Tecsun PL-660 Review

Here is a review of the new Tecsun PL-660. It is very similar to the PL-600, and can be bought on Amazon and eBay for roughly $80-$100. If you are looking at a new receiver or looking for a comparison to the Sony ICF-SW7600GR and Grundig G3, the PL-660 has a slight edge over the Sony, but is much better than the early G3 models.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• shortwave
• SW
• DX
• DXing
• Tecsun
• PL-660
• Sony
• ICF-SW7600GR
• 7600GR
• Eton
• E5
• Grundig
• G3
• G5
• sync
• ssb
• am
• fm
• radio
• multiband
• receiver
• international
• broadcasting

[natalinoPT]

Considering that this radio currently costs only 15USD more than a Grundig G6 (which I own), it sounds like awesome value for the money. Thank you for this review!

[chrisfreitas]

@natalinoPT Oh yeah, it's definitely worth it. It used to be roughly $100, but Amazon jumped the price up to about $120. You can actually find it much cheaper on eBay (look for a seller named Anon) where is is going between $70-$80!

[scottidee]

does this have a ferrite antenna & air traffic ?

[chrisfreitas]

@scottidee Yes, the Tecsun PL-660 has a ferrite antenna used for AM reception. The receiver also has Aircraft bands.

[robertkoascorpio]

Thanks for your reply Chris about similar performance on the Sync capabilities between the 660 and the Grundig G3.

i have a eton E10 which is NOT the same as the Tecsun 660 but is similar in speaker and size and weight etc,and can imagine that the Tecsun may have a bit more volume and bass response than the G3, I had a G5 here briefly and the E10, while not as sensitive was deeper and louder than the G5.

[chrisfreitas]

@robertkoascorpio Oh, I know that the E10 is not the same as the PL-660. For starters, the PL-660 is jam packed with features that the E10 just doesn't have like sync detection. The look of the Tecsun is very similar to the Eton receiver. Interestingly enough, some Tecsun radios bear striking similarities to Eton and Grundig radios such as Grundig Satellit 750 & Tecsun S-2000 and Grundig GS-350DL & Tecsun BCL-3000.

[chrisfreitas]

@robertkoascorpio I am not 100% sure on the later versions of the Grundig G3, but the videos seem to suggest that the Tecsun 660 and newer G3 radios are similar in performance. Both seem to have good sync detection and excellent audio quality. They pretty much have the same features except for RDS (on FM), a cool feature that's helpful for identifying stations and songs but not necessary. When it comes down to price, the Tecsun PL-660 is an attractive alternative to the G3 & Sony SW-7600GR.

[robertkoascorpio]

chris- but the later versions of the G3 - seem to have on Youtube really good signal to noise and powerful Sync.

How would you compare the Tecsun 660 to the LATER versions of the G3 ?

[ljebnet]

Actually airband mode does work.

[chrisfreitas]

@alphaflix I am assuming that the sticker inside the compartment has the manufacturing date in it. According to the series of numbers, mine was built in January 2011 (Some of the sequence read "201101"). So I say it's a fairly recent build.