Degen DE15 Ultra-thin AM/FM Shortwave DSP Radio

• Portable AM/FM/SW radio with DSP (Digital Signal Processing) Technology
• Ultra-thin design measuring 1/2" think and weighing less than 3 Oz
• Wide FM frequency coverage from 64-108 MHz
• 5-90 minutes sleep timer & alarm clock
• Package includes DE15 radio, earphones, USB cable , 100-250V power adapter(2 prongs US standard), 3x AAA rechargeable batteries & carrying pouch.

Smallest pocket FM/AM/SW/FML DSP radio packed with all you need for a radio:

Digital tuning PLL, non-volatile memories, ATS (auto scan and store stations), digital volume control, clock/sleep/alarm functions, mute function, backlighting when any button pressed for night time user. Another nice feature is the USB batteries recharge function that you can plug into a computer and/or a wall adapter (3 rechargeble AAA batteries provided). Easy to use and master all controls of the radio.

Sensitivity and selectivity are excellent due to the DSP chip, I have tried to auto scan stations on FM band, and this unit scanned all available stations including the weakest ones. AM DXing listening is good too, I can hear 860 AM from Toronto, Canada (broadcasting in French), 570 AM from New York, 670 AM from Chicago which are 400-500 miles away from where I live. SW is ok, you can't expect too much on this little unit with a short 10" non-swivel antenna, but you can still get lots of strong stations.

The only draw back are the audio fidelity (it's not an iPod!) for music listening (even though FM stereo separation is good) and the digital noise at low volume.

If you interest in latest digital radio with DSP, Talk/news on FM/AM or travelling with a sleep/alarm features, this unit is the right one to get at an affordable price. With a ~$50.00 you might be able to get a Sangean DT-210/400W for music listening with DBB but without an alarm clock, a SW band, non-volatile memories and built-in auto recharge batteries. You decide.

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I am using Degen DE-15 for a couple of months and here are pros and cons:

Pros:

1. Great sensitivity and selectivity on all bands AM/FM/SW.

FM definitely shines with this one (as with another DSP radio I reviewed Grundig G8), AM sensitivity is just a tiny bit less that Sangean DT-200VX but DE-15 makes up for it in selectivity (I can listen to AM 550 stations at night, next to the powerhouse AM 560, which couldn't be achieved by several other portables I own). SW is much better than G8's, no pumping up and down, great sensitivity, clear sound.

2. Form factor

Absolutely love it now, although the initial impression was that of discomfort because the unit is wider than similar radios. The flatness of the case makes it a perfect shirt pocket companion.

3. Build quality

Rock solid feeling, no shortcuts here.

Cons:

1. My unit loses all settings (time and frequencies) when batteries are replaced, even within few seconds. This is really irritating as I got used to Sangean DT-200VX keeping them in similar circumstances.

2. Unfortunately, the low volume levels are completely unusable as there's a lot of noise (kind of digital circuitry white noise). The useful volume settings start with at least 11-12 and that means it's too loud for the headphones in quiet environments. I solved this problem by buying a volume-regulated headphones.

3. Battery life is definitely not the greatest, especially with FM listening. I'm getting approximately 20 hours on regular AAA batteries.

Conclusion:

I am pretty happy with DE-15 as I'm mostly concerned with having portable radio that allows me to get the weaker AM/FM stations in my area, which is a feat by itself. I use Grundig G8 at home but DE-15 is my preferred traveling companion (with an extra set of 3 AAA batteries, of course.) The additional investment of 6 dollars for the volume-regulated headphones is a small price for the convenience. As for the lost settings well, what can I do? Is there a better portable DSP radio on the market? If you know one, please let me know. :)

Read Best Reviews of Degen DE15 Ultra-thin AM/FM Shortwave DSP Radio Here

This radio exceeded all my expectations! I read all the reviews on Amazon for this radio. I even went to Youtube to see if anyone had reviewed it. I found an extensive review on it by "tecmtl". I found this unit to work even better than his! Maybe Degen has made some type of upgrades on it or something. I compared it to my Sony ICF-S10MK2, my Grundig m100 pocket shortwave radio, and other vintage ones. This little thing beat them all! The sound that comes is very clean and crisp. Don't be fooled by the tiny speaker. It sounds much better than my Sony, which is a bigger radio. It picks up a bunch of stations on the SW bands. It is so cool to be able to program all my favorite stations from all bands! It has a nice big colored screen with big numbers. It has an alarm, clock, digital signal strength indicator, plus many other features. It will take you a while to go through all the features, though. The only minor flaw is the plastic case. It seems rather flimsy. The speaker grill is real metal, though. There are too many cool things about this radio to mention. It reminds me of a fine engineered Japanese product from the 70's or 80's. Is China the new Japan?

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This ultra-thin radio with memory preset tuning is great for convenient casual listening. The controls are solid and the radio overall is well-made.

I generally agree with the other positive reviews. I like this radio with its bright green display is so very easy to read. The control lock feature insures that it won't turn on in your luggage. I have a box of radios to choose from, and this is the one I pick if I'm going for a walk especially because of the small size, short antenna and freedom from drift once a station is selected.

Charging with a USB cable is very convenient and means I don't have to carry an extra charger for it.

I note these small drawbacks:

The radio is not particularly sensitive on the shortwave bands and weak signals are lost in the noise. It takes a lot (really a lot) of button pushing to tune the radio on shortwave, stepping at 5 KHz per push. Presets help here. I found the station scanning function generally useless on shortwave; it keeps stopping where there's no station, or not stopping at all. The radio is so thin that you really can't stand it up without tipping over (so don't stand it up, already).

The low FM band doesn't correspond to anything in the US. It is useful in some other countries, but wasted in North America.

The manual is written in poor English in places and the control icons in the manual require a magnifying glass to decipher. The icons on the actual radio buttons are readable.

In case you didn't read the manual, let me mention that recharging the radio's batteries requires a button push. Plugging in the charger alone won't do it.

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Got this to listen to for my job while I drive. Good size and easy to keep up with. Great sound and reception. Charge last longer than expected! (Went 2 days). Quick shipping. Would recomend this!