Gary's Review of the Tecsun CR-1100: Mixed Bag

 

 

The Tecsun CR-1100: A Mixed Bag

Based on the recent reviews of the CR-1100 and the price drop, I decided to try one.

The audio quality on the CR-1100 is good, with a clear, crisp sound quality, even on AM. The bass is full, but not bloated. The tone control has quite a bit of effect on the high frequencies. The CR-1100, even with the tone control turned fully counterclockwise (minimum treble), has a much clearer sound on AM than the PR-D5, the latter in comparison sounding like it has a thick towel in front of the speakers.

The buttons and knobs on the CR-1100 seem responsive, and the English labels on the unit I received are appreciated. The build quality seems good, keeping in mind that it's a cheap, lightweight, plastic radio.

The CR-1100 has fair sensitivity on AM. It's more sensitive than a PR-D7, but less sensitive than a PR-D5, except at the high end of the AM band.

The first station I tuned to after turning on the CR-1100 was KFI 640. I was very surprised to hear nasty distortion on audio peaks. Tuning around, I found that this occurred on all of the stations I tried. The effect is similar to microphone overload, which produces a buzzy sound. I noticed that my PL-380, another Tecsun DSP-based radio, has this same distortion, but only when using the 6 kHz or 4 kHz AM filters. Presumably the CR-1100 is also using one of these wide DSP filters. If the CR-1100 had allowed switching to the 3 kHz filter, as can be done on the PL-380, this distortion could probably have been avoided.

I also noticed a fluttering volume level on some stations. This, and the distortion noted above, imply that the AGC is too fast. Listening to the same stations on my PR-D5 or WR-2 produced neither the distortion on audio peaks nor the fluttering level. On the stations with the worst distortion, even turning the tone control on the CR-1100 to the full counterclockwise position did not get rid of the distortion. Due to this raspy distortion, I found the CR-1100 very unpleasant to listen to on AM.

I observed that on AM the CR-1100 is very sensitive to electrical interference (RFI). Sometimes this interference caused a fluttering audio level as well, due to the fast AGC issue noted above. Placing my PR-D7 in the same location, I could hear the interference, but it was not as noticeable, and there was no fluttering.

The CR-1100 has some spurious tones on AM, but it's much better than the PL-380 in this regard, probably because it has a longer ferrite bar which is located father from the noisy circuitry in the radio.

One oddity in the audio circuitry: lowering the volume lowers the bass in a step fashion well before minimum volume is reached. I believe somebody alluded to this in a review on Amazon.

The CR-1100 has good sensitivity and very good selectivity on FM. The antenna can be swiveled and tilted to optimize the signal. On some signals, I found my CCRadio-SW to be more sensitive. The selectivity of the CR-1100 is far better than that of the PR-D5, the latter being pretty bad at separating closely-spaced FM stations.

On FM, the CR-1100 does seem to be more sensitive to the proximity of one's body to the radio. On some stations, there was nothing heard until I moved a few feet away from the radio. My CCRadio-SW seems less affected by this.

From my perspective, the CR-1100 is quite good overall on FM. On AM, the audio distortion, susceptibility to RFI, and marginal sensitivity make it unpleasant to use. The sound quality is very good for this class of radio. It's too bad Sangean can't build a PR-D5 that sounds as clear as the CR-1100 does on AM.

Comments

[FARMERIK/Richard Hayden]

I bought my first CR-1100 some time ago, probably 1-2 years. It started turning itself on random numbers of days or hours after I had last used it, but after 6 months or so it fixed itself. I did buy a second one, thinking I would use it as a kitchen radio. Either one clearly tunes weak FM stations I can't hear at all on other portables, so I use them mostly on FM. AM is OK with good audio, but not a lot of distant stations. If there is RFI, you don't hear it in the AM audio too much but it will overload the front end, or at least that is my guess, based on how mine behave.

[Doug]

Based on what I am reading both here and elsewhere, there seems to be significant unit-to-unit quality control. I have no problems with mine, none at all. I bought my CR-1100 (English labeling) from Kaito through Amazon about a month ago and have been completely satisfied with its performance on both AM and, particularly, on FM. Amazingly full audio from a 3" speaker and, as you say, you can exercise considerable tone control through the single knob. Overall build quality, fit and finish are quite good, especially given the low price point. I like the top positioning of the preset knobs and they have a solid, firm click when depressed. No distortion of any kind on either AM or FM on my unit. For 50 bucks, it is a lot of radio.

[Doug]

Gary, I forgot to add this: In all the photos I have seen of the CR-1100 inlcuding yours and Jeff's (and a few others) the "wood" end panels have a light Teak look that clearly sets them apart from the black main case. On my unit the faux wood end panels are a dark, dark walnut and from 5 feet away are all but indistinguishable.

[Gary]

Doug - I didn't supply a photo to Jeff; I think that was a photo of his CR-1100. Mine has the dark "wood" end panels like yours. I'm glad your CR-1100 works well. I'll probably just return mine for a refund rather than trying to get one that works better. Even if I can get one with no distortion on AM, it will probably still have the RFI sensitivity, the fluttering AGC, and the relatively weak AM sensitivity.