I wonder how Tivoli Pal and Fixup Sony radios (SRF-59, SRF-S84, etc) compare against each other? I heard raving reviews for both sides but haven't read a comparative one. Also how good is the amplifer in Pal? Is it good enough to be used as a portable headphone amp.? In a totally unrelated note, I'm developing a newly found appreciation for the smooth "liquid"(i guess that'd be the appropriate word??) sound of tape players, they just have that something MDs and CDs lack...hmm..

GO with the PAL. It's fantastic!

Fixup's SONY SRF-S84 and the SRF-59 are outstanding AM-FM Stereo radios with 1st class sound! Dr Xin Feng does a fantastic job with his modifications. So I highly recommend either of them! You will not be disappointed! On the contrary, you will feel that you have bought one of the biggest bargains in the audio marketplace.

Another plus: These radios do not eat up batteries. Thus, you will save quite a bit on batteries. In this respect, the SONY SRF-59 is the one to get. The 59 goes on and on with a single AA battery (one month easily).

If you need the very, very best radio, then buy the SONY SRF-S84. The sound of this ultra miniature radio is out of this world! It's a high end radio the size of a lighter. Amazing!

http://www.fixup.net

Hey, Dr Feng's has a PhD in electronics from Stanford University. Thus, he really knows what he is doing with those mods!

Matt's review of the SONY SRF-S84...
http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...ht=fixup+srf59

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Hello,

What is attempted to be done is trying to "make a silk purse out of a sow's ear". No Sony portable FM radio has impressed me RF-wise: overloading, mixing products all over the dial. These mixing products in some cases interfere with medium strength stations and can even cause an increase in background noise with strong stations. These problems are the results of low current, simple mixers. At the voltages and currents present on the type of radio being discussed it is difficult to get quality RF performance. The best solution is to use chips with balanced mixers -- not all portable radios use them. Some Sangean and the Tivoli PAL use them. The Sony's do not.

Soundwise, most portable radios are hampered by constant background hiss. The Tivoli PAL, the new Sangean DT-210V, and the Sony ICF-SW7600GR has sufficiently low back ground hiss.

The trick is to find a radio with balanced mixers and low background hiss as a starting point for any quality upgrade.

The Tivoli PAL satisfies on both counts. However, it isn't small or digital and has some tuning quirks of its own (AFC on FM, for example).

I believe there is a huge hole in the market for quality portable radios of "audiophile quality".

Best regards,

Paul

I do NOT get any background hiss with the SONY SRF-S84 or the SRF59, and I am using high grade earbuds and headphones...

--SONY SRF-E484
--SONY SRF-E888LP
--Etymotic Research ER-4S
--Sony SRF-7509 Pro, studio headphones.

SONY SRF-S84 Radio
and META42 Portable Amp System...
So far so good. These two mate very well. I do have to tweak the system a little bit...maybe do some opam rolling. However, Dr Feng is right: The S84 is one of a handful of radios that mates well with an amp!