Customer Reviews

Kaito KA1103 Worldband Radio

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I own the whole lineup of Kaitos and the 1103 beats the others for FM sensitivity. The 1101 takes second, the 1102 takes third, and the 105 takes fourth. AM is similar on all models. But the speaker is also superior on the 1103.

Here's what I like about the 1103:

1. Powerful, crystal clear FM reception that is superior to radios that cost twice as much.
2. Warm full speaker sound for a radio of this size.
3. The cool factor of a radio that has so many innovations and is changing the radio industry, causing Sangean, Grundig, and Sony to wake up and start making more competitive products at better prices.
4. PLL synthesized tuning with over 250 presets or memories.

Here's what I don't like:

1. You have to press buttons or digitally enter for volume control. There is no spin wheel for quick volume change.
2. The analog display takes up unnecessary space on the radio.
3. AM, like all PLL synthesized radios, is well above average but needs improvement.

However, AM is more than adequate and as a whole the 1103 is my favorite PLL synthesized, dual conversion small radio. If I could only own two radios, a compact and an analog medium sized radio, I'd keep the Kaito 1103 and my Tecsun BLC 2000 (sold for considerably more as the Grundig S350), which gets great AM.

If you don't mind finding an English manual on the internet, you can spend half the money on the Kaito by buying its clone, the Degen 1103. Degen radios, the original Chinese versions, are Kaitos but only come with Chinese manuals and they need AC adaptor converters. The upside is that they are half the price of the American version Kaitos.

Post Script: I enjoy my Kaito 1103 more than ever because I placed it ontop of my Sangean WR-2 and hooked up an audio cable between the two radios. So I'm feeding the sterling 1103 reception through the Sangean's premium speaker. Great bedside setup. You could do the same for cheaper by just buying a good speaker and hooking it up the 1103.

Update: I don't recommend you save money by purchasing the less expensive Chinese clone Degen. The adapter gets hot. If you must get the Degen, buy a USA-built step down 110 converter to avoid fire hazard.

Update for 8-12-206: Both my Degen and Kaito 1103 have shut down making me think that they had lost all electric power or had "fried" inside but in fact they had "shut down" and only needed to be reset by sticking a paper clip end into the reset hole. Now they both work fine. In fact, I bought the Kaito because I thought my Degen had "fried." I was wrong. Keep in mind, these radios can be a little touchy and may need to be reset from time to time.

About a year ago, I got interested in portable radios, and as a result have purchased these three radios over the last year. Each radio has it's pluses, and I suggest that those pluses drive the decision what to buy. It is fitting to relate each radio to an equivalent car. The Tivoli Songbook is a Mercedes sedan - great looking and obviously a luxury car. The sound and build quality of the Tivoli are impressive, and the radio is simply a joy to listen to and own. It is very pleasing looking, and the controls, rubber coating and rechargeable batteries make it a class act. If you are into listening to FM radio, and want something compact and discreet, well this little beauty can replace your entire stereo system. Definitely worth the price, and the sound is really incredible. The G4000a is a Chevy. It is also a pleasant looking radio, and it's strong points are appearance, the nice leatherette case and the well laid out controls and manual. The build quality, for instance the antenna and the case are OK, but a little suspect. It just does not feel like a radio that hold up to the knocks and bangs of travel or hard use. Also, the shortwave reception is merely OK. FM reception is good, and I agree with other reviewers that the best feature of the radio is speaker, which is warm toned and excellent. Overall, a solid radio, but not particularly exciting. The Kaito KA-1103, however, is exciting, much like a BMW sports car. It has tremendous build quality and clear, clear sound through the speaker. The reception of this radio is truly startling - FM and shortwave reception pretty much blow the G4000a away. AM? I tuned this radio to AM the first day I had it, in my kitchen in Washington DC, and immediately and clearley picked up a station in Boston! As for all the bad hype about the controls, for instance the volume button and the pseudo analog display, well the radio is really a snap to operate. Yeah, a little quirky, but so is any sports car worth its money. Once you read the manual and play with radio for ten or fifteen minutes, well the controls start to really make sense. For example, the much malinged volume control is actually much finer and more adjustable than a manual wheel. The pseudo analog display enables you to see all bands, and where you are on them. The more you use this radio, the more you realize that those designers and Kaito are actually ahead of everyone else in the design department. The radio also has a lot of cool very well thought out design touches, such as a nice backlit display, a truly excellent memory scan feature and terrific accessories. All for well under $100. The Kaito is my favorite radio, it really is the best small radio, dollar for dollar, I have ever come across. If I was taking one radio on a long around the world trip, the Kaito would hands down be it. So, in summary, if you are in the market for a beautiful sounding FM radio for around the house or your office, one that radiates quality and class, get the Tivoli. For a shortwave radio or travel radio, get the Kaito KA-1103. Don't even consider wasting money or more expensive portable shortwaves. The Kaito is all the portable shortwave you'll need and you will not regret buying and getting to know this hot little sports car of a radio.

