Thanks Dan. It was interesting to me to see how these radios do on their own built-in antennas. All actually managed to pull in this rather weak signal, which is quite impressive. But there is quite a difference then in how the signal is processed and what it sounds like on each radio.
Hello André, this is a nice and interesting comparison vidéo, thanks. I'm a bit surprised that you didn't enroll your D-608WB here, it used to be your champion radio 😄 Well, if I may, for once I beg to differ. I've carefully watched your video twice to build my opinion. Over the first pass, to my admittedly mediocre ears the D-109 brings up the clearest signal, only to be harmed by the annoying whistling sound we don't hear on the other radios (well, I didn't at least). The audio produced by the Eton is muffled and distorted (was the b/w setting the same on all radios?). And it's even worse on the D-808 and the PL-368 which do seem to fare disappointingly here. Obviously there is a lot of QSB (fading) here and the Qodosen seems to enjoy a moment of much stronger signal when it's back on stage by the end of the video, which does make it the clear winner in the end. But when compared it to the beginning of the video, it's obvious that something has changed. That's the frustrating thing about comparing receivers. Weak signals like this go up and down all the time. If weather allows me to go to the park today, maybe I'll shoot my own comparison video too ☺
Thanks Alain, it was actually quite hard for me to form a final opinion here. Just about the D-608WB first, it is actually for a very practical reason that you haven't see the D-608WB in my videos recently. You know I record sound for my videos digitally now, but a few weeks ago I did just that with the D-608WB, only to find that the recorded sound was just terrible. There seems to be an issue with the earphone jack on my D-608WB, like it does not connect properly to the cable. Which means I cannot make digital sound recordings from the 608... A pity, as I do like it a lot. So if I use the 608 in future, it will have to be mic recording, which is not the best. Back to the comparison. This test lasted much longer than what you see in the video here. I was listening and recording for about 40 minutes in total, because the signal was fluctuating so much. At times it was bright and clear, then faded away again. That's why the Qodosen sounds so clear at the end, and the D-109 also seems to have moments of very clear reception. Just after the last clip of the Qodosen the signal faded away sharply again. I wanted to give each radio a fair chance, so this video in the end shows a continuous section around the middle of my listening period when the signal seemed to be the best and more or less similar on all radios. But my final opinion is certainly a bit biased, because I base it on what I had heard over the entire period. I couldn't really declare a final winner here, because conditions were fluctuating so much. I think, in the end, for most people it will be about which radio they can understand the best under similar fairly poor propagation conditions, and that is very subjective. For me it is the Qodosen and the Eton, but I can fully understand why others might find the signal more intelligible or clearer on some of the other radios. I think the value of this test is more about which radio everyone would prefer personally when propagation is fluctuating so much and when each radio processes this weak signal in a somewhat different way. I really dislike that whistling sound on the D-109, and I hear some whooshing on both the D-109 and the D-808. The Eton is muffled, but, to my ears, easier to listen to and more stable, as is the Qodosen. The bandwidth was more or less the same on all the radios, between 3 and 4 kHz, the Tecsun was 3.5, the Eton has a fixed bandwidth, I think it is 3 kHz.
Thanks for your reply and precisions, André. You prompted me to make an immediate recording test between my D-608WB and my V-115. I recorded some music on FM and playback sounded perfect. That's weird. I can't exactly recall which receiver you use for recording, I don't think it's the V-115, is it? It seems like an impedance mismatch issue, which isn't something you can do much to fix. As for the comparison, yeah, as all people with poor hearing, I need more high audio frequencies and that's the reason why I tend to dislike radios with a more or less muffled sound. I'm surprised you don't hear the distortion in the audio from the Eton, though. I'll be out for some outdoor action... (edited for corrections)
@@F4LDT-Alain Hey Alain, thanks for your comment! I use the Tecsun ICR-110 for my recordings, it is only when I record the D-608WB that there seems to be an issue. That is why I thought it might perhaps just be a poor connection between the jack and the cable. Maybe at some point I will try another cable and see if it helps. I do hear the distortion on the Eton, but I still prefer it 😀 Enjoy the outdoor action!
It said the Qodosen SR-286 is based on the DSP chip which is designed for cars radio use. So it offers levels of performance and adjustability far beyond what we have come to expect of portable radios Howmush (USD)?
Hi Eyad, that is completely correct. The Odosen uses the TEF6686 chip, which is mainly used in car radios that need to find radio signals while people are driving, and hold on to those signals well. That is one of the reasons why it is so good on MW, it can catch even weak MW signals while people are driving around. It is technology that is much more sensitive than the Silicon labs chips that most DSP portables use. The Qodosen is still pricey though, around $120 on Ali Express, and around $145 on eBay.
