Sony ICF-SW7600GR AM/FM Shortwave World Band Receiver with Single Side Band Reception, plus External Plug-in Antenna by Sony
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Digital camera reviews of Sony ICF-SW7600GR AM/FM Shortwave World Band Receiver with Single Side Band Reception, plus External Plug-in Antenna
Digital camera Review: A Portable World
Summary: 4 Stars
I am not new to the world of DXing. Within the last few years I've owned both a Yachtboy 400 receiver and a Realistic DX receiver and have found the shortwave experience to be very pleasurable.
I chose the Sony 7600GR based on reviews I read on the web and must say I am not disappointed. In particular, I read a review comparing the Yachtboy and a comparable Sangean receiver with the Sony. The point that swayed me to the Sony is its low power consumption. I use it exclusively on rechargable AA batteries (I have two sets of 4 batteries each) and am extremely satisfied with the duration of their before-recharging life. Though I've not recorded the actual time I can play before recharging becomes necessary, my sense is that it's around 20 hours.
From my backyard on Long Island, New York, using the the radio's whip antenna, unaided, I have received stations from halfway around the world (New Zealand, Australia, Vietnam) as well as the Middle East (Egypt, UAR) and Europe. The Caribbean and South America are also fertile SW environments. I was particularly interested in getting Russia, which is a snap. My 13-year-old niece, who is totally immersed in new technology (computer, i-Pod, etc.), often joins me outside (we use a splitter to listen on separate headphones) and has become my 'navigator'. She will suggest a country and we will use the SW guide included with the radio and go hunting!
If I have a complaint, and this is a minor one, it is that in scanning mode the program will stop for only three seconds on a captured signal before it moves on. That doesn't give you much time to decide if you want to listen or not. I have found that if you hit the 'direct' button on the display pad this pauses the scanning cycle and then you'll have all the time you need to make a decision. A more serious complaint is that when you replace the batteries, you have just 60 seconds to install them before all the presets are erased. I can replace the batteries in 30 seconds, so this is not an issue with me, but for others it might be a hassle.
The reviews stated the audio quality of the speaker is not as good as it could be. I have found that using headphones remedies this. Actually, I think this 'problem' is way overstated. I use the radio to listen late at night on both AM and FM, before I go to sleep, and have no complaints about the sound.
I bought this radio knowing you can spend as much as you want on desktops and various antenna arrays and computer-integrated control and obviously get better performance. But for the money (less than $150) and convenience, it is hard to see how you could do better than the Sony 7600GR. It affords the average person a simple, straightforward and easy introduction to world-wide radio, which I find to be vital, intriguing and not-at-all replaceable by the World Wide Web.
Tim Baralis
Commack, NY, USA
Digital camera Review: A great radio
Summary: 5 Stars
If you want a great shortwave radio, look to further. This is by far my favorite SW radio on the market. Pick this one up, you wont be disappointed. If you arent familiar with shortwave listening, you will be amazed at what you can pick up.Digital camera Review: A great radio, let down by a couple of small flaws
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this to replace a Panasonic RF B33, which had seen sterling service for many years. The bottom line is that it is a great radio. Sound quality is good, construction is rugged, features are second to none in this price range.
The only thing stopping me from giving it a 5 are a couple of small useability issues. First, why has the 'alarm' function been renamed 'timer standby memory'? Come on. Why obfuscate setting an alarm. It's not too difficult to work it out, and the manual is ok, but why?? Secondly, battery life is not great, and the backup time while you're changing batteries is not very long (a few minutes). While that's enough to change batteries, if you leave it without batteries for more than a few minutes you loose all the settings. There's no real excuse for that these days.
Bottom line is that I highly recommend this radio. Just a couple of tweeks from Sony would make it perfect.
Digital camera Review: A great radio. Get this!
Summary: 5 Stars
Hello all,
I've been a shortwave listener/ham since eons ago, and have used most of the popular radios, desktop and portable. One of my all time favorites was the Sony 2010. In side by side tests, the 2010 could hear stations that more expensive table tops could not. This 7600GR reminds me of the 2010. The synch detector--which lets you listen to AM/shortwave stations that fade in and out more easily, reminds me of the 2010, and I think the sensitivity is similar with the whip antenna. Sony's speaker audio has never been hi fi, so get a pair of skullcandy buds, and enjoy this radio, its a very competent design. If it had a tuning knob and a push button to turn the synch detector on and off, rather than a slide switch I'd call it a 99.5% similar 2010 radio, which is saying a lot, believe me. As it is designed, I'd say it's 99% of the 2010. Yes, shortwave is receding as a radio listening activity, but still, this radio, if it is Sony's last sincere product for this listening, is worth your money for a digital radio. And, the AM broadcast band performance is quite good as well. If you want high fidelity, this, or any other radio other than a Grundig table top, is not for you in terms of sound. Technically, its a real receiver, worthy of your attention.
update June 2009: Well, the Degen 1103 is far more sensitive on all bands and I wish I had not discovered this fact. Also, the Sony chews up batteries far more quickly than I'd hoped. The Degen 1103 is far more easy on batteries.
update Aug 2010: I stand by my June update--unfortunately---since I have always liked Sony, had the 2010, and thought it was a truly great radio. The 7600GR is difficult to band scan with, and while it has sync detection like the 2010, I've found that the sync detection on the 7600GR loses 'lock' and you hear a groan sound when it does, then it re syncs and you hear a 'whooooop' sound then. The 2010 never did this. If the 7600GR had a tuning knob and stronger RF amplifier, that would make it a great performer in my opinion. If you know what frequencies you want to listen to , and not band scan, then its tuning interface is fine. Me, I like to scan the bands. I'd say, having used most of the digital keypad Sony shortwave radios, from the 2001 to the 2010 and the 7600, that the 7600 is in the same class as Sony's keypad radios except for the 2010---you can dial up a station, or listen to SSB, but the sensitivity is not very good. In an emergency, I'd want excellent sensitivity on all bands and low battery drain---the 7600 does not fill this role, and I'm very sorry to note this. If you want an excellent analog tuning Sony with low battery drain and super sensitivity, the SW23---available only from Japan sellers---is a an excellent very small analog tuning, two battery radio. The Degen 1103 and 1105 are also good bets.
Digital camera Review: A portable receiver packed with the most features available.
Summary: 4 Stars
I owned this general coverage receiver for 9 months. It is high quality. It is full of features crammed in the smallest possible package for portability. The sound is good. The AM/SW reception is much better compared to my older 9 band analog Sony shortwave receiver ICF-4920. I must add that the sound coming from the smaller speaker in the older ICF-4920 is more impressive. Anyway, the 7600GR's FM reception is outstanding. In thick walled buildings, I recommend using the spool antenna, that is included with the radio, for improved FM reception. The first thing I did after I acquired the 7600GR was to get a good 120V wall adapter for continuous use. Knowing the available adapter was inadequate for clear reception, I snatched a discontinued Sony AC-E60L adapter, which supplies 6V DC at 650mA, and works well with the 7600GR. Alkaline batteries do not last very long in the 7600GR.
After about 7 months of service, the LCD display began to fade, so I had to return the 7600GR to Sony for an exchange under warranty. Sony handled the exchange very professionally and gave me a like-new refurbished unit with 90 day warranty. So far, I have had no problems with the exchange unit, and the LCD display is much more easier to read than the original unit.
In conclusion, the 7600GR is a very nice travel companion. Sony service is also outstanding in the way it handled the product defect. I would have given this product 5 stars, if the defect did not arise, for I have NEVER had problems with the Sony products I already own.