HDR-14

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

We absolutely love this radio. It works great, and we’re genuinely so happy with it. HD FM comes in clear and strong. AM works too, but it’s a bit more sensitive to location—it struggled when we stayed in a basement but performed well when we stayed on the 37th floor. Still, for a compact radio, it’s impressive and easy to travel with.A few things we’d love to see in a future version:• A way to keep the screen backlight on at night for better visibility.• Some way to view which stations are saved to each preset number—right now, you have to tune through them one by one to remember what’s where.• It would be amazing if NOAA weather radio was also included. It seems like most radios make you choose between HD Radio or NOAA, but having both would make this perfect for emergencies.• And this one’s a long shot, but we’d love an audio input option. I bring a small keyboard when we go camping, and my spouse plays their Omnichord. The Omnichord has its own speaker, but keyboards usually don’t—being able to use this radio as a portable speaker would be such a nice bonus.Even with those little wishes, we wouldn’t hesitate to buy this again. It’s a fantastic little radio that does exactly what we hoped for—and we’re really grateful to have found it.

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?