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.
I just brought home a new Horizon Solo and hear it playing a little Roy Orbison right now.
It's way too soon to judge, but my initial impression is favorable.
I didn't bother with the pigtail for FM. I ran a mini-coax up to the attic space to some old TV rabbit ears I had and seem (at first look, anyway) to be getting basically the same stations my Satellit 800 gets with that antenna. Very good FM tuner for the price.
The AM tuner is OK, and AM sound is very good, clear and strong when the signal allows.
I had the more telegenic Recepter for a while, so the controls don't surprise me - I know that I already like the Solo's preset knob before I've even tried it.
Of course, I'll soon wish I had gotten the Duo, but if I had, I'd be thinking I should have gotten the Solo, so no harm done there.
A little funny-looking but I suppose it could grow on me. Good value for the price.