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| The Grundig S450DLX |
What it is:
As stated previously, the S450 has been a shocker for me on all bands, truly all bands - MW / SW AM, and FM. Super sensitive and quiet and selective, with a 5in speaker and separate bass and treble knobs. A very enjoyable listening experience for someone who is interested in tweaking out the difficult signals in rich audio (line out & headphones out). 900 broadcasts from Hamilton, Ontario - about 500 miles from my location, and is pitted against 910 - a local (10 mi) 50k watt annoyance. I have only been able to select and listen to 900 with two radios - the Sony ICF-SW7600GR, and now the Grundig S450. The Sony locks onto the signal with the sync function selected to lower side band. On the Grundig I simply position the radio appropriately, and turn down the RF gain. Clear broadcast reception on AM 900 CHML (who broadcast radio dramas nightly at 10:00 PM EST. Last night the broadcast was Dragnet.
RF gain knob does what it is supposed to and really reduces imaging of stronger signals on MW and SW AM. Receiver is remarkably quiet for being digital PLL. Increase the gain and you get the RF, but very pleasant to tune quietly with the RF down on SW - which is phenomenal (on par with the 7600GR and maybe a little more selective).
The "DX and Local" switch I find effectively lessens fading. It is not a sync but the effect is similar on fading signals in the DX position (reminds me of the way the 7600gr can lock on a lesser signal via lower and upper sideband sync. It should also be said that this switch on the S450 seems to be more effective than the sync function of the pricier Grundig G3. )
Well, is there anything bad about the radio?
What it isn't:
-Static sound when selecting between AM bands. Maybe this will go away.
-No SSB for SW; no direct entry tuning; no DSP (is this always a con?); no ATS (You see how the Tecsun models are setting new standards!); not really portable per se (although I do carry it around the house whilst listening)
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