Sharp Osaka

Introduction

Radio is not quite as popular as it was over 100 years ago, but it still functions as a way for people to keep track of what is happening across the world.

The longer it’s been around, the more it’s had to adapt to the times. After all, it’s still here despite smartphones, wireless speakers and other devices elbowing onto its turf.

The Sharp Osaka DR-P520 is a pocketable radio for an affordable price, featuring Bluetooth streaming and a headphone jack for personal listening. It’s not going to change the radio landscape, but for some, it might be the perfect companion at home and outside.

Design

• Lightweight
• 2-inch colour display
• Telescopic aerial

Small and light (16g), the Osaka might not slip easily into a jean pocket (more likely cargo trousers), but it is solidly built for the asking price. The two-tone finish (grey and black) is a nice look, and better than the RRP suggests.

Buttons for control are located on the bottom right-hand side of the radio, and they’re easy to figure out from their symbols and not especially hard to use aside from the multi-function button.

Perhaps it’s just me (it likely is) but the ‘hold’ to put the radio in standby, and then another hold to turn it off is awkward. I’d prefer a double tap to put into standby and a hold to turn it off, to distinguish the difference.

There is a telescopic aerial for reception, of course, but I can’t say I’ve ever needed to use it. The reception has been good around the home without it.

The 2-inch LCD colour display isn’t the biggest but text is easily legible and icons visible – obviously less so from afar – and it does dim after a certain time. You can set how bright the display is within the menus, which themselves are simple to navigate.

Flip the Osaka on its side and there’s a USB-C button for charging, a 3.5mm input for connecting headphones and a keylock if you don’t want any accidental button presses carrying the radio about. On the other side there’s a lanyard.

Battery Life

• Up to 12 hours
• USB-C charging

Sharp says that the battery life for the Osaka is up to 12 hours. I’m rather suspicious about that figure.

Either that’s the battery life at a very low volume and screen brightness because using this radio for four hours saw the Osaka drop from 74% to receiving low battery alerts. It doesn’t suggest long stamina unless the volume is significantly reduced (I’m usually around 50%).

The Sharp Osaka also quickly gets through its reserves of battery in standby mode to the point where you’d better off shutting the radio down completely. At least the battery is rechargeable through the USB-C port, so you don’t have to worry about devouring through actual batteries.

Features

• 120 presets
• FM, DAB, DAB+
• Bluetooth 5.3

In terms of reception, the Sharp Osaka has the ability to store up to 120 individual stations or presets (40 through BestTune, DAB and FM).

What is BestTune, I hear you ask? Rather than cycling through FM, DAB and DAB+ frequency bands, BestTune combines them into a single station list and “auto-selects” the best service based on signal strength. It’s probably the reason why I haven’t felt the need to use the aerial.

As you’ve probably gathered, there’s support for FM, DAB, and DAB+ stations; plus dual alarms where you can set a wake-up time or have it “automatically tune into a scheduled show”. You can set the backlight brightness, sleep timer – all the usual stuff you expect from a radio and a few others, such as changing the colour of the screen (I’ve gone for a nice ruby red).

There’s Bluetooth streaming (version 5.3) but it seems to only support the lower quality SBC codec (radio stations support AAC).

It’s also Roku TV ready, which means it can be easily set-up and controlled by a Roku TV/remote. I’m not sure why you’d need it for a radio, but Roku TV customers in the UK and Germany benefit from that integration

Sound Quality

• Clear vocal reproduction
• Barely any bass
• Decent Bluetooth performance

The Osaka comes with a mono speaker. There’s no stereo support, no settings to affect the EQ. And yet, the Sharp Osaka is pretty good for the money.

Like most radios, there’s an emphasis on the mids and highs. The Osaka isn’t the sharpest or most defined – in fact, it wouldn’t be a surprise to me if some felt the sound was on the tinny side, but considering the spec and power available to this unit, that’s not a surprise.

Voices sound clear and have prominence within the soundstage – there’s a fair amount of naturalism to its output with vocals. People sound as they should – the tones of Guy Garvey on BBC Radio6Music come through well.

The highs are clear and bright enough not to sound dull, and there are decent levels of dynamism for a mono speaker. There’s no bass but that shouldn’t come as a surprise. What low frequency ‘heft’ there is, is hollow and lacking depth.

With DAB stations (like Jazz FM, for example), the soundstage does come across as bigger and the loudness is given a bit of a boost. There is a signal noise that comes through with some stations but after a while I can’t say this particularly affected me. Some tracks don’t suit the radio much – Theo Croker’s Crystal Waterfalls was one of a few tracks that sounded distractingly distorted and noisy.

Switching to Bluetooth performance and vocals come across solidly. It’s not the biggest soundstage – smaller in size than listening on DAB – but levels of clarity and detail are pretty decent for the Osaka’s size, although I can’t hear every element in a track. Like seemingly every radio when playing a Bluetooth stream, the Osaka can sound quiet a default levels.

With Will Session’s cover of The World is Yours, there’s a decent kick to the percussion; Frank Sinatra’s voice in Fly Me to the Moon sounds natural enough, while Body Rock’s Yeah Yeah offers a passable wave at bass.

I wasn’t expecting a great sound from the Osaka, but it carrys a tune well enough. I like the sound quality – it avoids being grating, a trap some radios can accidentally fall into through the tuning. For how much it costs, it’s a reasonable performance.

Should you buy it?

FAQs