C. Crane FM Reflect Antenna Review

This antenna is great. I used to get horrible reception from a boombox on my favorite stations, and [...] but I lost the FM antenna, so I bought this one. I now get very crisp reception - almost CD quality sound - and I am thrilled to listen to my favorite radio shows ("Brunch with Bob [Marley] and Friends", and almost anything on KPBS/NPR) over the airwaves. If you live in San Diego, I recommend checking out FM 94.9 from 9am-12pm for "Brunch with Bob and Friends". [...]

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Terk Technology AM-1000 Advantage Passive AM Indoor Antenna Review

I am way up in the mountains where AM reception is not even good from stations 50 miles away. Got this to pick up baseball games broadcast 300 miles from here. Works well at night, but daytime listening is still barely possible. But I was very impressed with the fact that it works next to the radio without being plugged in, and with the fact that it is so easy to tune in.

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Sony XDRF1HD HD Radio Tuner Review

I have a fairly high-end audio system -- around $3500 for amp, CD player, and speakers, so I was a little nervous about adding a component that sells for under $90!

The tuner is pretty basic and easy to use although I did have to refer to the instructions to figure out how to use the presets. After playing around with it for 5-10 minutes you're good to go. Because the unit itself is rather small, and I have it on a rack with my other components, it's pretty hard to read what station you are on from a few feet away without getting up and walking over to it. But that's a minor issue really.

When I first turned this on and heard the sound I was quite disappointed. Here in Austin we have a HD channel devoted entirely to local music which, aside from just being curious about how HD sounds, was the primary reason I bought this tuner. The song I heard sounded very tinny and totally lacking deep bass. After spending a good half-hour checking out the other stations, I came to the conclusion that perhaps this technology simply exposes more flaws in the source material, just as HDTV might show more blemishes of the on-air staff. Perhaps some of the local music simply isn't engineered as well as what we hear on the traditional analog stations.

Upon discovering a jazz HD station I really began to warm up to this tuner. The quality is more consistent and I am getting the deep bass and a more balanced and rich sound. And even the HD signals of the analog FM stations sound quite good. I don't know that I'd go so far as to say that HD radio comes close to CD quality, at least not on my system, (on a scale of 0-100, I'd give it about 80 in that regard) but this is way better than not having radio access at all, except through a Bose wave radio.

Overall, I have no regrets whatsoever.

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Sony ICF-SW7600GR AM/FM Shortwave World Band Receiver with Single Side Band Reception Review

If anyone is considering, the Sony ICF-SW7600GR world band receiver radio, I suggest looking for another portable set. I read the reviews and then made the purchase. My main interest was to purchase a good shortwave radio.

This radio cannot pull in the signal very well at all even after clipping an extension wire onto the antenna.

I located an old Grundig YB305 portable digital shortwave radio to compare to the Sony. The old Grundig is far a better radio then the Sony. The Grundig YB305 pulled in every signal and locked on. The Sony scanned right over them as if they weren't even there. Here's a brand new Sony radio and I am going to have to see if I can get some warranty work to fix the problem.

To compare the sound, I will say the Grundig YB305 is better. There is a fuller rich sound for playing the FM music. Sony is okeh, but not great.

You would think that if it's a Sony it's gotta be good, but the Sony is a phoney.

Currently I am only using the Sony as an AM/FM radio.

I looked into warranty work and Sony will replace it with a refurbished one that may have cosmetic damage. I didn't purchase this radio to trade it in on someone's old refurbished radio. The cost to me would be the price for mailing the radio in, maybe $25. $25 extra to listen to SW...that is if the replacement radio will work as intended. Still taking a chance here. I am now attempting to locate someone who can maybe fix my radio. If not, I will continue to use it as an AM/FM only.

In the old days the radio could be brought to a Sony repair station to be fixed. There used to be one in the area but that is not the case now. Getting someone else to fix it is not worth the cost as the total would equal the purchase price.

Appears with the mass produced chinese @#$* products there is no quality control. You may get a good one or you may get a bad one. Word of advice, do not throw out the box right away like I did on trash collection day.

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Sangean DT-110 Digital Pocket AM/FM Stereo Receiver Review

Great: Reception, bass boost
Good: Sound quality, Priority Station key, Button Layout, Case/Belt Clip
Needs Improvement: Could be smaller

I think $40 for a radio is a reasonable price. I was really looking for an audiophile radio for a higher price but could not find one. I had an Aiwa CR-LD100 for a decade but lost it. Very small, great sound.

The Sangean DT-110 arrived on time with earphones, case with belt clip and manual. You can auto-set station memory for AM and FM seperately. It is easy to set and even swap stations in memory. You can assign three stations to the priority button and access them quickly.

I'm buying a radio, not earphones. To test I used Klipsch Image X10 earphones. The radio sounds great for the price range. The bass boost is intelligently designed similar to the Super Linear Bass on the Aiwa. It is not designed for dirt cheap earphones which is a good thing.

I easily pick up powerful FM stations from 70 miles away. The AM reception is such that I do not have to turn the radio to tune local AM stations. There is no hiss on local stations and near hiss free on stations at a medium range.

The buttons are designed ergonomically so that you can distinguish them by touch. The Hold switch stops everything but the analog volume wheel. The position of the wheel prevents unwanted changes. The Hold switch also serves to preserve memory on battery changes. Digital volume control is annoying when the steps in volume change are too large. The analog wheel is an intelligent choice.

I use Rayovac IC3 15 minute rechargeable batteries available on Amazon. They actually do recharge in 15 minutes with the Rayovac charger. I have not had to recharge them after using the radio daily for a week. The batteries are about two years old.

This radio is a little larger than I am accustomed to. I haven't cracked it open. It may be the AM antenna. The Aiwa was smaller but did not have near the reception this radio offers. The belt clip is a good compromise.

For the price I am very pleased with the radio and recommend it. I will continue looking for a smaller radio with high fidelity sound.


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Sangean WR-1 FM/AM Wood-Cabinet Radio (Black Cabinet, Silver Face) Review

Sangean has been known to make really good radios, and this one does not disappoint. It was received on time and it was even better than pictured. The radio itself is just the perfect size (using it in the kitchen). The dials/knobs are perfect, very easy to operate and locate all radio stations. The sound is great as well. Overall, I am very pleased with this purchase.

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