• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

HD 100 vs Accurian vs BA Receptor vs GE Portable Reviews

W

wgliradio

Unbiased reviews of 3 HD radios and a GE portable circa 1979. Ratings on a scale of 0-5, with 5 being the highest
===============================================
Boston Acoustics Receptor:
The FM radio is not as sensitive as the Accurian.. or as selective. The audio quality of the FM tuner is somewhat better than the Accurian and can be pleasant to listen to if the station is not blending. When the radio does flip to HD, the extended high end can be heard. Bass and Treble controls for the analog and digital side would be a bonus so you could better balance the sound.

The AM is very deaf. This seems to be a unit to unit problem, which doesn't make you feel much better. Selectivity is high, which leads to the poor at best audio quality.

There are easter eggs with this unit. A radio should not have easter eggs. It is built well.

FM:
Sensitivity: 3
Selectivity: 4
Audio Quality of FM: 3

AM
Sensitivity: 2
Selectivity: 5
Audio Quality of AM: 2

ERGONOMICS
Ease of Use: 2
Build Quality: 4

TOTAL: 3.12/5
===============================================
ACCURIAN 12-1686
A poor *sounding* radio, the audio is way too tubby and the built in clock runs fast. FM reception is very good, better than the Boston Accoustics... it's a shame the audio stage and the overall quality of the FM tuner itself doesn't allow it to shine. This unit is also quite good in high RF areas. This unit sounds better using the headphone jack and a line out and going into a receiver.

The AM has an overactive AGC circuit, but reception is quite good. The audio would sound alot better with a redesigned audio stage.

The ergonomics are not good. My display died after only 3 months and the radio had to be replaced. The menu setup is not the best and the preset EQ's just seem to go from bad to worse. The clock does not keep time (perhaps one of the worst digital clocks I have ever seen). I have windup clocks that keep better time that are out of calibration.

FM:
Sensitivity: 4
Selectivity: 5
Audio Quality of FM: 2

AM
Sensitivity: 4
Selectivity: 5
Audio Quality of AM: 3

ERGONOMICS
Ease of Use: 2
Build Quality: 3

TOTAL: 3.5/5
=================================================
Radi-osophy HD-100
Probably the most pleasing to listen to of all four radios in the demo. The FM is as selective as the others... probably has the worst sensitivity of all four (with the Accurian having the best). The FM tuner itself is VERY clean and very pleasing to listen to. The blend to HD is not as noticeable as the analog does not seemed buried in mud like the Accurian and Boston Accoustics. You can get a real A/B comparision in HD.

The AM is sensitive and very selective and has the second best audio quality of all the radios (behind the GE).

The radio has some neat features like a signal strength meter and an alarm clock (!!) The build quality is not so hot, and reminds me of a cheap Soundesign radio from the 80's. How long this radio will last will tell. If it just was a little more sensitive, this would probably be better than the GE all around.

FM:
Sensitivity: 3
Selectivity: 4
Audio Quality of FM: 4

AM
Sensitivity: 4
Selectivity: 5
Audio Quality of AM: 4

ERGONOMICS
Ease of Use: 4
Build Quality: 2

TOTAL: 3.75/5
==================================================
General Electric P4920B
A quality portable with good marks for FM and great marks for AM. Not stereo, but if you deal with reception, the FM has the same quality as the SuperRadio with the exception that you don't have the binding posts for an external antenna. The audio quality is clippy for FM and can be bassy at times, the radio could use some tone control. Selectivity is not as good, but the radio is very sensitive. Has some trouble in high RF areas.

The AM is about as good as you can get. A perfect tradeoff of bandwidth and selectivity and it's very sensitive. A pleasing radio to listen to. Top 5 portable AM's I have ever used.

Ergonomics are very good. A few knobs and a band switch. Build quality? The radio is 26 years old, somewhat beat up and works fine.

