Customer Reviews

Etón E1XM AM/FM Shortwave XM-Ready Radio

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Many Radio Fans are familiar with the Legendary Grundig Satellit Line of Shortwave Radios, dating to the early Sixties...The E1 WAS to be the Satellit 900, even had it advertised in magazines and had 10 Prototypes...Eton took over and finally released it early August 2005...After the Satellit 800 mess, I wasn't expecting much, but after a couple days...its a Winner, just ordered a second one from Sharper Image as they seem to be the only one to have them...Here are a few Observations...

E1 arrived almost an hour ago, have been playing with it ever since...If you are a Radio Enthusiast, stop whatever you are doing, and order one before the Stores Run out...This is one Very Special Radio...I now understand why P&C has TWO already...Whatever shortcomings Eton has in the Marketing Dept is CERTAINLY made up for in the Engineering and Production Depts...Most of you already know the "Features", so I'll comment on my impressions of things I've Noticed...

- Fit & Finish...Beautifully Detailed, and Operating Radio...I see no Fit & Finish issues at all!

- Sound...Full Treble and Bass do not distort sound at Normal Listening Levels...Would describe it as "Crisp with a Punch".

- Display...Awesome! (Sorry Jay, nothing to compare THIS one to!). Very Clear BOLD and DARK readable Digits that are evenly backlit light gray background, dark gray digits--Unlike the Tiny Scrawny Faded V21 Digits. When off, there is a Clock that has well over 1.5" Tall Digits...Turning it on puts a tiny Clock in the upper right corner, and the station number shrinks to 3/4". I should mention that there is a continuously variable contrast knob located under the Battery Door...Station is Visible across the Room!

- Tuning...Smooooooth Tuning (no notches! :) that depending on the band, has 3 different "speeds"--the slower speeds add digits after the decimal point, for greater accuracy.

- DX switch boosts by 10Db--enough to bring in one of my favorite low power Big Band FM stations...Really makes a Noticeable Difference!

- All Jacks are on the Left Side except for the XM antenna jack which is all by itself on the right side...Interestingly, the XM Jack is located in what appears to be a removable section of the radio with two visible screws on the backside--Maybe for Future Upgrades???

- Almost EVERY feature has some type of adjustment via the screens...For example, you can adjust the amount of time of the Snooze/Sleep Switch, as well as so many more Features.

I'm sure I will discover much more tonite when I get more time to play...Who knows what I will find in the Owner Manual (VERY Clearly laid out I might add) or DVD...Can hardly wait for the XM antenna to see what other tricks this radio has up its sleeve! Ray

I have had my E1 for almost two weeks now and have found it to be a remarkable radio, worth waiting for since Eaton took such a long time to get it in the stores.

The XM Ready Satellite feature is a plus and truly makes this performer a state of the art portable radio. XM operation in battery mode discharges the batteries ( four "D" cells) rather swiftly. It is recommended to use the included AC adapter when in the XM mode of operation.

The optional XM Connect & Play CNP-1000 antenna is actually a satellite receiver in itself, and provides the E1 with the serial number to register your radio with XM Satellite for a subscription. Audiovox (Terk) the manufacturer of the CNP-1000 antenna states in it's literature that the XM Connect & Play antenna is not useable fo mobile operation.

It would have been nice if Eaton included RDS in FM operation and a handle to carry the radio. The gray rubberized coating on the radio case makes it easy to grasp, but a handle would have been nice. Also missing is a digital audio output that would have been nice to have in XM operation to feed your home theatre receiver for 5.1 dolby digital audio.

Sensitivity is equal to or better than that of most of the popular world band radios. (...).

Another strong feature is the audio out. You get 3 watts of output when using the AC adapter. The audio is crisp and clear and you have seperate bass and treble controls with a center detent.

When the radio is turned off their is a big clock display in the display. The time is automatically set by WWV and there is also a nice dual alarm feature. The default setting for the sleep timer is 15 minutes, and you can increase that time.

The radio does not come equipped with an AM ferrite antenna, but that doesn't seem to bother AM operation at all.

I believe Eaton E1 will be setting the standard for all other porable radio manufacturers to follow for many years.

It is not cheap at $499.95, but like your granddaddy told you, "you get what you pay for".

