Sony ICF-SW7600GR World Radio

I don't think I have ever been so impressed with any of my radios over the past 30 years as I am with this little gem!I have to admit I would not have bought it were it not for its synchronous detector as I consider it an essential feature for broadcast band listening. Fading I can cope with and my experience of sync detectors is that they can not eliminate this. But they can be very effective at reducing the effects of fading such as distortion - that all too familiar whooshing sound that distorts speech and particularly music and is very hard on the ears, not to mention the nerves. Even if I'm listening to a good, solid, single-hop, daytime-path signal a few deep fades will badly distort the sound and soon have me reaching for the off button.The sync detectors on the AR7030 and Lowe HF150 were excellent but I didn't like either radio and eventually sold both. But I was worried that the sync on the considerably better-priced Sony SW7600GR would be less effective and not smooth out the distortion as I had hoped. But this is not the case at all and it is, in fact, highly effective. Folk music from Radio Romania, Spanish Classical music from REE, the whole hour of China Drive on CRI are all a total joy to listen to now without a hint of distortion.Other things I love about this radio are its excellent build-quality. It's got all the hallmarks of quality I've come to associate with Sony. Its inclusion of FM for those moments I want to listen to Radio 3 for a change. And its keypad for direct frequency input, enabling me to jump freely and effortlessly around the bands.Its speaker may be a little on the quiet side, and not as rich and bassy as my Sangean ATS803A or DX-394, but its inclusion of a sync detector far out way any negligible disadvantage here.This radio has returned the joy to broadcast band listening and I am proud to own it.

Hi,Some time back, a friend of mine gave me an Lexitronic E5 radio, I didn't spend much time playing with it because I figured it would be limited in performance in quite a few important areas. The E5 in question is also marketed by Grundig known as the 'G5' and also by Eton the 'E5'.I have owned a Lowe HF 225 for about 15 years or so, which is regarded as a good receiver.The latter receiver has a dynamic range of about 85dB.Before buying the ICF 7600GR, I attempted to find out some radio performance figures/specs but unfortunately there was nothing except reviewers doing side by side listening tests which is essentially flawed because broadcast stations audio quality vary from station to station, and in general is inconsistent, in the past I have found quite a few radio stations that were badly calibrated. Of course, the subjective reviewer would blame his or her radio receiver for this when in fact the receiver is innocent.There are 3 important figures which determine how good a receiver actually is which are:Dynamic range, sensitivity and image rejection. The latter can be dramatically improved by up converting the first I.F., the higher it is the better, both the Sony and the Tecsun have first I.F.'s of 55.845MHz, this is good so only minimal front end filtering are required to give at least 60 dB image rejection across shortwave.Next up, sensitivity, the Sony gives 20dB s/n for 1uV rms whilst the Tecsun rolls in at 25dB s/n for 1uv rms(both AM modulated at 50%) making both receivers very very sensitive indeed and in fact this is exceptional, the lowe HF 225 is about 10dB for 1uV.Dynamic range for the Tecsun comes in at a usable 55dB whilst the Sony equals 78dB, both receivers were switched to dx mode during tests i.e., no attenuation.With the Tecsun, front mixer overloads at around 600uV r.m.s.,which is lousy, however the signal can be attenuated by way way of a 3 position switch,max= -15dB.Some more important facts to consider:The Tecsun PL660 price varies between about £85~£110, so shop around.The Sony 7600GR has no price variation and sells for a fixed £110.00 no matter what.The Tecsun supply you with a 6V/300mA mains adapter and 1000mA/hr AA x4 rechargable batteries plus a set of earphones.Both have good AM sync detectors, I think the Tecsun is slightly better here.The Tecsun includes air band which I have tested and it works well.The Sony has 100 memories whilst the Tecsun has 2000.Okay, I'm impressed by both, the Tecsun gives a lot of radio for your money.Can you go effective dx hunting with either radio, of course you can, I now know why there are fewer and fewer new table top receivers available on the market?,i.e., they just can't compete.3/7/2014: Update:Having now spent a considerable listening time with both radio's I have found that the Tecsun PL660, switched to ssb(amateur bands) sometimes does not sound too good, it's rather distorted particularly when the signal seems to fade into noise. Just to check it wasn't poor transmissions I listened to the Sony on the same channel and it was crystal clear. So Japanese quality actually means something,eh? In every other receiving mode, the Tecsun PL660 is good, particularly AM broadcast listening.Little people know it(including myself, until recently, I would not have given these radios time of day) but these two radios are just as good(if not better) as table top £500+ receivers. Both these receivers are very capable dx listening radios.Get one.CheersCommie

Excellent Shortwave radio. Sony 'made in Japan' quality, with a model history dating back to the 1980s.Initially put off by two aspects; the lack of a tuning dial, and no supplied power adapter. Don't let that put you off, batteries are safer than power, with no electrical 'noise'. I use rechargeable's, but also have a set of alkaline's on standby when charging is required. No tuning dial is not as bad as thought, keep the inner tuning button pressed, (1Khz step) and you get a reasonable tuning speed, with no 'muting', it's the best way to tune on SSB. On Shortwave broadcast, keep the outer button pressed, (5Khz step) initially to start automatic searching, although in this mode, there is a tendency for it to stop 5Khz short of the actual frequency.Selectable USB/LSB is a good feature, as is the synchronous detection. Shortwave sensitivity is up there with the best in the portable catagory, but LW and MW is especially sensitive. It would have been ideal if the buttons were backlit.Build quality is top-notch; The speaker grille is metal, and the the LCD window is extremely solid. Sony items should last the distance. Best to buy quality from the start, and as far as radio's go, your looking at it.Highly recommended.

its a nice radio with a good tone but its so complicated , i still have not worked out how to get the LW , i think its designed more for the american market , the warranty only applies to the states, its a pity roberts dont make this type of radio anymore