Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

For many reasons this is absolutely the best valued shortwave receiver on the market. 1. Synchronous detector! It enables the radio to lock onto signals with tenacity. It reduces fading and noise and enables you to eliminate interference by selecting a sideband on the other side of the interfering signal. On the SW7600GR it works very well. No other radio at this price has sync detector. 2. Build quality. Made in Japan. The radio even feels robust. It is. 3. Sensitivity. 4. Great portability. Of course there are also some liabilities. Sound through the little speaker is not as good as some competing products. But given that this little Sony blows the competitors away in almost all other respects, this is a minor quibble. The sound isn't bad; it just isn't room filling. As a personal radio this isn't such a liability. Plus, you can always use earphones or connect to auxiliary speakers (Cambridge Soundworks?). The memory system is simple, without alphabetic labels. There is no tuning dial, just jog buttons for scanning the bands. Simplicity makes for easy operation, though. FM reception is respectable (much better than the very expensive big brother the Sony ICF-SW77). Standard AM reception is good, possibly very good. But if you are interested in DXing the AM bands, you already have a GE Super Radio. It doesn't have an AC adaptor (and you should AVOID buying the horrible--and horribly expensive--official Sony adaptor). If you want to power from AC, get an inexpensive one. I power mine with rechargeable NiMH batteries which work better than alkalines and can be reused hundreds of times. Buy two sets of batteries and you'll always have a set charged and ready to go. Battery drain is respectively low and the unit functions perfectly on the slightly lower voltage NiMHs. As a travel radio, or as an introduction to shortwave, I can't think of a better unit. Probably the best recommendation for the 7600GR is that in spite of all the laudable reviews, using one for the first time still surprises. Originally priced at just under $200 US, current street prices make this an incredible value. Now for the bad news. Sony is getting out of the world band radio business. These little gems may soon be unavailable. So if you're interested in the 7600GR, now is the time.