Got my Tecsun 606 today. Really nice for the price. Clearly not as sensitive as the 390 on the wip antenna on SW. Got over 60% more SW stations on the 390 using ETM. However when plugging in the wire antenna into the 606 the # of SW stations using ETM evened out. So which will be the prefered pocket radio? The 606 or the Grundig G6? I have not decided yet but the G6 clearly has a tough fight on its hands. Here is the first battle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpQkl9CzMb8&feature=channel_video_title
Wow, thanks for this review Blake. I was thinking about ordering a PL-606 but now I see I will want to stick with the G6. The more I own the G6 the more I appreciate it as a portable radio. The only negative reviews I've seen of the G6 concern its "overloading" when used with a powerful external antenna, but this same quality makes the receiver super-sensitive when used by itself. It will surprise some people to know that the G6 rivals my PR-D5 in MW sensitivity.
Posted by: Carlos Edwards | March 27, 2011 at 06:12 AM
I thank you too. I have the G6 and was looking into the 606. The only plus I can see is the ETM, which I find really useful on my PL380, especially on SW (who has time to keep track of all the program time changes etc. If I want to do some SW listening I just run the ETM and I'm all set). I'm not sure if that's enough of a plus to tip the scales when the G6 seems to out-perform it. My only regret with the G6 is I bought it "retail" for $99 instead of waitng a while.
Posted by: Ken K. in NJ | March 27, 2011 at 07:44 AM
Blake, which of the two radios are smaller in size? Thank you for this review, I'm leaning to buying the Tecsun PL-390.
Posted by: Tom Welch | March 27, 2011 at 08:19 AM
Carlos & Ken, I agree with your deductions. ETM is neat but it will miss stations even strong ones occasionally. It has a way of missing the strong 9480. The only time I listen to 9480 is when the Arm Chair Survivalist is on. On the Tecsun 390 I can key in 9480 and hit the ETM button when in ETM mode and it is added to the ETM list of channels to skip through. However you can't do this on the 606. You just have to go into VF mode and tune it in tediously with the edge grip thumb wheel. The G6 is a superb band scanning machine with its more ergonimic tunning wheel that can continuously turn 360 degrees with 1khz or 5khz step adjustment. Not to mention keypad entry and SSB on the G6. However there are clear advantages emerging with the 606. The selectivity of the multiple band widths works great. And the widest band width to me results in better audio than the G6. As far as audio quality I am leaning to the more powerful cleaner sound of the 606. The LCD display is better on the 606 to me but the G6 display is still pretty good.
Tom, The 606 is about .25" taller than the G6. The 606 is about 1/16 of a inch wider than the G6 not including the 606 thumb wheels which sticks out more. However the real size advantage of the 606 is that it is about .25" thinner than the 606 which for me would make it a little easier to pack. The G6 seems more sensitive off the wip on shortwave than the 606 but the 606 may be more selective with the DPS band width adjustments. Have not tested enough yet but the 606 may pull ahead of the G6 on SW with a wind up antenna as it does not seem to overload. on AM and FM the 606 seems as good or better on sensitivity but have not tested enough yet. You can't go wrong with the 390. Mine is great. I got my 606 in silver to compare with my black 390. The silver on the 606 looks great and I almost wish I had got my 390 in silver.
Posted by: Blake | March 27, 2011 at 09:23 AM
I just posted my review of the PL-660/comparison to the PL-600 here: http://www.thehobbylife.net/
Posted by: Ron | March 27, 2011 at 09:37 AM
Sounds like a tough call between the G6 and 606, THANKS!
Posted by: Tom Welch | March 27, 2011 at 10:49 AM
The G6 does give a few advantages like direct tuning and sideband (although my G6 only works on upper side band). My G6 almost never overloads.
But I am curious if the USB port on this 606 can be used with software. It's close cousin the Grundig G8 can be used with software if you install a USB on it.
A few questions, does this radio come with the soft mute that it's cousin the G8 has?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmD_BGlCehs
Posted by: Shawn Patrick | March 27, 2011 at 12:00 PM
Yes, but how do they compare on the MW, FM and LW bands? This is where I would expect the 606 to shine. In fact, the 606 should be much more adept than the G6 when on the FM band.
SW sensitivity/selectivity is great. However, most listening these days is done on the broadcast bands. It is in this arena that the 606 shines.
Posted by: Bob C. | March 28, 2011 at 08:53 AM
I agree with Bob C....the 606 is a mini dx machine on MW and FM, and the G6 is, at least, mediocre on FM and MW, and its audio is so tinny that can´t barely stand for an hour.
I think that the only band when the G6 can compite with the tecsun is SW.
Posted by: Pablo | March 28, 2011 at 10:29 AM