Hi folks , I'm Vince the radioman . I have a large collection of radios and I love to do compares and share my thoughts . The long , long awaited E 1 ( Satellite 900) is finally here and I waited awhile to do this review so I really could explore this radio. Basically its wonderful but there are a few knocks.
The wonderful part comes with its outstanding FM and SW reception. When compared to my Sony SW77 or 2010 they are equal on SW and the FM is best on the E 1 . The memory set up and functionality is very friendly and a pleasure to use. The XM satellite section is really well done and will be the standard for all satellite radios for years to come ( I'm personally not big on Satellite radio, but I know the general public will LOVE it). There is a 3 position bandwith and 3 AM syncs...nice!There is separate bass and treble with a pretty nice sound from the built in speaker .There is a Squelch control which is very handy for scanning.Its a beautiful cosemetic design and has a nice display screen.
Now for the knocks...at this price you can be picky. The biggest flaw to me is that the AM section also uses the whip antenna.There is NO built in ferrite antenna! For local listenning this is ok but for distant stations and DXing its useless!! The whip antenna on AM just picks up static and noise on the weak frequencies. You need to use an external antenna , not included . When I hooked up my CCrane antenna it was fine for DXing , not as good as my Sangean 909 and about as good as my Sony SW77 and 2010 with the internal antenna.This is a design compromise that is puzzling and to me knocks the radio down a half star. There is no RDS , what a shame with the beautiful display screen provided it would have been nice AND no handle . This is a delicate expensive radio that is narrow an heavey . It tilts over easily and could be damaged . The satellite antenna is not included and is 50 bucks!
Ok , so why five stars ...its a great FM/SW/XM radio with a nice memory section,full functionality and great looks ...it could have been a little better , my real rating is 4 and a half.I would certainly recommend it but beware of the knocks ...if AM is not important to you ( lots of folks these days are not big on AM)and you are not clumsey its the best radio on the market !!! Save up your pennies.

Physically this radio is fairly large, (13.1" x 7.1" x 2.3"), and at around 5lbs with batteries, surprisingly heavy for a portable. I tend to keep it on a Universal Radio plexiglas stand next to me rather than in my lap. It's an attractive, very modern looking receiver, yet very reminiscent of older Grudig Satellit portables. The radio features an interesting rubberized gray finish that seems to attract dust, but would probably be handy if you move your receiver around a lot and don't want to drop it. The monitor is cool blue in color, and quite large at 4 ˝" x 3 ˝". With three levels of illumination, it's easy to view in a darkened room, but not quite bright enough for my taste in moderate light. Similarly, the contrast is good, but fades dramatically when viewed from an angle. One thing that Eton did get 100% right in my opinion is the control layout. Unless you change your antenna source often, every function you need is right where you need it on the front of the radio, (including the battery compartment!). Sound quality is represented by four knobs on the left, (Squelch, Treble, Bass, and Volume), while major tuning functions are located on the right, (buttons for XM, FM, SW, MW/LW, VFO, two types of memory, customized and by country, tuning step, plus knobs for Tuning and Passband Tuning). Finer tuning function are accessed by more buttons located below the monitor from left to right and include AGC, 3 filters, PBT, Sync lock, and SSB/USB/LSB. All of this, plus a large step tune toggle button, make band scanning a breeze. You just choose your band, scan by whatever method your prefer, then drill down on any frequency you want to improve. To this affect it should be noted that the Passband Tuning function on the E1 works exceptionally well, as does the Sync Lock. All of the E1's tuning functions used in conjunction will yield useable frequencies that you might never hear on lesser enabled receivers. Once you've zeroed in on your frequency, you have an extensive memory system within which to store it. With a little creativity, the 14 character alpha tag lets you create your own classifications, or just enter them into the preinstalled memory organized by country. The only memory feature lacking is a program time setting that allows one to set the start and end time of individual broadcasts, paired up with the timer system, etc., as was beautifully implemented on the Sony ICF-SW77. This is not a problem if you happen to carry around a copy of Passport to World Band Radio, but I'd still like to see it on a $500 radio for those frequencies that carry multiple stations depending on the time of the day. Once your memories are programmed, operation of the E1 is VERY slick. The main tuning knob glides through memories with very little dead air and no chuffing. Scanning these same memories is as sensitive as your squelch setting. The speaker audio on the E1 is pleasant for a portable, but not outstanding. This is partially compensated for by the separate Bass and Treble controls, but not to the extent of filling the room with rich sound.

