Sangean WFR-39 FM-RBDS/Internet Radio with Spotify Connect, AirMusic Control Rechargeable Portable Digital Radio

I am very pleased with my Sangean W-32 Internet Radio I purchase last year and wanted a portable edition for travel and listening in another room of the house. I like that I could use the same remote APP on my phone. I saw a lot of reviews mentioning problems with connectivity or issues with the radio holding a signal. I have not had these issues. Maybe there has been an update that addressed this since those reviews were written? It does take a while to connect initially, but channel changes have taken little time to connect. Battery life could be longer (6-7 hrs at a time?) but this tends to come with a portable unit. I did purchase a USB plug that is compliant with what is recommended for the unit and this eliminates the battery issues. Charging time is average or a couple to three hours for a full charge which is what can be expected. I do wish the internet channel selection was more extensive as is with the W-32, particularly with local channels. That is not to say it is not acceptable but it is just not as good as the W-32. FM reception is very good. The FM tuning can be tiresome but I can save enough stations it is not an issue unless I travel and have to find the local stations. But, I will usually go to the internet channels when I travel. Not a biggie. Overall, I am pleased with the radio and it does what I was looking for it to do.

I have purchased several Sangean radios in the past and they’ve all been solid performers.I saw this new wifi radio and read a very positive review from radio expert Jay Allen on his website so I decided to order it.Unfortunately, I decided to return it due to the following reasons:1. It takes too long to boot up each time, especially under battery power. Approximately 60 seconds.2. The radio directory service they use, has a more limited station database versus other internet radios.3. Many of the listed stations (including popular ones like KCRW) take too long to connect, and then they constantly disconnect and re-rebuffer. And I have strong WiFi coverage (with full bars) and a very fast internet connection. This was my main complaint. If the stations connected more quickly and held their connection in a more stable manner I would probably have kept it.4. The FM band is less sensitive versus other Sangean radios. Also, it’s hard to tune the FM frequency band as the tuning knob is slow and adjusts in step increments.The only pluses to me were the form factor. It’s small and can be held in one hand. And the sound quality is okay for the speaker size.For those interested in a portable WiFi radio, I suggest checking out the Grace Digital Mondo Elite. It’s a bit more expensive, but it has a better database, more listening source options and is faster and more stable for connecting to stations.

Unfortunately Sangean internet radios can not receive Audacy radio stations any more, eliminating a large number of desirable streams.

I have the older WFR-28 and I bought this unit because it has a built in battery and it's smaller. The battery indicator is a red light when the battery is low and a green light when it’s charging. At night, the light can disrupt your sleep because it’s bright. It took multiple attempts to connect to my wifi. No other device in my home has such a difficult time connecting to my wifi. After it finally connected, I can hear static noise in every internet radio station. The channels are limited compared to Grace Digital or Digital Ocean. Eg: Iran is not an available location to listen to stations, whereas they are available with the other competitors.

* Small portable beautiful gem with solid build quality.* Good sound quality, given the size. Largely it depends on the wide band strength of a broadcasting radio station.* Wide choice of stations worldwide, especially BBC 1-6.* Software outlay well designed. Wish software would have allowed making categories of favourite Presets. After all there are 250 Presets. But this limitation applies to all existing internet radios that I am aware of.* Needs fast/strong internet, otherwise would be momentarily disconnected.* Read Manual carefully and refer to it more frequently. I also called Sangean with a few questions. They were very helpful.* One important point. While Charging, the moment cable is connected, power outlet will become Green. It means charging is in progress. When fully charged, light on power outlet will Off. At low power, the light will become Reddish. Be ready to charge.* So impressed with this small wrf-39 that I ordered the bigger unit, wrf-32.