In 2001 with only one other serious option, the Becker Mexico 2340, which is no longer available and did not tune above the 19 meter band (15,700 kHz), I was delighted to find this radio, and at the ONE source on the globe where one could buy it on the internet: www.jackys.com. I bought this radio. With duty and shipping it came to about $240US, which contrasts with the Becker, then selling for some $450. I would recommend that any purchaser line up in advance a good installer who will agree to make the installation in your car. Many installers are incompetent, and they won’t install a radio you do not purchase from them. In contrast, my dealer, Mark, (Audio Connection in Beckley, WV) is a joy and enjoys the challenge of the installations I bring into him, but not every audio man is a Mark.

The XR-CA620X is full of features that I like. I can listen to CDs, any other audio source really, via a cassette adapter (the reverse is not true if the receiver takes only CDs) and I can write in the call letters of any station, AM/FM/SW so it’s sort of RDS-ish. I think the SW reception is excellent, though there tends to be lots of humming from 13,000 to 16,000 kHz. My radio is paired with MB Quart speakers, a BBE unit, an Xm tuner, and a McIntosh car amp. The sound is heavenly.

I did have one problem and fixing it was a pain, since Jackys offered no help. The AM tuner was stuck on 9 kc. I sent to the radio to one Sony repair station in Roanoke, VA that offered no help, but charged me big bucks. Finally I found a Sony repair station in Michigan that fixed the radio without charge.

This radio has been replaced by the XRF5100. Jackys is selling that radio for $93 and change. Figure duty and shipping will add $70. Is there any other radio that can match this? If so, I’d like to know what it is. The only improvement would be in the inclusion of RDS on the FM band.

Purchase Price (INR):

$240 w/shipping and duty