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| Reviews Summary for Grundig Satellit 700 |
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Reviews: 10
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Average rating: 4.6/5
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MSRP: $450.00
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Description: Large High-End AM/FM/SW/LW Digital Portable
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W5DXE
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 20, 2010 08:20
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Best Portable Reciever Period
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I know that some of the Sony 2010 cult followers would argue my statement but I have owned both and except for the fact that the 700 doesn't have the air bands, it is no contest. The 700 blows the 2010 away in all areas. Audio, selectivity, sensitivity etc, etc. I have (2) 700s and am selling one to buy it's big brother the 650. IF you have one hold on to it. There isn't anything out there close to it in a portable platform.
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N4DBM
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 21, 2009 13:51
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Excellent Receiver!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have owned this for unit for years (got it new) and have really enjoyed it. It can store many frequencies in memory, but I have never used the memory bank because direct keypad tuning is so convenient.
There are just four things that I don't like, but even so, I still give it a 5/5 because the receiver is so good for this size of radio..
1. When using the "line out" jack to drive an external audio amp, AM broadcast stations will distort on audio peaks when the RF gain is in "AGC" mode. Backing down the AGC manually will eliminate this. No big deal because most of us do not use external audio amps with this unit.
2. The RF jack is non-standard. You can get the adapter, but the RF jack is still a little on the weak side. I opened my unit up and replaced it with a type-F connector. Problem solved. Again, most people will probably not use external antenna.
3. It is missing some frequency spectrum between 353 and 528 KHz. That's in the NDB band and I'd really like to receive that but can't.
4. For some reason, my backlight stays on very dim all the time even when the unit is turned off and running on batteries. I can't get it to go off no matter what - tried everything. I can't use the unit on battery power because in a few days the batteries are dead because of the light. Probably just a freak problem that is very rare.
Overall, I would recommend this receiver to a friend with a five star rating.
Derek N4DBM.
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KB9GPN
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 17, 2006 20:07
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Years of Enjoyment in Broadcast Listening
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought mine new about a year after they became available in the USA. Hasn't missed a beat.
This is not a receiver to match my ham gear, but it is heads and shoulders above the typical SW portable. At least heads and shoulders over the couple dozen other SW receivers I've owned only to later sell or give away.
Used pricing makes this an inexpensive purchase for a European Designed & Built Radio (not necessarily German built though).
Mine has gone all over North America with me and been a pleasure to own.
Steve
K9ZW (ex-KB9GPN)
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DB2EH
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Rating: 4/5
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Apr 6, 2005 03:52
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topsound, good quality travelradio
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Have owned a new 700 in the past, changed it to a furher new SONY 2010 course the dealer didnīt pay back. Reason for that returning: The 700īs PLL phasejitter which becomes noticable when listening to SSB sigs at lower volumes. The 2010 SSB sounds clean, (after the AGC has been modified).
Itīs disadvantage is the resolution of 100Hz.
(Would be ok, if the 2010`s LO would not drift or if it would have a clarifier).
Iīm owning a dozen different receivers of this - and smaller categories -, homebrew ones and ham gear. A clean and finetunable SSB reception is always a major criteria for me, this beside
frequency stability. As these radios are portables
Iīm not expecting comercial level intermod qualifictions. At least SSB should sound well.
Shure, the GRUNDIG 700 is still a fantastic portable receiver with an unbeatable good sound.
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N0HK
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 25, 2004 14:27
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High end radio for SWLs
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've owned this radio for approximately 8 years. While it lacks the resolution that hams are accustomed to for sideband listening, its intended audience is more SWLs. The external antenna port is a non-standard (for US) connector, but a connector is supplied with the radio. I have used both a multiband dipole and the built in antenna for SW broadcast and HF ham listening. The built in antenna is best for strong signals.
The resolution of 100 hz for SSB is a bit of an obstacle, but it has a clarifier dial on the side to bring in SSB signals fairly clearly with practice. It's definitely no HF ham rig, but the receiver is acceptably sensitive. The RF gain control can be set to "auto" or manually adjusted.
The audio on this radio is outstanding. It has a built in speaker approximately 4" in diameter, as well as a stereo line out and a stereo headphone jack. Mono signals are split to simulate stereo output.
The volume, bass and treble adjustment knobs are on the left side, and the frequency tuning knob, RF gain and clarifier controls on the right side. Operating this radio is a two handed endeavor. Frequencies can be entered directly from the keypad on the face of the radio. The radio has 512 presets divided into 64 groups of 8 presets. The memories can be expanded up to 2048 by the addition of "memofile" memory chips. These "memofiles" are still available from Universal Radio for about $17 apiece. The memofiles are non-volitile, and retain their contents even when removed. Each group of 8 can be individually named, which is handy for SW broadcast stations that change frequencies depending on time of day. The memory function is not intuitive, but is not too difficult to learn.
The original price was over $500, and these radios seem to be selling around $250 - $350 on EBay. Instruction manuals are available for download on the "Grundig Radioboy" web site: http://www.geocities.com/grundigradioboy/ins.htm.
