Six Best Radios for the General Listener Updated for September 2008

Objective: To help average radio listener choose a radio that gets superb reception and good sound at a reasonable price. Any of the following radios would be a good choice. The buyer has to choose a radio that meets his or her needs. Therefore, size of the radio, speaker sound, digital or analog tuning with or without presets, and the visual look and tactile feel are all personal preferences. AM and FM performance is graded on a scale of 1-10. 

The requirements: Radios are priced between 50-150 dollars.

1. Analog Portable Radio: The $99 Eton/Grundig S350. What I don't like about the S350 is it feels light and plastic-laden, in contrast with its rugged military look. What I do like is its performance, sound, reliability, and ease of use. I'd rank its FM  reception a 10; its AM reception is a strong 9. Its speaker is loud and full. Its competition, the digital $139 C.Crane CSW, formerly the Kaito 2100, used to be a favorite for this size radio but I downgraded it after my personal experience and others' reports of muddled speaker sound and reliability issues. So I am no longer recommending the CSW. 

Number Two. Digital Table Radio: The $80 Sangean PR-D5. Earning an 8.5 ranking on FM reception and a staggering 10 on AM, the PR-D5 is the best radio offering I've seen in the last few years. It also has RDS. Its biggest weakness is small speaker sound from its tiny stereo speakers.  The PR-D5 is a curious radio. Dainty is one way to describe its styling. However, this petite radio boasts an industry-leading 8-inch internal ferrite AM antenna.

Number 3. Clock Radio: The $85 Boston Acoustics Horizon Soloor its bigger brother the $115 Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo. No clock radios in this class produce such high fidelity. FM is ranked a 9 and AM is about 8.5. Of course, the advantage of the Duo is it's more of a good thing: stereo speakers. Also the Duo has a remote control. However, be warned the Duo leaves a larger footprint and is too heavy to rotate when you're aiming for AM reception. The Solo might be more practical by your bed, which is where mine is. My Duo is in my computer office. 

Number 4. Compact Portable: The$150 Eton E5. As I post this, it is no longer selling on Amazon. It is a modified version of a radio I own, the Kaito 1103. My 1103 is a good $50 less and performs the same on AM and FM, but I recommend you pay the extra $50 and get the E5. Why? Because the E5 has normal, intuitive controls. The ergonomics are so egregiously nonsensical on the 1103 that I rarely use and actually have a hostility toward it. One example: On the 1103 you have to adjust the volume with two steps. Press the volume button and the numerical buttons. Correction: It's three steps. Since a volume of 10 or higher is moderate to high volume, you'll find yourself pressing "Volume," then "1," then "0." This is completely ridiculous. However, the reception is excellent. I'd give the FM a 10 and the AM an 8. With the E5, you can simply turn the volume dial or press the volume button up or down. In other words, the E5 is normal and the Kaito 1103 was designed by a maniacal sadist.

Number 6. A cheap "every day" radio: The $53 RCA Super Radio(formerly GE Super Radio III). I once owned this but gave it away to a struggling screenwriter who loves it. He should love it. It has a huge speaker sound. FM reception is ranked a 10. I'd give AM a high 9, but with the caveat that you can hear a low discernible hiss in the background. I can't ignore the low hiss. My screenwriter friend can. Another weakness: An inaccurate tuning dial. On balance, if you don't want to spend more than $53, this is your radio. If you don't mind spending $7 extra, you might check out the well reviewed digitalSangean PR-D7. 

September 27, 2008 in Radio Lovers Can't Be Cured | Permalink |Comments (0)

The requirements: Radios are priced between 50-150 dollars.

1. Analog Portable Radio: The $99 Eton/Grundig S350. What I don't like about the S350 is it feels light and plastic-laden, in contrast with its rugged military look. What I do like is its performance, sound, reliability, and ease of use. I'd rank its FM  reception a 10; its AM reception is a strong 9. Its speaker is loud and full. Its competition, the digital $139 C.Crane CSW, formerly the Kaito 2100, used to be a favorite for this size radio but I downgraded it after my personal experience and others' reports of muddled speaker sound and reliability issues. So I am no longer recommending the CSW. 

Number Two. Digital Table Radio: The $80 Sangean PR-D5. Earning an 8.5 ranking on FM reception and a staggering 10 on AM, the PR-D5 is the best radio offering I've seen in the last few years. It also has RDS. Its biggest weakness is small speaker sound from its tiny stereo speakers.  The PR-D5 is a curious radio. Dainty is one way to describe its styling. However, this petite radio boasts an industry-leading 8-inch internal ferrite AM antenna.

