"lsmyer" wrote in message
...
I found one of the YB400PEs still on clearance at $129.97 at a nearby radio
Shack yesterday. I bought it, and then went to a nearby parking lot to test
it against my Degen DE1103 and my SRIII. If it had held its own against the
1103, then I was going to keep it.

Sorry Grundig. The YB400 did well, but the 1103 did better. Any station
that the YB400 received, so did the 1103. But there were two stations on
AM and two on FM that the 1103 heard faintly but the YB400 did not. I had
my SRIII there mainly as a reference. There was an AM transmitter a mile
away, and it seemed to bother the SRIII much more than it did the other
two. It even prevented the SRIII from getting a couple of the stations
that both of the smaller radios heard.

I like a lot of the features of the YB400. It seemed to have a lower noise
floor than the 1103. And the Grundig's button layout and volume knob is
much better than the layout of the 1103. I really liked the YB400. And I
strongly considered keeping it anyway. But then I remembered how the
radio's lack of a tuning knob was one of the reasons I sold an earlier
version a few years ago. Still, I can see why people have loved the YB400
so much over the past ten years. It's a very nice radio.

But maybe it's time to move on. I truly think Degen has raised the bar
with its 1103. I now consider Degen and Tecsun to be superior to the
former Big 3 (Sony, Grundig & Sangean). And the next radio I buy will
probably be the Degen 1105.

No mention of how the use of an external antenna would play into the
comparison ??? For example... One would think that a 7600gr, DE-1103 or a
YB-400 is a more sensitive radio then the ATS-909 until you compare them all
using some sort of a substantial external antenna. I'm not disputing your
results, though. I've read that the 1103 is great off the whip. Also... No
question about how great it is for a portable to have a tuning knob. I have
several portables as listed in my signature. I think the most capable of my
radios is the 7600gr. Still... If I want to sit outside and surf the bands
I almost always bring the PL-550 just because it has a tuning knob.

One of the things I really liked about the YB-400 was the rich and defined
audio quality. How do you find that the 1103's audio quality compares to
the YB-400 ??? Is the 1103 respectable ???
--
Respectfully,

Michael

Location: New Jersey
Primary Receiver: R-75 with full Kiwa mods
Antennas: G5RV, 200ft "Frankenstein" roof wire
Additional Radios: 7600GR,KA-1101,KA-1102
PL-550, KA-989, Info-Mate 837, GE-SR III
Westinghouse H-104 (seven tube)
Web Site: http://md_dxing.tripod.com