Best receiver sound

[K4ELO]

Owning a couple of boat anchors and two modern transceivers, and being very sensitive to receiver sound, I am curious as to what others think about receiver sound.  I'm not talking about selectivity or sensitivity, but pleasing audio sound.

For example, I have a Yaesu FTdx5000 and a Flex 5000A for modern rigs.  Between those The Flex is a little more pleasing to listen to, especially at narrow ssb filter settings.  For boat anchors, its the Drake 4B twins and a Collins S3 Line.  Between those, the Collins wins by a little bit.

Overall, I think the Collins 75S-3B wins.  Maybe it's just the sharp, hollow, raspy sound that dsp rigs have to my ears (and they aren't all that good at my age either!) that makes the modern rigs hard to listen to.

Would be really interested in your experience with receiver sound.

73
Wayne
K4ELO

[W2RKJ]

I own a Ten Tec Jupiter with 2 Ten Tec speakers and a Collins S-Line (32S-3/75S-3B). The Jupiter has great audio but the Collins with the 312-B4 console-speaker beats the Jupiter. I can't quiet the Jupiter down using the RF gain like I can with the Collins. I love both but the Collins has a bit of an edge. Many folks are of the opinion you don't need the console on the Collins, this is true for standard operation but if you want the sound Collins intended, get either the 312-B4 or 312B-3 speaker. That's my 2 MHz worth.

[K8AC]

If I were seeking high quality audio out of a communications receiver, the first thing I'd do is NOT use the audio chain in the receiver.  It's not unusual for the audio output to have distortion figures in the 5-10% range.  Pick off the audio before the audio stages and feed it to a reasonable quality external amplifier.  Those seeking "hi-fi" SSB audio routinely use external audio gear for their transmit audio, but rarely do you see that for receive audio.

[KQ6Q]

My old HRO Sr had a single-ended 6F6 output, driving a 12" speaker in an open-backed metal cabinet, The sound was wonderful - I rarely used headphones...

[K0OD]

Between those The Flex is a little more pleasing to listen to, especially at narrow ssb filter settings.

The Flex-5000 uses outboard amplified speakers. I do think mine sounds great but I don't know how much to credit the radio itself.

I have a TS-850 which sounds fantastic on the AM BCB and longwave even with its built-in speaker. 

[KAPT4560]

 For high-fidelity listening, some of the older Grundigs had amazingly pleasant reproduction.
 Selectable wide (8kc-10kc) bandwidth can greatly enhance the higher frequencies. Lowering the gain can take out some of the audio 'harshness' that may be OK for ham use,  but not for broadcast listening.
 The National  NC-125 has a 3-position tone switch with Select-o-ject audio network that acts like a single control graphic equalizer. There is no IF selectivity adjustment on this radio. The audio frequency response can be tailored as desired.
 My National NC-200 has a push-pull output with the matching 10" Jensen speaker and is OK for music listening.
 I have used a home stereo 3-way speaker in a wood cabinet with good results. Some premium bookshelf speakers sound nice as well. A single-ended output tube can drive it with no problem.

[KG6YV]

OK, here is my opinion (not to be taken as statistically provable fact).
I have owned 32 boatanchor receivers.  I still have 6 at this time.

RCA AR-88/CR88:  Single ended Class A output, best overall balanced audio without distortion.  Yes, the receiver is stable enough to copy SSB and sounds better than 90% of anything I have owned including modern DSP solid state stuff.

Hallicrafters SX-28:  Sounded great but the AR-88/CR-88 beats it when both operate into an 8-12 inch R-42 Hallcrafters speaker.  The SX-28 does not quite reproduce the bass as the others.  I also owned an SX-25 for a while and it was about the same as the SX-28.

National HRO 50/60/7 models:  Push pull 6v6 audio is disappointing.  These are communication audio receivers.  They are
 great for that, they fall well short on broadcast AM and SW as well as ham AM.

Collins/Stewart Warner R-390A:  Well surprising good audio IF you use the detector output and go to an external amplifier. 
The internal audio "sux" for anything but CW.  That's the way they were designed.  Great radio, low noise floor....

Here's one you won't find every day.... 
Sargent 21:  Shortwave receiver with electronic tuning eye circa 1936 from Sargent Electronics Oakland Ca. 
Great audio, low distortion, on par with the SX-28.  A pleasure to listen and an excellent/sensitive radio for its age.
Great to look at too. 

National NC-240D:  Belongs with the other nationals.  Audio bandwidth is disappointing on AM or SW broadcast. 
The radio is good, cabinet on the radio and speaker are beautiful.

Hammarlund SP400/600:  Pretty good push-pull audio, reasonable reproduction on AM and SW. 

This is only my opinion, don't shoot me for the opinion or my hearing...

Greg

[K4FMH]

Here's my two cents...

I've owned a Kenwood TS-830s, TS-450SAT, TS-940SAT; Drake TR-7; Swan 500CX; Yaesu FT-857D; Flex 3000; JRC NRD-545; Hallicrafters S-108, S-120; Sangean 909; and a Perseus SDR. "Sound" is a subjective thing to me but for just sheer listening pleasure, the TS-830S, the TR-7, and the Swan 500CX are the best among this set of RXs. The SDRs (Flex, Perseus) can be made to sound great....but not as "mellow" as the ones I've mentioned.

Frank
K4FMH

[KG6YV]

Swans do sound very nice.  It may be partly because they use a wider filter (2.7khz). 
The only trick to Swans is to own one that doesn't drift.........much.

Greg

[AD4U]

I think the Drake R4B sounds really nice on SSB, especially when the band is not crowded.  I think it is because the LC filters do not have the narrow skirts that crystal and mechanical filters have.

Other rigs with good crystal and mechanical filters perform better under adverse band conditions.

Dick  AD4U

[KG6YV]

Crystal and mechanical filters also exhibit "ringing" which adds artifacts to the signal (distortion).  You can minimize it somewhat at additional cost but most manufactures didn't have the budget for high-quality filters and even Collins couldn't completely eliminate ringing in their mechanical filters.  One company who made/makes excellent crystal filters ($$$) is
Network Sciences in Phoenix Az.  The Swan SS-16 filter (16 pole 1;1,1 shape factor) in my Swan 600R Custom is an example.  I cannot discern hardly any ringing in that very sharp 2/7 khz filter.  Sounds very smooth. 

Network Science also manufactuers a 69 mhz after market 2/4 khz roofing filter I bought ($300.00) and installed in my Yaesu FT-2000D.  Wow!  It improves IMD @3.00 khz by a whole 20DB.  Now there is a well designed filter. 

Poor implementation of DSP also exhibits ringing.

[G3RZP]

All the DSP audio I've heard seemed to have a 'harsh' sound to it.

[KAPT4560]

  I am not impressed by DSP either, that's why I collect, restore and enjoy old boatanchors and audio equipment.
 One loses the essence and beauty of the analog waveform by chopping it into 'bits' and doctoring it. That to me is distortion.
 I say keep it natural. Hiss, pop and crackle can stay.