Herculodge

Comparing the Vintage Panasonic RF-2200 with the C.Crane CSW/Kaito 2100

Ed was kind enough to provide the following comparison between his Kaito 2100 (C.Crane CSW) and his recently acquired Panasonic RF-2200:

The 2200's reputation rests on its AM-DX abilities, and it is at least the equal of the Kaito 2100 on AM. It may be better in some respects. The RF2200 seems to have less background noise, a quieter background. though. It really does the job of pulling in AM. I like analog tuning---you can tune off-center to get the sound you like. (every AM station has a sideband on each side of it's main "carrier" frequency, the Upper and Lower side band)  There is an very effective RF Gain control so I can keep stronger stations like KNX from bleeding through.

FM seems almost as good as the Kaito, but it's not in stereo, of course. The antenna pins the meter on all stations of interest, so it's long enough for FM, anyway, maybe not enough for SW.

The speaker is 4" and not as good sounding as the Kaito/CCR on music, but nice on voice.

 

Ed was kind enough to provide the following comparison between his Kaito 2100 (C.Crane CSW) and his recently acquired Panasonic RF-2200:

The 2200's reputation rests on its AM-DX abilities, and it is at least the equal of the Kaito 2100 on AM. It may be better in some respects. The RF2200 seems to have less background noise, a quieter background. though. It really does the job of pulling in AM. I like analog tuning---you can tune off-center to get the sound you like. (every AM station has a sideband on each side of it's main "carrier" frequency, the Upper and Lower side band)  There is an very effective RF Gain control so I can keep stronger stations like KNX from bleeding through.

FM seems almost as good as the Kaito, but it's not in stereo, of course. The antenna pins the meter on all stations of interest, so it's long enough for FM, anyway, maybe not enough for SW.

The speaker is 4" and not as good sounding as the Kaito/CCR on music, but nice on voice.

 

V-Moda Bass Frequency Earbuds Vs. JBuds J2: We Have a Clear Winner

For the last 18 months, I've enjoyed my V-Moda Bass Frequency Earbuds. Comfortable with decent sound these buds, which costs $30 at the time and currently go for $25, seemed an excellent value, especially since they seemed to offer more detail than my very comfortable, capable JBuds, which cost me $20 and are now under $10, a great buy for some back-up buds. 

Then recently I noticed the $30 JBuds J2 and was particularly fond of the new orange color. I first tried the J2 buds in my Sangean WR-2, listening to classical and rock, turning up the volume as high as I could without damaging my ears. The sound was full and well balanced. How would they compare against my trusty V-Moda buds?

There was no comparison: The JBuds J2 buds were warmer, fuller and, ironically, had more bass than the V-Moda "Bass Frequency" buds. These latter buds sounded tinny with too much high end compared to the balanced JBuds J2 buds. My wife was nearby. She did the same comparison and agreed that the JBuds J2s are markedly better. 

This is a no-brainer. Spend the extra $5 and get the J2s. They come in several colors. I like mine in orange. 

C.Crane "New Products" Stops at Fall of 2008

It doesn't appear that the C.Crane website is doing a lot to launch its next big product, the CCRadio 2. With its availability due on May 12, there is no news of it on the C.Crane website. In fact, the site's "New Products" category only features products for Fall of 2008. That is so six months ago. 

Dan Patrick on 570 AM and Colin Cowherd on ESPN: Two Very Different Radio Sport Shows

 

I don’t know who enjoys higher ratings between the two morning radio shows. My guess is that Dan Patrick, who’s been in the business for over 20 years, has a larger fan base. His show, from 6-9 A.M. on weekdays overlaps with Colin Cowherd’s, which now runs between 7-11 A.M. 

Patrick seems weary of talking about straight sports. And a bit jaded. He prefers to riff with his co-hosts and prefers general comedy over literal sports analysis. Patrick likes to be silly and irreverent.He prefers the improvisational over the script. Often his banter works, but sometimes it’s indulgent and tedious. 

Cowherd looks for laughs also but does a lot more sports analysis and will often lecture about a “life lesson.” Some that I remember: Camping is stupid. Who’d want to sleep on the ground with leaves and worms after achieving success in life? Only a small percentage of people are really successful in life. That’s the way it’s always been and that’s the way it will always be. 

