Grundig S450DLX Deluxe AM/FM/Shortwave Radio, Black (NGS450DLB)

• AM/MW (520-1710 KHz / 522-1620 KHz), FM (88-108 MHz), SW (continuous frequency range from 1711-29999kHz).
• Provides high sensitivity, strong anti-interference, low background noise and lower distortion.
• MCU Control (micro controller unit) and large LCD backlight display
• 50 station memory (10 presets for each band).
• Individual MW 500 Ext./GND socket for external antenna and ground to improve MW sensitivity.

Ordered from Amazon and received my radio a few days after Christmas. As a radio enthusiast I have been in search of the perfect radio. My interests are mainly in MW dxing and have been looking for a modern radio with strong AM reception. My location is in North East PA on the outskirts of a small city. I enjoy listening to am stations located in Philly, Chicago and NYC. Two years ago I decided to look for a new radio that would have the ability to pick up my favorite stations during the daytime. I currently own several Grunding radios, the G3, G5 and G6 that I have purchased thru Radio Shack. (As a side note I must have bought and returned those models several times until I found a hot one that performed well). I was in search of a modern radio with AM performance close to my Sony ICF-2010. I must admit that this radio is very close and has better AM reception than my Sangean 909 and Sony ICF-SW7600GR. The 2010 is still the king, but I am very happy with this radio.

The FM performance is also very good, however my little Tecsun PL -310 with DSP has it beat. By the way, the 310 also has very good AM performance for it's size.

The s450 is a large radio, and when loaded with six "D" cells it gets quite heavy. Included with it is power adapter that in my comparison added little to no extra noise. Overall the radios build quality is decent. The tuning nob and most other switches seems ok, with the exception of the wide, narrow and FM switch. The display lights up well and there is a switch that will also light up most of the buttons on the front panel. The radio comes set with a annoying beep when turned on, but I found that if you hold the sleep button down when the radio is off it will disable this feature. So, in summary, this radio is not perfect but for me comes very very close with terrific AM sensitivity and for the money it is a great deal.

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Out of the box, this radio was fantastic! Then I put batteries in it. AM was okay, but noisy when my CCRadio and CCRadio-SW weren't. I also couldn't get a lot of farther away stations with it. Very disappointed. Saw on another site it's only got a 5.5" ferrite bar for AM. I think an 8" bar would easily fit this radio. What a waste. SW was okay, about the same as the CCRadio-SW, but nothing spectacular. Not bad, not good, average; and there's really nothing wrong with that, it's just not anything to crow about. FM though... FM was great for 3 days. Then it completely died on the radio. Nothing. Researching online I found that's par for the course for this radio. It went back to the store, got a replacement. 4 days later, FM gone again! This time I got a refund, not another replacement.

Bottom line, I'd avoid this radio until they get the problems fixed. It will be a great radio for the price then, but not now it's not. Stay away. Very far away!

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I currently own the Tecsun PL-600 and the Grundig S350 DL radios. They are both superior reception radios for AM/FM. I didn't really give it good long test for SW reception since I'd already determined the 450 was going back.

Compared to the S350 the 450 looks and feels cheap. The reception is much weaker and sound is tinny whether though the speaker or headphones. Even when the station was locked on with a strong signal it still sounded weak to me. I read the entire manual and changed every setting I could think of to improve this.

I expect a field radio to have a strong speaker sound like the S350 DL has. The 450 speaker sounds more like the much smaller PL-600.

I like Tecsun/Grundig/Eton products but this particular radio is lacking. I don't consider myself a radio expert by any means but for this money I would look elsewhere. If you don't already own a Grundig S350 DL, I would certainly give it a strong look.

With this Worldwide lousy economy it seems that many companies are flat out cutting costs so much they are now producing inferior products. I know it's happening in the digital camera industry as well. Consumers are buying the older versions in greater numbers.

kd

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After having read early reviews of this radio from January 2011, I was a little concerned when I ordered it. It arrived nicely packaged, although the main tuning knob was off the shaft and loose in the box. Thankfully, it pushed back on easily and has a smooth, "analog" feel to it.

All controls work well, and selectivity and sensitivity are good, certainly in the same class as other radios in this price range. I'm using this radio primarily for AM and FM and I'm satisfied so far with its performance.

The S450 is exceedingly good looking and, after a month of use, I don't have any severe complaints, but I do wish the bass were a bit deeper.

For the $80.00 price on Amazon.Com, I think I made a good purchase. It's early, and only time will tell if it will hold up well, but you get a year warranty period, so I'm not concerned.

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new above the 350 dlx

--Audio in, yes now you can plug in your favorite mp3 player or standalone satellite radio player.

--PRESETS---yes, thank you!

--6 D batteries instead of 4 on the 350dlx, so longer play

--my favorite, the lock key, I carry my radio in my backpack when I bring it to work ( a delivery driver) and the 350 used to always turn on, the lock button is a nice feature

the only con is the snooze and alarm buttons on the top edge of the radio. I wedge the radio in a spot in my truck where it is lying face up the sometimes the buttons will get pressed and make a little beeping, and I'll have to adjust the radio. It's a minor thing and it's really about where I place the radio, not the radio design. All in all, great upgrades over the previous model. No headphones come with it like the 350 dlx. but the speaker sounds crisper.