Gary First Look at the CCRadio-EP (Defective Unit?)

 

 

 

My CCRadio-EP arrived around 11 AM PDT today. Here is my initial assessment:

Performance on AM

1. The dial is pretty accurate through 1500 kHz. Stations from 1600-1700 kHz appear lower on the dial than expected.

2. Sensitivity is very good throughout the AM band. It seems a little better than a PR-D5 that I compared it to.

3. Sound quality is quite good, when bass and treble controls are adjusted to my liking (I settled on bass at 2 o'clock, treble at 11 o'clock, and filter set to Music). It sounds far better than the PR-D5, with deeper bass and crisper treble.

4. There is some harsh distortion noted on audio peaks when treble control is between the 2 and 5 o'clock positions and the filter is set to Music. I'm not sure if this is normal for this design or not.

5. Through most of the AM band, the signal is best with the twin-coil knob centered. At the high end of the band, the signal is far better with the twin-coil knob rotated quite a bit counterclockwise and the main tuning knob readjusted.

Performance on FM

1. Something is very wrong with the tuning on FM. It doesn't act "normal," with a strong, clear signal when tuned properly, getting weaker on either side. It gets stronger, but very distorted, when tuned to the left on the dial (down in frequency), then the signal abruptly disappears; when tuned to the right (up), it gets weaker and noisier, but is still distorted. There is no position that provides a decent signal.

2. Strong local and semi-local stations are terribly distorted, but they sound perfect on the PR-D5.

Mechanical Issues

1. The twin-coil knob rubbed on the case when rotated counterclockwise, due to some wobble in the knob. I pulled it out a little to correct this.

2. The tuning knob has some play -- both in/out and side to side (or up and down). This is a little annoying, as my SR III's don't have this "slop" in the tuning mechanism.

The FM is a total disaster, so I'm assuming I got a defective unit. This doesn't speak well for C. Crane's quality control; I thought it would be better this far into the production run.

 

Comments

[Ed S]

There were some similar funky problems with tuning and lack of rf gain control in my sample a year ago that led me to quickly get rid of it. It coulda been a contender.

[Keith B.]

I think Gary and Ed must have both received defective units. Other reviews I've seen have been overwhelmingly positive. Ed, did you consider returning yours to Crane for a replacement? I've never purchased anything from them, but I hear their customer service is very good.

[Gary]

I received my replacement CCRadio-EP today.

Unfortunately, AM is not nearly as sensitive as it is on the first unit. Not even a trace of the LAX TIS station on 530 kHz comes in on the replacement unit, and this comes in clearly on the original unit and on the PR-D5. The Simi Valley TIS station, on the same frequency but about 90 degrees in azimuth from the LAX TIS, comes in weakly with the wide filter, but with no change in signal strength over almost 1/2" of the tuning dial, which is very strange. With the narrow filter, it doesn't come in at all. This station comes in strongly on the PR-D5. Another minus is that the dial calibration is way off on the replacement unit.

FM is even worse than on the first unit. Vast ranges of the band have absolutely no receivable signals. Only the very strongest stations are received with good quality. The band is filled with good signals on the PR-D5 and CCRadio-SW.

On the plus side, the tuning knob has no slop like it does on the first unit, but without decent reception this doesn't really matter much.

The speaker grill is missing some paint (chipped off) and has a sharp point where the grill meets the plastic cabinet at the top. It almost looks like someone tried to pry it off.

This is too bad. I guess I'll just cut my losses with the two defective units and get refunds for both of them. Now I can understand the wide variation in reviews on Amazon. I believe it's possible to get a good CCRadio-EP, as some people have, but it's also possible to get a bad one, as I have (twice).