Patrick likes to perform by bouncing back and forth with his younger co-hosts. Cowherd likes the solo act. I find myself liking both Patrick and Cowherd but I listen more to Patrick because in part he’s done a good job of portraying himself as the embattled individual who left the Disney-owned ESPN. Whenever Patrick refers to his old place of work, he pronounces it disparagingly as “EE-ES-PEE-ON” or call it, in utter contempt and mockery, as the “Mothership.” Also it’s easier to take 3 hours of Patrick with him bouncing off his co-hosts than 4 straight hours of Cowherd’s solo act. 

They’ve got tough jobs: How do you inject drama into sports year-round but show that you’re intelligent enough to see that a lot of sports talk is making mountains out of molehills? The dumbest of the sports jock shows take sports too seriously, becoming rabid, as if their topic has the gravitas of life and death. Patrick and Cowherd are too smart for that, so they wisely go for jokes, with Patrick devoting far more improvisational laugh material on his program than Cowherd. 

Lime Green AM-Only Panasonic Radio Bidding for $5.50 with 3 Hours to Go

I don't know if I should listen to it or eat it. A key lime pie? No, a lime green Panasonic radio. You have to be very secure with your manhood to carry this one around.

Grundig 860 Multiband Buy Now for $79.50

This seems a reasonable price for this Grundig 860. The seller has a 100% rating.

Grundig 210 6001 AM/FM/SW Radio Bidding on eBay for $152

This Grundig 210 6001 is one of the most appealing radios I've seen in a long time. Built in the early 1970s, this radio might sell for twice its current bid. 

Can You Spend $500 on Jeans and Still Have a Social Conscience?

As was prescribed by my hipster consultant Zevon, I lay in a bathtub of freezing water for two hours wearing a brand new pair of $200 “Ralf Dry Selvage” Nudie jeans. This baptism was essential, Zevon said, to show that I was serious about making sure my Nudie jeans contoured my thighs and buttocks optimally. Lying in the cold bath and listening to NPR reports about the persecution of educated women in Tehran and starving children in the Sudan, my conscience painfully pricked me because all this time I was spending “personalizing” my Nudie jeans, I was questioning Zevon’s expertise: He prescribed the cold bath method, but I had read on a Nudie message board that an overnight soak in hot water was actually better.

As I contemplated the hipster subculture sitting in front of their Apple computers and scouring the Nudie jeans message boards, I recognized a painful hipster paradox: To be cool requires vanity, self-absorption, and a ferocious attention to fashion detail on one hand. On the other hand, the hipster must show a superior social conscience by leaving a small carbon footprint, by patronizing local organic produce sellers, by boycotting companies on the hipster hit list and by making an annual pilgrimage to an impoverished locale where he and other hearty souls build houses for the homeless. The gulf between customizing a pair of $200 jeans and writing a $500 check to my local animal rescue was a huge one and I felt that the attempt to reconcile these opposite hipster impulses to be a feeble one. From the freezing tub, I called Zevon and described to him my dilemma.

“There is no dilemma or conflict between style and social conscience,” Zevon explained to me over his iPhone. “They exist in a happy marriage. And if you doubt me, may I refer you to hipster extraordinaire, Bernard-Henri Levi.” This French spokesman, activist, humanitarian, contrarian, and best-selling author was the consummate hipster. Well dressed, articulate, mediatique,  he had through his writings and speeches exposed the evils of the world while his sartorial insouciance was an implicit admonishment of the barbarian hordes.

“Don’t you see?” Zevon continued. “Bernard-Henri Levi and our new President both have a lot in common. Exquisite in fashion and using their social conscience to call upon our higher angels.”

I told Zevon I had to get off the phone. My thighs were beginning to chafe and the cold bath seemed to have given me a case of the sniffles or something worse. All this time in an ice cold bathtub had rendered my “higher angels” comatose inside some deep freeze. I needed to thaw.

 

Manly Radio Sighting: Panasonic RF-1150 Bidding for $26

One of my favorite looking radios, this RF-1150 should bid for well over $130. We'll see. One recently sold for $170 or so.

Panasonic RF-1115 Buy Now for $140

I've been told this RF-1115 is a sleeper, one of Panasonic's best performers, but seems pricey.