The Kaito 1103 clearly outperforms my Kaito 1102, especially on FM, where it is OUTSTANDING! SSB (used by Hams) seems to be easier to tune in on the 1103 than on the 1102...both are "best for the buck" in my opinion.(see my review of the cheaper 1102).

I have mixed feelings about the "digital simulation of an analog dial" it is fun to use, but I tend to agree with other reviewers that the space could be better used.

The 1103, like the 1102 is not easy to operate, and the manual is sometimes less than helpful. The volume control operation is terrible! But for this level of performance for such a low price, some compromises can be expected.

For a similar radio (but more expensive) with several improvments over the Kaito 1103, see my review of the newer Eton E5.

Consider buying a "Passport to World Band Radio" along with this set... this book is almost like having a "TV guide" for shortwave!

For several weeks I gathered a LOT of info. from the web about many of the portable shortwave/SSB radios, including Kaito, Eton, Grundig, Sony, Sangean, Radio Shack, and a few others.

What weighed most heavily for me in choosing the KA1103 were the reviews that came from some * ham radio operators * that I found on a prominent ham website. There were almost 25 reviews of the 1103. But it wasn't just the fact that all but one gave it a 5-star rating, it was the way they went on and on, raving about what a great radio it is in terms of sheer power and performance (not convenience). And I figured if that many ham operators are that impressed with it, then that's good enough for me. Because for me, performance was the determinant factor in making my choice... not ease-of-use or convenience.

I've had my 1103 for only a month, and it is everything I had read about it. In a word -- it is a POWERHOUSE! I've picked up China, Japan, Cuba, and other countries, and the signal was as strong and clear as a local station right here in my own area (north Texas).

A TIP for anyone who is brand new to shortwave listening (SWLing or DXing): It's true that there are books you can buy to find out the fundamentals of SW listening, or to find out which frequencies the various countries broadcast on, and when those stations are on (many stations are on only during certain days/hours). And I'm not knocking books, but they are expensive these days. So I recommend that you first just sit down at your computer and, in google or yahoo, etc., just type in: "list of shortwave radio stations," or "fundamentals of shortwave listening," or similar words. Because a lot of websites will come up with a WEALTH of info about the above subjects and others. I've printed off a lot of very useful material that would have cost a lot if it had been available only in a book. So I would check out the abundance of material that's available online, free, before going to the bookstore.

1st UPDATE

It's been 5 months since my initial review (above) and the radio has performed flawlessly (no malfunctioning at all). It continues to amaze me with its power to pick up not only shortwave radio stations around the world, but also ham radio conversations, using the Single Sideband (SSB) function. I've listened to hams in many states: Arizona, Nevada, California, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Alabama.

I'm sorry for those who have had a bad experience with their 1103. I only know that I love mine and it is a SOLID performer.

2nd UPDATE (05/2011)

My 1103 is still working like a charm.

3rd UPDATE (10/2011)

Still just as powerful, still working great.

There are a lot of people, myself included, who don't really care to listen to FM/AM, but just to shortwave bands, and maybe SSB, too. I wish Kaito or some company made a good portable radio like the 1103, except with only the shortwave band and SSB for picking up ham operators: no FM/AM, weather bands, sleep/alarm funtions, etc, just the SW bands and SSB, with emphasis on sheer power to pick up these bands, and a good fine-tuner function to tone down the static. If I had my own radio/electronics company, I would work on getting such a (portable) radio on the market. I've seen portable SW-only radios, but from the reviews I've read, they are very small, built cheaply, and have poor sound... nowhere near the quality and power of the 1103. But if such a radio is never made, I will still be VERY happy just listening to my 1103!

