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Grundig 960 Classic AM/FM Shortwave Radio

Grundig 960 Classic AM/FM Shortwave Radio

List Price: $199.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A First Class Radio
Review: After reading some mixed reviews of this radio, I purchased it with some apprehension. However, after using it for a week now, I am pleased to report that the radio has worked very well and that it really is a First Class Radio.

The radio looks beautiful and sounds wonderful. Reception on AM, FM and Shortwave has been very good and the feature of being able to play a CD or Tape player through the auxiliary plug-in has proved to be a real bonus. The tone quality makes listening to the radio a real pleasure!

The tuning dial is a little tricky at first, but with a bit of practice I have had no difference finding the frequencies I have been looking for. For people used to tuning a digital radio where you simply punch in the frequency you want, this radio does take a bit of practice, but this is not a major obstacle.

The only complaints I have are that I do wish that an external head phone had been included and that the lighting on the dial were stronger but these are minor complaints. Grundig has a reputation for producing quality radios and the Classic 960 is proof that this reputation is well deserved.

Purchase and enjoy this great radio!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: An expensive disaster
Review: Anybody who buys this utter piece of junk either has too much money or should have his head examined. Basically, you'll be acquiring some fake looking cabinet, a cheesy cloth grill, and a tuner whose quality is distinctly less than a $5.00 cheap-o from Dollar General. If you think you're going to enjoy shortwave broadcasts, think again. Both bands come up with barely audible static. Even the FM reception is tinny and static-ky, and drifts off station like the FM radios back in the 1960's.

Apparently a lot of people are VERY UNHAPPY with this engineering mess because the company will come up with any excuse to keep from honoring their warranty. Believe me, I can't think of one positive thing to say about this piece of crap

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Ersatz Style/Mediocre performance
Review: Grundig's Classic is designed to call to mind the wonderful days of sitting around the radio listening to Fibber McGee and Molly, but most of the materials used in this presentation weren't even invented then. then it was labor, now its injection molding. It looks cheap as a result.

And, it doesn't perform as well as a portable battery powered Sony. With the exception of AM broadcasts. If you need to hear a ballgame in the middle of nowhere, this is for you. If not look again.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Nice radio depending on how you use it
Review: Hello everyone its Vince the radio man. I have been a buff and collector for many years and I love to do compares . Its was very interesting to see the great variation of ratings on this radio from you folks out there . As I read them I understood and related to all of them . Depending how you use this radio it good be a 1 or a 5 . It is an authentic looking "retro" radio that is pretty well made . The wood cabinet and the gold paint trim are done very nicely . The sound quality is typical of what a '50s radio sounded like ...not great bass nor high highs but a punchy mid-range . This radio does have some very good features and I have gotten unbelievable performance out of mine. First off ( and this will sound a little silly) it has a ground screw . Very valuable if you know how to properly ground a radio. This will greatly increase your reception on AM and SW . I have DXed Europe and Asia on AM!!! on this radio with a Terk AM advantage antenna and a nice ground . You must also connect an RCA cable to the Aux. inputs and complete the ground by connecting the cable to a receiver or tape deck that is plugged into the AC .True its analog , but you can get ( sometimes better) performance from and analog tuner that isn't weighed down with those overly clean filters that the digital radios have . It also has an aux. in to use the system from another source , nice . Yes , mostly its a show piece, but if used correctly and if you buy the newer model that has the built in fine tuning ...you'll be very surprised as to what this thing can do . Buy it if you are a collector or want something unique .

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: An expensive disaster
Review: I recently purchased a Grundig 960. Satisfaction with this radio depends entirely on whether one wants a cool retro-decorator piece, or a functional radio. It is definately overpriced as merely a radio! However, if you are looking for a modern, solid state reproduction of a classic 1950s tube style world-band radio, this might be for you. It does feel heavy and well-built, and certainly looks cool. It does pick up shortwave broadcasts ok but not great. FM & AM is adequate but not great. The radio is made in China, and is not the German made quality and precision that I expected. Overall, the radio is not really the high-quality construction that I expected from a Grundig product. Consult Sangean products for high quality shortwave radios if that is really what you want.

Alternatively, if you really prefer a modern quality radio, maybe a digital system would be a better choice.

Please be advised that this radio performs, by design, as an old technology, analog radio right down to the cruddy low intensity backlighting. It does pick up (rather impressive actually) shortwave broadcasts. However, reception is not on-par with less expensive digital shortwave radios.

Please don't interpret this review as overly negative, but you do need to be clear on what you want with this radio. If you want primarily a decorator piece, it might be for you. If you want primarily a functional piece, [this might not be for you].

