Bill Jones wrote:
On 2004-03-25 09:40:27 -0800, Al Arduengo said:

Neurotech wrote:

Hello guys,

I am interested in buying a 909, but here there are some QC problems.
Is this true? And does this radio perform well, compared to my 2010
or YB-400?

Thank You


I just purchased the 909 yesterday. I originally had the YB400PE and
after reading reviews of the 909 vs YB400, I returned the 400 and got
the 909. My opinions:

The Grundig has a better quality 'feel' with respect to packaging. I
found the limit of 40 presets to be a little restrictive for a newbie
like me. It is small though and sounds very nice. The backlight is
useless. The carrying case is rather nice.

The Sangean is somewhat larger but not too much so. It has a ton more
features including auto tuning for FM/AM presets, nice backlight, tons
of preset memory, three alarms timers, RDS capability, to name a few.
I haven't yet noticed an improvement in reception over the Grundig but
then again I am new to swling so I wouldn't really be able to make an
educated statement about it.

I got my 909 at Fry's for $149 which is exactly what I paid for the
400. The slight drop in quality of the radio case is acceptable in
exchange for the tremendous increase in memory and functionality over
the Grundig. Now if only I could stay up all night listening! (too
old for that I guess).

I suspect one day I will want more receiving capability but for now
there is a ton of stuff to hear. I love mine.

Cheers,
-Al


Al,

$149 is a good price, did this include the AC adapter, ANT-60 wind-up
antenna, headphones and case?

Thanks,

B.

Yes it did. In my searches I found the asking price elsewhere to be in
the 219-249 range but I am not sure if that is truly representative of
the fair value. I just bought the Passport to World Band Radio 2004 Ed.
and was at first a little dismayed to find the 909 only rated 2 stars
compared to the YB400PE's 3 stars. But in reflecting on the entire book
(which I think is generally wonderful!) I get a sense that Grundig has a
little clout with the authors. There are an enormous number of ads for
Grundig and coincidentally many of the rundig radios faired
significantly better than others - including Sangean. But before anyone
claims a case of sour grapes, I admit I may be a little miffed that the
radio I ended up with got a lower grade than the one I exchanged it for.
Ah well. I still like my 909 and frankly I think the features are
worth the single-star penalty.

Thanks for the message!
Best,
-Al