SangeanPR-D17 AM/FM-RDS Portable Radio Specially Designed for The Visually Impaired with Helpful Guided Voice Prompts, high Contrast Large Yellow Controls with Raised Symbols

Excellent radio. I was familiar with the Sangean products, so I purchased this with confidence and was surprised that it exc eeded my expectations. The soud quality is excellent, the tuning is sharp and the auto features are very useful and accurate. It also has a good size for table location and is easy to find the dials and buttons. I highly recommend it for private use and as a gift.

Straight to the point:My wife has been legally blind for years and now her eyesight is about totally gone. Over the years we have gotten several items that were supposed to be for the VIPs (visually impaired person). A lot of the things we received, even a sighted person couldn't use, much less a VIP. I assume these items were engineered by sighted person who really didn't know what a VIP needed or could use. When I came across this radio I was very skeptical. I read the review that came with it from the individual that was a VIP and I was impressed by what he wrote, to where I ordered the radio. And lo and behold to my surprise it must have been engineered by a VIP or someone who has a VIP in their family or a close friend that is a VIP.I gave it a Five Star Plus. It's well made, very sturdy, and for reception it's better than any of the radios we now own. It's very easy to learn and to operate for a VIP. It's engineered to last a long long time. Most portable radios have antennas that are made from low grade material and break or bend in short order. A VIP can put extra strain on items they handle because of their loss of vision. The antenna on this radio is made out of a high quality heavy metal material that under normal use, a VIP or anyone would have trouble bending or breaking it. As for the sound it beats the radios we now own. Overall I can't believe just how great this radio is. As for any cons right now I do not know of any. I'm not the one that's visually impaired so I will add this, my VIP wife loves it. And after a few tries and some coaching she can operate it very easily. We both highly recommend it to any VIP. Considering it does what it's supposed to, it's well worth the price.

Updating my review to "5 star". At my home in NJ I cannot get reception w/o antenna, but in mom's assisted living the reception is perfect on all stations. This radio is perfect for people with low vision.thoughtfully designed & every button speaks out loud to tell you what it is and what it's doing.Perfect for someone who can't see. This is going to change mom's life now that she can listen to 5 different FM stations without fumbling trying to read dials. Great that it has the 60-minute sleep button as well. Also great that there is a button you can press and it will tell you the time. Some suggestion for 2.0 version - add a big remote, allow for 10 FM stations (still needs thoughtfully designed buttons, however), make the whole radio bigger so there can be bigger buttons and the radio will be more stable. When people can't see their hands can be clumsy and this light-weight radio started to tip over. I'm sure it will be fine once mom gets the hang of it. Thanks for creating such as thoughtful and very needed item for low-vision folks.

I appreciated the sound quality for FM as well as the voice prompts. The Quality of the AM could have had a bit more treble and less base. Would also be better if there were more voice prompt station resets rather than five for AM and five for FM. Still voice prompts were what drew me to this radio.

easy to tune after set up.

I actually purchased this radio to give to my daughter. She is a Special Ed teacher of the visually impaired working in GA. I thought it would be a good teaching aid and introduce her students to its availability.I have other Sangean radios and knew the quality would be there. I decided to run it through the ringer before I gave it to her problem free. I found the radio met all my expectations and performed very well. The voice prompts were clear and easy to understand with the exception of "seek up" which took me a while to realize what she was saying. The sound is very good and volume more than adequate. Overall I was very satisfied with the radio. I'll update my post if necessary after my daughter has had a chance to use it.

Bought as a gift for relative with Macular Degeneration. He has been using it non stop since Christmas. Never thought he would like it better than the radio he had previously. Only complaint he has is a that when someone calls and he tries to turn it off, it announces in a loud voice.It isn’t too big of a deal but volume on the voice can’t be adjusted and with his hearing aids, it is pretty loud.Decent radio. Sound quality is good as well. Would recommend this radio to others with vision impairment or people who liked having the verbal help on a radio.

AM reception is nonexistent, I live in NYC, some of the most powerful radio stations in the country. I'll be returning it.