{"id":35613,"date":"2019-01-18T07:12:05","date_gmt":"2019-01-18T11:12:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=35613"},"modified":"2019-01-18T07:12:05","modified_gmt":"2019-01-18T11:12:05","slug":"the-prof-recommends-the-sangean-dar-101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/01\/the-prof-recommends-the-sangean-dar-101\/","title":{"rendered":"The Prof recommends the Sangean DAR-101"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/i> contributor, The Professor, who writes:<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had one of these for along time, and it\u2019s been pretty much the only way I\u2019ve recorded radio for years. It\u2019s an easy to use rock solid workhorse.<\/p>\n

My biggest complaint is the lack of recording format choices, and I\u2019ve long hoped there would be a firmware update to expand them. Sure, being able to record WAV files would be welcome, but I\u2019m not really in need of that. What I would like is a broader range of MP3 encoding options, up to 320kbps. And of course, to be able record in mono or stereo. All MP3 options on everything are just stereo by default, because almost everybody is dealing with post 50s music in the MP3 format, and that\u2019s always stereo. But AM and shortwave radio are of course only mono, as are phone conversations, which this device is specially outfitted to record.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a waste of a channel. If it\u2019s a mono source it\u2019s a waste of space on the SD card just for starters. But don\u2019t forget that the encoding rate is divided by two in a stereo format. A 160kbps mono file is equal to a 320kbps stereo file. So, a 192 mono file would be superior to a 320 stereo file. Of course, I could get into \u201cjoint stereo\u201d and VBR and throw in more variables, but what I\u2019m saying here is pretty much on point.<\/p>\n

That said, AM broadcasting is rather limited in acoustical dynamics, at least as we know it. I\u2019ve found that it\u2019s very hard for almost anybody to hear any artifacts in a 32kbps mono recording of AM radio. It stands up to compression well. And it also stands up well to RE-compression. I often expand the MP3 files I make on this into mono WAV files and tidy them up and normalize and edit them. I never notice any artifacts in the MP3 encode I make of the resulting file(s). So, I\u2019d like more encoding formats, but the 192kbps stereo option on the DAR-101 is fine for me in the end.<\/p>\n

This recorder also makes a fine speaker for a laptop. When you hit record the first time the speaker monitors the audio source out loud. You press record again and it starts to lay down audio on the card. So if I want to use it as a speaker I just leave it in \u201cready to record\u201d mode. Works fine.<\/p>\n

And for you old cassette heads, it looks enough like a cassette deck, which is comforting I suppose. I think the wall wart AC power adds a little noise. I just make sure the batteries are charged when I\u2019m going to use it. And sometimes it makes a difference to keep it a couple feet from your radio to avoid any little bit of RFI.<\/p>\n

In general, I highly recommend the DAR-101. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thanks for sharing your review of the DAR-101 and your recommendations for recording amplitude modulation!<\/p>\n

The DAR-101 is currently $87.95 on Amazon<\/a> (affiliate link) and $99.95 at Universal Radio<\/a>. I\u2019ve also found used ones on eBay for as little as $50.70<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, The Professor, who writes: I\u2019ve had one of these for along time, and it\u2019s been pretty much the only way I\u2019ve recorded radio for years. It\u2019s an easy to use rock solid workhorse. My biggest complaint is the lack of recording format choices, and I\u2019ve long hoped there would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4199,3,746,129],"tags":[7531,600,7530,7544,1294],"class_list":["post-35613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-accessories","category-news","category-recordings","category-reviews","tag-dar-101","tag-sangean","tag-sangean-dar-101","tag-sangean-dar-101-review","tag-the-professor"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-9gp","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35576,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/01\/daves-review-of-the-sangean-dar-101-digital-recorder\/","url_meta":{"origin":35613,"position":0},"title":"Dave’s review of the Sangean DAR-101 digital recorder","author":"Thomas","date":"January 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who notes that he has updated his Sangean DAR-101 recorder: Yes, a newly tested (latest production) sample of the [DAR-101]. My years old \u201clightly used\u201d sample died back in the fall. New one seems to work less sluggish with the updated\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Accessories"","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/accessories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/sangean-dar-e1547465762223.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/sangean-dar-e1547465762223.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/sangean-dar-e1547465762223.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33001,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/sangean-hdr-18-hd-radio-fm-stereo-am-wooden-cabinet-table-top-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":35613,"position":1},"title":"Sangean HDR-18 HD Radio\/FM-Stereo\/AM Wooden Cabinet Table Top Radio","author":"Robert Gulley","date":"June 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"For those who might be interested, Amazon currently has this radio discounted more than I have seen previously. Current price is $137.75 - as always, this may be a limited time or limited amount of radios available at this price. Here is the link: Sangean HDR-18 Robert Gulley, AK3Q,\u00a0is the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38539,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/the-sangean-pr-d17-an-am-fm-stereo-radio-designed-for-those-who-are-visually-impaired\/","url_meta":{"origin":35613,"position":2},"title":"The Sangean PR-D17: An AM\/FM stereo radio designed for those who are visually impaired","author":"Thomas","date":"July 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Doug Hunsinger, who notes that Universal Radio is now shipping the Sangean PR-D17. The PR-D17 has a unique design to make operation easier for those who are visually impaired. Per Universal Radio: It has high-contrast, large yellow rotary tuning and volume control knobs, preset\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Sangean-PR-D17-e1563383233559.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Sangean-PR-D17-e1563383233559.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Sangean-PR-D17-e1563383233559.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Sangean-PR-D17-e1563383233559.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20362,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/08\/the-sangean-hdr-16-dan-takes-notice\/","url_meta":{"origin":35613,"position":3},"title":"The Sangean HDR-16: Dan takes notice","author":"Thomas","date":"August 4, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Hawkins, who comments in reply to our post about the Sangean HDR-18: Darn. Just when you thought you read a review of the latest Sangean radio another one comes out. I have yet to find a review of the Sangean HDR-16. [The] HDR-16\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"HDR-16","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/HDR-16-1024x688.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/HDR-16-1024x688.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/HDR-16-1024x688.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36719,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/03\/dave-updates-and-expands-aor-ar-dv1-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":35613,"position":4},"title":"Dave updates and expands AOR AR-DV1 review","author":"Thomas","date":"March 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who writes: A greatly updated and expanded review on the AOR AR-DV1 has now been posted by me. Made a few typo corrections and some minor text changes from the first draft a few days ago, so I hope I have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/AOR-AR-DV1-1024x542.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/AOR-AR-DV1-1024x542.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/AOR-AR-DV1-1024x542.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15903,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/11\/jeffs-solution-to-increasing-fm-performance-on-the-sangean-u3\/","url_meta":{"origin":35613,"position":5},"title":"Jeff’s solution to increasing FM performance on the Sangean U3","author":"Thomas","date":"November 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jeff McMahon (at the Herculodge), who writes: I upgraded my Sangean U3 with a male to female iMBAPrice 6 foot stereo audio extension cable 3.5mm, which I plugged into the U3\u2019s auxiliary port. The U3\u2019s small stub of an FM antenna really needed some\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sangean U3","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Sangean-U3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35613\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}