[jrbdmb]

I am in the market for a pocket AM / FM radio, and I recently purchased the Sony SRF-M37V at a local Target. I am reasonably happy with the sound quality, esp. when I upgraded from the included (i.e. disposable) headphones to a set of Sennheiser CX-300s. But I'm not happy with the extremely poor selectivity; strong stations bleed 400KHz+ on either side of center, and these strong stations create multiple images all over the place which often lay over one another. Also, the lack of a stereo / mono switch is a major limitation; about half the stations I can pick up are unlistenable in stereo.

So, I am looking at an upgrade to a better small pocket radio without speakers. The Sangean DT-180V looks like it has the features I want (digital tuning, stereo / mono switch, button lock, small, sharp looking) and from reviews of other Sangeans on here I am hopeful that the FM tuner will be at least somewhat better than the Sony. (My 2nd choice, the Sony SRF-97, has no stereo / mono switch.)

But have found no comments on the DT-180V in these forums. Since I was in the mood to spend a few $$$ today

I ordered the Sangean from J&R and will report on it (vs. the Sony) when I have a chance to compare the two. And if anybody else out there has the DT-180V and can add their experience with it, it would be appreciated. Thanks.

Edit - or should I forget the Sangean and look at one of the older Sonys (SRF-M32, SRF-M35, neither with a stereo / mono switch

) that are still available?

 

[Duncan]

isn't the M37 the unit that fixup.net raves about?

Check out that site first before looking at alternatives

 

[<GNEFF> killbot]

Sangean makes exellent portable radios. IMO fixup tends to favor senstivity over selectivity. You need both. I hate to say it but sony makes crap radios these days.

 

[D555]

The recent pocket Sony radios may *sound* good with ideal signals but in urban/suburban areas there can be problems with so many images of strong stations that the strong stations become interefered with. Generally, the FM RF quality of recent Sony pocket radios (including the M35) is fair/poor. If one is in a weak signal area to begin with, these problems may not be so apparent.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by the FM section (Philips FM chip!) of the Sony flash player NW-E507. Decent sound, selectivity, OK sensitivity. No experience with the brand new Sony flash models yet.

The FM of the the iRiver U10 is quite nice as well. While it may drop out of stereo a bit sooner than necessary the signal does remain clean. The selectivity is quite nice. Both the NE-E507 and the U10 are quite resistant to producing false images with the U10 being just a bit better.

Neither has a mono/stereo switch.

Generally speaking, a headphone cord is not the ideal FM antenna. Keeping the cord extended and not coiled up may help with reception.

If AM is a necessity, I have the Sangean DT-210V. The AM section is good, the FM is OK. The sound is a bit rolled off. Some problems with FM images but not too bad.

I haven't seen the DT-180V yet.

 

[jrbdmb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncan isn't the M37 the unit that fixup.net raves about? Check out that site first before looking at alternatives

Fixup.net's favorite AM/FM pocket radio is the analog Sony SRF-49, SRF-59, SRF-S83, and SRF-S84. For digital radios, they prefer the older M35 to the new M37, mainly because of reception issues which cannot be fixed by modification (but the un-modded M35 has background hiss mostly absent from the M37).

 

[grenert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by D555 The recent pocket Sony radios may *sound* good with ideal signals but in urban/suburban areas there can be problems with so many images of strong stations that the strong stations become interefered with. Generally, the FM RF quality of recent Sony pocket radios (including the M35) is fair/poor. If one is in a weak signal area to begin with, these problems may not be so apparent. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the FM section (Philips FM chip!) of the Sony flash player NW-E507. Decent sound, selectivity, OK sensitivity. No experience with the brand new Sony flash models yet.

I completely agree. My SRF-84 (Xin-modified) sounds great (and is super-quiet), but really gets overloaded in the city, making it almost useless for my purposes. I wish it worked better; it's so tiny and sounds so good. I used to have the M35, but it couldn't pick up anything (not sure what the problem was). On the other hand, the FM receiver in my D-NF430 Walkman CD player is much more immune from overload, and I use it a lot more often as a result. Sound quality is good - not as nice as the SRF-84, but I'll take a good signal over loads of interference any day. AM is pretty good on it, too. It's a newer model; maybe it uses the same IC as the NW-E507. It's ironic that in an urban setting, it works better than the purpose-built, more expensive SRF-84. Well, maybe they're about the same price, but the D-NF430 comes with a pretty good CD player, too.

The best of all is my old brick of a radio, the Sony SRF-40W, a very early FM Walkman. It's a little bigger than a pack of cigarettes and needs 3 AA batteries. It has - no joke - a 30mW + 30mW amp, and sounds better than every other portable audio device I own. It can even drive two sets of headphones simultaneously! The only drawback is that the amp has some low-frequency hiss, sort of like what you hear when you turn on a guitar amp. This is easy to ignore once the music starts. I can't comment on sensitivity, but it seems completely immune from the overload that plagues my SRF-84, and it doesn't lose signals as I move about.

