldn't be easier! You can also set in manually by pressing and holding the tuning knob for 2 sections. When doing this the hour display will blink and you can turn the tuning knob to advance the hours. Press the tuning knob one more time and you can adjust the minutes, press it again to exit out.

Once the clock/time is set you can set the alarm to wake to music. you can also set the radio to turn off after playing for a set time (sleep mode). Once the clock is set it continues to display. You can see the time display if there is any light in the room. You can also press the 'CT/Display' button to have the display line lighted for about 10 seconds. Not having the display lit all the time is not a problem. That would unnecessarily drain the battery and is not really needed. With any ambient light in the room, the display can be read just fine.

The Sangean PR-D5 takes 6 'C' type batteries or you can use the included wall plug. If you use Alkaline batteries, they will last a very long time. The manual says 70 hours of play. I have gone several months without having to change the battery. I also purchased a 12 pack of C Alkaline batteries for about a dollar a piece, total of $12. If the batteries last 3 months then that is about .13 cents a day for the added advantage of being ready for a power outage and the flexibility of easily moving the radio from room to room at will without needing to unplug and replug the wall power supply. You can also use rechargeable batteries which work fine but are not as powerful and will not last as long as Alkalines. The rechargeable C type batteries are not cheap plus you need to also purchase a recharger and recharge the batteries (which can take several hours, depending on your charger). I prefer to just buy the alkalines, since they last over three months.

The PR-D5 does not have a carrying handle but I don't see that as a problem. The radio, even with the 6 'C' batteries loaded is not that heavy and you can easily pick it up to move it from room to room.

If you are in the market for a portable AM/FM radio and you are looking for a well-made (constructed), affordable radio that delivers on quality sound, picks up FM and AM stations from hundreds of miles away and does it well, then for $60 this is a no-brainer. Great radio!

I bought this radio from Amazon way back in 2011. This is the main radio I have listened to 99% of the time over the last 10 years. I keep it right by my bedside. It's taken a number of spills on the floor but it still has the original antenna from 10 years ago. The radios strong suit are it's excellent audio fidelity and good volume level. It's weak point is that it lacks a handle to carry the radio around. The speakers are so small but the sound they get out of them is amazing.
I always use the AC power adapter and I do keep batteries inside the unit in case of power failures in the area. You look at the radios styling and it looks like a bedside radio, not really a radio that would be carried to different areas of the house. From what I've heard the 6 C cell batteries do not last that long in this radio if you don't bother using the included AC adapter. One of the radio strong suit is that large 200mm ferrite bar antenna. Anybody considering listening to distant AM radio stations through skip propagation or ground wave should have a larger sized ferrite bar in their radio. Sometimes static on the AM bands can be overwhelming at times when I use this radio.
The lighted dial is really a necessity for a bedside radio. The Cords feature that displays the radio stations does not work very well at night due to the short time the display is illuminated. This has been my main radio to wake myself up to over the past 10 years. I would just use a radio station to wake myself up. The radio does have a beeping alarm in the auxiliary function mode but it's not very loud at all and it's not something I would rely on to get myself up in the morning. I would always have this radio and another alarm clock set to wake myself up. I could not be late at my job and a good way to avoid that is to have two different alarms set.
If I bough this radio again I would spend the little extra money and get the model with the handle. If you keep the radio for 10 years like me you will need a handle to make better use of the radio. It certainly is a reliable radio, almost like a pet rock. The only problems I have now is the 5 radio station selector switches are not that accurate anymore, sometimes they pick the wrong station and the AC power chord has a slight short and needs to have the wire bent a certain way to power up the radio.

Bought this for our bathroom radio (no electricity, don't ask).

Sound: Very good, solid. The sound leans more to the bass than I would have guessed. I listen mainly to public radio, so the bass helps with the voices (with my prior radio, I turned the bass way up and the treble down). My kids listen to contemporary pop, so again bass is good.

