I'm looking for a recommendation for a good radio, but not necessarily a
shortwave.

Almost a year ago I bought a Grundig Yacht Boy YB300PE from Amazon.com
while it was on sale (I also picked up a GE Superradio III, which I find
very useful for picking up out-of-town baseball games). I have a Sony
ICF-7600GR and didn't expect the Grundig to be any better but the price
was low ($40) and I was curious to try it out, mostly because I've only
ever owned Sony shortwave radios (first an ICF-SW7600, then the 7600GR).

I don't like it much. It doesn't compare favorably to the Sony in any
way I can think of, and I particularly dislike the very tinny sound of
the speaker. Some of the controls are counter-intuitive as well (e.g.,
if the unit is in sleep mode, you cannot simply press the power button
to turn it off: you have to press the power button two times, once to
put it in "normal" mode, again to turn it off). I was going to ditch it
or try to find someone to give it to, but my wife expressed an interest
in it so I gave it to her.

She likes it well enough, but she doesn't use it for shortwave. She
likes the presets (i.e., the ability to easily and quickly switch among
multiple stations of interest) to switch among various AM and FM
stations.

I'd like to get her something better. Anyone care to offer any
recommendations? The main features of interest are the presets (at
least 10 or so), a decent sounding speaker, a sleep feature, and a
reasonable price. By "reasonable" I mean that I don't want to spend
~$180 (or whatever is the current price) on a Sony ICF-7600GR because,
as I've said, she doesn't use it for shortwave and I figure it would be
overkill to buy a top-end portable shortwave mainly because it has
presets.

IOW, it seems that most (all?) radios that have presets are shortwave.
My wife likes having the presets but has no interest in listening to
shortwave stations.

So, what I'm looking for is a radio with presets and the other features
I mentioned above, that is reasonably priced, which doesn't have to be a
shortwave radio.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you wish to know what a man is, place him in authority.

--Yugoslav Proverb
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joe Negron from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, NY, USA

- Try a set of computer speakers to get better sound..

Agree, some features / Most featues of new electronics are counter
intuitive..

Reading the manual may help..



Joe Negron wrote:
I'm looking for a recommendation for a good radio, but not necessarily a
shortwave.

Almost a year ago I bought a Grundig Yacht Boy YB300PE from Amazon.com
while it was on sale (I also picked up a GE Superradio III, which I find
very useful for picking up out-of-town baseball games). I have a Sony
ICF-7600GR and didn't expect the Grundig to be any better but the price
was low ($40) and I was curious to try it out, mostly because I've only
ever owned Sony shortwave radios (first an ICF-SW7600, then the 7600GR).

I don't like it much. It doesn't compare favorably to the Sony in any
way I can think of, and I particularly dislike the very tinny sound of
the speaker. Some of the controls are counter-intuitive as well (e.g.,
if the unit is in sleep mode, you cannot simply press the power button
to turn it off: you have to press the power button two times, once to
put it in "normal" mode, again to turn it off). I was going to ditch it
or try to find someone to give it to, but my wife expressed an interest
in it so I gave it to her.

She likes it well enough, but she doesn't use it for shortwave. She
likes the presets (i.e., the ability to easily and quickly switch among
multiple stations of interest) to switch among various AM and FM
stations.

I'd like to get her something better. Anyone care to offer any
recommendations? The main features of interest are the presets (at
least 10 or so), a decent sounding speaker, a sleep feature, and a
reasonable price. By "reasonable" I mean that I don't want to spend
~$180 (or whatever is the current price) on a Sony ICF-7600GR because,
as I've said, she doesn't use it for shortwave and I figure it would be
overkill to buy a top-end portable shortwave mainly because it has
presets.

IOW, it seems that most (all?) radios that have presets are shortwave.
My wife likes having the presets but has no interest in listening to
shortwave stations.

So, what I'm looking for is a radio with presets and the other features
I mentioned above, that is reasonably priced, which doesn't have to be a
shortwave radio.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you wish to know what a man is, place him in authority.

--Yugoslav Proverb
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joe Negron from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, NY, USA

Joe ...

I wasn't clear from your post if you are strictly looking for a
portable radio or not. If so, you can ignore the following.
The best radio I've found in terms of presets, performance, styling and
user friendliness for the casual user is the Boston Acoustics Recpetor
model. It goes for about $150, which is under your $180 limit. It is
not portable, however, and covers only the US AM broadcast and FM
bands, which is what your wife may be after. I'm a radio geek and
enjoy my R75 and ham receivers immensely, but still find myself using
this one for most all of my casual listening. It has great mono audio
and wonderful preset programming by means of a rotary dial. You can
set both AM and FM presets on this dial and smoothly and easily move
between them. Good sensitivity and selectivity. Very comprehensive
alarm and clock features as well. Comes in a choice of two (or maybe
three) colors and is very nicely styled in my opinion. Only thing that
is missing in the design is a connector for an earphone, so keep that
in mind if it is an important consideration for you.
... Craig AC0DS

On Thu, 12 Jan 2006 06:19:32 GMT, Joe Negron
wrote:

I'm looking for a recommendation for a good radio, but not necessarily a
shortwave.

