Sangean ATS-909 All Band Digital Shortwave World Band Receiver

First let me say that it is certainly NOT deaf at all on the extremely long whip as stated in many other reviews!

Now on sale at Amazon for only $ 219.99 it is an excellent bargain (including shipping). I have only had my unit for two weeks, but overall I find it to be an excellent and very intuitive and much better sounding radio than the famous Sony ICF-SW7600GR (which I have also used for over a year) and I find the reception comparable, but the Sangean is much more intuitve and user friendly to operate even without the touted Sony synchronous detection circuit.

I have only three very small criticisms so far and I will update this review as I continue to regularly use the ATS-909 on all of the available bands:

1) The Sangean really needs a carrying handle to be installed either on the unit itself (there is not even a carrying strap) or one at least on the fine case that is provided. A friend of mine has one that he really loves and takes everywhere, but it is now held together with duct tape (and still works perfectly even after being repeatedly dropped).

2) If the unit gets totally reset for some reason (I have only read about this problem), the unit will reverts to the Asian list of internal preset stations and has to be sent back to the Sangean factory to be reprogrammed. This process should be certainly be available instead using the computer link on the bottom of the Sangean as a software download on the internet just like upgrading a computer or PDA, cell phone BIOS or other such system.

3) The switches on the right hand side of the ATS-909 unit are a little too small for efficient operation of the radio. Fortunately the SSB (single side-band) switch is directly on the front of the unit and is very easy to control once the main tuning knob is put into the slow mode so that the BFO (beat frequency oscillator) can be readily adjusted to the position of zero beats, i.e., so that the voice transmissions sound (pun intended) completely normal.

I listen to SW since 9 years old and still remembering all frequencies for some stations that no more around... This radio is very high quality, solid and precise. The SW on low/high band is very efficient and sound is very good. As one should understand, any radio is as good as radio conditions are. The time, weather, solar activity they all affect SW waves. If you know what you do and have a good antenna this radio outperforms anything in reachable price range. The memory banks (231 of them) are very well organized, allow banks and automatic scanning through the range and auto selection through the bank frequencies. This is one very smart radio. I purchased mine in 2001 and still no other radio can challenge this brick despite near 8 years have passed since.

The Sangean ATS 909 is my very favorite radio. And that's saying a lot, since I have quite a few different models. The 909 is fairly easy to use, once you carefully study the manual a few times. It's by no means a simple unit - having a number of bells and whistles - but the ergonomics seem to be quite sensible.

Covering the shortwave band is as easy as it possibly could be, thanks to the key pad entry, scanner, tuning wheel, and memory presets. I find this not to be the case with some popular shortwave radios, such as the RP2100/CCRadio-SW.

The sensitivity and selectivity of the AM and shortwave bands are very good, especially when the whip antenna is used. In fact, I've compared the AM reception with that of the CCRadio Plus, and found them to be nearly equal - the CCRadio Plus having only a slight edge. On FM, I find the reception to be excellent as well. And twenty-nine pages of nine presets each, each page able to be titled by the user! That's more than enough memory for an amateur. The LSB and USB also perform very well, and allow you to listen to truck and Ham transmissions.

The tone of the speaker is quite good for a radio of this small size, and probably better than many portables. Some, though, may find it a bit flat on AM and shortwave. It seems to sound best on the FM band. I find it especially nice for classical music played at a soft to moderate volume. An output on the left side of the radio allows you to run the signal through an external speaker system, for even better sound quality.

The 909 rests on a small folding stand which pulls out from the back. As an improvement on this, I would suggest using a plastic radio stand from Universal Radio. This addition will hold the radio at an angle that's much easier for viewing the display, and will help to make the 909 a practical desk or bedside radio. However, the numerals indicating the time of day (in 24-hour format, rather than 12) - although they are always displayed - are rather small for reading late at night. At two in the morning, it's difficult to focus on such tiny digits hiding in an olive green lit display. The beeper alarm is also rather soft. If you're a heavy sleeper, this radio may not suffice for the bedside.

Again, I've used quite a few different radios, and the 909 remains my favorite, alongside the CCRadio Plus. I would rate it as an excellent all-round portable, the very best for sitting down late at night and running through the various bands until your wife says, "Come to bed; it's late!" In fact, I have two (two 909's, that is) - one being the "Super" 909. I would highly recommend either version to any one who takes radio-listening seriously. Of all the models I've used, the 909 is the easiest and most capable and enjoyable one. And although it may not suffice as a bedside model, it makes an ideal desk radio, especially since its 8 1/2" body takes up so little space.

NOTE ON THE "SUPER" 909: After buying and liking very much the regular Sangean 909 radio, I learned of the "Super" 909 model, which costs an additional $100. I carefully researced and considered this modified model for over a year before I finally decided to buy one. After comparing the two, however, I have to pass on my opinion that the "Super" 909 may not be worth the inflated price. The radio's sensitivity is admittedly improved, though not drastically. The tone of the speaker is brighter, especially on AM and shortwave, but it's also more tinny than the original, while the bass response is in no way improved. All considered, this amounted to an unexpected and expensive disappointment, especially in light of the glowing review found on www.radiointel.com, which originally persuaded me to buy the Super model. In fact, in some ways I actually like the older model's tone better; it's warmer, and better suited for music. The most outstanding improvement is in the color of the display light, which is now a brilliant blue when the radio is plugged in, but faint blue when running on batteries. Oh yes, I'm quite pleased with that modification. But even in these environmentally correct times, I wouldn't spend $100 on a blasted light bulb!

So, if you're tormenting over whether or not you should buy the Super 909, perhaps you should at least lower your expectations. Like myself, you might like the older less expensive model just as well, or even better. Then, with the saved $100, take your wife out to dinner!

I purchased this radio several years ago and found it to be a really fine performer. Excellent sw sensitivity, good am and excellent fm as well....considering the ATS 909's rather small size. Sound is quite good, too, for it's size. And it's got a fine assortment of settings/buttons for improved performance.
The big problem was that it didn't hold up well over the long haul. Firstly, the numbers/letters on the buttons that I used most often rubbed off, including the silver paint underneath, and became totally illegible. Then, about a year and a half after purchase, the digital clock refused to hold the correct time. I had it repaired but the clock went bad once again a few months later. And lastly, the speaker went bad, giving only fuzzy, low fidelity sound. It's now, essentially, unusable.
Were it not for the abovementioned problems, I'd rate it five stars. At the fairly high selling price of around $250, the ATS 909 should hold up for a lot longer than it did.
I guess that these days, quality and durability of most electronic goods just aren't as competent as they once were.....sigh.

Good things come in small packages they say. Well this is certainly true for this compact little shortwave radio. Reception is clear and the sound is good quality in all areas.