Grundig S350 AM / FM / Shortwave Radio

Rating:
Summary: Nice System
Review: I'm new to shortwave and recently discovered that living in the west(I'm in Las Vegas) makes reception somewhat challenging. Without question I'll be investing in additional antennae. That aside, the Grundig 350 has demonstrated outstanding clarity on AM/FM stations. The large LCD numerals make tuning easy and pleasurable and its design is handsomely militaristic. The included manuals are simple and direct with good question and answer sections about shortwave for the novice. Addendum:I hooked up a very short copper wire(I'm hampered by the fact I live in a second story apartment)and was able to get much better reception on shortwave. I imagine if the antenna had been over thirty feet instead of the five I was forced to stick with I'd be getting even better reception. Nonetheless, additional antennae is highly recommended for those of us out west. I should also say that I did not install a groundwire. If I do, I'll be forced to have it lying on an upper floor deck, which probably doesn't qualify as "grounded".

Rating:
Summary: Great Radio!
Review: I'm not your typical radio-phile but I love this radio. The FM reception is stronger than any other radio I own. The sound is excellent and it looks beautiful. I have not much experience with the SW yet.

Rating:
Summary: Grundig S350
Review: I've known the name Grundig for a very long time, I use to work on Radios and TV in my high school years and that was back in the 60's. Grundig was a great name then and so is it now. This shortwave Radio picks up better than any shortwave radio I've had.The sound that comes out of the speakers is top notch. If you want a good buy and a good radio at the same time its Grundig S350.

Rating:
Summary: Quite the Receiver!
Review: I've lost count of the radios I ve bought over the years, but I always get excited when I see something new. I have the GE Superadio and the CC Crane unit,but this baby beats them both. Analog witha digital readout and what great sound! Both AM and FM reception is first rate and the added bonus of shorwave really makes this unit worth the price.I'm so used to digital with memory presets and seek buttons so it took a little time to get used to.Of course being analogand using 4 D's the batteries really last. The radio has a great feel to it and its easy to tell Grundig did the job right. Memory presets would have made this unit the ultimate radio, but for what you are getting for $100, Im quite satisfied. To me this is the GE Superadio 4...with the bonus of Shortwave!

Rating:
Summary: Old Tech, New Tech
Review: I've only had mine a short while, but I'm happy with it. It's quite portable. It has good sound and one or two, but far from all, of the more modern features people have learned to expect in this type of radio. Its raw performance as a radio on AM, FM, and shortwave is about what I'd expect from a good portable-- and I'm a collector of sorts. I have now and have owned in the past some blasted good portables.

$100 for a radio may seem like a lot, if you're not familiar with shortwave. But for a radio that has respectable performance and is fairly easy to operate it's a good deal.

This radio is built in China and is also available in some places as the Tecsun BCL-2000, for less money. I understand this set has the incorrect power supply for North America, but as the power supply is an external "brick on a cord" thing it's easy to replace. I've also heard the Tecsun doesn't cover AM to 1700 KHz as the Grundig version does.

Chinese-built radio quality is more consistant than it used to be, but I've still heard reports of spotty performance; when you get one, you want to check it thoroughly and be sure it works properly.

You must understand that this is an old-technology radio with a new-tech overlay. The tuner is an old-fashioned analog type. The digital display comes from a frequency counter, part of a computer control chip that also gives you a clock and alarm.

This combination of old and new tech gives the S350 its strengths and weaknesses. The weaknesses are:

1. Unlike sets with fully synthesized digital tuners, this radio is subject to frequency drift. Mine drifts badly when I first turn on the set, but settles down to minor or none after about ten minutes.

2. It lacks multiple timers, station memories, widgets, gadgets, bells and whistles.

On the other hand, its analog tuner is more pleasant to operate than a digital set. I think it provides better sound, although that might just be the larger cabinet and speaker. What it DOES provide is the ability to scan across a radio band to see what's there. Digitally synthisized receivers either make a chugging noise as you tune from one digital frequency to the next, or they mute for a fraction of a second to hide this chugging noise. This means you have to tune to the next frequency, wait for a second to see if there's anything there, tune to the next frequency, and so on. It's much less pleasant than the S350's analog system.

In short, if you know exactly what frequency you're going to, a digital portable with keyboard entry will work better for you. But if you want to tune around, this one will do better.

Granted the better synthesized radios get around this chugging problem, but we're talking my $600 desktop set here. And even that has a bit of synthesizer noise you can notice once in a while.

The analog tuner also means this radio is easy on batteries. Some synthesized sets are real battery monsters.

There are some things you have to watch out for.