FM:
Sensitivity: 4
Selectivity: 3
Audio Quality of FM: 2

AM
Sensitivity: 5
Selectivity: 4
Audio Quality of AM: 5

ERGONOMICS
Ease of Use: 5
Build Quality: 4

TOTAL: 4/5

CONCLUSION: The GE has strong AM and build quality points the other radios do not have, which push it ahead. The HD-100 needs to come up a bit and I like what I see from Radi-osophy. The Accurian and BA are hopeless first generation radios IMHO. Time to move on from them.
 
wgliradio said:
Unbiased reviews of 3 HD radios and a GE portable circa 1979. Ratings on a scale of 0-5, with 5 being the highest
===============================================
Boston Acoustics Receptor:
The FM radio is not as sensitive as the Accurian.. or as selective. The audio quality of the FM tuner is somewhat better than the Accurian and can be pleasant to listen to if the station is not blending. When the radio does flip to HD, the extended high end can be heard. Bass and Treble controls for the analog and digital side would be a bonus so you could better balance the sound.

The AM is very deaf. This seems to be a unit to unit problem, which doesn't make you feel much better. Selectivity is high, which leads to the poor at best audio quality.

There are easter eggs with this unit. A radio should not have easter eggs. It is built well.

FM:
Sensitivity: 3
Selectivity: 4
Audio Quality of FM: 3

AM
Sensitivity: 2
Selectivity: 5
Audio Quality of AM: 2

ERGONOMICS
Ease of Use: 2
Build Quality: 4

TOTAL: 3.12/5
===============================================
ACCURIAN 12-1686
A poor *sounding* radio, the audio is way too tubby and the built in clock runs fast. FM reception is very good, better than the Boston Accoustics... it's a shame the audio stage and the overall quality of the FM tuner itself doesn't allow it to shine. This unit is also quite good in high RF areas. This unit sounds better using the headphone jack and a line out and going into a receiver.

The AM has an overactive AGC circuit, but reception is quite good. The audio would sound alot better with a redesigned audio stage.

The ergonomics are not good. My display died after only 3 months and the radio had to be replaced. The menu setup is not the best and the preset EQ's just seem to go from bad to worse. The clock does not keep time (perhaps one of the worst digital clocks I have ever seen). I have windup clocks that keep better time that are out of calibration.

FM:
Sensitivity: 4
Selectivity: 5
Audio Quality of FM: 2

AM
Sensitivity: 4
Selectivity: 5
Audio Quality of AM: 3

ERGONOMICS
Ease of Use: 2
Build Quality: 3

TOTAL: 3.5/5
=================================================
Radi-osophy HD-100
Probably the most pleasing to listen to of all four radios in the demo. The FM is as selective as the others... probably has the worst sensitivity of all four (with the Accurian having the best). The FM tuner itself is VERY clean and very pleasing to listen to. The blend to HD is not as noticeable as the analog does not seemed buried in mud like the Accurian and Boston Accoustics. You can get a real A/B comparision in HD.

The AM is sensitive and very selective and has the second best audio quality of all the radios (behind the GE).

The radio has some neat features like a signal strength meter and an alarm clock (!!) The build quality is not so hot, and reminds me of a cheap Soundesign radio from the 80's. How long this radio will last will tell. If it just was a little more sensitive, this would probably be better than the GE all around.

FM:
Sensitivity: 3
Selectivity: 4
Audio Quality of FM: 4

AM
Sensitivity: 4
Selectivity: 5
Audio Quality of AM: 4

ERGONOMICS
Ease of Use: 4
Build Quality: 2

TOTAL: 3.75/5
==================================================
General Electric P4920B
A quality portable with good marks for FM and great marks for AM. Not stereo, but if you deal with reception, the FM has the same quality as the SuperRadio with the exception that you don't have the binding posts for an external antenna. The audio quality is clippy for FM and can be bassy at times, the radio could use some tone control. Selectivity is not as good, but the radio is very sensitive. Has some trouble in high RF areas.

The AM is about as good as you can get. A perfect tradeoff of bandwidth and selectivity and it's very sensitive. A pleasing radio to listen to. Top 5 portable AM's I have ever used.

Ergonomics are very good. A few knobs and a band switch. Build quality? The radio is 26 years old, somewhat beat up and works fine.

