Home > Consumer Reviews > Sangean ATS-606AP AM/FM Digital Compact Shortwave World Band Receiver

I've been listening to shortwave (or world band, as it's called now) for about 15 years, and am awash in multi-band radios. After some friends decided that there was room for just ONE more, I received the Sangean 606AP as a gift, and have been thanking them ever since. Like everything else, the Sangean has it's good and bad points. It's compact size is just right for the pocket on the motorcycle jacket. The audio quality, although non-adjustable, is very easy to listen to for extended periods of time, and greatly improves with a pair of stereo headphones. The F.M. band displays excellent stereo characteristics, and the sensitivity means capturing stations 75+ miles away is a common occurence. The mediumwave (A.M.) band is a little above average, with great daytime reception, and nighttime listening being almost too good - dozens of stations all coming in at once. Detuning the frequency by +1/-1 khz can usually help. I was blown away by the shortwave performance on a radio this size, and using the power adapter over the batteries, the performance increases greatly. The major stations sound like they are broadcasting from up the street, and sometimes I have to lower the antenna or toggle the local/DX switch to avoid overloading. Smaller stations can be called up quite well, and tuning up or down by 1 khz can help to remove some interference from nearby signals. A wide/narrow setting would be a great addition, as would SSB for grabbing some utility frequencies, but the plusses like low power consumption with a 9 step battery indicator, lighted display, dozens of easy-to-use presets,2 clocks, travel lock, +5/+1 tuning, and a nice travel case, make this a GREAT radio for globetrotting, or having the world on your nightstand. I highly recommend this radio to anyone wanting to fish into the fray of world band radio and come up with an excellent catch.

All I wanted was a nice small radio with some presets. I hate manually adjusting my radio between the stations that I like to listen to. I was willing to sacrifice the quality of sound for a radio that was easy to use and jump between stations like I do with the radio in my truck. I decided to plug-in my expensive Sony headphones and switch to FM stereo. I couldn't believe how good this little radio sounded. I decided to take this radio to work and give it a real test. I took it into the server room at my company. It is in a double locked room far away from any windows. This room is full of servers, switches, routers, phone switches not to mention modems and assorted electronic devices. I listened to wonderful FM stereo for several hours jumping quickly between stations to avoid commercials and couldn't believe how loud the room was when I turned the radio off. I love to fall asleep to the radio playing but I hate to wake up at 2 a.m. with the radio blasting away. This radio lets you set it to turn itself off after playing for 60, 45, 30 or 15 minutes as well as wake you up to your favorite station. I went out and bought a bunch of rechargeable batteries in case this radio ate up batteries like my digital camera. When you turn the radio off it automatically displays the battery indicator for about 7 seconds. The battery icon showed a battery with a small dark block. At first I thought this meant it was time to change the batteries. After reading the manual the icon stays the same but the numbers underneath the icon show you how much battery life you have left. It displays the numbers 1 through 9. When it drops to 2 you should change batteries. I have used this radio for several weeks and it is still reading at 9. This radio comes with an AC adaptor that includes a European plug that will let you use it in America or Europe. If you travel to a place away from your normal listening area this radio will automatically find the strongest stations in that area and put them on your presets. I have bought over 70 items from Amazon.com and have only taken the time to write one review. If you want a small radio for AM and you have headphones for FM stereo buy this radio, if you want a DVD buy Roy Orbison's Black&WhiteNight. It's a miracle. PS this radio doesn't automatically fix your coffee in the morning.

In this day of the internet, connecting people worldwide, effortlessly, I bought the 606 with a bit of nostalgia in mind. I wanted to have a good old protable transistor radio, with a speaker, that I could also use with earphones. It's amazing how much information is traveling through the air, from all over the world, that is just waiting for you to find it.

With the 606, I got that, and then some. The 606 is small...not pocket-small, but very easy to take with you. The AM and FM sensitivities are great. I'm pulling in FM stations that I can't get on my car radio. At night, I pulled in AM stations from Indiana, Buffalo, Montreal, and Boston, from my home in a NYC suburb.

The bonus was shortwave capabilities. I already own a Grundig Yachtboy 400, which has better sound, but is much bigger. I knew the 606 had shortwave, but I didn't expect much from it. Was I pleasantly suprised. The radio covers the major shortwave bands, but has some gaps that the Grundig YB400 includes, albeit, they are fairly useless bands anyway.

The 606 also covers long wave (LW), but from what I know about that, there isn't much in the way of regular broadcasting in that range. Just signal beacons and stuff. Pretty useless to me.

From a usability standpoint, the 606 is a dream. I like the tuning and preset capabilities much more than the YB400. I find myself constantly reshuffling the presets, and looking for new stations. I'm using it for shortwave much more often than I had intended. Also, I'm using it for AM, which I would rarely ever use in the past. There's alot of good stuff out there.

The unit comes with a nice case, ac adapter, and a reel-type external shortwave antennae. Battery life has been very good so far.

Well, as I said at the begining, I got the 606 for the nostalgia of a simple AM/FM "transistor" radio. It is that, and more. It is simple to use, elegant, and of excellent construction.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this radio to anyone, and would surely buy it again.

I am a radio nut. I even have one in the shower. I needed a radio to replace my Sony SW-1. I live in the California central valley between Fresno and Bakersfield, the radio reception here is horrible and I like to go to sleep with the radio on and ear plugs in. With my Sony I could get fair Am/Fm and SW. With the Sangean I get great Am/Fm and SW. I get stations on the Sangean that were nothing but static on the Sony. It's a little bigger than my Sony but has some great features the sony didn't. Like setting the length of time before it turns off and the auto station select (I used it for FM, I like all kinds of music).
The handy display light that turns off after 30 seconds. And to pull in those weak stations, a simple button to change to the fine tune mode. Also handy is the lock button that locks the front pannel (It keeps me from changing the station by bumping the buttons while falling asleep) If you don't mind a big radio and want one for AM get a CC radio. If you want a small radio to travel with or a small radio for your night stand, this is the best for the price.

Pros: Great reception, easy to use, small, comes with a nice leather case, ear plugs, external antenna and ac adapter.

Cons: No wrist strap.

This radio has a lot of good features at a very good price: the main attraction is digital tuning on AM, FM, and shortwave bands. Sensitivity on shortwave bands is fine, thank you, mainly due to the fact that the ANT-60 portable antenna is included. Repeat, included. Do not order it separately, no matter what the "Customers who bought this item also bought these electronics" list says.