Sangean CCRADIO PLUS AM/FM/TV
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- Display: LCD
- Tuning: Digital
- Type: Portable
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Not worth the money and poor company support
Pros
Given my experience, cannot think of any pros.
Cons
Overpriced, underperforming, with a critical flaw that makes the product practically unusable.
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
Better choices exist, with more features and portability, at lower prices. C Crane's lackluster customer service and the CC Radio's critically-flawed display make this decision simple.....just avoid it.
I ordered the Sangean-made CCRadio several years ago...it is essentially the same radio sold today by C Crane Company. This radio had to come across the border to my Canadian address so by the time I had paid shipping, duty and taxes, the final cost was $280 CAN. (about $195 US) And if the radio had worked properly, that would have been fine.
But it did not, nor was C Crane particularly helpful in resolving the problem.
WHAT WENT WRONG
Within 13 months of very light use (during the week, in an office environment), the LCD stopped displaying the station numbers! Only a few "segments" of the display worked, making tuning practically impossible. Tuning is still possible if you are patient enough to start at the beginning of each frequency band and move the tuning knob, gaining your references as you pass by familiar stations whose ID you already know. But you are really "flying blind" for anything beyond the familiar. A radio that is missing its station tuning indicator is a helicopter without a rotor or a car with no engine. Almost useless for the intended task.
THE COMPANY RESPONSE
I raised the issue with C Crane via email and received a prompt response. They would send me a carton to ship the radio back to them and for $50 would repair the radio or replace it. The warranty was over.
This seemed reasonable to me.
The carton never arrived. Further emails from me were neither acknowledged nor answered.
THE REST OF THE RADIO
I agree that this radio has a great-sounding speaker and good memory presets, with top-mounted convenient station selection buttons. However, if the radio loses power for any reason, the station memory is gone. You'll need to find your stations again. Reception is very good, even for weak stations, but my latest Grundig radio from Radio Shack, which cost about $50 less, does just as good a job and the DISPLAY WORKS!
CONCLUSION
When a critical part of a supposedly premium product fails a month after warranty expires, I am not happy. When the company offers a fix but fails to follow through, I simply will not deal with them again. Remember that C Crane markets this radio for the "talk-radio afficionado" who really "knows about radio". They should add another necessary qualification...."can decipher station frequencies from randomly-functioning and partially-displayed number segments on the LCD display."
But it did not, nor was C Crane particularly helpful in resolving the problem.
WHAT WENT WRONG
Within 13 months of very light use (during the week, in an office environment), the LCD stopped displaying the station numbers! Only a few "segments" of the display worked, making tuning practically impossible. Tuning is still possible if you are patient enough to start at the beginning of each frequency band and move the tuning knob, gaining your references as you pass by familiar stations whose ID you already know. But you are really "flying blind" for anything beyond the familiar. A radio that is missing its station tuning indicator is a helicopter without a rotor or a car with no engine. Almost useless for the intended task.
THE COMPANY RESPONSE
I raised the issue with C Crane via email and received a prompt response. They would send me a carton to ship the radio back to them and for $50 would repair the radio or replace it. The warranty was over.
This seemed reasonable to me.
The carton never arrived. Further emails from me were neither acknowledged nor answered.
THE REST OF THE RADIO
I agree that this radio has a great-sounding speaker and good memory presets, with top-mounted convenient station selection buttons. However, if the radio loses power for any reason, the station memory is gone. You'll need to find your stations again. Reception is very good, even for weak stations, but my latest Grundig radio from Radio Shack, which cost about $50 less, does just as good a job and the DISPLAY WORKS!
CONCLUSION
When a critical part of a supposedly premium product fails a month after warranty expires, I am not happy. When the company offers a fix but fails to follow through, I simply will not deal with them again. Remember that C Crane markets this radio for the "talk-radio afficionado" who really "knows about radio". They should add another necessary qualification...."can decipher station frequencies from randomly-functioning and partially-displayed number segments on the LCD display."