FM:
Sensitivity: 4
Selectivity: 3
Audio Quality of FM: 2

AM
Sensitivity: 5
Selectivity: 4
Audio Quality of AM: 5

ERGONOMICS
Ease of Use: 5
Build Quality: 4

TOTAL: 4/5

CONCLUSION: The GE has strong AM and build quality points the other radios do not have, which push it ahead. The HD-100 needs to come up a bit and I like what I see from Radi-osophy. The Accurian and BA are hopeless first generation radios IMHO. Time to move on from them.
Click to expand...

Nicely Done.

The Accurian and BA are hopeless first generation radios IMHO. Time to move on from them.
Click to expand...

Heh heh. Great analysis. Thanks for a great review here in the swamp.

Clouseau
 
wgliradio said:
Unbiased reviews of 3 HD radios and a GE portable circa 1979. Ratings on a scale of 0-5, with 5 being the highest
===============================================
Boston Acoustics Receptor:
The FM radio is not as sensitive as the Accurian.. or as selective. The audio quality of the FM tuner is somewhat better than the Accurian and can be pleasant to listen to if the station is not blending. When the radio does flip to HD, the extended high end can be heard. Bass and Treble controls for the analog and digital side would be a bonus so you could better balance the sound.

The AM is very deaf. This seems to be a unit to unit problem, which doesn't make you feel much better. Selectivity is high, which leads to the poor at best audio quality.

There are easter eggs with this unit. A radio should not have easter eggs. It is built well.

FM:
Sensitivity: 3
Selectivity: 4
Audio Quality of FM: 3

AM
Sensitivity: 2
Selectivity: 5
Audio Quality of AM: 2

ERGONOMICS
Ease of Use: 2
Build Quality: 4

TOTAL: 3.12/5
===============================================
ACCURIAN 12-1686
A poor *sounding* radio, the audio is way too tubby and the built in clock runs fast. FM reception is very good, better than the Boston Accoustics... it's a shame the audio stage and the overall quality of the FM tuner itself doesn't allow it to shine. This unit is also quite good in high RF areas. This unit sounds better using the headphone jack and a line out and going into a receiver.

The AM has an overactive AGC circuit, but reception is quite good. The audio would sound alot better with a redesigned audio stage.

The ergonomics are not good. My display died after only 3 months and the radio had to be replaced. The menu setup is not the best and the preset EQ's just seem to go from bad to worse. The clock does not keep time (perhaps one of the worst digital clocks I have ever seen). I have windup clocks that keep better time that are out of calibration.

FM:
Sensitivity: 4
Selectivity: 5
Audio Quality of FM: 2

AM
Sensitivity: 4
Selectivity: 5
Audio Quality of AM: 3

ERGONOMICS
Ease of Use: 2
Build Quality: 3

TOTAL: 3.5/5
=================================================
Radi-osophy HD-100
Probably the most pleasing to listen to of all four radios in the demo. The FM is as selective as the others... probably has the worst sensitivity of all four (with the Accurian having the best). The FM tuner itself is VERY clean and very pleasing to listen to. The blend to HD is not as noticeable as the analog does not seemed buried in mud like the Accurian and Boston Accoustics. You can get a real A/B comparision in HD.

The AM is sensitive and very selective and has the second best audio quality of all the radios (behind the GE).

The radio has some neat features like a signal strength meter and an alarm clock (!!) The build quality is not so hot, and reminds me of a cheap Soundesign radio from the 80's. How long this radio will last will tell. If it just was a little more sensitive, this would probably be better than the GE all around.

FM:
Sensitivity: 3
Selectivity: 4
Audio Quality of FM: 4

AM
Sensitivity: 4
Selectivity: 5
Audio Quality of AM: 4

ERGONOMICS
Ease of Use: 4
Build Quality: 2

TOTAL: 3.75/5
==================================================
General Electric P4920B
A quality portable with good marks for FM and great marks for AM. Not stereo, but if you deal with reception, the FM has the same quality as the SuperRadio with the exception that you don't have the binding posts for an external antenna. The audio quality is clippy for FM and can be bassy at times, the radio could use some tone control. Selectivity is not as good, but the radio is very sensitive. Has some trouble in high RF areas.