Let me add my voice to the chorus here and say that this radio (I have owned over thirty radios in the last ten years - I'm a collector, geek, and gadget nut) has the best FM reception of any radio under 300$ that I have ever heard. It beats my grundigs, Etons, and Sonys. I was struggling to tune in two stations in Miami from where I lived in Palm Beach County, Florida. My Grundig S350 just barely got one in if I placed it in a specific position in one corner of my home. This hot little radio not only gets that station from anywhere in my home, it also tunes it in clearly in my steel/concrete office (where I am lucky to get any but the big stations)! I am extremely satisfied with its reception. No other radio performs like this one. There are some weird details about this radio but they are worth putting up with if you want a hot FM receiver. 1) That crazy volume control. You need to press two buttons to change the volume. Huh??!! Well, there is a reason for this- a regular tuning wheel would lead to noisy "chuffing" (that chuf-chuf sound you get when auto-scanning). This radio has NO chuffing. It is a trade off. I wish it had a tuning wheel but I can see where the engineers head was at. 2) The fake analog tuning LCD screen - personally, I love the way it is lit. The entire face and buttons have a warm amber glow that is aesthetically very pleasing in a dark room. It is purely aesthetic, though. I only tune by looking at the digital numbers. Yes, there is a learning curve to this radio but I had it all figured out in less than 15 minutes and now it seems natural to me to work with it. It's not impossible to learn; just different. Once learned, you will not need the manual.
Other unusual but pleasing details: once a station is in memory, you can scan through the presets with the jog dial. It is very fast and well thought out. The radio remembers your volume for the last station tuned in. It is solidly built. The antennae is very long (as all FM radio antennaes should be). Shortwave is strong.
Conclusion: there is NO better FM receiver available for this price. I mean it! This baby pulls in FM like no other. If that is what you are looking for, do not hesitate to buy this.
P.S. I got this cheaper at Universal Radio in about a week.

I recently bought the Kaito version of this radio in gray, which is also made under license for Grundig as the G5 and it is an amazing little set. For $90, which includes delivery, you get the radio, plus 4 Ni-Mh batteries that re-charge inside the radio, stereo earbuds, the adapter and carry bag and two shortwave wire antennas. It is the most amazing shortwave radio value I think I have ever seen. The Grundig G5 usually goes for about $30 to $40 more.(Hey, that German craftsmanship doesn't come for free!)

I would favorably compare the Kaito 1103 to a highly-touted shortwave portable that I previously owned, the Panasonic RF-B65. The Kaito 1103 basically does everything that that one did, but also includes the built-in recharging battery system with the batteries and also has an excellent dial light and FM stereo which the Panasonic lacked. Audio is comparable between the units.

The Panasonic was a little bit larger and cost close to $300 back in 1988, which would be more like $500 in today's dollars. At first Chinese electronics were a joke but they are really improving. This radio is apparently made by the same operation (or an affiliate) that made the Grundig Satellit 800 but the build quality on the Kaito/Grundig G5 is far better than on that unit, with the 1103's case materials and fit and finish greatly exceeding the Satellit 800.

I have not tried the Grundig G5, which is basically the same radio with a different lay-out. (For an excellent and extended comparison of these radios, check out the Radio Intel site. http://www.radiointel.com/review-etone5.htm)

Part of the reasoning behind releasing the G5 (and also the Eton E5) seems to have aimed at addressing several severe criticisms made against the 1103's ergonomics by a noted and greatly-respected shortwave reviewer named Larry Magne. Having now worked with the Kaito 1103, in my opinion, Mr. Magne's criticisms were entirely overblown.

Yes, there is no volume knob or volume slider control. You have to push the volume button and then either turn the tuning dial or input a numerical value to change the volume. There are also no up/down slew controls for moving through the broadcast bands and you must push the clock button to see World Time when the radio is on.

The tuning knob on this model is so good that I really did not miss the slew controls that much. It tunes about as well as the Sony ICF-2010, which means at near analog quality, i.e., no muting and little chuffing.

The volume issue does take a little getting used to, but may have been incorporated this way in order to maintain the radio's retro-look. It is also somewhat similar to the volume controls on the iPod and may have been influenced by that incredibly popular design. Nevertheless, if the lack of a committed volume control or any of these other issues is a deal-breaker, get the G5.

