Not all of us can afford $300 - $500 for a new radio. Not everyone
can afford a brand new Cadillac or Maserati.
If you have more money then you know what to do with, that's fine.
Good for you. Have fun. But for the rest of us that have to slog three
shifts, and support a family and pay almost fifty percent of our income
to taxes, you really can't beat the Degen DE11/ Kaito KA 11 in it's
price range. Nothing wrong with a good Ford or GMC vehicle if you can't
afford an expensive exotic luxury vehicle. Among the cheaper radios,
the DE11/KA11 really stands out as a higher quality, better performing
radio. Sure, it will never have a chance of equaling your Sonys. Your
Sonys will outperform the DE11/KA. No question about that. But the
DE11/KA11 beats pretty well everything else in its price bracket.
The fact is the Degen DE11/Kaito KA11 delivers a lot more
performance then its price would suggest. Compared to many other cheap
radios (like the SN400, the Kaiwa KA-818, Eton Mini 300PE, Grundig
G110A, Sangean PT-50, etc. etc.), it is a good performer. It is also
built much better then its price would suggest. It's an excellent
bargain for those of us in in the bit lower income level that can't see
spending our hard earned money on a radio that's up in the exotic class
like the Sony SW100 & SW07. I could buy one of those Sonys, but then
maybe my kids would have to do without decent skates for playing hockey
in their leagues. So, instead, they get good skates, I go with nice
Kaito or Degen radios instead of the higher performance Sonys. I love
Sony, and if I could afford one, I would get one. I do own an older
Sony ICF 2002 ( ICF-7600D), and it a good radio, works like the day I
bought it back in '84. But I am more then pleased with my decision.
The kids are happy with their skates. I am happy with my radios.
For those of us that simply can't afford a radio like a SonySW100 or
SW07, there are several Kaito/Degen radios in the $50.00 - $100 range
that are well built and perform admirably.

Regards, Cato


Proud Neo-con American Right-wing Zionist/Christian Imperialist wrote:
"Cato" wrote
Greetings: I am not sure exactly what you expect from a radio that
is just a bit bigger then a deck of cards. No one should expect the
performance of a average size portable or tabletop rig. I own several
radios, my Panasonic RF-2200, and a Sony ICF-2002, Eton E5, and others.

Can my Degen DE11 compete with them?? Not a chance. They outperform the
DE11/KA11 by miles. But read on. The DE11/KA11 is not intended to equal
their performance. I don't expect it to do so. I purchased a Degen DE11
on eBay, and I am very pleased with its performance and build. Is it
perfect? Not a chance. But I have yet to hear of a perfect radio. Does
it leave anything to be desired? Of course. I would love for it to have
syncronous detection, mutiple bandwidths, double conversion etc. But
HEY! Look at the size of this thing, and tell me you really expect that
in something this tiny.

Yes, I do! With my Sony SW100 and SW07.
You get what you pay for. A DE11? BWAHAHAHA!!!!