This radio has an RF gain control at the lower right of the front panel. It's like a second volume control. It lets you damp down a signal if that signal is too powerful for your radio to handle, and is making it behave strangely. However, it's really easy to turn this down by accident. Then your radio won't be able to pick up any AM or shortwave signals to speak of. You won't know why. You'll figure the set is no good. Well, before you throw it out the window, tweak the RF gain and make sure it's turned full to the right.

Likewise, there's a filter switch on the right side of the radio at the top. If you have the filter kicked in it will weaken your AM and shortwave stations a bit. But if you're on top of a powerful FM station, this filter should theoretically help you prevent that station from overloading your radio and making it act strange.

Some reviews state that if you turn the radio on, it turns on for 90 minutes and then shuts down. They say there's no way to avoid this annoyance. I believe this was true on the early sets, but on mine, if you just tap the power switch the radio comes on for 90 minutes, then shuts off; if you hold the power button down for a second or two, the radio turns on and stays on until you turn it off. If you're planning to buy one of these, you might try turning it on and off both of these ways to make sure you've got a new one.

The dial light switch is similar. Tap it, the light comes on for a few seconds. Hold it down, and the light stays on until you turn it off. I suspect this would be hard on the batteries.

It's a decent set, with good performance and good sound for the money. Its technology is simple, but that makes it easy and pleasant to operate. If you can live without a keyboard and preset station memories, I think you'll like it.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Radio
Review: Some time back, I posted a review to Amazon saying that the GE Superadio III was the best radio I ever owned. Now, I find myself using only this radio. The main reason is the digital frequency display. You always know exactly where you're tuned. It's such a major difference. I like analog tuning; I like twisting the dial to go from one station to the next. With the S350, I don't have to guess where I am on the dial. The FM section is great; very little overloading in my very difficult reception area, with great weak signal pickup. The AM section is superb; there are Wide and Narrow bandwidth choices that are usable on both local and distant stations (a bandwidth switch lets you choose the best tradeoff between interference rejection and audio fidelity; on the S350, both choices are well designed--with the Superadio, the Wide setting is so wide that you can only use it on very strong, local stations). I find myself listening to a station 500 miles away in the Wide bandwidth mode most nights. The Shortwave section is a joy to listen to. The S350 is light, even with batteries, and produces a nice sound--not quite the same bass response as the Superadio, but very pleasant. If you like a slightly retro design (no station memories, no slewing buttons, but it does have a nice big tuning knob PLUS a fine tuning knob) and appreciate knowing exactly to what station your radio is tuned, this is what you want. There is no better radio, overall, anywhere near this price.

Rating:
Summary: Grundig shortwave
Review: This radio is of excellent quality and the receive on AM, FM and shortwave is very good. Being a ham radio operator I really appreciate the rotary tuning knob that has a fine tuning adjustment knob built in. I just can't see myself buying an expensive shortwave radio with no tuning knob. Half the fun of radio is being able to play with a VFO!
I also own the GE superadio that other reviewers have commented on. The Grundig does not feel and look cheap like the GE superadio but the GE superadio will outperform the Grundig in a side by side comparison. The superadio has two speakers that are designed for better fidelity and louder audio than the smaller Grundigs single speaker can achieve. When listening to weak stations in heavy static on the AM band the superadio did a better job of pulling out the audio.
The shortwave reception is the best part of the radio however and this radio is a real jewel for shortwave use! The selectivity is great, no overlapping of stations that is found on cheaper shortwave radios like the Sangean SG 622. The radios sensitivity is excellent also, I could not ask for better performane from a shortwave radio. I know I made the correct decision passing up some of the more expensive Sony and Grundig shortwave radios that look so tempting to buy but lack a knob to tune with.

Rating:
Summary: grundig 350s
Review: This radio not only looks great but sounds great. Popular shortwave stations (bbc, voa, cuba) come in loud and clear, with no need for external antenna. AM/FM come in equally clear. Very little drifting, but it does drift a little over a bit of time. I got better reception at times over a Sony SW7600GR. It has a good alarm that's easy to operate. The instruction maual is well written and available at the website as well. It's not a travel radio, but that's pretty obvious. It has no SSB for tuning into ham radios, but it's great for the casual listener. I highly recommend the radio. It's a good value for the money.

Rating:
Summary: How does this thing work?
Review: This radio sounds great for AM and FM stations, but surprisingly, it has no presets. For the price that you pay, this is very disappointing. Also, I can't get a single station on the international bands. The manual is worthless. I gave it two stars because it looks good on my desk.

Rating:
Summary: Great SW Portable
Review: This radio was purchased new. I researched reviews on this SW Radio before buying it. It is much better than the Tecsun, which has flaws with the dials and the tuning cord. So if you are going to buy this Grundig you will be most happy with it's performance and reliability. Oh yes Grundig has a toll free number for any questions where Tecsun does not. Happy DXing...