Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Nick Booras, who writes:
Hello Thomas
I recently got a new Icom 9500 and have made several in depth videos on it for my YouTube channel including multiple direct comparisons to other premium receivers.
Here is the main overview video:
Click here to view on YouTube.
Thank you for sharing this, Nick. The IC-R9500 is an impressive receiver indeed!
I remember my father told me a long time ago, he said Nick I have seen a lot of funerals, but I have never seen a Brinks truck follow the hearse to the cemetery. Spend it while you got it.
Nick: How true your Dad’s advice was. In my own case, I fully intend to enjoy what little I have in the short amount of time I have to enjoy it! The older my “adult” grandchildren get, and the more they make it clear that, while they love me, they nevertheless consider me to be an old fart with outmoded ideas–the more I become convinced that I should leave them a trust with the little piece of land and the few cattle that have been passed down to me, And the rest can go to radios–and other toys!
Best regards,
Russ
Just got a cable to run my new R9500 on DC- well worth it. After three hours continuous use case is barely warm.
Another addition which I connected today is a BHI nes 10-2 mk 4 noise cancelling speaker. It makes a great deal of difference to the ease of listening. I can recommend it .
Carlos, I have had numerous receivers since 1982 – FRG 7, AOR 8600, AOR 5700D, Icom R71, Icom R7100 , Icom R8600,JRC 515,525,535 and 545. Those are just the ones I can remember. The receiver which gives me the most pleasure is the Icom R9500. Many people are mesmerised by the Sherwood rankings ,that is fine by me but for me it is the 9500 that I enjoy using far more than the other receivers I own. It is a personal choice rather like owning a Morgan sports car. I have never seen a Morgan being driven by someone who did not have a wide smile on their face.
Slightly off track I wonder why no one has bought Wellbrook from its now retired owner.
Thanks Anthony,
Quite difficult to find a R9500 in a good shape but I keep looking for one in different sites.
I have already got a bunch of radios too, Drake SPR-4- R4B , EKD514 and even a R&S EK896 but seeing some videos and comparatives with the R9500 is a real winner, specially the sound.
Concerning the Wellbrook issue, since I am nearly to reach my retirement, I was interested in getting some righs and build some antennas in my free time, without any profit. I will ask in the io groups loopantennas forum again but I think something happened with the rights.
I hope to find a R9500 soon.
Carlos
Avoid firmware 1.03
Absolutely necessary to get 1.07
Get newest radio possible. All the bad reviews came from older radios. Watch my videos on YouTube, my radio was purchased new in 2021.
Many thanks for the useful advice. I have realized thet if the serial number starts from 020xxxx the 1.07 firmware can be installed.
Having this important date I will try to get one in a good shape.
Regards
Nick: Hope you see this. I live just north of Corpus Christi—If so please see my extensive comment to your shootout comparing the 9500 to the TS890S. My thanks to you for your several long demos—had to have one and finally found one—new and unblocked! Can’t wait until it gets here.
My email address is [email protected]– may want to discuss the 9500 when it arrives.
Best regards,
Russ
Hello Carlos
I am not an expert in electrical engineering nor am I an audiophile. I can tell you that I own and use many radios including Watkins Johnson, Racal, Telefunken, Rhode Schwarz, Ten Tec, Collins, Kenwood, Yaesu, Icom… and the list goes on. If I could only have 1 radio, it would be the Icom 9500.
Hello Nick , thanks for the useful answer. I will go to the R9500 then, so I am going to sell my Rohde & Schwarz EK896 in order to get some founds.
I will keep stuck with my AOR 7030+ , with Collins filters, and an old RFT EKD512 that also have nice sound.
I was going to buy a WJ8711A but I see that the 9500 is the one to go.
Any secial advice? Software version, year of production….
I am in the process ogf getting a R9500 and seeing some videos on tube I think that the audio is one of the best, crispy and clear. I have or had several receivers, from Drake to R&S EK876, AOR 7030 + and I would like to have the definitive HF receiver and stop wasting silly money.
Since I am just interested in the HF segment I have serious doubts now if the Reuter RDR52/55 would be a better choice. Do not know much about the sound and other characterics that may outperforms the 9500.
I would very grateful if somebody, 9500 owners or similar, could give some advice before doing nothing.
Regards.
