The Grant II for me performed better in the mobile environment than the Lincoln II or CRE 8900 for receive audio quality but it just didn't have the overall features of the other two. I made quite a few contacts with it in the mobile and everyone said it sounded really good on the air with the stock microphone. The hi-cut in the mobile along with the NB/ANL really made the RX clean.
It's a good radio, it just doesn't have a whole lot of power and it lacks the features of the CRE 8900, Lincoln II, Optima. The output of the Grant II did match up nicely with my amps though without having to do anything.
For the features and output it is overpriced for us over here, especially after people were spoiled with the low prices on the Anytone's and clones.
Someone mentioned the CRE 8900 not doing well - it faded out because of import issues and problems with distributors, it wasn't due to any specific issues with the radios. I still run the CRE 8900 in the mobile, it's been my radio of choice for the last year.
I think everyone in the radio community is still waiting for the golden radio....the features are getting closer and they are getting better at blending the freeband vs CB features on the radios but I still haven't found the one that has blown me away.
The Stryker had great audio but the functions were just weird to operate. The Optima came close but didn't quite hit all of the functions for both markets and is pricey. The Magnum 257HP did pretty well but the early quality control issues brought the reliability into question. The CRE 8900 came close but had a couple of small issues and by the time they fixed them the supply chain broke down.
The Anytone was okay but took multiple revisions before they got things ironed out and even then it wasn't the strongest performer in the bunch. The RCI-2950DX has always been up there but some of the newer models has some quality issues and they didn't have the "CB" features, and the 2970N2 had some major issues early on. The Galaxy radios have the CB features but lack the real freeband/ham features and aren't as stable as the newest exports.
The Grant II has good audio and receive but the output is fairly low and it's missing the freeband/ham features and the price for import is high. The Lincoln II has the features, great audio, and output, but the receive isn't as good as the Grant II or the CRE and the display doesn't like cold weather.
Does the golden radio exist? Not yet....but I wouldn't be surprised if one of the models that comes out in the next couple of years finally does it all...and does it really well.
And before we get down on the manufacturers for not getting it "right" yet, keep in mind there are plenty of more expensive ham radios that get ragged on for not getting it quite "right" either
In any case, I'd be happy to own any of the radios mentioned above, they all transmit and receive and even though we talk about their weaknesses and benefits there are plenty of happy people using all of those models. I myself sometimes get so caught up in analyzing how well a radio is working I forget to sit back and marvel that I'm talking to a station 3000 miles away while driving in my car and talking on a $250 radio.
But enough of this drivel.....I still want the great white buffalo (hot tub time machine reference there)
