am-fm

This receiver has one main function; to bring in as many AM (MW) stations as possible, and make them listenable. It does that with flying colors. The analog-style tuning is often hit and miss, but hey, use the tuning scale to mark favorites. The sound reproduction is great, with crisp highs and deep bass. The bass is re-enforced with a loudness control ('bass-boost'as it's called nowadays), that accents the lower audio frequencies at low volume levels. An excellent tuned RF stage resides within, that attenuates images (false signals reproduced by a receiver every 455 kHz that doesn't have a TRF, as well as out of band stations that invade the true signal on the frequency you're trying to listen to). It also improves signal sensitivity as well. Overall station pulling ability was a little better than the much touted 'CCRADIO'. While the CCRADIO has some bells and whistles (a dial light,lcd display, and a tacked on weather/tv band)to glitz it up, the final consideration is what did you buy the set for? To receive long distance AM of course, and a TRF is MANDATORY for such a function. The CC has no TRF and thus suffers from interfering images on AM (especially from the 5 mHz short wave band), and signal overload if you connect an external AM antenna to it. The Superadio doesn't possess that problem, and has superior sensitivity to boot. Also, radio ads (as on Coast to Coast AM and Dreamland), say '...fading on the CCRADIO is reduced by as much as 90%...'. Since the CC possesses no asynchronous detection, that just ain't so, fading was just as bothersome on it as on the Superadio or my old Panasonic RF-2200 multi-band portable. If you want to hear a portable that fights fading, check out a SONY ICF-2010, a superior world band portable with asynchronous detection, lcd readout, a TRF, S-meter and so-forth...If you're interested in long range AM reception, paying a [little moredoesn't make sense when all you're paying the additional bucks for is ad-hype.

I have never been as satisfied with a purchase as I have been with the Superadio III. It is a sucessor to the SR-II, and is even more sensitive than its predecessor. I have done a comparative review between this model and its supposed clone at, and found that the SR-III is clearly a different, and far superior product. The 12-903 is a new model from RS that merely repackages the previous design. So if you want a quality radio with extremely good AM reception on distant stations, the SR-III is the product for you. The SR-III also has a wide bandwidth position that allows high fidelity listening on local stations. Those customers considering the C-Crane unit should be aware that C-Crane equalizes its audio for speech, making music listening poor. FM reception of the SR-III is good as well, stations up to 100 miles away are receivable under some conditions. The only negative points that I can find with the SR-III are the lack of a ten kHz audio filter and the lack of an AM stereo (as well as FM stereo) decoder, that would allow stereo listening through headphones.

The Superadio lives up to the reputation it has for AM sensitivity so I will not repeat it here. It is a joy to listen to.

However the radio case and knobs are made of the cheapest possible material. The entire set looks like it was made in a bargain-basement Chinese factory. Handle it roughly and I suspect it will fall apart.

I wish that the manufacturer would have a better cabinet and build quality. Would not mind paying more for better quality!