Enjoying the Tecsun PL-680 and PL-660 a Lot More on the Bass Setting

I've discovered that my almost-identical Tecsun PL-680 and PL-660 sound more pleasing to the ears when I set the tone to Bass instead of Treble. With Treble, the audio can be shrill; with Bass, it’s smoother, richer, and far less likely to make my ears bleed—especially for talk radio. Music? Either setting works.

Now, I also own the much pricier Tecsun PL-880 and PL-990, both of which offer far superior speaker sound. And yet, bizarrely, I still prefer my 680 and 660—and I haven’t entirely figured out why.

Maybe it’s their pre-DSP magic, less prone to the infuriating interference that plagues modern radios. Or maybe it’s pure sentimentality. Whatever the case, these two remain my favorites, and when I finally crack the code on why, I’ll report back.