The player has a stereo/mono switch. I couldn't hear much difference between the two, which was good and bad. A little stereo separation may have been nice, but practically difficult given the size and speaker placement. On the other hand, I notice a big difference between stereo and mono on our regular stereo receiver, so much so that I always need to switch it to mono to cut down on the fuzz sound. Here, no fuzz.

Reception: So far, rock solid. Our prior radio, a great RCA model, had some problems with reception but the stations here came in spot on. I'm using the antennae fully extended against an inside wall.

Size: Most surprising. The player is much smaller than I had guessed. It is a bit narrow, so that freestanding I suspect it may be a bit tippy. There are four rubber pads on the bottom. There is no handle or loops for a strap. A ridge extends on the back side, just below the cut out for the antennae. If you put your hand over the top, with your fingers under the ridge, your thumb can control the buttons of the front easily.

The tuner and volume are on the right side. I suspect that confusing the two will be common, with the tendency to reach for the top button (tuner) to control the volume. The buttons adjust the volume nicely, no clicks, just smooth control.

The body is completely plastic but feels like good quality. The speakers are set back slightly from the covering grill, presumably to avoid damage.

Set-up: Tuning the stations in to the presets is easy. There are only five presets, no second level for another set of five presets. This is OK but it would have been nice to have two levels. We often use the two levels in other equipment to differentiate between kids and adult stations.

The sleep function will be nice, in case we walk out and forget to turn off the radio. Haven't used the alarm. The LCD panel light up but then shuts off, to preserve battery life I presume. There's a clock. There's the obligatory external auxiliary device (a/k/a iPod) plug-in on the right side as well.

There is no weather radio, which is a disappointment. How difficult would it have been to add that in?

Power: Six C-cell batteries. I guess the C size was a compromise. D's would have been too heavy and AA two light. Still C sizes are harder to find, especially in rechargeables. Still, if this player is anything like the RCA, the batteries may last years. Also, there's a plug in on the right side for AC power and a wall wart comes with the unit (not used by me, see above).

Hated to see our old radio die after twenty plus years, but this will be a great replacement.

October 2011: Battery life is short. My first set of five C cell batteries lasted about 40 hours. My guess is that the display drains the batteries as radios themselves don't generally suck much power (our old radio, no display, used to last years on a set of batteries). Replaced with rechargeables and am getting just a little less play time. Be warned.

Other than that, we love this radio. Sound is great for the entire family. I particularly like listening to public radio programs.

One unexpected use was the auxiliary plug in. My kids plug their MP3 players in while taking a shower and I use for podcasts. I don't know if this use drains the battery more or not.

June 2013: Still going strong. Batteries (rechargeable) last about three weeks in our house (four people, in the bathroom), mainly radio listening, probably about an hour a day.

Received the AM/FM radio a few days ago. Very impressed with the look and finish. Went to my favorite classical music channel to test its tone and clarity and was blown away! This little radio has excellent quality sound at all ranges. This is a keeper. Sangean is a trusted name. Made in Taiwan.

UPDATE: A comment about the snooze function. There is a falling-to-sleep snooze function. With the radio off, press and hold the power button. While still holding the button down you will see 60, then 45, then 30, etc. Release the power button for the number of minutes you want. This will shut off the radio after that many minutes, a kind of a snooze function. What I would like to see is a real snooze function, where when the alarm goes off, press the snooze button, turn off the alarm for 10 minutes, and then it comes back on. Has anyone figured out how to do this?

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I just bought this radio through amazon.com and received it 2 days ago, to replace my bose wave radio III; not because the bose sounds bad in general (It sounds pretty good, though the bass is way over-emphasized; you know what they say, No highs, no lows, must be bose!), but the bose can't receive my favorite station clearly (classical WQXR in New York - I'm in northern New Jersey). Always lots of static on weak signals, even with a bose-supplied external antenna.

