Sangean ATS-909X VS Tecsun PL-990x Personal observations on the two radios and which one I would buy

Personal opinion and observations after testing of both radios

[@Larrymarx]

As always great review, easy to make a decision.. tnx u for taking the time to make and post this video...

[@i.mapper1190]

Gilles. thank you for this useful review!

[@GrotrianSeiler]

Thank you for doing this comparison. I am struggling making a decision what to buy as my first SW radio. Very helpful

[@deepwoods_dave7368]

I have a PL 880. I’m very happy with it. Highly recommended.

[@davidsradioroom9678]

I agree with your observations. If I were looking with another SW portable, the Tecsun would be it.

[@andersbolinder9392]

Thanks :) just the video i was looking for,i have an sangean ats-803a from back in the 90s i was thinking on buying the 909x but now it may be the tecsun insted :)

[@totoybalisong5969]

As a vaper, i have dozens of 18650. I only have one AA and its on our wall clock. So tecsun wins because it uses 18650.

[@tiagogardino]

I love this channel, great video, thanks!

[@LarrysLeatherWork]

I'm waiting for the waterfall on the front of portable radios. They included that in hf ham radios and that is now the big sellers.

[@madmax2069]

Now that would be amazing, I wouldn't need my RTL-SDR V3 then. Heck the parts are small enough to be able to do it the Malahit DSP is one of them.

[@scottbelcher9026]

It’s around the corner that a big name brand will offer that I believe!!!

[@forgetyourlife]

Still waiting.

[@kurtzFPV]

No excuse for these large name companies not to have them in 2023, and I won't buy another SWR that doesn't include it. User upgradeable firmware as well.

[@catlord9]

I was shopping for a portable SW radio to replace my (purchased new) Radio Shack SW-100. I had settled on one of these two. I ended up with the ATS-909X simply due to one coming available to me for $120USD. That was my deciding factor, it just came down to a price I couldn't say 'no' to. A tip for the Sangean -- that tuning dial/wheel -- I added four small strips of 3M double-sided tape (it's about 1-2mm thick) and tuning is MUCH better. Your videos have been a tremendous help in my decision process of a new portable radio. Thank you.

[@WilliamParmley]

This has been extremely helpful, thank you.

[@rodkendall6798]

Thanks for this comparison. Comprehensive, however you left out one point: Sangean has a widely available service manual while Tecsun are hiding theirs like a snake is hiding its legs. I have both radios and I managed to align the 909X to perfect zero beat (other alignments were also out and are now perfect). SSB is now spot on and sounds better than Tecsun ( Tecsun has a dodgy AGC by design and always distorts the first syllable). The service manual also allowed me to add an impedance matching transformer to the whip antenna and improve the SW sensitivity to match or exceed my other portable radios. What I am trying to say is that availability of the service manual is very important to a hobbyist and can help improve and maintain a good radio. Tecsun is a brilliant radio seriously diminished by the lack of service info.

[@charleswendt4868]

I have both and I have to agree.

[@714SNF]

thx for the video! would you recommend the tecsun pl 660 over both these?

[@constantinef3408]

Thank you very much! 990x very good 👍

[@357Shakey]

Well, now I have a slight dilemma. I was going to pick up up a “traveling” SWL set. Something to take on the road (possibly even international air travel). I was pretty close to buying a PL-660. But now I can’t discount the 990x, except it might be a little larger than I originally planned. On the 909x, I have the old RS version of the 909. Put in a sharper 2nd IF filter and it works very nicely. Wish the newer versions of that radio were as good.

[@michaelhayward9532]

I like the 660, better sync. You're right about the old 909s, I still have an old one from Radiolabs modified with better filters, love that radio, they're gonna be doing a 909 X2 I'm waiting for.

[@service1956]

Can someone answer me 2 questions. 1. Does the Tecsun have a RF amplifier. 2. Does it have excellent sensitivity and selectivity on AM broadcast band ( 530- 1700 broadcast band? )

[@diegogarciamedina6363]

Hi, which of this kind of portable radio has selectable bandwidth filters, rf gain control and agc manual control and on off? thanks

[@377559]

In your opinion, how do these two radios compare with the modified version of the Sangean 909x sold by RadioLabs? I own both, and have found the performance of the modified version on short wave to be very disappointing.

