Design
If there's a single design motif that DAB radio producers seem to be clinging to, it's producing somewhat retro styled models. The DPR-69 Plus is a prime example of this trend. It's a mono speaker unit heavy on the white plastic and intended no doubt to be reminiscent of the transistor radios of a certain proportion of the population's youth. It's an approach that may pay off, but it also leaves those who grew up in the more recent past out in the cold. Everything on the DRP-69 Plus is controlled via face buttons, most of which are fairly small and frankly rather indistinct.
Features
In any case, as with most other DAB+ units, the Sangean DPR-69 Plus concentrates on simple operation. When you power it up, it scans for available DAB+ stations and then lets you flick between them via an up/down selection switch on the right-hand side of the front face. Five saved stations can be set to the pre-set buttons, and a dedicated info button switches between station idents, signal strength and any additional information being broadcast by the station you're listening to.
The DPR-69 Plus comes with an AC adapter, but it's also capable of running from four AA batteries. One nice feature here is that if you're using NiMH rechargeable batteries, it'll charge them within the radio body when connected up via AC.
Performance
For all the supposed clarity that DAB is meant to bring, we're still left puzzled as to why so many units are shipping out with mono speakers. The DPR-69 Plus' 0.5W speaker isn't terribly loud and neither is it terribly clear, something that becomes painfully evident if you do choose to listen to ordinary FM radio with it. We did manage to get better audio out of the DPR-69 Plus with the use of some better quality headphones, but that feels to us as being a bit beside the point.
The controls on the DPR-69 Plus are logical enough that you should be able to set it up even if the manual's gone missing, but we were left a little puzzled as to why the volume controls are fairly small and the station controls so large. Given most radio listeners tend to be very dedicated followers of just a channel or two — and you can set your favourite channels quite easily — it would have made more sense to use the small volume buttons for channel changing and the larger station ones for volume.
The DPR-69 Plus' size is also a bit of a contentious issue. It's technically "portable", but unlike, say, the iRiver B30, it's not pocket sized in any reasonable definition of the word. This places it in a difficult middle ground between full desk radios and totally portable pocket DAB options.
At an asking price of AU$239, the DPR-69 Plus is a fair enough radio, but we're struck by how hard it was for us to get excited about it in any meaningful way. If you want portable, there are better options. If you want desk bound, there are better options. Who does that leave as the target market for the DPR-69 Plus?
Add Your Review 3