TECSUN PL-398MP

The quest for the ultimate pocket radio has begun !
The ideal pocket radio should be at ease in FM (+fm stereo via the earphone plug), MW, be able to receive some stations in SW, shouldn't drain the batteries in no time and welcome additions would be an MP3 player, BT interface, solar panel, possibility to charge the internal batteries via an usb connector.
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admin
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Joined: 11 May 2018 22:29

TECSUN PL-398MP

Post by admin » 27 Jan 2019 10:09

This would be my top choice, if it had a better sound, a usable MP3 player and SSB capability !
It has the exact same specs as the PL-380, plus stereo sound and a (barely usable) MP3 player.

FM Reception: 9/10. This is a strong performer ! This has a fantastic sensitivity. Will pull the faintest signals...
RDS Display: n/a
MW Reception: 9/10. Again very good performances there.
LW Reception: n/a
SW Reception: 8/10. Very good overall reception in SW.
Air Band: n/a
HF Amateur bands: yes, but no SSB capability.
VHF/UHF Amateur bands: n/a
CB Band: n/a
Rechargeable Battery: Uses standard 3 x AA batteries. Can be charged from USB.
Speaker sound quality: 6/10. Disappointing. Lacks depth. Sound is ok, for voice only. It's a little bit better than the PL-380. They should have adopted the same speakers and bass diaphragm as in the v115 !
Ease of use: 8/10. Very easy to use.
Preset memories: 8/10. Lots of space to store the stations. This has the famous Tecsun ETM tuning mode, which searches stations across many bands, and stores them in a separate presets memory.
MP3 Player: Yes, but does not display the track names and does not have a Random play feature. The retekess v115 is way better at this : it HAS a random play feature and display the mp3 tracks titles. If i had a usable mp3 player and a better sound, this would be my top choice as all the rest is top notch.
Bluetooth: n/a
Aux input: Yes
Solar panel: n/a
Record on SD card: n/a
b]Extra features: [/b] Has a good selection of IF filters, for pleasant listening.


My last thoughts:

I warmly recommend this radio, for those who :

- Want to have a very good FM radio and strong MW/SW performer.
- Want a radio with easy tuning / presets management capability
- Want a very good radio to bring on holiday trips, even if a little bit too big to my taste. If you want a small stereo fm/am radio, I warmly
recommend the Sony Sony SRF-18W/B : it does have very good am/fm, has a line input and a twin speaker system for fm stereo output.

Things I don't like:

- Sound quality is disappointing
- Does not cover the LW band
- A little bit heavy and large to be a true "pocket" radio.
- MP3 player kinda sucks : no title display & no random play feature


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