[@mattjhsn]

"ClearMod" change -- www.radiolabs.com/radio/shortwave-radios/

[@Kritiker313]

If Tecsun improves sync detect, adds a top-mounted carry handle and redesigns the 990x to be powered with a more common battery, they will have an even bigger winner in their 990x. Less important but desirable would be a lighted keypad and RDS. Hopefully Tecsun will incorporate these suggestions into a future iteration of this series; maybe a PL-1100X.

[@johannapfelburg6286]

Hopefully they keep their course with making radios. Unfortunately I think they're slowly getting sidetracked to more general audio related products as seen from their official website and Taobao store

[@sidneycavalcant]

Na minha opinião as baterias 18650 são as melhores até o momento

[@radiohobbyist13]

I not sure where you buy your radios since you live in Canada. But now that you did this review I need to see if I can find the Tecsun somewhere, any suggestions?

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

Tecsun PL-990x was purchased through Anon Co online

[@nealm2562]

I bought a Tecsun 990x from anon co in Hong Kong and it was at my door in Texas in four days... awesome.

[@jimmacleod3965]

MW DXer from Nfld here. Question: if money is no object, what's the best portable and desktop?

[@greggaieck4808]

Gilles your sangean ATS 90 9x radio Receiver is cool gilles I am thing of getting sangean ATS HAM outlet

[@speakerblowupmanlee5921]

How much is the sangean tho? I thought it was only ~150$

[@sidneycavalcant]

Qual sua opinião entre o PL 990x e o PL 680 ?

[@noelgeoghegan6952]

What I have found is If You Select "Slow tuning" the USB is far more accurate to tune.

[@Frip36]

Good comparison. Thank you. Going forward could you supply an extra visual so we aren't just staring at inanimate objects the whole time? I'd suggest a hamster on a wheel. Or at least a snow globe.

[@UnderTheBigOak]

Even my PL-330 beats my uncle's Sangean 909. It hears things even on the telescopic antenna the 909 just can't, not to mention SSB signals.

[@chancha807]

I am in the market for a great short wave radio . Which would you recommend?

[@sidneycavalcant]

Descobriu qual seria ?

[@bradl2636]

Best radio with AA or AAA battery support?

[@filippocorti6760]

How do they compare in terms of build quality? Which should last longer?

[@Kritiker313]

According to radiojayallen.com, Sangean has a reputation for building quality radios. I don't know much about the Tecsun brand but I do like their PL-990x.

[@2216sammy]

I don't know if this is true or not but I read that Tecsun radio's have very short lifespans . Hopefully somebody who has owned lots of different brands can verify or deny this .

[@boydmasonlake1995]

@Cnash I've a pl600 with many hrs zero issues. They've said same with kaito. Picked up early generation ka 1103, 15 plus years and hr after hr problem free. Ironically I understand later 1103s suffered with quality control

[@inkconspicuous5302]

Does the Tecsun receive air band.

[@Mr07008]

What is the difference between the 990 and 990x ?

[@AbaseenPodcast]

X is the "export version" designator.

[@renekalweit5976]

Very true

[@germangher]

Muchas gracias.. Saludos

[@MAGNETAR-187]

You can better buy the Tecsun PL990X if you do not care about airband. The Sangean has the airband but because of the reset button the Sangean has a lot of locking up problem. I have used the Sangean ats 909x2 and it locks up so you need to reset it but the Tecsun PL990X does not have the locking problem! So I highly recommend the Tecsun PL990X over the Sangean ats 909X2!

[@zvjezdaniput6121]

does it receive a cb radio frequencies?

[@lonnieclemens8028]

A good review. But I would go with the Sangean because it uses AA batteries.

[@zaphod1370]

The Tecsun batteries are easy to recharge and pop and pop and swap if necessary.

