TECSUN PL-398MP
Posted: 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
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
- TESCUN-PL-398MP.jpg (922.15 KiB) Viewed 32760 times