To be fair, my nightstand (where the bose used to live) was in a very noisy corner of the room. I unplugged EVERYTHING around it, even the cable modem and wireless router in the living room, and nothing helped - there must be some very noisy old wires in the walls (it's an old house). I tried the bose in other parts of the bedroom and still I got the static/poor sound on weak stations, even with an external antenna.

One solution would be to get an internet clock radio, but they all seem to have problems and are pretty pricy. And I don't think you can get internet radio + good FM + great AM.

I got the Sangean PR-D5 to help solve that problem. Unfortunately even though I did get a better signal with the D5 in that noisy corner, there still was noise in the sound. I moved the D5 around the room and found a spot where the nightstand could be if I reoriented the bed. Once I did that and had everything in place I put the D5 on the nightstand in its new position and voila! Clear signal and beautiful music. Of course it doesn't sound as full as my bose, but my solution is to hook it up to some powered computer stereo speakers, through the D5's headphone output. What a great solution. This morning I woke up to a very full, beautiful sound. :)) I probably will invest in some better powered speakers in the future, but for now it's great.

When I put the bose onto the nightstand in the new nightstand location, the sound was still full of static and was unlistenable, even with an external antenna. Shame on you bose! If you're going to create a better sounding radio, make the FM and AM receiver electronics excellent FIRST.

A few things about the D5. Many comments you have heard before:
* The D5 power supply is definitely noisy. I tuned in my favorite weak WQXR station, switched it to FM stereo, and I could hear added noise when I plugged in the power supply, and less noise when I unplugged it (with the 6 C cells installed). I'll have to get some rechargeable C cells and charger. :( They should make it so that it recharges rechargeable batteries internally when plugged in, like other models; or supply a power supply that has no sonic signature.
* The backlight goes off when it should be switchable to stay on all the time, or turn off automatically as it does. A minor annoyance.
* Make it so you can set the preset to wake to on the wake up alarm, instead of just whatever the current station is (bose lets you do this). If I am AM DX'ing at night (DXing: listening for weak, long-distance stations) I don't want to hear static in the morning if I forget to reset the tuning.
* AM DXing is great, IF you are in a place that isn't noisy. First, move all over the house find an electrically quiet place for a listening area, and then have fun DXing. If you are hearing lots of AM noise and you can move to an area where you don't hear that noise, don't blame the radio.
* 1 kHz tuning on AM should also be an option (not just 9 and 10 kHz), for those who are more picky in their DX'ing. But I'll let this slide, since it really is intended for the general listening audience
* Tone control (bose, are you also hearing this?)
* Redesign: move the display between the two speakers, and the controls above, so when fumbling in the dark the hand can be on top of the radio and you can do it one-handed. Simple ergonomics. I doubt they actually used the prototypes at home before finalizing the design.
* A separate AA battery to hold memory, so you can have the radio without 6 C batteries and keep memory when unplugging it.
* Provide a well-designed handle for carrying the radio. It could easily slip out of your had carrying it.
* Radio is small enough that a slightly larger version could be made, with really good sounding, larger speakers. A real bose-killer.

FM reception is very good, but AM reception is exceptional. I have a Tecsun PL-660 AW/FM/Shortwave radio, and the AM reception with it can be quite noisy. To help the bad AM on the Tecsun I got a couple of passive loop AM (MW) boosters - a Grundig and a classic Select-A-Tenna (these can passively boost the AM signal by induction when set right next to the radio and tuned to the radio frequency). The Select-A-Tenna is huge and gives a noticeable boost to the AM signal on the Tecsun, but with the D5 the effect of the Select-A-Tenna isn't that noticeable, which means the internal D5 antenna is pretty much already boosting the signal as much as it can be boosted without external help. I attribute to the excellent, huge AM ferrite antenna in the D5, and the implementation of the D5 AM circuitry.

I'm sure I'll think of more later.

Even for it's minor weaknesses, 5 stars for this great little radio! It's my new star techno-gadget.