The AM is about as good as you can get. A perfect tradeoff of bandwidth and selectivity and it's very sensitive. A pleasing radio to listen to. Top 5 portable AM's I have ever used.

Ergonomics are very good. A few knobs and a band switch. Build quality? The radio is 26 years old, somewhat beat up and works fine.

FM:
Sensitivity: 4
Selectivity: 3
Audio Quality of FM: 2

AM
Sensitivity: 5
Selectivity: 4
Audio Quality of AM: 5

ERGONOMICS
Ease of Use: 5
Build Quality: 4

TOTAL: 4/5

CONCLUSION: The GE has strong AM and build quality points the other radios do not have, which push it ahead. The HD-100 needs to come up a bit and I like what I see from Radi-osophy. The Accurian and BA are hopeless first generation radios IMHO. Time to move on from them.
Click to expand...


Did you use the defective B.A. for your tests? The Sangean tuner is much better than the table radio. One of these days when you are across the river you'll have to come over and check out what a good B.A. sounds like. I'm also getting a HDT-1X soon. I'll let you know how it compares with the HDT-1, which is a fantastic tuner. As to the GE Superradio, I've owned both version 2 & 3 and although mine are pretty good most have horrible dial accuracy. What the Superradio does well is that it's very easy on the 6 D cells. I run mine only on batteries. On the other hand it's not really a DX machine. I have both a Yaesu FRG 7000 gilfer modified and my Kenwood TS 430 and both of them blow away the GE. you really can't do splits on the GE. For the price nothing comes close but it's not in the same league as a real communications receiver.
 
Being a radio collector (packrat), I thought I might pick up this GE radio. I CANNOT FIND IT on the web. Could you post a link to it, so I can at least check out what it looks like? Where did you find yours?
 
Mike Walker said:
Being a radio collector (packrat), I thought I might pick up this GE radio. I CANNOT FIND IT on the web. Could you post a link to it, so I can at least check out what it looks like? Where did you find yours?
Click to expand...


http://www.geocities.com/rbrucecarter/sr.htm

http://mysite.verizon.net/vze20h45/radio/superadio/gesr_faq.html

http://www.dobe.com/wts/funk/GESRIIIreview.html

http://www.amazon.com/7-2887-Superadio-III-Portable-Radio/dp/B00000J061

http://www.grove-ent.com/gereceivers.html

Hope this helps
 
Thanks RF, but I've already got a SuperRadio III. And thanks WGIL. It looks as if that one on Ebay is sold out, but I'll keep lookin'...especially if they're that cheap.

I guess I'm crazy (ok, I AM), but I LOVE radios. Can't get enough of 'em.
 
Mike Walker said:
Thanks RF, but I've already got a SuperRadio III. And thanks WGIL. It looks as if that one on Ebay is sold out, but I'll keep lookin'...especially if they're that cheap.

I guess I'm crazy (ok, I AM), but I LOVE radios. Can't get enough of 'em.
Click to expand...

No problem Mike, and you should know that wgli is one of the good guys, even if he's not an HD fanatic. Sorry I blew your cover wgli :)
 
Mike Walker said:
Thanks RF, but I've already got a SuperRadio III. And thanks WGIL. It looks as if that one on Ebay is sold out, but I'll keep lookin'...especially if they're that cheap.

I guess I'm crazy (ok, I AM), but I LOVE radios. Can't get enough of 'em.
Click to expand...

I picked up the one you see there, it's the 2nd in my collection.
 
Well that 'splains it, wgliradio. Hope you enjoy it.

I'm itchin' for the new CCrane CCRadio with shortwave, and internal active antenna.
 
wgliradio said:
No It's not a SuperRadio!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MEWN:IT&viewitem=&item=300117626021&rd=1&rd=1

It's this radio. The AM section blows the doors off any portable I have owned... ever. It's nothing to look at, but it's really good. The FM isn't bad either as long as you're not in a high RF area
Click to expand...
GE has always made a decent AM radio. I have several in my collection, AM is good on all. The Superradio 1, though, is probably my most selective and SR-3 my most sensitive. If I can combine the best features of both designs, I'd really have something!
 