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Best as a decorator piece - merely adequate as a radio
Review: I recently purchased a Grundig 960. Satisfaction with this radio depends entirely on whether one wants a cool retro-decorator piece, or a functional radio. It is definately overpriced as merely a radio! However, if you are looking for a modern, solid state reproduction of a classic 1950s tube style world-band radio, this might be for you. It does feel heavy and well-built, and certainly looks cool. It does pick up shortwave broadcasts ok but not great. FM & AM is adequate but not great. The radio is made in China, and is not the German made quality and precision that I expected. Overall, the radio is not really the high-quality construction that I expected from a Grundig product. Consult Sangean products for high quality shortwave radios if that is really what you want.

Alternatively, if you really prefer a modern quality radio, maybe a digital system would be a better choice.

Please be advised that this radio performs, by design, as an old technology, analog radio right down to the cruddy low intensity backlighting. It does pick up (rather impressive actually) shortwave broadcasts. However, reception is not on-par with less expensive digital shortwave radios.

Please don't interpret this review as overly negative, but you do need to be clear on what you want with this radio. If you want primarily a decorator piece, it might be for you. If you want primarily a functional piece, [this might not be for you].

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Things to reflect upon about this product.......
Review: I think there are TWO things to keep in mind when purchasing one of these:

1.) There are two versions of this radio, one that was "the 960 classic". Identified by it's extremely dark finish and a horizontal list of small boxes with counries listed in them just below the FM scale. Another couple of ways to tell edition one from the second edition is the side speaker grills on version one is divided in four sections (on the Second edition has only three sections). The function keys (FM,AM,SW...) on the Second editions are much taller then on the first.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT??? The second edition has much better attention (and quality control) on the tuning section. Over all it's better performing product.

With that said that brings me to my second point (I take it you're really interested if you've read this far!!!)

2.) I own both editions of the "Classic 960" and enjoy both. I think (by reading the other reviews) some folks expect a bit much from this radio IT IS NOT A WATKINS JOHNSON 8718 SHORTWAVE RECEIVER!!! NOR IS IT A McIntosh STEREO SYSTEM!!!

Again with that said it is solid on AM/FM and Shortwave if setup properly (A.K.A. like ALL radios it needs a GOOD antenna).

My point in closing is this; this radio can be had for less then $150.00 for the money it looks, sounds and performs very respectable. If you expect more than that you will not be happy. However if you keep your expectations realistic you will enjoy this fine little radio.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Things to reflect upon about this product.......
Review: I think there are TWO things to keep in mind when purchasing one of these:

1.) There are two versions of this radio, one that was "the 960 classic". Identified by it's extremely dark finish and a horizontal list of small boxes with counries listed in them just below the FM scale. Another couple of ways to tell edition one from the second edition is the side speaker grills on version one is divided in four sections (on the Second edition has only three sections). The function keys (FM,AM,SW...) on the Second editions are much taller then on the first.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT??? The second edition has much better attention (and quality control) on the tuning section. Over all it's better performing product.

With that said that brings me to my second point (I take it you're really interested if you've read this far!!!)

2.) I own both editions of the "Classic 960" and enjoy both. I think (by reading the other reviews) some folks expect a bit much from this radio IT IS NOT A WATKINS JOHNSON 8718 SHORTWAVE RECEIVER!!! NOR IS IT A McIntosh STEREO SYSTEM!!!

Again with that said it is solid on AM/FM and Shortwave if setup properly (A.K.A. like ALL radios it needs a GOOD antenna).

My point in closing is this; this radio can be had for less then $150.00 for the money it looks, sounds and performs very respectable. If you expect more than that you will not be happy. However if you keep your expectations realistic you will enjoy this fine little radio.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Looks great, sounds great.
Review: I'm pleased with the Grundig 960 my wife and son gave me for Christmas. No, it doesn't have quite the reception ability that my Grundig "Yachtboy" does, but it does pull in a good number of shortwave stations, both foreign and domestic. And it really dresses up the room. It also makes a portable CD player sound good when plugged in. My only complaint is that the tuning knob is a bit stiff. Otherwise, this is a "keeper."

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Expensive toy
Review: If you expect to get a German quality of craftsmanship when you buy this radio, don't. This is a Chinese made(is anything in this world still made somewhere else?) bad imitation of the famous radio set. The manual claims that even knob rims are made form the solid brass. Unless they found the way to make brass look as a metallized plastic, I dont believe it. Also, two small intermal lights for the scale illumination are so weak that you can not use this radio even in a complete darkness. My conclusion is - still a conversation piece and nice room decoration if you don't take it too seriously.


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