Almost a year ago I bought a Grundig Yacht Boy YB300PE from Amazon.com
while it was on sale (I also picked up a GE Superradio III, which I find
very useful for picking up out-of-town baseball games). I have a Sony
ICF-7600GR and didn't expect the Grundig to be any better but the price
was low ($40) and I was curious to try it out, mostly because I've only
ever owned Sony shortwave radios (first an ICF-SW7600, then the 7600GR).

I don't like it much. It doesn't compare favorably to the Sony in any
way I can think of, and I particularly dislike the very tinny sound of
the speaker. Some of the controls are counter-intuitive as well (e.g.,
if the unit is in sleep mode, you cannot simply press the power button
to turn it off: you have to press the power button two times, once to
put it in "normal" mode, again to turn it off). I was going to ditch it
or try to find someone to give it to, but my wife expressed an interest
in it so I gave it to her.

She likes it well enough, but she doesn't use it for shortwave. She
likes the presets (i.e., the ability to easily and quickly switch among
multiple stations of interest) to switch among various AM and FM
stations.

I'd like to get her something better. Anyone care to offer any
recommendations? The main features of interest are the presets (at
least 10 or so), a decent sounding speaker, a sleep feature, and a
reasonable price. By "reasonable" I mean that I don't want to spend
~$180 (or whatever is the current price) on a Sony ICF-7600GR because,
as I've said, she doesn't use it for shortwave and I figure it would be
overkill to buy a top-end portable shortwave mainly because it has
presets.

IOW, it seems that most (all?) radios that have presets are shortwave.
My wife likes having the presets but has no interest in listening to
shortwave stations.

So, what I'm looking for is a radio with presets and the other features
I mentioned above, that is reasonably priced, which doesn't have to be a
shortwave radio.
C. Crane Sangean Art Bell radio?

On Thu, 12 Jan 2006 06:19:32 GMT, Joe Negron
wrote:

I'm looking for a recommendation for a good radio, but not necessarily a
shortwave.

Almost a year ago I bought a Grundig Yacht Boy YB300PE from Amazon.com
while it was on sale (I also picked up a GE Superradio III, which I find
very useful for picking up out-of-town baseball games). I have a Sony
ICF-7600GR and didn't expect the Grundig to be any better but the price
was low ($40) and I was curious to try it out, mostly because I've only
ever owned Sony shortwave radios (first an ICF-SW7600, then the 7600GR).

I don't like it much. It doesn't compare favorably to the Sony in any
way I can think of, and I particularly dislike the very tinny sound of
the speaker. Some of the controls are counter-intuitive as well (e.g.,
if the unit is in sleep mode, you cannot simply press the power button
to turn it off: you have to press the power button two times, once to
put it in "normal" mode, again to turn it off). I was going to ditch it
or try to find someone to give it to, but my wife expressed an interest
in it so I gave it to her.

She likes it well enough, but she doesn't use it for shortwave. She
likes the presets (i.e., the ability to easily and quickly switch among
multiple stations of interest) to switch among various AM and FM
stations.

I'd like to get her something better. Anyone care to offer any
recommendations? The main features of interest are the presets (at
least 10 or so), a decent sounding speaker, a sleep feature, and a
reasonable price. By "reasonable" I mean that I don't want to spend
~$180 (or whatever is the current price) on a Sony ICF-7600GR because,
as I've said, she doesn't use it for shortwave and I figure it would be
overkill to buy a top-end portable shortwave mainly because it has
presets.

IOW, it seems that most (all?) radios that have presets are shortwave.
My wife likes having the presets but has no interest in listening to
shortwave stations.

So, what I'm looking for is a radio with presets and the other features
I mentioned above, that is reasonably priced, which doesn't have to be a
shortwave radio.

Try http://www.ccrane.com/

They have a whole slew of better AM-FM radios with presets and other
abilities. Not necessarily cheap, but they have a good selection.

bob
k5qwg

I concur, the Boston Acoustics Recepter sound is superb and the radio is
very sensitive on the AM MW band.
FM sound is also excellent. You can buy it at Best Buy.

Your wife would definitely think you have class!


"craig" wrote

I wasn't clear from your post if you are strictly looking for a
portable radio or not. If so, you can ignore the following.
The best radio I've found in terms of presets, performance, styling and
user friendliness for the casual user is the Boston Acoustics Recpetor
model. It goes for about $150, which is under your $180 limit. It is
not portable, however, and covers only the US AM broadcast and FM
bands, which is what your wife may be after. I'm a radio geek and
enjoy my R75 and ham receivers immensely, but still find myself using
this one for most all of my casual listening. It has great mono audio
and wonderful preset programming by means of a rotary dial. You can
set both AM and FM presets on this dial and smoothly and easily move
between them. Good sensitivity and selectivity. Very comprehensive
alarm and clock features as well. Comes in a choice of two (or maybe
three) colors and is very nicely styled in my opinion. Only thing that
is missing in the design is a connector for an earphone, so keep that
in mind if it is an important consideration for you.
... Craig AC0DS