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Good Value
During any given week, I probably listen to more radio than I watch TV. Public radio and shortwave might be my main sources of broadcast news and current events. The Yacht Boy 300 PE is among the better battery-powered portables I've come across when it comes to FM reception, and it compares well with Tivoli and Boston Acoustics radios, which are excellent. I can't speak for the AM section, since I rarely listen to it. Some here have been critical of the sound from the 300's speaker, but I have no complaints. You can't expect high volume or big bass from such a small radio. The 300's shortwave reception is very good for the price. I listen almost exclusively with just the built-in whip antenna, but there is an external wire antenna included that improves reception in some cases. A local/DX switch provides attenuation on strong signals to avoid overload, and all 13 broadcast bands are covered. Sensitivity is very good, and selectivity more than adequate. The 300 comes with everything you need in the box, so you get a good bit for your money. The radio comes with an AC adapter, batteries, earphones, and a carry case. Like all Grundig radios I've seen, a guide to shortwave listening is included as well; a nice touch. I tend to prefer analog tuners to digital, despite their supposed inconveniences. To me, scanning the bands is just easier with analog, or at least a rotary knob. The 300 has the usual push-buttons for tuning, but that's likely to appeal to listeners who aren't old-fashioned like I am. At any rate, the controls are logically laid out and easy enough to operate. Even I have to admit the presets are sometimes handy, and the clock and sleep timer are nice to have. Battery life is good, but like any digitally-controlled radio that has a clock, some current is consumed even with the radio turned off. Take the batteries out if the radio isn't going to be used for a while and unplugged from AC. Overall, I'd recommend the YB 300. The build quality seems good, all the accessories are included, and its reception is good. No radio in this price range is going to be perfect, but I give it at least four stars for what it does at its price point. Pretty good for the casual user Hello folks its Vince the radioman. I have been a collector and a buff for many years , love to do compares . This radio is generally ok no major complaints . The tuner quality is good ( although you can only tune down to a 5kh increment). Much better quality than the G2000a. The sound is a bit brassy but clear. Its a good little travel radio and for the casual user its certainly worth the money .I would rate this better than its competitor the Sangean ATS 404 . It has a little bit of a better tuner , better at noise reduction and it has an external ant. jack which is always a plus . Not the best radio for DXers because of the 5kh increment but you can still get some fairly decent results . Grundigs construction quality leaves a bit to be desired ( be careful its delicate!!) but all in all not a bad little radio . If you get a sale buy it. Not bad, but not that great either I like the rich bass sound in FM. AM is not very strong. Couldn't pick up a station which I don't think is even a weak station. Most annoying thing is the reset function. Not just talking about losing all the info in memory, I almost broke it, trying to find out what's wrong with it. Great radio, great price My wife bought this little beauty for me as a gift. Planning to live in Africa for an extended period, I wanted a radio with shortwave to tune into the BBC and Voice of America. Further, I wanted one with solid AM and FM reception to listen to local stations. I was pleased on both counts. Learning to find shortwave stations was easier than I'd expected, and the presets for each band made it easy to toggle to different frequencies for better reception during the broadcasts. AM and FM reception were admirable in our remote village, certainly faring better than the radios of our neighbors. I was also quite impressed by the battery life, especially considering that only three AA batteries are required. A few reviews here have noted that the radio's sound quality is not the best. I'm not an audiophile and thus won't quibble with them. For a mono-speaker radio, however, I think that it sounds quite good. The carrying case is quite nice, and the headphones are average earbuds. The AM wire antenna actually helped quite a bit to improve the signal. The radio is definitely slick-looking, and stood up quite well to the abuse we put it through (only a few nicks and scratches). Overall, this is a very solid radio, and at a great price from a well-respected manufacturer! Average radio The 1st 300PE I bought was dead in one month. It just shut by itself. I like its sound so I bought another one. It worked fine after one year. I like its AM/FM sound quality- very clear. I plug it in to an external speaker and it is good. Shortwave is just average - sensitive anough but with a lot of noise and drifting. When I change battery, I have to re-set memory and clock - I hate this, very inconvenient. Also I may have to reset it (a tiny hole in the back), or nothing works-another inconvenience. | |
