Best Current Radio??

[Sandy G]

Just a wild-ass thought..why not get her one of them late '50s-early '60s Zenith AM/FM tube sets? My gran had one, it was sensitive enuff to pull in Black Mountain/Asheville, NC here-about 75 miles. Yeah, you can put an external antenna on 'em, & I think they made about 3 jillion of 'em in all different varieties. Get one for 25 bux, have the caps replaced for another 25 or so, & you're all set. Plus, you/she'll have something that's going up in value-OK you won't be able to retire off it, but at least it won't be valueless in a few years. Like I said, just a thought. Prolly a bad one, but that's just me...<grin>-Sandy G.

[Yamaha B-2]

Needs to be completely hassle-free for my 83 year-old mother. Having a tube or cap pop or not work, etc., would not be to her liking. Think modern, small SS is the way to go for her.

[Celt]

Go with the Tivoli then. It's very easy to use. I had to tweak my GE out to get the alignment just right, but what do you expect out of a $40 radio? The CC Radio has good sensitivity and alot of features, but nothing much in the way of fidelity. I own one of those too and the Tivoli and GE smoke it in sound quality.

[stereofisher]

Have not tested the Tivoli. I like the Super Radio III. Don't where its made much. Gave two away this year to friends. Got AM and FM sections. I have beem Listening to AM 740 CWHO out of Toronto. I live here in Southeast NY and the GE pulls it nice.

Started collecting old portable multi-band radios. My big surprise is my Montgomery Ward radio. OK FM but super AM!! My Zenith Inneroceanic is good on both AM and FM. You might try one of these. Plenty on Ebay. Listening to AM 740 tonight along with WKRW ?? in Buffalo NY at 1520 My friends are happy with the GE's. For $60 its a deal!

Eric

[radiolee]

IMHO, I think grandma might be very happy with the Superradio. Excellent sound, analog tuning (I hate digital tuning), very good selectivity. The weak point is the on-off switch, it's kinda fragile, but if you take it easy it's fine.

I posted a comment a while back about an Emerson label retro style two piece radio that is similar to the Tivoli's. Nice big vernier tuning dial and excellent bass. It has been my main listening radio since I got it and it's a bargain. I bought an extra one since Target was closing them out. Even has an auxiliary input.

Lots of good vintage SS radios out there, Zeniths and GE's are my faves.

Cheers!
Lee

[Chad Hauris]

I enjoy old radios very much but have found the best receiver for rejecting adjacent channel interference on FM is a Sony Digital Tuning mini-stereo system. There is a 10-watt public radio translator on 99.5 that I like to listen to. It is about 30 miles away, and there are 100,000 watt stations on 99.1 and 99.9. The Sony digital tuning can pull in the 10 watt station almost noise free, using a dipole antenna outside the window, when other radios get swamped by the 100 kw stations. It has been my experience that digital tuners seem to have the best FM selectivity.
Also a Panasonic digital tuner boom-box can get the 10 watt station much better than the analog tuner sets I have tried.

The absolute BEST for AM I have seen is the Philco AM-FM 8-track unit in my 1978 Grand Marquis. It can pull in a station on 580 khz from 150 miles away during the day where other radios struggle with noise on it. You can rig up an old car radio with a 12-v supply for super quality AM reception.

[dsk]

Does that Tivoli have an alarm?