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Reviews For: JRC NRD-535

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : JRC NRD-535
Reviews: 16MSRP: 1600.00
Description:
General Coverage Receiver
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.rigpix.com/jrc/jrc_nrd535.htm
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00164.6
OZ4KID Rating: 2009-06-14
Best receiver - ever! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
When you´re reading these reviews of the NRD-535 that people have made in here, you´ll probably think...crazy...these folks paid so much for their receivers that they don´t dare to tell the truth.

Well, they do! And the truth has already been told numerous times, this receiver will be a classic of all times, it can do just about everything, narrow down to just about the smallest signal your antenna can pick up, people even prefer the NRD-535 to the NRD-545 which even has a digital filter, still, this wonderful combination of analog and digital, keeping all the sound completely analog - combined with the best filters and finest electronics money can buy, you´ll wonder whats up with that - well - try it, you WILL get addicted - just like the rest of us.

That is - if you´re lucky enough to find one, because they don´t produce this baby anymore.

If you´re worried about the new digital-trend with DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) that is now covering parts of the shortwave, you´ll not go wrong with this radio either, its 12 khz aux is capable of delivering exactly what your DREAM decoder needs and want - connected to a PC and with the right software, you´ll be tuned into Digital radio before you know it. It has a 200 memory storage, so you won´t drain empty there either. This is actually a very modern radio that was WAY ahead of its time, but with better parts.

I had the NRD-525 before this one, and now I have the NRD-535D (yes, thats the deluxe model with all the extra options), and with the External speaker - it´s a dream come true. Paid 600 bucks for it last year - a steal if you ask me.
G7NIX Rating: 2008-05-07
The Very Best. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought my 535 new in 1992 with the BWC and ECSS mods. At the time it cost me £1850.00, yes £ not $, a small fortune to me at the time. I had great trepidations as to whether I had done the right thing. But my fears were unfounded, it has been without doubt the best radio I have ever owned, and I have owned a lot. It is used nearly every day, and has not given me an ounce of trouble in the whole sixteen years I have had it. I also have a NRD-545 but do not enjoy using it as much as my good old faithful 535. I bought it from Lowe Electronics, which also make their own very good radios. At the time if you bought it from them for an extra £100 they would give it what they called the "Lowe Treatment". This included things like: High spec. crystal IF filter for SSB and AM."Carefully calculated audio bandwidth flattening", Tighter spec. ECSS system, Pre-aging and burn in of master oscillator, and an individual test certificate with each receiver. This really made an already very good radio truly excellent. The only outside difference between a Lowe treatment set and the standard one is a little Lowe badge on the front panel by the AF gain control. If you ever come across one of these for sale, grab it! as they are rare. There is no doubt the NRD-535 is a top quality receiver one of the best ever, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good classic radio.
QRPNUT Rating: 2008-04-03
A dxers dream!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Everything they say about this rx is true. It is truly a dream to use hour after hour. I have the barefoot model except for the addition of a 500 kc filter. While the specs say it goes down to 100kc, I have logged Indian naval station VTX 3 at 18.5 kc many times and an unid on 14 kc. All this on a clone of Burhan's design amplifier with a 26" whip antenna!! The only cons are poor audio from the onboard speaker but fine with outboard. The other is that the numerals on the keyboard should be recessed as they wear off easily.
NL6001SWL Rating: 2006-09-08
This (second) one is a keeper Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is the second one i own, the first one i traded for an Icom R8500 and altough that was a fine and capable receiver, it was not even close to the comfort and the looks of the 535. Now i own one again with BWC ECSS and 2 small filters, and the matching speaker NVA319, and altough i have a few other highly respected receivers like the AOR-7030, the 535 is and will stay my favorite.
If you can put your hands on one, just don't think and take it if you can afford it.
N1KPR Rating: 2006-08-28
Still my favorite Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is the last radio that will ever leave my shack. I have many, but the 535 is the do-all, be-all for me. This isn't my best radio, but it is my favorite. I won't go into all the tech stuff except to say that its sensitivity, selectivity and dynamic range are fine for everything that I do. It is by far the most ergonomic of all the receivers I have, without confusing menues, buttons, and things that have to be memorized. I have spent many, many night time hours in front of my old friend - the NRD-535D. The 515 and 545 both hold a very close second, for their own special reasons, but his guy is still #1 in my stable.
KZ5I Rating: 2006-08-27
Excellent !!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently acquired a JRC NRD-535D from Ebay and I'm glad I did. The receiver has excellent audio. The internal speaker does an adequate job but will do better with an outboard speaker as mentioned in earlier reviews.

The receiver is user friendly and the large display is pleasing to look at. I haven't really needed to use many of the controls as yet except for the notch filter and from where I sit it does an excellent job.

The model I am reviewing is the 535D and it does have a few more interference controls than the 535 does.

Pros:
* easy to use
* good control layout
* numeric keypad

Cons:
* Can't think of any