E1 distinguishes itself from other portables with it's arsenal of diverse and very effective fine tuning aids. The E1 is quite adept at flushing out weak signals. In this respect it performs more like a tabletop than a portable, at a fraction of the price. If you are considering a tabletop for DXing, the E1 is a tempting, relatively inexpensive option loaded with meaningful features. If you are considering a portable shortwave that also offers high performance, the E1 is light years ahead of anything currently in production and embodies best of some of the great receivers from the past. The E1 is not the best at everything, but in my opinion, it offers the best combination of function, features, and aesthetics of any portable we've seen so far. Hopefully it won't mark the end of an era.

Well, not much more I can say about the new Eton E1 (that hasn't already been said by my radio club friend Ray B) other than I am a Grundig (GERMANY) Satellit "nut" and I have been waiting for the Satellit 900 to come out for (10) YEARS and in a nutshell....IT'S FINALLY HERE!!! Max Grundig would be PROUD!!! This is a GREAT radio. I'm not "into" XM...I like SHORTWAVE radio and the Eton E1 *DELIVERS" when it comes to SW!!! (AM, FM and XM aren't too bad either!!!) Best "lap size" portable SW radio to be introduced (to me) since the Grundig Satellit 700. Worth every penny and the (10) year wait!!!

I've had mine for two weeks and it is joy to use. Right out of the box I knew it was something special. Too many neat features to list... XM radio option is a real treat. Menus are easy to navigate and LCD is full of information. Eton had a lot to atone for with their Satellit 800 debacle... They were listening. A big thumbs up for this baby!

The Eton [ex-Grundig] E1 portable radio is one of the very few if not the only shortwave portable available on the market today for the serious listener. It offers full coverage of long wave, medium wave and shortwave frequencies to 30 megaHertz. Also the European and North American FM band. [User selectable].
It also will receive XM Satellite Radio with an optional adapter.
With the discontinuance of the famous SONY ICF-2010 several years ago, there was nothing to replace it. The Eton E1 not only replaces the 2010 but has superior features. The shortwave
listener can select several filter bandwith modes, the choice
of three AM modes in the "synch" condition which helps eliminate
interference from neighboring signals. The tuning rate is fine enough to tune in those tough SSB signals as well.
For a good review of the set, see the 2006 edition of the Passport To Worldband Radio.

I've had the radio for exactly a year and the display just went south on me. It's completely unreadable and useless. In searching the archives on the E1XM Yahoo group, this seems to be a common problem. Some have had to return theirs for the display problem four times! Something tells me I have a $500 lemon now.

November 2007 update: Eton decided to repair the display in July (it actually went to RL Drake) and from the date I sent it out to the date I got it back was less than a week. I let the radio run non-stop, first on batteries until they died, then on the AC power for about 4 weeks total. The radio performed flawlessly and has since then. My advice, as others have stated, is to pay slightly more and buy it from an authorized dealer (make sure you check with Eton as to who is and who isn't an authorized dealer). Once you get it, use the heck out of it for the whole year. Any fault should present itself within the warranty time

Over the years both my E1s have had multiple component failures and the rubberized coating on the cases has turned to goo. Even when the components work, the amount of noise coming off the display is extremely high. I honestly can't recommend the E1 or any other Eton product to anyone.

As some reviewers have pointed out, these radios seem to have a higher than average failure rate of the LCD display, among other problems. I returned two for this very reason. The design is quite good and performance outstanding, but numerous complaints suggest that the build components may not be top quality.

Also, should the radio need repair, you may be unpleasantly surprised to find out the manufacturer will not honor their own factory warranty, -unless- the radio was purchased from an approved vendor. I'm not criticizing that policy, just stating a fact.

Non-warranty repairs are currently refered to the R.L. Drake company. Their quoted service fees are $20 per quarter-hour (1 hour average repair time), plus the cost of any parts. Getting a bad display fixed will run you $200-350 out of pocket depending on parts/time required.

Bottom line, I can't recommend the E1XM radio at this time. Perhaps in the future after Eton sorts out the quality issues. If you decide to get one, make sure it comes from an Eton-approved vendor so you get the factory warranty. Vendors are listed on the bottom of the E1XM product page at Eton's website. Spring for an extended warranty too, if available, because you may need it.