Dear "Lucky,"
Thanks for the kind comments. I'm glad you're enjoying your new Et=F3n
E1. I hope you'll continue posting here as I am very interested in your
experience with it.
I'm not going to buy one just yet, if ever. The radio does not offer
IBOC on the MW or FM bands, nor does it offer DAB (Canadian and/or
European) or DRM. I should have thought that Et=F3n would have included
these advanced features in a new radio, even one designed primarily as
a shortwave receiver.
I would also not buy one unless and until it has been on the market for
some time as I have been "twice-burned" by Et=F3n/Grundig: first with
the Grundig Classic 960 which I bought from Willoughby and Ward in 1996
(when it first came out). It cost $249.95 plus shipping and came with a
25(!)-year warranty. So I'm theoretically covered until 2021. But what
a piece of junk! I'm on my third unit but this one is just as bad as
the two previous. Now that it's discontinued, I wonder how they'll
honor that warranty as they told me that they do not actually work on
the radio but merely replace it when problems occur.
The second example was my Grundig Satellit 800 which I purchased in
June 2000 (one of the initial production runs) and which lasted only 3
1/2 years before needing repair. I will say that, after Drake's repair
and refurbishing (for $109.00) it has worked well and I like the radio
very much (as opposed to that Classic 960).
So I'm naturally leery of buying an Et=F3n product until the production
people have ironed out all the bugs. I would also want to see a review
in PASSPORT.
But, even so, without the more advanced radio circuitry (pay satellite
radio doesn't count; in any event it holds absolutely no interest to
me), I feel the radio is "dead in the water." I may be wrong. Time will
tell.
Again thanks for your comments and I hope, for your sake, that my
impressions and opinions are wrong.
Best,
Joe
|