{"id":64689,"date":"2025-11-22T08:07:50","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T12:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=64689"},"modified":"2025-11-22T08:07:50","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T12:07:50","slug":"not-so-identical-jeff-compares-the-pl-660-and-pl-680","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/11\/not-so-identical-jeff-compares-the-pl-660-and-pl-680\/","title":{"rendered":"Not So Identical: Jeff Compares the PL-660 and PL-680"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor Jeff McMahon, who notes that he\u2019s just published a new article<\/a> exploring why the Tecsun PL-660 and PL-680 \u201ctwins\u201d aren\u2019t quite twins after all. Jeff compares the two radios in his garage setup and finds that while the PL-660 is more sensitive, the PL-680 has a clear advantage where it really counts outdoors: better audio fidelity without distortion at high volumes.<\/p>\n

You can read Jeff\u2019s full post here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Jeff McMahon, who notes that he\u2019s just published a new article exploring why the Tecsun PL-660 and PL-680 \u201ctwins\u201d aren\u2019t quite twins after all. Jeff compares the two radios in his garage setup and finds that while the PL-660 is more sensitive, the PL-680 has a clear advantage where […]<\/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":[3,43],"tags":[4464,330,3456],"class_list":["post-64689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","tag-jeff-mcmahon","tag-tecsun-pl-660","tag-tecsun-pl-680"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-gPn","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":62221,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/02\/jeff-compares-the-tecsun-pl-660-and-pl-680\/","url_meta":{"origin":64689,"position":0},"title":"Jeff compares the Tecsun PL-660 and PL-680","author":"Thomas","date":"February 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Jeff McMahon, who notes that he\u2019s published a new post on his blog, the Herculodge. In this article, he compares the Tecsun PL-680 with its near-twin, the PL-660, and shares his observations on performance, design, and speaker quality\u2014along with a few unexpected surprises. You\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\/2025\/02\/Jeff-PL-660-and-680.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jeff-PL-660-and-680.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jeff-PL-660-and-680.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jeff-PL-660-and-680.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11744,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/tecsun-pl-680-could-be-available-in-january-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":64689,"position":1},"title":"Tecsun PL-680 could be available in January 2015","author":"Thomas","date":"December 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Steve, who writes: Anna from Anon-co (eBay seller) sent me this little tidbit of info on the PL-680 [...]\u00a0I thought I would pass it along given your interest. At least we know it is a real product and could be available as early as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Products"","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"(Image source: Nevada Radio)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/PL-680-Nevada.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/PL-680-Nevada.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/PL-680-Nevada.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12349,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/02\/a-review-of-the-tecsun-pl-680-with-reader-survey-results\/","url_meta":{"origin":64689,"position":2},"title":"A review of the Tecsun PL-680 with reader survey results","author":"Thomas","date":"February 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"When I heard early reports about the new Tecsun PL-680, I was already wondering how\u00a0it would\u00a0stack up alongside\u00a0other Tecsun portables. An early photo of the Tecsun PL-680 revealed how very similar it is, indeed,\u00a0to the Tecsun PL-600, which has been on the market for many years. Moreover, the features of\u00a0PL-680,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tecsun-PL-680","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Tecsun-PL-680.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Tecsun-PL-680.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Tecsun-PL-680.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28934,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/10\/tecsun-pl-680-rolf-touts-enhanced-performance-using-pl-660-mod\/","url_meta":{"origin":64689,"position":3},"title":"Tecsun PL-680: Rolf touts enhanced performance using PL-660 mod","author":"Thomas","date":"October 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0Rolf Snijder, who writes: I have made the same modification to the Tecsun PL-680, that was done [by many on the] PL-660 earlier. The PL-680 is now a great radio; I think now one of the best! I do not own a PL-660, so I\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\/2017\/10\/Tecsun-PL-680-Mod-e1509192195607.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Tecsun-PL-680-Mod-e1509192195607.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Tecsun-PL-680-Mod-e1509192195607.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Tecsun-PL-680-Mod-e1509192195607.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12331,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/02\/reader-survey-comparing-the-tecsun-pl-680-and-pl-660-on-medium-wave-am\/","url_meta":{"origin":64689,"position":4},"title":"Reader Survey: Comparing the Tecsun PL-680 and PL-660 on medium wave (AM)","author":"Thomas","date":"February 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"[Update: Please note that this survey has been closed, but the audio samples--labeled Radio A and Radio B--will remain to allow others the opportunity to make an evaluation prior to reading the PL-680 review.] [Update 2: The PL-680 review and readers' survey results have now been posted! Check it out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mediumwave"","block_context":{"text":"Mediumwave","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/mediumwave\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tecsun-PL-680-MW","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Tecsun-PL-680-MW.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Tecsun-PL-680-MW.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Tecsun-PL-680-MW.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38292,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/06\/a-protective-case-for-the-tecsun-pl-680-pl-660-and-similar-portables\/","url_meta":{"origin":64689,"position":5},"title":"A protective case for the Tecsun PL-680, PL-660, and similar portables","author":"Thomas","date":"June 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who writes: It seems the world is full of containers that are serendipitously sized for radios and other treasured possessions. Unfortunately, this tip is probably only helpful to UK based readers of the SWLing Post. WH Smiths, high street stationer and purveyors\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\/2019\/06\/pl680-case-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/pl680-case-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/pl680-case-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64689","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=64689"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64689\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64691,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64689\/revisions\/64691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}