Kaito 1102 Review

I've had my Kaito 1102 for 4 years as of now and while it's relegated to the master bathroom because its small size fits so well on my shampoo cart, it is a radio worth more than its humble designation in my house. The problem with my 1102 is that its small speaker cannot stand up to other radios in my house--my Boston Acoustics Recepter, my Sangean WR-2, and my Tivoli Model 3, to name a few premium radios. However, we must not judge the 1102 against those aforementioned radios for they belong to the "geriatric family" of radios, big premium sound radios with no shortwave. While I'm not "geriatric" by any sense and while I am no shortwave listener, I want to recommend the 1102 for what it is: a compact shortwave/AM/FM radio. In this brief review, I will be comparing the 1102 to its Kaito cousins, the 1101 (which I gave to a friend 2 years ago) and the 1103 (which sits atop my Sangean WR-2). Of the three mentioned Kaitos, the 1102 is, on balance, the best. It is not the best in FM, however. In fact, both the 1101 and 1103, which get A's for FM, have better FM reception than the 1102, which I'd give a B plus. I say this because 89.3 KPCC can be troublesome for most of my radios, but not the 1103, the 1101, or my Sangean PR-D5 (reviewed on this blog). But the easy-to-use ergonomics of the 1102 (one-push for a preset change anywhere on AM or FM) and the superior AM sound over both the 1103 and 1101 make the 1102 the clear winner here. For a final note, let me say the 1102 pulls in 89.3 fine. The only difference is that I have to adjust the antenna more. In contrast, the 1101 and 1103 are so strong on FM that I rarely even have to move the telescopic antenna. The small inconvenience of moving the 1102's antenna is tiny compared to the ergonomics nightmare of the 1103, which requires several "steps" just to change a preset or even adjust the volume. To make things worse, the 1103's AM sounds muddled. So I'd give the top ranking to the 1102 in the battle between the compact Kaitos.

Final Thoughts: While on balance I prefer the 1102 to the 1103, most radio buffs will take the 1103's superior FM reception in spite of its ergonomic flaws over the 1102. In the final analysis, it's a matter of how tolerant you are of the 1103's idiosyncratic controls.

I've had my Kaito 1102 for 4 years as of now and while it's relegated to the master bathroom because its small size fits so well on my shampoo cart, it is a radio worth more than its humble designation in my house. The problem with my 1102 is that its small speaker cannot stand up to other radios in my house--my Boston Acoustics Recepter, my Sangean WR-2, and my Tivoli Model 3, to name a few premium radios. However, we must not judge the 1102 against those aforementioned radios for they belong to the "geriatric family" of radios, big premium sound radios with no shortwave. While I'm not "geriatric" by any sense and while I am no shortwave listener, I want to recommend the 1102 for what it is: a compact shortwave/AM/FM radio. In this brief review, I will be comparing the 1102 to its Kaito cousins, the 1101 (which I gave to a friend 2 years ago) and the 1103 (which sits atop my Sangean WR-2). Of the three mentioned Kaitos, the 1102 is, on balance, the best. It is not the best in FM, however. In fact, both the 1101 and 1103, which get A's for FM, have better FM reception than the 1102, which I'd give a B plus. I say this because 89.3 KPCC can be troublesome for most of my radios, but not the 1103, the 1101, or my Sangean PR-D5 (reviewed on this blog). But the easy-to-use ergonomics of the 1102 (one-push for a preset change anywhere on AM or FM) and the superior AM sound over both the 1103 and 1101 make the 1102 the clear winner here. For a final note, let me say the 1102 pulls in 89.3 fine. The only difference is that I have to adjust the antenna more. In contrast, the 1101 and 1103 are so strong on FM that I rarely even have to move the telescopic antenna. The small inconvenience of moving the 1102's antenna is tiny compared to the ergonomics nightmare of the 1103, which requires several "steps" just to change a preset or even adjust the volume. To make things worse, the 1103's AM sounds muddled. So I'd give the top ranking to the 1102 in the battle between the compact Kaitos.

Final Thoughts: While on balance I prefer the 1102 to the 1103, most radio buffs will take the 1103's superior FM reception in spite of its ergonomic flaws over the 1102. In the final analysis, it's a matter of how tolerant you are of the 1103's idiosyncratic controls.

Comments

[Daniel]

Hi,

I am trying to help my mother in-law use her new KA1102, do you have any easy to use (step by step) instructions for it?

Daniel
hollywood, fl

[Jeffrey McMahon]

The presets can be a problem. I believe you press a desired station, press the M/Lock button, press a number you wish to be the preset for the desired station, then press the M/Lock button again.

The manual is not well written and the learning curve is a bit challenging with this one.