Grundig/Eton (Lektronics) no longer provides factory repair for this radio, but they will provide a service manual (unknown cost) to any repair shop that asks.
The radio was discontinued in 1996 in favor of the Satellit 900, which was never released. The Satellit 800 from Drake came out as a belated replacement. Grundig/Eton has announced that the Satellit 900 with the addition of XM satellite radio receive is due out the last quarter of 2004. This would be a more direct replacement of the 700 since the size, weight and controls are very similar.
All in all, the Satellit 700 is an excellent all around receiver. It is definitely on my "never sell" list.
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TOMMYT
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Rating: 4/5
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Mar 3, 2003 19:23
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I Miss it
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I owned a Grundig 700 for about 10 years. It was a great sounding radio. I sold it recenlty and I wish I never did. Although I bought a 800, I really miss the 700's size and operations. If anyone else wants to sell their 700, think before you act....I wish I did.
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WU6Q
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Rating: 5/5
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May 9, 2002 11:14
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Absolutely Superb !!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've owned my 700 for 4 years, I have dragged it all over Europe with my on business trips ...it is an outstanding performer. I did like my 2010 but never, never liked the "slide-pots" and the fidelity was not as good as the 700 ....but yes, the 700 is a bit larger and has no air band (Sony never should have put air band in the 2010 without a squelch !). With an outside antenna, it does a great job on SSB here in the states and super on FM and AM talk radio, like Art Bell type stuff....I'm very pleased, but I may not go out and buy seven more of them .....
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DO3VF
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Rating: 5/5
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May 9, 2002 02:31
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10 Years in use
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Buying my first Satellit 700 at X-mas 1991, I am using it now over 10 Years. Compared it with Sony's SW 77 and 2010, Sangean 909 and 818, and Satellit 500, 650 and 800. The Satellit 700 beats'em all. Easy to operate (It's a nightmare to store or recall frequencies at the SW 77). Satellit 700 has very good manual gain control, excellent noiseless AF section and features like FM-RDS and mass-storage makes it to the best protable sw receiver you can obtain. I like the manually controlled pre-seletion, the turning-knobs for tone and volume and the real tuningknob. Also the SSB fine-tuning is an advanced feature. Satellit 700 IS NOT a battery-eater ( as Sony is )Today it's used value is even higher than the new price !! I run the 700 with no external antenna, except for AM receiption. Also S 700 is a real portable radio with a real handle (compared to SW 77). The only thing is the sych. detector; here Sony's SW 77 is better. Big deal..... I own 8 (eight) Satellit 700, 4 of'em NEW IN BOX! Never would sell it. Did you know that there is a book "The great Satellit 700" is available at Universal-Radio-Inc.?
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HFHAM
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Rating: 4/5
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Aug 18, 2001 13:12
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Great audio for a portable
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Excellent all-rounder with probably the best audio of a *truly* portable AM/FM/SW radio available. Pretty sensitive and selective. The RDS and memory "page" naming facility are nice touches. The fact that you can recharge (albeit trickle-charge) Ni-cads in the radio is great.
The fly in the ointment with this radio is the synchronous detector. It works to some extent but not as good as the one on the Sony ICF-2010. That said however, the audio on this radio beats the 2010 hands-down.
The sync detector on the Sat 700 is let down by the fact that it introduces an annoying rumble to the received audio. This can be alleviated (not eliminated) by rolling back the "bass" control, however, in doing this, you lose the real advantage that this radio has (i.e. nice rich-sounding audio). Also, you can't de-tune it much before it loses lock when trying to eliminate QRM.
I wish I'd never sold mine and if they were still available (new) I'd probably buy another. Why they replaced this fine radio with the big, boxy, Satellit 800 is beyond me.
All in all, the Grundig Satellit 700 is a truly classy radio. A modern Zenith Trans-Oceanic !
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W5XTC
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Rating: 4/5
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Jul 10, 2000 18:51
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On e of the classics for broadcast listening.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I only gave the (great) Satellit 700 a "four" because I suspect most folks reading this would give greater importance to SW and SSB than I do. As Radio Netherlands points out, the 700 is really only fair as a SW receiver. I listen a great deal to MW myself, with SW and broadcast FM as supplements. Where the 700 really shines is in ergonomics, convenience, and features. It's a big, solid portable that sounds great and has lots of inputs and outputs. It's also the ONLY portable that I've ever tried that really can handle and benefit from an external antenna hook-up. The LED display and memory functions are best-in-class for my money. It's got (stereo!) external speaker outputs if you choose to listen that way. It's got stereo RCA outputs, like a real piece of audio equipment, that are great for recording or amplifying the signal. The timer can control a recorder. It's the only portable I've used that you can hook a bunch of things up to - external antenna, record out, external speaker, power supply - and not flop around like a broken toy or have connections shake loose. I've tried 6 or 8 receivers, and the 700 is the workhorse I've stuck with for day-in, day-out broadcast listening. If you're a DX'er or demand the highest SW audio quality, look elsewhere. But for casual broadcast listening, the 700 is hard to beat.
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