Number 3. Clock Radio: The $85 Boston Acoustics Horizon Soloor its bigger brother the $115 Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo. No clock radios in this class produce such high fidelity. FM is ranked a 9 and AM is about 8.5. Of course, the advantage of the Duo is it's more of a good thing: stereo speakers. Also the Duo has a remote control. However, be warned the Duo leaves a larger footprint and is too heavy to rotate when you're aiming for AM reception. The Solo might be more practical by your bed, which is where mine is. My Duo is in my computer office. 

Number 4. Compact Portable: The$150 Eton E5. As I post this, it is no longer selling on Amazon. It is a modified version of a radio I own, the Kaito 1103. My 1103 is a good $50 less and performs the same on AM and FM, but I recommend you pay the extra $50 and get the E5. Why? Because the E5 has normal, intuitive controls. The ergonomics are so egregiously nonsensical on the 1103 that I rarely use and actually have a hostility toward it. One example: On the 1103 you have to adjust the volume with two steps. Press the volume button and the numerical buttons. Correction: It's three steps. Since a volume of 10 or higher is moderate to high volume, you'll find yourself pressing "Volume," then "1," then "0." This is completely ridiculous. However, the reception is excellent. I'd give the FM a 10 and the AM an 8. With the E5, you can simply turn the volume dial or press the volume button up or down. In other words, the E5 is normal and the Kaito 1103 was designed by a maniacal sadist.

Number 6. A cheap "every day" radio: The $53 RCA Super Radio(formerly GE Super Radio III). I once owned this but gave it away to a struggling screenwriter who loves it. He should love it. It has a huge speaker sound. FM reception is ranked a 10. I'd give AM a high 9, but with the caveat that you can hear a low discernible hiss in the background. I can't ignore the low hiss. My screenwriter friend can. Another weakness: An inaccurate tuning dial. On balance, if you don't want to spend more than $53, this is your radio. If you don't mind spending $7 extra, you might check out the well reviewed digitalSangean PR-D7. 

The requirements: Radios are priced between 50-150 dollars.

1. Analog Portable Radio: The $99 Eton/Grundig S350. What I don't like about the S350 is it feels light and plastic-laden, in contrast with its rugged military look. What I do like is its performance, sound, reliability, and ease of use. I'd rank its FM  reception a 10; its AM reception is a strong 9. Its speaker is loud and full. Its competition, the digital $139 C.Crane CSW, formerly the Kaito 2100, used to be a favorite for this size radio but I downgraded it after my personal experience and others' reports of muddled speaker sound and reliability issues. So I am no longer recommending the CSW. 

Number Two. Digital Table Radio: The $80 Sangean PR-D5. Earning an 8.5 ranking on FM reception and a staggering 10 on AM, the PR-D5 is the best radio offering I've seen in the last few years. It also has RDS. Its biggest weakness is small speaker sound from its tiny stereo speakers.  The PR-D5 is a curious radio. Dainty is one way to describe its styling. However, this petite radio boasts an industry-leading 8-inch internal ferrite AM antenna.

Number 3. Clock Radio: The $85 Boston Acoustics Horizon Soloor its bigger brother the $115 Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo. No clock radios in this class produce such high fidelity. FM is ranked a 9 and AM is about 8.5. Of course, the advantage of the Duo is it's more of a good thing: stereo speakers. Also the Duo has a remote control. However, be warned the Duo leaves a larger footprint and is too heavy to rotate when you're aiming for AM reception. The Solo might be more practical by your bed, which is where mine is. My Duo is in my computer office. 

Number 4. Compact Portable: The$150 Eton E5. As I post this, it is no longer selling on Amazon. It is a modified version of a radio I own, the Kaito 1103. My 1103 is a good $50 less and performs the same on AM and FM, but I recommend you pay the extra $50 and get the E5. Why? Because the E5 has normal, intuitive controls. The ergonomics are so egregiously nonsensical on the 1103 that I rarely use and actually have a hostility toward it. One example: On the 1103 you have to adjust the volume with two steps. Press the volume button and the numerical buttons. Correction: It's three steps. Since a volume of 10 or higher is moderate to high volume, you'll find yourself pressing "Volume," then "1," then "0." This is completely ridiculous. However, the reception is excellent. I'd give the FM a 10 and the AM an 8. With the E5, you can simply turn the volume dial or press the volume button up or down. In other words, the E5 is normal and the Kaito 1103 was designed by a maniacal sadist.

Number 6. A cheap "every day" radio: The $53 RCA Super Radio(formerly GE Super Radio III). I once owned this but gave it away to a struggling screenwriter who loves it. He should love it. It has a huge speaker sound. FM reception is ranked a 10. I'd give AM a high 9, but with the caveat that you can hear a low discernible hiss in the background. I can't ignore the low hiss. My screenwriter friend can. Another weakness: An inaccurate tuning dial. On balance, if you don't want to spend more than $53, this is your radio. If you don't mind spending $7 extra, you might check out the well reviewed digitalSangean PR-D7.