[@markmontgomery9722]

tecsun for sound 🔊

[@totoybalisong5969]

What is the difference between the 990 ang the 990x? They look exactly the same

[@frankiejust3767]

990 is for sale in China while 990x is for export

[@KingmanPublicAccessTV]

Does the 990x handle external antennas as well as this 909x1 does? Like the ole classic 100 foot longwire for example?

[@chicopintudo3443]

ESCUTEI O QUE IMAGINAVA E JÁ SABIA... VALEU 👍 DEMAIS. EQUIPAMENTO 990X TOP❗🔥

[@renekalweit5976]

I seen some radio on software defined radio the Mr on the Russian radio is amazing your thoughts on this

[@jimhansen1245]

what is zero beat?

[@user-md7gu8ll7r]

🎉

[@johnrobinson1140]

i love my Sangean, i think the sound quality is as good or better than the tecsun

[@gowbunnell8754]

Buy on Amazon?

[@jeffking291]

Very cool. 📻🙂

[@Juani2392]

U can load the 18650 lion batterys with a portable solar panel

[@revadan]

Quick question where can i buy an extra 18650 battery for PL-880? ebay and amazon ones are not reliable based on reviews.

[@Coratory]

It is a true marketing. Why wouldn't Tecsun have made a receiver with all known features, like AirBand, sync detect, RDS, stereo speakers, RDS, etc.? Each receiver has a lack of features. So I bought PL-330 which is well priced and it has decent quality. Also I bought MSI SDR (RSP Play 1 clone) to have no limitations with bands, it has range of 10 kHz - 2 GHz. I may be wrong, but these receivers are overpriced.

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

Beware of the chinese clone most videos testing it show it is far from having the same performance from the Sdrplay devices. as for price..I don't think a $109 RSP1A is overpriced at all

[@Coratory]

@@OfficialSWLchannel Agree. But they don't sell them in Soviet Russia

[@salmorreale7900]

First!

[@fmvela_]

How do I get one of those radio stands?

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

They were gifts from my viewers

[@fmvela_]

@@OfficialSWLchannel Nice! If you ever decide to make and sell them, I would buy one.

[@kennynvake4hve584]

Not really as far as the 18650's.....not being anywhere.....Well just about every laptop, or lithium battery pack, including some drills, or battery powered tools have 18650's in them...just take the pack apart and you will see...The average laptop battery has at least 4-8 of them in a pack...

[@madmax2069]

Or you can go to a vape shop (if you have one in your city/town) and pick up a few 18650s and a charger.

[@cosmodookie2914]

Soundquality SSB is way better on Sangean than on the Tecsun. Its sounds way more zesty, sharp.

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

990 way better with its bandwidth settings... Sangean is ok nothing more

[@arabman19837]

Can any one help me what's better no care of cost, this is the list I want a radio have not missing any wave, ( tecsun pl-990x - sangean ATS-909X - xhdata 808) I want all band maybe there is some thing better than what in list or new I dono, any help

[@AFluffyMobius]

It would depend on what you want or need. The PL-990x does NOT have Air Band reception if you value that. Otherwise its a real good kit if you want a one-and-done radio (but again. without Air Band).

[@matthayden1979]

Hello...I am looking for a world band radio. Would anybody suggest me how to pick up good brand? I want channels from all over the world. If it could catch alien signals from outer space, that would be great ;)

[@Coratory]

Tecsun PL-330 is your choice

[@mikehaas7]

