so people can see that I was not just blowing smoke, here is a nice site on
the 225

http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/pi...ent/lowe3.html








"mike maghakian" wrote in message
...
for less money I got a fantastic HF-225europa with a wireless remote.
and I am sure it is a far better setup that I have.
SOUND QUALITY !
PERFORMANCE !
WIRELESS CONVENIENCE !
SMALL DESKTOP SPACE !!!

well, I guess a fool and their money will soon be parted to the next
3030.

If people knew anything about receivers there wouldn't be so many stupid
bids on ebay receivers !




"Peter Maus" wrote in message
...
wrote:
I have seen this receiver on ebay go for many hundreds of dollars,
however I can see nothing special about it compared to many of the
other receivers available.
can anyone explain this irrational human behavior to me ???



I used to own one. Nice radio. Very compact, and with Collins filters
installed, not a bad performer. At the time of it's release, it was over
$800 new, had a decent set of features, useable, but not tuneable
memories, and a working sync detector.

Styling is neo-classic. In fact, AOR called it The New Classic.

It isn't a stunning performer. Good, but not great. Prone to overload
under high signal conditions, which makes it less than an optimum choice
for European DXers, but in the US, where signal levels are low, overload
is rarely an issue. Pad is -20 or nothing, accessible from the back
panel. Noise floor isn't great, but it isn't bad. Selectivity is good.
Audio is decent. Actually a pleasant sound, and I used it for both deep
signal DXing and program listening with an external speaker. Internal
speaker is good, but compared to, say, a Drake, kind of lame.

AR-3030 has a great operational feel. Solid. The main tuning encoder is
damped, and the machined aluminum knob has a substantial quality about
it. But controls are quite small, and if you have big fingers, it could
be a challenge to push one button at a time.

Every function is available on a switch from the front panel. Panel
layout is very clean.

The desk footprint is quite small, so in cramped listening environments
there is a good deal to recommend it.

Build quality is quite good. But there were shorcuts taken. Input is on
BNC connector. It is not uncommon for this to come loose with time.

Battery life is adequate, but not great. Performance on batteries is
comparable to the AC supply.

Reasonable prices for AR-3030 are between $450 AND $600 for exceptional
examples, and most examples seem to be well cared for.

This is not a John Thorpe receiver, like AR-7030 and variants, but it
is an AOR. And it was not made in very large numbers. So, going prices
can be higher than usual for a receiver of it's vintage, especially among
users who know what it is, and whose listening conditions are a good fit.