 

[Bob A (SD)]

I currently have a Sangean DT-300VW and have owned a Sangean DT-200V. I have been extremely happy with their sound and reception. That said the weather channel reception can vary with samples and the earphone jacks are not the most rugged. I don't know if this is also true of the model you're looking at.

Here's a review of the DT-200V: http://www.radiointel.com/review-dt200v.htm

I also own a Sony ICF-SW77 and had a ICF-2001 stolen that I modified. Neither of these is pocketable and both are now discontinued.

 

[audiomagnate]

I'm lusting after the Sangean DT-180V also. The stereo/mono switch is something I really miss in my portables. My MPIO FL-100 has one, but you have to go through the menu to get to it. I want an easily accesable switch, which the 180 has right on top. It looks like J&R has it for $51.94 including shipping. The only real question is: white or black? If it's as good as I hope it is, I'll sell off my other portables. I swear. I'll order today if I can figure out what color and let you know.

BTW my favorite portible right now is the Sony Sports radio SRF-M85. I hike a lot and it gives me the least static when moving around. Here's my ranking of my portable fm radios:

1. Sony SRF-M85 Good sound, very stable.
2. MPIO FL-100 Rolled off highs but very stable, has stereo/mono switching (via menu)
3. Sony SRF-34W (Circa 1983) Great sound, not that stable, mutes when reception is bad instead of static, 2 headphone jacks, kind of heavy but very cool looking.
4. Sony SRF-37V TV and weather, good sound, very unstable FM reception
5. My Sony Discman D24T has great sound and reception, but it's too big and heavy to lug around.

 

[jrbdmb]

Now that I've had the Sangean DT-180V in my hands for a day, I was able to test it against the Sony M37. (Sorry, but I don't have access to the Sony M97 or any of the highly rated Sony analog models for compariosn.)

Location note: I am located in southern New Jersey, within 9 miles of three 50KW FM transmitters. Philadelphia is about 60 miles NW, and NYC over 100 miles due North. There are no AM stations in the area broadcasting at over 1 KW.

FM reception: The Sony M37 is the more sensitive radio of the two; there were a few Philly FM stations that the M37 could get and the Sangean DT-180V could not. However, this is mitigated by two factors: (1) the stereo/mono switch aids in the 180V reception of weaker stations, where the Sony does not have this feature; (2) most weaker signals in the M37 are overridden by images once you start moving around and changing the position of the headphone cord / antenna. The poor image rejection of the M37 is it's biggest weakness; there are numerous images around the dial, and these can obliterate weaker signals. In contrast, when moving around the 180V might fade in and out, but I seldom lost a station to interference.

My preference is towards the 180V and to give up a bit of sensitivity to improve on the image rejection. Those for who sensitvity is the overriding concern may prefer the M37.

FM sound: Sony M37 wins. The highs are a bit livelier on the M37, giving it a more "open" sound than the 180V.

AM reception: Almost identical, but I give an ever so slight edge to the 180V; there were a few weak AM stations where a tinge less noisy than the same station on the M37.

AM sound: Edge to the 180V. The Sony had a pronounced midrange and mid-bass boost which I disliked; the Sangean may have a bit less in the low bass but the overall sounded more natural to me.

Features: Both have 10 FM presets and 5 AM presets. The M37 has a weather band the 180V lacks. 180V defaults to a 90-minute turn off, but this can be overridden easily. The M37 has no tones controls; the 180V has a "Deep Bass Boost" which IMHO goes *way* overboard and is to be avoided at all costs.* 180 is smaller than the M37, and weighs in at 2.2 vs. 3.4 ounces (including battery). The M37 includes a belt clip; an oversight with the 180V is the lack of a belt clip, but there is a small hole on the top for a lanyard. The Sony comes with full-size open-air headphones; the Sangean comes with ear buds; I suspect readers of this forum will immediately substitute their own headphones or IEMs.

In the end, I agree with what D555 stated above. The Sony M37 sounds a bit better on good FM stations, and is more sensitive, but has poor image rejection. Those in urban areas may have more FM reception problems than I did; those in rural areas will probably prefer the sensitivity of the M37. For myself I prefer the Sangean DT-180V.

* - after trying some super cheapie Sony earbuds, I guess there are some cases where the DBB is useful. But for any decent full-size headphones or IEMs, the DBB is probably better left OFF.

 

[audiomagnate]

Did you get black or white? What headphones do you use? Any background hiss at low settings? Is it as "cool" as it looks in the photos? How does the bass boost sound?

 

[jrbdmb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audiomagnate Did you get black or white? What headphones do you use? Any background hiss at low settings? Is it as "cool" as it looks in the photos? How does the bass boost sound?