R.F. Burns said:
The Sangean tuner is much better than the table radio. One of these days when you are across the river you'll have to come over and check out what a good B.A. sounds like. I'm also getting a HDT-1X soon. I'll let you know how it compares with the HDT-1, which is a fantastic tuner.
Click to expand...

Has anyone figured out how the make the Sangean HDT-1 return to a "power on" state after the tuner loses AC power? Right now, if the power goes out, it returns to "standby" and you have to manually push the power button to make it come back to life.

This is a really amazing tuner. On FM, it is incredibly sensitive and selective, while being immune to strong RF environments. It could have quite a following in the broadcast market for EAS, translator and monitoring functions, if it would only stay powered on. Unfortunately that little detail makes it less than desirable for a lot of industrial and broadcast purposes. I'll bet that there is a way to defeat it. Any suggestions?
 
Chuck said:
R.F. Burns said:
The Sangean tuner is much better than the table radio. One of these days when you are across the river you'll have to come over and check out what a good B.A. sounds like. I'm also getting a HDT-1X soon. I'll let you know how it compares with the HDT-1, which is a fantastic tuner.
Click to expand...

Has anyone figured out how the make the Sangean HDT-1 return to a "power on" state after the tuner loses AC power? Right now, if the power goes out, it returns to "standby" and you have to manually push the power button to make it come back to life.

This is a really amazing tuner. On FM, it is incredibly sensitive and selective, while being immune to strong RF environments. It could have quite a following in the broadcast market for EAS, translator and monitoring functions, if it would only stay powered on. Unfortunately that little detail makes it less than desirable for a lot of industrial and broadcast purposes. I'll bet that there is a way to defeat it. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

It would have to be a parameter setting, init OFF, ON, or previous state of power-up.
This has not likely been provided for, as the default to power-off is considered to be the safest for consumer equipment.
I suspect this feature, if it exists at all, would be hidden.
For quite a few years, hardware power switches have been more or less obsolete, as everyone wants remote controls.
 
Tom Wells said:
I suspect this feature, if it exists at all, would be hidden.
For quite a few years, hardware power switches have been more or less obsolete, as everyone wants remote controls.
Click to expand...

Here is how I have defeated this "feature" on a lot of equipment. A power on pushbutton is nothing more than a closed contact. I have a little add-on circuit that puts an RC time constant off of rectified and filtered raw AC - into the gate of an FET, which temporarily closes a relay - until the capacitor is charged then the relay opens up. Completely transparent to the user unless there is an interruption of AC.
 
rbrucecarter5 said:
Tom Wells said:
I suspect this feature, if it exists at all, would be hidden.
For quite a few years, hardware power switches have been more or less obsolete, as everyone wants remote controls.
Click to expand...

Here is how I have defeated this "feature" on a lot of equipment. A power on pushbutton is nothing more than a closed contact. I have a little add-on circuit that puts an RC time constant off of rectified and filtered raw AC - into the gate of an FET, which temporarily closes a relay - until the capacitor is charged then the relay opens up. Completely transparent to the user unless there is an interruption of AC.
Click to expand...

I can see a "cottage industry" taking these things and modifying them with a few features such as always on power, balanced outputs, MPX out, rack mount (supposedly standard on the next generation anyway) and maybe even a set of relay contacts that would close in case of a loss of carrier. Maybe Sangean should consider that since it matches or even outperforms tuners costing several times the asking price for the HDT-1.
 
rbrucecarter5 said:
GE has always made a decent AM radio. I have several in my collection, AM is good on all. The Superradio 1, though, is probably my most selective and SR-3 my most sensitive. If I can combine the best features of both designs, I'd really have something!
Click to expand...

What makes this radio better than the SR1 is that the noise floor seems to be lower, by a very noticable amount
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom