Herculodge First Look with an Update: The Grundig Satellit 750

Greg, a reader from Ann Arbor, Michigan, was kind enough to Fed Ex me his Grundig Satellit 750, which has a Kiwa speaker upgrade. Therefore, I have to assume the stock 750 speaker sound has less fidelity than the one I'll be using by my bedside for the next two weeks. 

As I will be using the 750 as a bedside radio, I'm not too worried about fidelity since I'm not cranking the thing up by any means. All that I ask is that its AM sound not be as harsh and punishing as my C.Crane CSW. Thankfully, the 750 is easier on the ears. 

When I took out the 750, I was amazed like other Tecsun radios at how light the radio is (Tecsun makes many Grundig and Eton radios, including the GS750). I prefer my radios to be heavy like tanks, which is why several months ago I went on a vintage radio spree, getting my grubby hands on some classics so that I could use them as a point of comparison for some of today's radios. 

Here's the bright side of the GS750's light weight: It makes a very good portable radio, much better than I initially thought. It's easy to handle and not as big in person as you might think. If you're a camper or do a lot of outdoor radio listening, I can recommend the GS750. 

One thing I like about the 750 is the way it looks on my bedside table. Its cockpit control styling makes me feel like a little kid on a toy airplane or flying in a pretend rocket to Mars. 

The 750 by your bed says boldly, "You have arrived at the Mothership." Before I geek-out too much, let me transition to function and performance.

The learning curve for time controls, direct key entry, and presets is fairly easy. It took me about five minutes to comprehend the manual; however, I have toyed around with Tecsun radios before, so I am fairly familiar with their functions.

As a bedside radio, it's nice that you can toggle through your stations with the up and down arrow buttons. 

I haven't used this radio at night yet and doubt it is illuminated sufficiently without my needing a pen flashlight. Clearly, the 750 is more of a general table radio than a clock radio, but I'm using it by my bedside because that is where I listen to radio most often and I want to get as many hours in as possible during my two-week loan.

What about performance? Excellent on FM and AM. I was able to eliminate birdy on weak AM stations by rotating the rotational antenna, called a Gyro on vintage Panasonics. 

The FM antenna is huge and can be rotated 360 degrees. There is also an FM antenna button that gives you varying degrees of attenuation to maximize reception. 

I'd say FM was as strong as my current FM champion, my C.Crane CSW. Better yet, the GS 750's AM sounds much better. 

Truth be told, I am more impressed with the GS750 than I thought I'd be. I love its look, its performance is excellent, its functions and options are plentiful without being too busy. 

I think if I were to buy one on Amazon for their sale price of $220 and free shipping, I'd have to put it in the workout room and move the Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo, a completely different kind of radio, in my bedroom. The question is will I buy a GS750? Hard to say. For about $150, I should be able to get a C.Crane CCRadio 2, which may be a better fit in my bedroom. While I am confident the CCRadio 2, made by Sangean, will match the GS750's AM performance and have richer speaker sound, I am not convinced that its FM will be able to compete with the GS750's.

 

In any event, I don't have to make a decision now. I have another two weeks with the GS750 to think it over.  

Update:

The longer I used the GS750, it seems I found myself more and more frustrated. All those knobs and all that effort to fine-tune everything and for what? Not significant performance over other cheaper radios like the Grundig S350DL or my C.Crane CSW. Worse, the GS750 did not get as good AM as my Sangean PR-D5.

If you like adjusting all the knobs, this radio is for you. But for me this radio lacks the wow factor, especially on AM reception and speaker sound, to justify its full retail price.

Greg, a reader from Ann Arbor, Michigan, was kind enough to Fed Ex me his Grundig Satellit 750, which has a Kiwa speaker upgrade. Therefore, I have to assume the stock 750 speaker sound has less fidelity than the one I'll be using by my bedside for the next two weeks. 

As I will be using the 750 as a bedside radio, I'm not too worried about fidelity since I'm not cranking the thing up by any means. All that I ask is that its AM sound not be as harsh and punishing as my C.Crane CSW. Thankfully, the 750 is easier on the ears. 

When I took out the 750, I was amazed like other Tecsun radios at how light the radio is (Tecsun makes many Grundig and Eton radios, including the GS750). I prefer my radios to be heavy like tanks, which is why several months ago I went on a vintage radio spree, getting my grubby hands on some classics so that I could use them as a point of comparison for some of today's radios. 

Here's the bright side of the GS750's light weight: It makes a very good portable radio, much better than I initially thought. It's easy to handle and not as big in person as you might think. If you're a camper or do a lot of outdoor radio listening, I can recommend the GS750. 

One thing I like about the 750 is the way it looks on my bedside table. Its cockpit control styling makes me feel like a little kid on a toy airplane or flying in a pretend rocket to Mars. 

The 750 by your bed says boldly, "You have arrived at the Mothership." Before I geek-out too much, let me transition to function and performance.

The learning curve for time controls, direct key entry, and presets is fairly easy. It took me about five minutes to comprehend the manual; however, I have toyed around with Tecsun radios before, so I am fairly familiar with their functions.

As a bedside radio, it's nice that you can toggle through your stations with the up and down arrow buttons. 

I haven't used this radio at night yet and doubt it is illuminated sufficiently without my needing a pen flashlight. Clearly, the 750 is more of a general table radio than a clock radio, but I'm using it by my bedside because that is where I listen to radio most often and I want to get as many hours in as possible during my two-week loan.

What about performance? Excellent on FM and AM. I was able to eliminate birdy on weak AM stations by rotating the rotational antenna, called a Gyro on vintage Panasonics. 

The FM antenna is huge and can be rotated 360 degrees. There is also an FM antenna button that gives you varying degrees of attenuation to maximize reception. 

I'd say FM was as strong as my current FM champion, my C.Crane CSW. Better yet, the GS 750's AM sounds much better. 

Truth be told, I am more impressed with the GS750 than I thought I'd be. I love its look, its performance is excellent, its functions and options are plentiful without being too busy. 

I think if I were to buy one on Amazon for their sale price of $220 and free shipping, I'd have to put it in the workout room and move the Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo, a completely different kind of radio, in my bedroom. The question is will I buy a GS750? Hard to say. For about $150, I should be able to get a C.Crane CCRadio 2, which may be a better fit in my bedroom. While I am confident the CCRadio 2, made by Sangean, will match the GS750's AM performance and have richer speaker sound, I am not convinced that its FM will be able to compete with the GS750's.

 

In any event, I don't have to make a decision now. I have another two weeks with the GS750 to think it over.  

Update:

The longer I used the GS750, it seems I found myself more and more frustrated. All those knobs and all that effort to fine-tune everything and for what? Not significant performance over other cheaper radios like the Grundig S350DL or my C.Crane CSW. Worse, the GS750 did not get as good AM as my Sangean PR-D5.

If you like adjusting all the knobs, this radio is for you. But for me this radio lacks the wow factor, especially on AM reception and speaker sound, to justify its full retail price.

Comments

[Mike W]

Remember the buzz about this model about, what, two years ago? Given all the hype, you've been pretty quiet since acquiring one, so I figured you would eventually post a thumbs-down on the 750.

It's a shame, the design had so much potential.

[Angelo]

E-Bay 280336874818
Just in case anyone buys one of those sweet 1970's Panasonic 8 Track players----then gets a hankerin' to play their Depeche Mode cassettes...

[KR]

Boom: Herculodge drops the bomb on the 750. Tecsun/Eton/Redsun/whatever needs to go back to the drawing board, soone rather than later.

[Angelo]

Yeah, go back to the drawing board and develop or utilize existing plastics with a thick, heavy, hybrid vinyl type texture---not plastics that feel and behave like eggshells. I have 1960's and 1970's radios that have "expensive car dashboard" type material. A-plus to those. I've seen newer Made In China radios (even the better ones) with brittle, hard, clicky plastic housings. One mishap and you have a permanent crack.

[Jeffrey McMahon]

But let me be clear: The 750 has excellent FM and looks great. And has over average AM. So it's a good radio. However, it's not worth anywhere close to $300.

[¾ Blind]

This review of the GS750 harks back to Jaguar owners during the 1970s justifying their purchase: They raved about the style, the tactile sensations, the heritage, the STYLE, while enduring the car's mechanical shortcomings through gritted teeth. Heck, even the Kiwa speaker mod is analogous to replacing the original Jag motor with a Chevy V8. It is said that lawyers of a certain ethnic group who would never drive a German car kept Jaguar alive during those though years. So, if one can afford the purchase, who am I to question.

[Jeffrey McMahon]

A reader was kind enough to sell it to my used for a reasonable price.