{"id":48473,"date":"2021-04-09T08:46:47","date_gmt":"2021-04-09T12:46:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=48473"},"modified":"2021-04-09T08:46:47","modified_gmt":"2021-04-09T12:46:47","slug":"starting-to-compare-the-tecsun-h-501x-and-sangean-ats-909x2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/04\/starting-to-compare-the-tecsun-h-501x-and-sangean-ats-909x2\/","title":{"rendered":"Starting to compare the Tecsun H-501x and Sangean ATS-909X2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I took delivery of the Tecsun H-501x<\/strong> yesterday morning and the Sangean ATS-909X2<\/strong> last week.<\/p>\n

I’ve been waiting for these portable receivers for what seems like ages<\/em>, and both arrive within one week<\/em> of each other.<\/p>\n

My initial impressions are positive for both radios, but I know it’s time to start some proper comparisons.<\/p>\n

These portables are arguably the flagships of both manufacturers, so I decided to pit them against a “legacy” portable that has a reputation for eating other receivers for lunch: the Panasonic RF-B65<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

“Nom nom nom…”<\/p><\/div>\n

I fully expect the RF-B65 to emerge as the leader of this pack on shortwave in AM mode. No kidding. That’s why it’s a benchmark. If you can out-perform the RF-B65, you’re a five-star, Holy Grail portable and that’s the end of the story.<\/p>\n

Where both the H-501 and ATS-909X2 will have an advantage is in audio fidelity. Both have excellent built-in speakers.<\/p>\n

In addition, while the Panny RF-B65 is a great AM mode radio, it has very basic BFO controls and fine tuning for SSB. No doubt, I’ll likely pull out a different receiver for SSB comparisons.<\/p>\n

Dan Robinson just published his initial review of the H-501x<\/a> and I’m in agreement with his observations.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

DanH expects his ATS-909X2<\/a> back from firmware update soon and I look forward to his evaluation.<\/p>\n

I plan to write a review of the Sangean ATS-909X2 for the June 2021 issue of The Spectrum Monitor<\/a> magazine. My Tecsun H-501x review may appear in TSM as well.<\/p>\n

I will post updates here on the SWLing Post<\/em> and possibly some comparison audio\/reception examples.<\/p>\n

Tecsun H-501x availability<\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Troy Riedel, received word from Anna at Anon-Co that they hope to have their first batch of H-501x units available to ship by the end of April 2021. Pricing has not yet been firmed up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I took delivery of the Tecsun H-501x yesterday morning and the Sangean ATS-909X2 last week. I’ve been waiting for these portable receivers for what seems like ages, and both arrive within one week of each other. My initial impressions are positive for both radios, but I know it’s time to start some proper comparisons. These […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[836,3,129,43,154],"tags":[8875,9236,2642,4407,5341,600,8874,4086,479,9235],"class_list":["post-48473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-products","category-news","category-reviews","category-shortwave-radio","category-shortwave-radio-reviews","tag-ats-909x2","tag-h-501x","tag-panasonic","tag-panasonic-rf-b65","tag-rf-b65","tag-sangean","tag-sangean-ats-909x2","tag-shortwave-radio-reviews","tag-tecsun","tag-tecsun-h-501x"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-cBP","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":48626,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/04\/dan-robinson-reviews-the-sangean-ats-909x2\/","url_meta":{"origin":48473,"position":0},"title":"Dan Robinson reviews the Sangean ATS-909X2","author":"Thomas","date":"April 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Dan Robinson, for the following guest post and review: Sangean v Tecsun in the Battle of Late Shortwave Era Portables:\u00a0 The ATS909x2 by Dan Robinson Some years ago \u2013 actually more than a decade \u2013 I decided to give Sangean a shot at winning me over in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X2-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X2-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X2-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X2-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48744,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/05\/dan-revisits-the-venerable-xhdata-d-808-portable-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":48473,"position":1},"title":"Dan revisits the venerable XHDATA D-808 portable radio","author":"Thomas","date":"May 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following guest post: Revisiting the XHDATA: What Sangean Should Have Learned from the D-808 by Dan Robinson Recent additions to the shortwave portable receiver market have been quite impressive, especially considering the continuing decline in the use of shortwave\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Posts","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/guest-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"XHDATA D-808","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/20210502_142822.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/20210502_142822.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/20210502_142822.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/20210502_142822.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54318,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/10\/sangean-ats-909x2-uli-is-seeking-information-about-firmware-version-78\/","url_meta":{"origin":48473,"position":2},"title":"Sangean ATS-909X2: Uli is seeking information about firmware version 78","author":"Thomas","date":"October 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Uli (DK5ZU), who writes: Hi Thomas, I hope you are fine! I just bought a Sangean ATS-909X2 despite of the mixed reviews it earned in the beginning. There are a lot of reviews as on SWLING and other sources. But I think no newer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X2-7.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X2-7.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X2-7.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X2-7.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52877,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/05\/matts-rooftop-receiver-shootout-round-two\/","url_meta":{"origin":48473,"position":3},"title":"Matt’s Rooftop Receiver Shootout: Round Two!","author":"Thomas","date":"May 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Matt Blaze, for the following guest post: Matt's Rooftop Receiver Shootout, Round Two. by Matt Blaze You may recall that back in April, I dragged eight of my favorite receivers up to the roof, hooked them up to a portable antenna, and compared their abilities to demodulate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Posts","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/guest-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Matt-Blaze-Shootout-2-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Matt-Blaze-Shootout-2-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Matt-Blaze-Shootout-2-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Matt-Blaze-Shootout-2-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Matt-Blaze-Shootout-2-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48443,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/04\/dans-review-of-the-flagship-tecsun-h-501x-portable-shortwave-receiver\/","url_meta":{"origin":48473,"position":4},"title":"Dan’s review of the flagship Tecsun H-501x portable shortwave receiver","author":"Thomas","date":"April 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, for the following guest post and review: The H-501:\u00a0 Jewel in the Tecsun Crown, With Some Attractive Features by Dan Robinson Since 2020, there has been one Tecsun receiver I have been most looking forward to reviewing, and that is Tecsun's H-501.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Tecsun-H-501-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Tecsun-H-501-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Tecsun-H-501-3.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Tecsun-H-501-3.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15554,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/11\/dan-compares-the-sangean-ats-909x-with-two-classic-portables\/","url_meta":{"origin":48473,"position":5},"title":"Dan compares the Sangean ATS-909X with two classic portables","author":"Thomas","date":"November 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who\u00a0shares a radio comparison he initially posted in the excellent Extreme Shortwave Listening Facebook group. Dan writes: When the Sangean ATS-909X was first released a few years ago, I decided that I would hold off obtaining one to let whatever bugs there\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Posts","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/guest-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sangean-ATS-909X-Sony-SW07-Panasonic-RF-B65","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Sangean-ATS-909X-Sony-SW07-Panasonic-RF-B65-1024x386.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Sangean-ATS-909X-Sony-SW07-Panasonic-RF-B65-1024x386.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Sangean-ATS-909X-Sony-SW07-Panasonic-RF-B65-1024x386.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48473\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}