Hello Russ
Congratulations on your new radio, I hope you have decades of enjoyment with it. Regarding antennas, I just put up a new YouTube video a few days ago about adding another loop. It was the MLA 30 loop, the very inexpensive one from Amazon. I used it in conjunction with my Wellbrook so I could face the two loops in opposite directions to try to receive signals better from different directions. I am aware that Wellbrook is now out of business however I was lucky enough to forecast that and I have an extra one in a box underneath my desk that hopefully I will never have to use. Short of that I really am not aware of what is the best loop antenna to buy anymore because I haven’t had to buy one in a long time. I will tell you that the way you learn is by spending money and experimenting. I have actually probably owned 50 antennas since I started this hobby, 35 of them were thrown in the garbage and I probably still have 15 laying around maybe five being useful. I heard MFJ makes a loop , there are some other loops. Bonito makes a loop and I have oneandlike it. But you can only buy it direct from their website and they only communicate in Italian. Shipping also took 5-6 weeks. It is an excellent antenna if you can get one, maybe someone in the US is representing them now, but I am unaware of that. I also have an end fed long wire antenna about 40 or 50 feet long and it works well and brings in lots of signals, although it does have more noise than the loops. You may want to experiment with that I bought mine from Universal Radio, in fact, most of my antennas I bought from universal radio. The best way to find out is to get on to radio chat rooms which unfortunately I’m not really a part of and people talk about their antennas all the time and they field questions about them. Best of luck!
Thanks VERY much, Nick. I have already done exactly as you say—not finding a Wellbrook available, I purchased the DX Engineering RF-PRO-1B® Active Magnetic Loop Antenna. Used to be called the “Pixel Loop” under previous ownership. May or may not be as good as the Wellbrook—but no way to know—and as you say—lay out the bucks and see if it works. Reviews are quite favorable.
Also own the TS-890S and had to laugh my ass off at your comparison.?
I was a ham years ago but let my license lapse. At that time, I had an R388 upgraded with the 390 VFO—but don’t ask me how that was done. Just got a new extra class—but like you, I am more interested in listening than in shooting my mouth off in a QSO.
Thanks again (although I probably ought to call you a sorry SOB for forcing me against my will, to spend all that money on the 9500!?. See—it’s all your fault!
Best regards,
Russ
Nick–and company–I hope you are still monitoring this site for replies. I can’t tell you how much your evaluations of this receiver have meant to me. I fell in love with it at first sight on the net–and was worried by that one super-negative review you mention. Then, couldn’t find one–period.
I have now found a site in NY where I can obtain one and have ordered it. Comes in from Hong Kong, next week. Would like to discuss receive antennas with you at some point. Sadly, I see that Wellbrook has gone or is going the way of the Blue Goose.
Thanks again for your intensive assessments.
Russ
Russ apparently, I hit reply to the wrong post, and my answer to your question was fed in above as a generic new post. Perhaps you may or may not see that. So I thought I would just reply quickly here to let you know to look into the original article.
I have just taken delivery of a brand new R9500 and whilst it is early days I am very pleased with it. Apparently, Icom found enough parts to make a final run of about ten units and Icom UK offered two of them to MLS. I did not hesitate and bought the last one trading in an AOR AR5700D and paying £10,000.
It arrived thee days ago in no fewer than three stout boxes. Getting it upstairs into my shack was tricky and I waited a few hours before unpacking it and connecting everything and powering it up.
It runs cooler than my previous R9500 ,the fan came on after two hours and is far quieter. My previous model had firmware 1.03, this one 1.07. To sum up, Icom have made a few changes ,all of them have made a superb receiver even better.
I bought a used 9500 about six years ago . Running it on a/c made it run hot and the noisy fan came on after an hour. I switched to d/c and the fan never came on again.
Comparing it to my Icom R8600 is a bit pointless in my case as I found myself only using the 9500 because I enjoyed using it much more. Our hobby is exactly that- a hobby and therefore we should use the receivers that give us most pleasure . In my case sitting in front of such a superb piece of engineering was incredibly rewarding.
Sadly, I sold the 9500 after a few years as ,not knowing its history, I feared for long term reliability , repairs on this beauty don’t come cheap.
Hi,
How can I contact Nick Booras?
Thanks
Nimrod
4X1BG
I am not comfortable posting my email address. If you are you can post yours and I will reply
Hello Nick, I would like to contact you. Can you please write me back per email?
tks es ’73 de Andrea, [email protected]
Thanks, Nick, for the interesting videos you’ve made with your ‘9500!
