Holiday Gift Ideas: The Sangean WR-11 - A High Quality Radio

The basic AM/FM radio comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes.  Radios are also available at a variety of different price points.  When you have a cheap radio, you can really hear the poor quality.  It's reflected in the speakers, in the reception, in the ease of tuning.  Almost everyone listens to the radio, but radios are so commonplace that no one wants to pay the price for premium radio.  That's one reason premium radios make excellent gifts.  Premium radios are the kind of luxury that many people won't buy for themselves, but can really hear and feel when they receive a premium luxury radio as a gift.

Sangean WR-11 AM/FM Radio - Photo by Precog (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Sangean WR-11:  When it comes to premium radios, one name comes to mind for radio enthusiasts:  Sangean.  The Sangean WR-11 AM/FM table top radio is a deceptively simple mono radio set.  It has three knobs.  The first controls the volume.  The second selects the band or turns the radio off.  A final large knob is used for analog tuning of the radio.  The speaker is a 3-inch 7 watt speaker that provides excellent sound.  You can plug in headphones or a using an output jack or plug in an external source such as an MP3 player or Smartphone via an AUX input.

The Sangean WR-11 is an excellent radio for older adults as well due to the simple controls that are instantly familiar and easy to understand.  If you've ever made the mistake of buying a sophisticated piece of consumer electronics for a grandparent or older relative, you know how disappointing it can be to see it go unused.

While there are other premium radios in the market, I chose to highlight this one because of its quality.  The Sangean WR-11 is a premium radio that gets 5-star reviews from 70% of Amazon buyers.  People seem very satisfied with the sound, the reception, and the simplicity of the Sangean. You can find the 40th Anniversary Sangean WR-11 here on Amazon.

Sangean 40th Anniversary WR-11 (photo from Amazon)