Got the black as pictured in the first post - decided to avoid the IPod look. J&R has both colors; not sure about CCCrane or Amazon. It looks cool to me, but the WAF isn't as high because "it's not a Sony".

There is no detectable 180V hiss at low volume settings. I will note that the volume control is digital on the 180V, with "0" is barely discernable as on, but "1" is not very very quiet; I wish that there were several levels between the current "1" and "0". (The top level is "29", and my normal listening level so far is around "10".) The analog volume M37 has its own issue, at very low volume the treble just disappears.

I added the "Deep Bass Boost" note to the above review later, but in a nutshell it boosts midbass and bass to the point that it is unlistenable to me. Perhaps it is a good feature for the cheapy earbuds included, but when using Sennhesier CX-300s or any decent set of headphones or IEMs I would expect to leave this feature OFF.

 

[audiomagnate]

I ordered the white version from J&R and when I told them Amazon had free shipping, they waived the shipping charge. $44.99 shipped.

Regarding the FM sound quality, I don't think it's a good idea to use the M37 as a reference standard. I just compared the M37 to all my portables and my Kenwood KT-615 home tuner (that wasn't fair!) with my Stax Gammas, and the high end is definitely boosted. That, coupled with its noisy, staticy behavior unless you have it parked in a "sweet spot" make it, IMO, unacceptable as an FM portable. I use it now only when I have to leave the room while I'm watching an important local TV broadcast i.e. pissing during a Broncos game. But the Sangean 180 has TV mode, so it's Ebay time for the M37.

 

[jrbdmb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audiomagnate Regarding the FM sound quality, I don't think it's a good idea to use the M37 as a reference standard. I just compared the M37 to all my portables and my Kenwood KT-615 home tuner (that wasn't fair!) with my Stax Gammas, and the high end is definitely boosted. That, coupled with its noisy, staticy behavior unless you have it parked in a "sweet spot" make it, IMO, unacceptable as an FM portable.

Good point. I have not done extended listening with M37 (or 180V) yet, where I could determine if the highs are boosted unnaturally and would become tiring after awhile. I anxiously await your comparison of the 180V sound to your Kenwood / Stax "reference system".

BTW, I hope anyone reading my review and the rest of this thread understands that any decent home tuner, car tuner, or larger portable tuner will blow these pocket units away - what you want to get with the 180V, Sony M37, Sony M97, etc. is a reasonable compromise between tuner performance and size. After all, I love my Sony 2010 and Blaupunkt Digiceiver, but neither will be fitting into my pocket anytime soon.

 

[audiomagnate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrbdmb Good point. I have not done extended listening with M37 (or 180V) yet, where I could determine if the highs are boosted unnaturally and would become tiring after awhile. I anxiously await your comparison of the 180V sound to your Kenwood / Stax "reference system".

Comparisons with good home systems aren't fair. I have seven home tuners, four connected to a rooftop antenna. My favorite is a rare, rediculously overbuilt Akai At-93B: http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/reviewsA-N.html#akai.

I'm just hoping it sounds/receives better than my new favorite, the Sony SRF-78 Sports (YELLOW!) FM Walkman.

 

[audiomagnate]

I got my white DT-180V yesterday. Here's what I like about it:

First of all, it is very good looking. It's almost exacly the same size as an iPod mini, but it weighs quite a bit less. The "stainless" frame around the display might be plastic, but it looks great. I really like the small size, the scanable tuning, the 10 FM presets, the excellent AM reception, the stereo/mono switch, the digital lockable volume control and some of the "smart" functions I haven't seen on any other radio. For example, if you unplug your headphones, the unit powers down after ten seconds. That's just a great idea. The sound is very good, no peaky highs like on the Sony M37. It seems to have better stereo separation than my other radios.

Now the bad stuff: The bass boost is a joke, it goes way up into the mid bass and is way too loud. Here's the only real negative, the reception is just not as good as my Sony SRF-M85. Too bad the 85 is so clunky and ugly compared to this radio. It's not as bad or as noisy as the M37, but if it were as good as the 85 it would be the perfect radio.

The bottom line is that I'm going to keep it, and I will probably end up using it more than any of my five other portable radios. I listen mostly to NPR news and information, and when switched into mono, this radio is dead quiet. It's a little expensive compared to a used M85, but it has so much cool factor that I believe it's worth it.

EDIT:

After another day I'm thinking about sending it back. The reception just isn't in the league with the SRF-M78. Walking around generates almost as much noise and static as the M37. Switching to mono helps a little bit, but not much. Even my vintage SRF-34w beats it in both sound and reception ability. Too bad they can't make a radio in 2006 with reception on a par with one made in 1983. The only reason I would keep it is all the great features and the form factor and the hassle of returning it.