Recensioni

XHDATA D-808 review

The XHDATA model D-808 is a portable radio made in China that can receive long waves, medium waves, short waves in SSB and AM, it also receives the 88-108MHz band in FM-stereo and with RDS and the VHF air band; the frequency limit of the FM band can be set between 64 and 108MHz to adapt it to local frequencies when traveling, the ATS function is available that automatically scans and memorizes the strongest frequencies, even for medium waves it is possible to change the limits and switch to 9 or 10kHz steps, the memories in total are 500 divided into banks.

It has a sober design, it does not look like a Chinese radio of the kind, it is also equipped with a clock, alarm clock and sleep timer, a thermometer indicates the temperature, useful if you go on vacation in hot places; the display shows, in addition to the tuned frequency, RDS information such as the name of the station and Radio Text messages, sometimes used by broadcasters to transmit the title of the song. The dimensions are compact, it is small and light, so it can easily fit in backpacks for trips and suitcases for travel. The manual is available in European languages ​​​​but not in Italian, it comes with the rechargeable 18650 battery that lasts a long time, wired antenna, USB-C charging cable, a stereo headset and a convenient bag to store it. Its stylus antenna is adjustable, and there is also the classic ferrite antenna inside for medium waves, a convenient bracket on the back allows us to keep it tilted. It has good sensitivity and suffers little from intermodulation compared to its compatriot competitors, another very useful thing especially if used during travel, is that it has many memories divided into pages, so you can for example store all the FM frequencies of your home, the place where you are on vacation, the place where you work, etc.

It was released on the market starting from 2018, since 2023 it has been sold in a second version; the aesthetics have remained identical between the first and second versions, only a few details have changed: the power button goes from yellow to red, the color of the display backlight goes from white to amber and the feet add a sort of non-slip rubber coating, the color of the shell remains gray.
Electrically, however, we have some differences: the front-end filter goes from traditional components to SMT ones, the integrated circuit of the audio amplifier used in the first version was a CS4863 clone of the American LM4863S which is instead used in the new version (identified as U3), furthermore the section containing the DSP has been completely shielded; the socket for charging the battery goes from the micro-USB connector to the USB-C, the one that all smart-phones are using at the moment, so if you take it on a trip, a single charger is enough for the various rechargeable devices.

How does it receive? How does it feel?

The reception is good on medium waves, it can receive practically one station every frequency step, obviously some barely arrive, but others arrive perfectly, they almost seem like FM stations. In FM the sensitivity is good, but not exceptional, compared to a Sony XDR-P1DBP that only receives FM and DAB, I note that the Sony receives better. Continuing the comparison between the Sony and the XHDATA from an audio point of view, I noticed that despite the Sony having a smaller speaker and a smaller size, the voice and music are reproduced in a more pleasant way by the Sony, the XHDATA has a slightly tiring timbre (plastic), after a while it makes you want to turn down the volume; listening with headphones instead from what I saw is practically identical, the Chinese one drives very well even Hi-Fi headphones (Sennheiser Momentum) that cost 5 times as much as itself, with a good volume and a good frequency response, with headphones you want to turn up the volume, in short for listening to FM I prefer the Japanese one. It’s a shame it doesn’t have FM demodulation in short waves, which is useful for receiving some transmissions in the 27MHz band, for example.

Can it be considered as a first radio for a beginner in radio listening? It is a good radio to take on holiday, it has a very good price/performance ratio; but it is still a receiver that allows you to listen mostly to broadcast stations, to start I always recommend amateur radio receivers from well-known Japanese companies.

It is sold starting from €80, I bought it on Amazon, which also had the best price; I leave you the link for the purchase; being an Amazon affiliate I receive a percentage in case of eligible purchase through the indicated link. It is also possible to find it on other oriental e-commerce sites but at higher prices, the same radio (shell and electronics) is also sold in black with the SIHUADON brand, the model code remains identical D-808.

Reference sites
Official site with user manual

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