I have one of the stock versions and did the mute and detent mods myself.
What speaker did they put in for you? This is sort of a hybrid portable
almost table top radio - belying the other poster who criticized it. This
radio I have an R75 which has a much worse stock speaker than the 909.
has its place in my shack.

Al Arduengo wrote:

I recently bought a barely used Super ATS-909 after having owned a stock
version for about a little over a year. Initially I was hesitant to get
one based on some negative reviews about the highly modified radio but
curiosity overcame me and besides, I actually love the stock version
especially when connected to a moderately long wire. The radio is rich
in features and really just a pleasure to use. The Super 909 is hands
down better!

In case no one knows the details, it has been modified to remove the
mute while tuning, the detent is removed from the tuning knob, the
speaker is replaced, the LEDs are replaced with blue ones, an external
AM antenna jack is added and selectivity/sensitivity are drastically
improved.

Tuning it is a pleasure. The knob turns easily enough that my finger
does not tire or feel irritated. The RF gain knob has a significantly
greater effect compared to the original version does. Turning the gain
down all the way will silence all but the absolutely strongest local AM
sources.

The display looks pretty cool in my opinion. Bright blue. Sound is
noticeably improved with the new speaker and seems to take higher
volumes much more easily.

It seems to be a little less forgiving on batteries now but I don't care
since I have mine on a 6V DC supply via the adapter anyway.

One of the improvements this radio got over the original version was in
sensitivity. Trust me when I say, it is a HUGE difference. This radio
easily matches and mostly exceeds my DE1102/DE1103/7600GR off the whip.
The original version of the 909 was all but deaf off the whip. Add a
40-60 ft random wire to the Super 909 and I had to turn down the RF gain
to keep it from overloading. I have heard many stations since I started
using this radio than I ever did on the original version. It is very
gratifying. I ordered a AN-LP1 and am finding it performs extremely
well with this radio. I am retiring my random wire since the AN-LP1
seems to do at least as well for me. I often don't even turn on the
LP1's controller but just use the loop.

The Super 909 has very good selectivity in my opinion. The only
negatives I have encountered is 1) strong adjacent stations force me to
detune a little to separate them from each other but it is still doable
and 2) SSB reception is a sight more difficult to achieve now. I knew
this going into the purchase but in the short time I have been a
listener I have grown to decide I find the ramblings of most HAMs to be,
let's just say, less than interesting. So no loss for me. Broadcast
listening is a treat now and I can hear much more out there than before.

I think this is a very nice portable radio and as long as skeptics keep
the fact that it is a portable in mind, it is hard to beat this thing in
comparisons to comparable models. I got a great deal on mine ($200) but
you can get them for $300-350 on line in a few places. I love mine and
will never get rid of it. I will be probably sell my stock version
though.

Thanks for listening and feel free to ask if you have questions about
these comments or the radio itself.

Cheers all.
-Al A.