Red Wave Radio

Over the last several weeks, I've been scouring the Internet in an
attempt to find the 'ideal' (if not 'perfect'??) portable radio for
picking up far away FM stations. My primary interest is DX-ing FM
stations for talk/news/NPR-ish type broadcasts (i.e. not music per
se). I would like to be able to regularly pick up far away FM stations
(say 100 to 200+ (??) miles away, conditions permitting) to regularly
listen to FM talk/news type broadcasts. Geographically, I live in
Kansas, a bit southwest of Kansas City.

While excellent AM reception - and even shortwave reception - would be
super bonuses, my clear #1 goal is excellent/superior long-range FM
reception in a portable-type radio. (By the way, I've been thinking
about this for some time, and have budgeted up to about $400 give or
take as warranted, if I can find the right unit. I'd prefer buying a
new radio, as I plan to keep/use this one for years/decades.)

At the outset of my quest, I bumped into the GE Superadio III (SR
III). The SR III initially looked fairly promising. However, since I
currently have a 20-year-old Panasonic RF-1090 (a simple AM/FM/PSB
high portable) that has served me very well; I'd like to get away from
the analog tuning and go for a unit with digital tuning. So, the SR
III wasn't quite it.

Then, I thought I was just about at the pot of gold when I discovered
info about the CCRadio plus. It appeared to be exactly what I was
looking for: digital tuning, supposed long range reception, etc.
However, upon further research, it didn't quite seem to be the ticket
either, especially per this following review:

http://www.nrcdxas.org/articles/CCRadioReport.html

When reading another fairly comprehensive review about the SR III,
that author (David Knisely) kept comparing the SR III to his Sony
ICF-SW7600G. Towards the bottom of his very informative review
(especially for my FM DX-ing purposes) he essentially concluded that
the Sony 7600G was a superior FM DX-ing unit - at least compared to
the SR III. [By the way, I did notice some posts to this group by
David. I have greatly appreciated his reviews/articles that I've come
across on the web. I hope he doesn't mind my linking to some of his
reviews. Additionally, any input he might have on this question would
be sincerely appreciated.]

http://home.inforamp.net/~funk/GESRIIIreview.html

Soo, interpolating from other SR III vs. CCRadio reviews, I started
thinking that the Sony 7600G (now the Sony 7600GR) was probably the
way to go... Here is another favorably review (again particularly in
regard to FM DX-ing) for the 7600G/GR, this one also by David Knisely:

http://web.uvic.ca/~rnewell/7600g.htm

In additional research, I started discovering favorable mention of the
Sony ICF-2010 (notably the link following the conclusion of this
paragraph). This review essentially preferred the 2010 over the 7600G
- if one didn't mind the higher price for the 2010. (However, I
quickly point out that this review was principally geared towards SW
and AM reception):

http://web.uvic.ca/~rnewell/sw100t.htm

Thus, I began researching the 2010, and was led to the 2010 newsgroup
that I referenced at the beginning of this post.

So, after all the above-mentioned background, I would be VERY
appreciative of any knowledgeable input in regard to the long-range FM
reception capabilities of the 2010 and/or recommendations on the best
long-range FM portable type radio - be it the 2010, 7600G/GR, CCRadio,
etc. It sounds like some feel that the 2010 is a slightly more capable
performer than the 7600G/GR in regard to SW and AM reception, but I've
found little in regard to the 2010's long-range FM capabilities.

Conversely, I have found some solid info on the 7600G/7600GR and its
FM DX-ing abilities (primarily per David's very informative reviews).
Any ideas on how the 7600GR would compare to the 2010 in regard to FM
reception?

I would genuinely welcome any and all knowledgeable
input/advice/thoughts in regard to the 2010 versus 7600GR FM reception
and/or other recommendations for the 'ultimate' long-range FM portable
... please let me know if there might be something else I could
provide to clarify... thanks for everyone's careful reading and
consideration of this fairly long post!

I have or have used most of the portables you have mentioned.

The CCRadio Original actually was a pretty decent receiver for FM.  I
now have the CCRadio Plus and it seems poorer for weak signal /
distant FM.

The Sony 2010 is definitely a dog on FM.  Great for MW and SW.  My
7600g is a better receiver on FM.

My best portable, by far, for weak signal FM is the Grundig YB-400PE.
I think someone else recently reported much the same thing on this
newsgroup.

Russ