I purchased a new R9500 last fall and have been pleasantly surprised to find that various shortcomings reported in the last edition of Passport to World Band Radio were either corrected by Icom or were overstated by Passport. The 2009 Passport reviewed the ‘9500 with 1.03 firmware, and there were subsequent updates. Passport reported that the sync selectable sideband was mediocre, but I’ve found it acceptably decent (even if it’s not on a par with a Drake). But prior to purchase, my main concern was regarding Passport’s observation of “audio dropouts” when monitoring an AM signal in USB or LSB (what Passport used to refer to as ECSS). Thankfully, I have NOT found that to be an issue at all. Not to get all hung up on these “number one” designations, but it would have been interesting to see how Passport would have reviewed the ‘9500 with upgraded firmware and whatever unstated changes may have been implemented over the years. After all, Passport had suggested that the ‘9500 might have ranked as their number one choice, but for the sync and ECSS shortcomings they observed.
While there are apparent similarities between the ‘9500 and the ‘8600, they are very different beasts internally. The ‘9500 is a triple conversion superhet with a range of roofing filters. The ‘8600, by contrast, is direct sampling up to 30 MHz. The ‘8600 is more of an SDR in a stand-alone box, and it delivers very solid performance, to be sure. However, I would definitely say that performance and ergonomics of the ‘9500 beat the ‘8600. That said, if I had to choose between the ‘9500 and the ‘8600 as my *only* receiver, I would choose the ‘8600 simply for (1) the smaller footprint/weight and (2) the much lower current draw, which make field applications eminently more do-able with the ‘8600.
Jon and Dan, thank you for your comments.
Jon
I am glad that someone is confirming I am not seeing things! My radio too, as you can actually see in my videos, is performing much better than the online reviews. In fact those reviews kept me from buying this radio for 2 years. I am so glad I decided to take a chance.
Compared to the reviews, my radio:
-Does not get hot
-In fact fan has only come on 1 time, while scanning
-my Sync works great, watch my videos
-My NR works as good as 8600, maybe better, watch videos
-ECSS works great, watch videos
-My internal CF card is 512MB from the factory not 128
-while far from perfect, my scope does not create too much noise to get weak signals, see my video
I agree the 9500 is better in performance and ergonomics than the 8600. The only thing better on the 8600 is the scope. IMO, I do not consider the 8600 a portable radio so size is of no consideration. I tried using my 8600 remotely and while it may use a lot less power than a 9500 it still uses too much for a remote/portable in my opinion. Using my largest Lifpo battery I could barely get 1 hour of listening time. The screen while beautiful, still uses too much power. Turning off or way down the screen defeats the purpose of owning it . For remote use I use my Icom 705 and bring its own internal and another external Lifpo battery and I can listen until I get bored!
I should do a comparison to the 705 and 9500.
I wish you many years of enjoyment with your 9500. Truth be told, I haven’t turned on any of my other radios except to compare them to the 9500. Best purchase I have ever made.
Hello Nick,
I, would agree with your observations on the bulleted points that you’ve laid out (with the exception of a no comment on the CF card, as I’ve not checked the one in my ‘9500). Also, I would thank you for the fact that I’ve gleaned a number of good pointers on the ‘9500 from watching your videos.
WRT my comment on the use of the ‘8600 in the field, I agree that it is *definitely not* portable. But it can be packed away in a medium sized Pelican case, as I used to do with my AOR 7030+. WRT batteries, again, I’m not talking portable, but rather an 18AH 12VDC SLA battery. Bescor makes some nicely form factors suitable for such applications:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/228192-REG/Bescor_BES018ATM_BES_018ATM_Shoulder_Pack_Lead_Acid.html
What’s more, in my hypothetical, I was speaking to a situation that I hope never happens — that I’m limited to only one receiver! And in that hypothetical, I was giving a choice between just the ‘9500 and the ‘8600.
I, too, love the ‘705 for its ease of deployment. Given its relatively compact size, rich panoply of features, and internal power source, I don’t do the receiver + SLA battery field combo nearly as often as I used to, while, similarly, the E1, ‘2010, and other battery powered portables don’t get as much “on the run” action as they previously did.
But to close on the subject at hand, I’ve definitely found the ‘9500 to be an impressive receiver, and I have no regrets on having taken the plunge.
Nick: Yes—a comparison between the 9500 and the 705 would be most welcome! Thanks for all you do.
Russ
Thanks to Nick for doing these extensive overviews of various receivers incluing the 9500. Though out of price range for many people, the 9500 appears to be equal to the ICOM 8600 other than where the display is concerned. It’s interesting that here in 2023 the 9500 is still available new.