Radio Lovers Have High Expectations for the Grundig Satellite 750

I don't need it, but I may have to buy one. Scratch that. I may have to buy two. Even my wife, who has been spared my radio obsession, likes it. She wants one for her classroom. I'm talking about none other than the  Grundig Satellit 750 (pre-selling on Amazon),  which available in the Summer of 2008, will command a price of $300.  I doubt it will perform significantly better than the $139 C.Crane CSW. I doubt its speaker will boast a refined fidelity.  I don't care. This is the radio I want. This is the radio that incurable lovers of the radio covet. This is a rugged looking radio, the kind that looks like it might slide into the dash of a military vehicle, a submarine, a fighter jet. Holding the two handles that flank the 750 and extending my arms in front of me, I imagine myself, transformed into some invincible he-man, paddle-kicking myself across the Pacific Ocean, warding off sharks and toggling between a multitude of stations. My guess is that the 750 will sell like hotcakes.

Mike W's well-articulated take on the 750 can be described as thus:

While the 750 has yet to elicit any paddle-kicking fantasies from me, I couldn't agree more. It is not a decision for me to buy it, but a genetic imperative. No free will is involved. As Imelda had her shoes and Spitzer his Seven-Diamond Girls, so I will have this radio, practical considerations be damned. It's yesterday's idea of the future, the radio I would have ogled as my mother walked me around the 1964 World's Fair back in Queens as a toddler, the radio that Colonel Bleep would have used, the radio Tom Swift would have had in his Jetmarine.

 

I couldn't agree more. For a closer look at the radio that is inciting reptilian lusts, click on  Gizmodo. 

(Please note, there seems to be no agreement as to the spelling so I spelled it both ways: "Satellite" and "Satellit.")

I don't need it, but I may have to buy one. Scratch that. I may have to buy two. Even my wife, who has been spared my radio obsession, likes it. She wants one for her classroom. I'm talking about none other than the  Grundig Satellit 750 (pre-selling on Amazon),  which available in the Summer of 2008, will command a price of $300.  I doubt it will perform significantly better than the $139 C.Crane CSW. I doubt its speaker will boast a refined fidelity.  I don't care. This is the radio I want. This is the radio that incurable lovers of the radio covet. This is a rugged looking radio, the kind that looks like it might slide into the dash of a military vehicle, a submarine, a fighter jet. Holding the two handles that flank the 750 and extending my arms in front of me, I imagine myself, transformed into some invincible he-man, paddle-kicking myself across the Pacific Ocean, warding off sharks and toggling between a multitude of stations. My guess is that the 750 will sell like hotcakes.

Mike W's well-articulated take on the 750 can be described as thus:

While the 750 has yet to elicit any paddle-kicking fantasies from me, I couldn't agree more. It is not a decision for me to buy it, but a genetic imperative. No free will is involved. As Imelda had her shoes and Spitzer his Seven-Diamond Girls, so I will have this radio, practical considerations be damned. It's yesterday's idea of the future, the radio I would have ogled as my mother walked me around the 1964 World's Fair back in Queens as a toddler, the radio that Colonel Bleep would have used, the radio Tom Swift would have had in his Jetmarine.

 

I couldn't agree more. For a closer look at the radio that is inciting reptilian lusts, click on  Gizmodo. 

(Please note, there seems to be no agreement as to the spelling so I spelled it both ways: "Satellite" and "Satellit.")

Comments

[Terry (The Analog Dinosaur)]

Have I made NO IMPRESSION on you about the quality problems experienced by owners of the Satellit 800 and the E1?

Fine, go ahead.

It's your $600 for two start-of-production-run radios (the time when most defects occur.)

[jeffrey McMahon]

I'm sure I'll wait to hear reports of bugs before I pull the trigger. I was being hyperbolic about buying 2.

I guess I could save money and spend $190 on a mint Panasonic 1150.

[Mike W]

Yup, if and when the 750 comes out it has to be bought from a reputable dealer in case it's defective and has to be returned.

There Will Be Lemons

[jeffrey McMahon]

In this modern age, the lemon factor is inevitable. I have two Boston Acoustics Horizon Solos, one in the workout room, the other in the kitchen, and they are notorious for their lemons, but they perform. I just save my receipts and warranties.

Jeff

[Mike W]

Universal has started shipping them. See the "Availability Note" at the bottom of the page :

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/portable/0750.html

[herculodge]

Of course it becomes available during my hiatus. Vegas is killing me. Brought the Grundig G4000, which is a great companion in this place.

[Ed S.]

Vegas is a giant dirty ashtray, isn't it Jeff? The whole place is a city-size Hometown Buffet.

[herculodge]

Ed, it's a giant dirty ashtray lined with fake gold.

I have claustrophobia and the crowd on the streets does not help.

One bright point: The food at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill was good, but I don't think it's worth the 4-hour drive.