On Sun, 21 Jul 2013, D. Peter Maus wrote:

Check with Universal Radio in Ohio - occasionally they have good used
products like Zenith T/O. And lots more of the new stuff.



T/O isn't quite the icon that it has been presented to be over the years.
It's certainly nice cosmetically, and the build is quite robust. And audio
is often very good. But, actual RF performance is mediocre at best.

Someone just posted an ad locally for a transistor era Transoceanic, he
only wants $250 for it. I think he did say "negotiable" but when you
start so high, it likely isn't coming down much.

Clearly he expects a collector, or thinks the radio is worth as much as
legend has it.

Michael

IF's are too wide, and RF stages are higher in noise, and lower in
sensitivity than other so-called 'lesser' radios. This is masked by a
cleverly designed AGC stage that maked the radio seem much more sensitive
than it is.

Make no mistake, I'm a big fan of the T/O. I've got 6. And I use them
regularly. Terrific vacation radios at the cabin.

But there are better radios, if you're serious about SW listening.
Especially with the superpower broadcasters no longer on the air, RF
performance is more important than it was when the T/O's were current
product.