WARNING: Stay away from the Sangean 909x2!! I had to return the new ATS-909x2 not only because of the miserable performance and low volume on LSB while listening to even strong MW stations but because while operating on batteries alone, ssb produced a pulsing sound and squealing when turning the volume to max on both lsb & usb. I'm not so certain I didn't cause this problem by listening to a variety of MW stations on LSB at full volume because I just couldn't believe the reviews I read were accurate, not on my venerable Sangean ATS-909! Boy was I wrong and I was heartbroken since I'd been a 909 user since the turn of the century, having owned the original and then purchasing the new "x" version before we moved to Germany in 2011, returning to the US in 2021. A contractor I employed there ruined the 909x physically one day by handling it with plaster covered hands after I sat it on a windowsill inside and asked him not to touch it - he'd forgotten his radio that day. He didn't care and he not only scratched the display permanently, he got plaster in every nook and cranny on the radio's plastic case. I still have it and I used it to compare with the PL-990. It still works as it did originally sans all scratching to the case, especially the display. I bought the x2 just a few days ago (EDIT: sorry, it was actually several days as I check the calendar) from the date of this comment. I would never have even thought of comparing the venerable Sangean to a Tecsun, regardless of model. I couldn't live with the awful performance of the 909x2 so after reading reviews, I decided to give the 990 a chance. I'm so glad I did. The PL-909 is, hands-down, the best small portable I've ever had and having worked at Univeral Radio in Columbus on Saturdays for a few years, leaving in 2003 and having had the ability to sign out radios from our used stock, including many early Degens and early Tecsuns. Aside from the 909, the best were the Sony 7600 (I tested at least 2 models and absolutley despised the cheap crap display), the Grundig YP-400, and the Grundig 700 insofar as portables with digital displays were concerned. NOTE: Since I bought the Tecsun from Amazon, they don't offer the 990 "x" model - they get them directly from China I guess, so my brand new 990 is a straight 990 - not the "x" export model. I'll note their H501 is also the non-"x" version as well. I didn't get the plastic tool case but I did get the nice leatherette carrying case. I've read a lot about ssb "warbling" on the Tecsun ssb-enabled radios. There is no such warbling on my 990. Its ssb is superior in every way to both the 909x and 909x2, including perfectly decent volume on lsb. MW performance on the 909x2 was marred by all its squealing and caterwauling when tuning across the AM MW band that simply doesn't exist on the 990. It's unbelievable that the 909x2 is really dual-conversion as miserable as it performs on MW, and my older 909x referenced above, also has this same MW noise, not to mention pretty awful adjacent frequency interference. I finally have had to face the truth after swearing by the Sangean for years as a performer - not compared to a PL-990, that's for sure. The 909x2 was nearly as deaf on the whip as the 909x and 909 before it. The 990 can hear stations on the whip that are simply non-existent when comparing it to the 909x. I live in Southern Arizona, about 15 miles from the border. There are still SW broadcasters in Asia-Pac and Africa that should still be obtainable on a decent SW radio that the Sangean could not hear, but that the 990 can, and on the whip. I've been listening to the BBC on the Internet for a good 20 years but hadn't heard it on a SW radio in a good many years having stepped away from the hobby for nearly 2 decades. Tears literally came to my eyes when I found the BBC on 12.095mhz on the 990, which I thought I'd never hear again directly rather than from the Internet. A side-by-side comparison with my scratched-up 909x showed just how deaf the Sangean really is on quite a few other stations, such as Radio Exterior Espana on 17.855mhz during mid-day hours. The 990 struggles with that station to be sure, but the 909x can't even detect it. The 909x also cannot hear the BBC on 12.095 from my location but sure enough, there was on the 990! The lack of filters in ssb on the 909x2 is as unforgiveable as the low volume on LSB and while I've read some complaints about the filter choices on the 990, they are superior to anything offered on the 909x2. Also, you'll be really pleased with the audio on this little 990. It's really a good-sounding little unit. MW is helped dramatically with a loop antenna such as the Select-A-Tenna or Terk Advantage for a fun evening of MW dx'g. I honestly like the tuning knobs on the 990 over the front-facing wheel with its detents on the 909x/x2. I have no problem band-scanning with them. I'd be interested to check out how well the H501s knobs operate because the knob operation is often listed as a negative but I like the 990's quite well. My only real complaint about the 990 are the small buttons compared to my huge fingers (a friend used to tell me that I had "Fred Flintstone hands" and since I have to say the Sangean is better-made from a physical perspective, I fear the slider switches and buttons may fail on the 990 someday with use especially with the size of my fingers. SSB Sync is every bit as hit or miss on the 990 as other reviewers have pointed out. Seeing the 990's display in photos and videos, I thought I was going to hate it compared to the Sangean's gorgeous display and choice of the frequency read-out "typeface" but when you see the 990's display in person, it's really very nice and I like the classic amber color much better than the 909 series. Photos don't do it justice - even videos such as featured on this post don't really show how very nice it really is. This PL-990 is a real keeper. I'm more pleased with it than any other portable I've ever owned or tested. Stay away from the Sangean ATS-909x2!! You're going to be extremely disappointed, guaranteed.

