I have a Sangean PR-D7 I’m pleased with. Gets excellent AM and FM reception. That said, the sound quality isn’t going to come close to your old GE Super Radio because the speaker is only 2.5”. It’s very clear sounding, but it lacks any real bass.
I think the signal strength depends on where you are and the antenna that is on the radio. I buy radios that do short wave they usually have good antennas. My CB radio get good reception but the antenna is like 40cm long lol.
The ideal radio for my needs has the best FM signal amplifier/antenna possible, capable of pulling in the distant signals, far from modern conveniences.
I know there are hand-held portables made specifically around the "emergency" aspects, although my needs/wants are larger towards the GE Super Radio, or slightly larger.
I use to have a system that was outstanding when we lived in the "convenience" zone, that filled the desire to blow out windows in the house. Those times, are behind me.
I'm looking for (not necessarily) functionality, elegance? in an honest-to-goodness, hand tune-able unit, that's beyond linking to satellites digitally. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and streaming
are not wanted as the source, necessarily, unless the options are included (and not drawing away ) from the true AM/FM signal. Options like external antenna connections are definitely a plus.
Something with pre-sets are not of interest to me. At that point of design technology, it is made for selective reception.
I may be asking too much from technology these days, considering most things today are, "push the button" convenient.
I have this one, a Panasonic RF-B45. it’s the best one we ever used that i carry on our back country expeditions. It can receive FM/SSB/AM channels in places that no other radio we tried could ever do. it has a long telescopic antenna and a external 20 foot antenna wire that plugs in. The sound clarity is amazing too, with many options & programing. every once in awhile one goes on ebay for sale if you look there from time to time. http://www.shortwaveradio.ch/radio-images/panasonic-rf-b45.jpg
I have the smaller version of this radio its good! It comes with a NiMH battery that you can either solar charger or plug a USB cable in and charge it. I take it when i go fishing and hunting out of Sydney the reception is good for its size. The build quality is good. When i am fishing on lake Macquarie my other radio struggles to get reception because i am in a weird spot where my usual fishing spot is. I still get reception with this even my phone has no signal. The solar panel works okay its a bit small on my one but the inbuilt battery is only 600mah at 3.8volts.
You can also hand crank to charge your phone or the radio. I have heaps of AAA spare in case of emergency i use 3 AAA NiMH in mine but i try and cycle the inbuilt battery also.
I found the one i bought i am looking at getting the bigger model.
You wrote “portable”, now home use?
The key for good reception is antenna. Antenna on the roof, a few meters above, vertical or horizontal polarisation, depends on transmitter polarisation.
If you use piece of wire, telescopic antenna inside building, do not expect good reception.
Mike
For home use, I love my Sangean WR-11 AM/FM table radio. Great reception on both bands. My only complaint is it has a bit too much bass, but I was able to tame it by stuffing foam damping material in the rear port. The sound quality reminds me of the old KLH model 21 table radio I had back in the 70’s
It's coincidental we seem to have the same tastes twice now. I will look into the Sangean models
Added
I did make reference to the size of the GE Super Radio. It is both battery, and A/C. Even in my home, that radio was the best I have ever experienced. With it's telescopic antenna.
I bought one of those on clearance from Walmart when I was in high school for $100; I cannibalized the speaker from it to repair a Sangean 909/Radio Shack DX-398 a decade ago, and I never got around to putting the Panasonic back together. A very underrated radio, IMHO.