Warning: Once You Cross the Gates of Radio-Philia, There Is No Going Back

Through this website, I have been in communication with a recent "radio convert," someone who suddenly loves radios and, like me, demands the best performance in them. He has recently written me:

Indeed, radio lovers can't be cured.

I'm perilously close to pulling the trigger on an Eton S350DL, even though I'm perfectly satisfied with my Kaito KA2100.

I should be all set. I have the perfect bedside radio, an ideal all-purpose radio, and a good pocket-sized portable. And yet I want the Eton S350DL. Sheez.

Notice the reader writes, "I should be all set." He is wrong. Radio lovers, myself included, are never "all set." There is always a new radio we think we can't pass up. We love to fall in love with radios. Sometimes we'll fall out of love with a radio only to fall in love with it, inexplicably, all over again.

I don't even know why I love radios so much. I'm not an engineer. I didn't grow up collecting radios. It's a mystery. One Fall day in 2004 at the age of 43 I walked into Circuit City on a whim. I didn't really want to buy anything with any urgency, but there it was, a blue Tivoli PAL for $130. I told my wife I wanted it and she approved. The incident seemed innocuous, but I had no idea that I had just entered the Gates of Radio-Philia for which there is no return. Two months later, I walked into Circuit City intent on buying a digital radio with presets. I was less than impressed with the speaker sound on the little Grundig radios, so I instead bought a Grundig S350. The S350's pseudo-military design ignited sparks in the reptilian centers of my brain. After that, I started reading radio reviews on RadioIntel and soon I had to get all the radios featured on the site including the Kaito 1101, 1102, and 1103. I'm sure I purchased over 50 radios and have spent around $5,000 during the last four years. I've sold many of them. I keep buying new ones.

The good news: I don't collect super expensive items like espresso machines, tailored suits, titanium watches, sport cars.

A possible explanation: I sometimes think radio lovers are looking for escape. Like everyone else, we get frustrated with all sorts of things and we feel helpless as we watch the news about our world going to hell in a hand basket. The radio is a refuge, an escape, and gives us a sense of control. I'll say to myself, "Yeah, the world is going to hell, but, wow, doesn't my Eton S350 really grab 89.3 FM with boldness and clarity!"

An annoying thing about being a radio lover: One thing that I find laughable about myself is that I see myself as having superior radio knowledge to the average person and stupidly I feel that this knowledge gives me a significant "advantage." I'll go to someone's house and sniff with contempt at their crappy Teac radio and think to myself, "What a poor lost soul. This is definitely someone who needs my help." So in fact being a radio lover has turned me into a supercilious know-it-all. How very annoying.

To conclude, I will continue to pursue my radio passion on this website, as my radio virus remains strong and there is not a vaccine or antidote on the horizon. At the same time, I laugh at myself as I am surely not blind to the absurdities of my obsession.

Comments

[Ed S.]

Here's a picture of my Nordemende...no connection to family members, but it has gorgeously warm sound, AM & FM & SW, and a cool glowing "tuning bar"...
http://senduit.com/f96b05

[Jeff McMahon]

Ed: What do you do with a classic radio like that? Do you use it? I imagining storing it would present challenges. BTW, I bought a black WR-2 yesterday. I'll keep the documents in the event I have to return it to Amazon.

[Ed S.]

Yes, I use it. "Tube sound" has a completely different quality to it, euphonic and intimate. And a radio with a real wood cabinet is just more resonant and warm, and the lighted dial at night is great. I imagine how Edward R. Murrow might have sounded coming through a set like this. The Germans made some high-quality radios, and with proper care (& tube & cap replacement) they should last 100 years.
Anyway, let's "hear" how your black WR-2 works out...are you using it in a metal-shielded building or something? A good position is near a window.