On the other hand, many, including yours truly, find the Kaito to be a much more attractive looking radio. It has superior backlighting and dial light controls. The bands are arranged in a very attractive looking retro design with a faux needle that moves and indicates the approximate position on the dial. Mr. Magne took particular exception to this faux needle. (and has with respect to two previous Sony models incorporating this design). Apparently, Mr. Magne has no place in his heart for non-functional add-ons that simply look cool. I do. http://www.radioscanner.ru/forum/index.php?action=vthread&forum=1&topic=13752&page=37

http://universal-radio.com/catalog/portable/0140.html

In the dark, this radio looks great and reaches a level of low-light utility unfound in other models. The old Panasonic RF-B65, as mentioned previously, had no dial light whatsoever. You had to take great care not to burn it with your Zippo lighter while attempting to operate it at night.

One thing that does not come through in the pictures and advertisements of the 1103 is just how small it is. It is basically mid-way in size between radios such as the RF-B65 and Grundig Yachtboy 400 and the Sony ICF-SW1. http://www.rffun.com/catalog/portable/icfsw1s.html
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/portable/rfb65.html
http://www.rffun.com/catalog/portable/0400.html

This radio can easily fit into a Dopkit, and yet, has much better audio and performance than the smaller Sony ICF-SW1, which lacked a dial light and SSB, had very poor audio through its external speaker and tuned only in crude 5kHz increments, and lacked an external antenna jack.

Perhaps the best comparison for this radio is the current incarnation of the outstanding Grundig Yacht Boy 400, now called the G4000A(why a company would change the name of a perenially great unit is beyond me).

In my estimation, the Yacht Boy 400 was essentially the same as the aforementioned RF-B65, with the deletion of the tuning knob and the addition of a dial light, although the YB400 was perhaps not quite as attractive as the RF-B65. Nevertheless, it puzzles me to see the RF-B65 touted by some as a wunder-radio, when there is an essentially identical, but yet better one overall, still on the market in the G2000A.

The 1103 compares quite favorably in terms of performance to the Yacht Boy 400 and although prices vary, likely can be had for about the same amount. If you want the slightly better audio and size is not an issue, then the Yacht Boy might be the better choice, but I think that the smaller size, ease of use, excellent backlighting and re-chargeable ni-mh batteries make the Kait0 1103 a clear-cut winner.

Overall, it is doubtful that there has ever been such an affordable and attractive powerhouse of a world band radio jimmied into something this small.

After reading all the reviews I took plunge and bought the KA-1103! Wow! This little radio is a fantastic radio! Hard to use? Don't believe it - this radio is just a little different, it functions perfectly. The reception is well above average and appears to be designed with performance in mind. The comments about the analog display are confusing because I rather like the visual graphic reinforcement it provides - where's the issue?

Well built, high quality, low price, and great performance! Ya gotta like it! I did.........

Best,

Will

This is one the best shortwave radios you can get. I don't mind some of ergonomic issues since the radio works well once you get used to it. There are only 3 things I can find that could be better. The memory presets take time to recall. You can't just punch in a preset number and get a station like on the Sony 7600. The tuning knob only works in increments of 1 which makes it slower to tune than an analog radio. The 3rd thing that could be better is the speaker. The sound is poor at best. I listen most of the time with headphones and the sound is better that way. This radio is excellent on shortwave reception. I have many radios and only the Sony 7600 comes close at a more expensive price.

A decent radio. But let me dispell a few misconceptions. First, the suggested list price of this radio is $109, not $199 as it states above. Thus, the savings is much less than stated (but it is still a good value). Second, those who say it "blows away the grundig G4000" etc. regarding sensitivity are overstating. The radio is very sensitive, but so is the grundig. In fact, if you read the reviews of the grundig on amazon there are those who say it blows away the kaito. In fact, at this level of sensitivity, the better radios tend to be very close -- if you hold one at a different angle than the other it might get slightly better reception than the other.... and vice-versa. I have tested both and they're similar, although the grundig has a richer, fuller sound, but flimsier antenna (my grudig's antenna just fell off). I would not recommend the KA1103 for its sound, as others have done. Although audible and clear, the sound still does come from a tiny speaker and it shows. Still, I'm happy with this purchase and hope that with time the quality holds up.

Press the VOLUME button, you will see "Vol" on the right of the screen flashing three times. You can turn the dial wheel to control the volume, before flashing stops.
One thing we shall know is that the dial wheel is multifunctional, it takes different roles with defferent press button combinations. It is used in frequency tuning, time setup, memory scanning, volume controlling and more...