[@nine7295]

Oxford SWL KZbin channel (Clint) also said the same about the 908X2 's very low SSB volume. Many have pointed out the low sensitivity with the built-in whip on the 909 series in general. These radios are overpriced compared to today's choices, at least now, if not 20 years ago. Sangean couldn't keep up and has gone worse surely. Another company that has done similarly on their flagship model is Eton recently, it's very sad to see. Today's portable radio world belongs to Tecsun, XHDATA (and their various alternate brands), Qodosen (the SR-286), and Belka. I own XHDATA various models and Belka DX, also Tecsun but low end models only.

[@dxace1]

Yes, if X2 doesn't make key changes it will unfortunately be just another upgrade of the 909 line....unfortunate

[@bakatoroi]

@@Homer19521 I don't think it's correct to talk about "updates" when the hardware is different.

[@medo123345]

Very intresting video. 👍👍

[@therabbitchannel2059]

I have a 909x which I tested against a Superadio II on MW and I put a video up. I think the Superadio is a bit better but just a bit. I think I'll send the Sangean (which I paid $200 for) off to get the Radio Labs mod and then I'll test it again. Cheers.

[@MWQuart]

I have a RadioLabs version of the Sangean 909X and I love it. I purchased it directly from Chris at RadioLabs. I also have a Tecsun PL880 and the Sangean 909X is a stronger performer although I like the ATS tuning feature on the PL880 which covers all the bands. I also compared the Sangean 909X against my Tecsun PL680 on SSB and the sensitivity of the Sangean is noticably better especially when fine tuning the signal. In my opinion the only Sangean 909X version to own is the one from RadioLabs. Their tweaking makes a big difference as does the removal of the detent spring on the tuning wheel.

[@rfaradiofreeamerica8392]

What about reliability and longevity . Sangean is a more established brand and should last longer imo

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

Tecsun is very good and the 909X actually has many problems with the tuning wheel , it is in my experience overpriced

[@thorpluto4527]

@@sigint99 AA batteries are a huge disadvantage in my eyes. The 18650 batteries are cheap and I have a lot them in use in my hand lamp headlamp and some ready charged laying in the drawer in the kitchen cupboard. I don't want to use tons of small and weak R6/AA batteries anymore.

[@johnfish1194]

What makes me mad is, as a man with large hands, it makes me mad when they keep shrinking radios that i would like to use. The buttons get smaller and smaller, and the risk of breakage when dropped, banged is higher. Sure portable is nice, but some guys want something more beefy. Some BULK to them, with large buttons, and a large screen. Quit making radios that you need a stick pin to push the buttons.

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

Yeah I feel for ya .. my hands are bigger than average and sometimes...

[@Kreemerz]

Tecsun has no airband

[@tobydrury9122]

The non standard batteries in the Tecsun 990 is enough to Not buy it - period.

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

even other brands are going on Li-On batteries. It is not really a problem ,they are easy to find

[@greggrambor4740]

DO NOT BUY THIS RADIO IF YOU INTEND TO LISTEN TO IT IN BED NEXT TO A SLEEPING SPOUSE! I like to listen late at night with the earphone when I can't sleep. Shortwave is the insomniacs companion. This radio emits an annoying beep tone every time you tune through a MHz. This is heard coming through the speaker even though the earphone is plugged in. Work up my dear wifey. Not good. Beware, from WB2GMK

[@bakatoroi]

Please be specific. Which one is "this radio"? The video talks about two.

[@cduby1424]

Which one?

[@player234145]

so, don´t judge the book by it´s cover. ;-) Tecsun is the much better radio. so simple as hat.

[@rodsofgod6863]

If you have a tesla you will find 18650s!!🤣🤣

[@ThamilRajan-qv4gf]

Your vids are kindergarten show and tell stuff ...