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write your own review of the Ten-Tec RX-340.
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W8IDL
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 7, 2008 22:13
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Superb!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have owned one Ten-Tec RX-340 for four years now, and my second one for two years. This is absolutely, positively a PREMIUM RECEIVER in every sense of the phrase. I sold off some of my Harris (RF-590) and W-J (various) receivers to buy these RX-340s, and have never looked back. The only thing I can add to the other reviews here is that Ten-Tec now offers an optional wood cabinet and matching speaker. I bought a set, and they are beautiful with professional workmanship. The speaker sounds great as well. If you're an HF recever nut (premium-rx reflector subscribers unite!), you can't miss with this impressive receiver.
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KBH669
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 22, 2007 09:53
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2nd Gen. HF DSP at it's best.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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If you're looking for a premium receiver with low to zero maintenance, great audio and sensible ergonomics then the RX-340 should be at the top of your list.
This is based off of using an AR7030+, R8A, HF-150, & R30C in the past. Connect a good antenna system to it and you will not be disappointed. I use my 340 for just about everything - Shortwave broadcast, digital modes, & SSB coms. It was no small decision to invest in a radio like this, but I haven't regretted it and still feel like this is 'the one'.
I've had my RX-340 since 2000 and the only service performed in the past 7 years was to replace the signal meter bulb with an LED type that Ten Tec sent me, free of charge. I use a Sherwood SE-3 for AM service and use the full frequency DC-coupled audio output for SSB. I run both AM/SSB signals to a tube amplifier so if there is any 'hardness' to the audio, I'm not hearing it. In fact, what I do get, is very clear non-fatiguing sound that is neither bass nor treble exaggerated (this is how I can listen to it for hours on end).
Some of my listening habits include trying to catch low-power AM signals from Europe late on the weekends. I found that if I run my 340 in CW mode in conjunction with the SE-3 that I'd be able to use all the controls the rig has to offer to manipulate the signal. Having the BFO, PBT, & Notch at my disposal allows me to not only zero in from a selective angle, but gives me full control over the audio signature for best intelligibility and EQ. Speaking of selectivity, if you have not experienced the phaselinear quality of DSP filters you are in for a real treat. Also, I have yet to experience a more sensitive receiver than the RX-340 - this radio excels in digging through the bands to find faint signals to make copy of for both AM & SSB.
I'd like to echo N2JSG's comments about the AGC system for this radio and add my two cents: Using the programmable AGC on the RX-340 along with the manual IF gain control is the secret to getting this radio to perform to it's fullest. Once I understood the concept of setting the AGC to pull in as much signal and yet allow the radio to breath a little with proper IF adjustment, it increased the sensitivity while keeping the static at a level where the audio could come through out of the noise. As a result, this receiver provides EXCELLENT audio recovery of weak signals from working the programmable AGC loop/manual IF gain circuitry.
For most of my DXing, I usually start w/the AGC in programmable mode (Attack 0.1, Hang 0.0, Decay 99.9) & reduce the manual IF gain to around 18-23db. With the receiver's AGC set to it's fastest recovery time, I'll use the manual gain to find the saturation point & then relax the AGC starting with the Hang setting (0.1-0.3). If further adjustment is needed then I'll work the Attack & Decay until the best S/N ratio can be found; basically working back from a fast AGC configuration to a slower one along with the corresponding +/- IF gain depending on conditions & signal strength. I use the Noise Blanker with a similar approach and to ensure that it is working productively with the gain circuitry for best overall recovery.
An easy way to hear the AGC's programmable mode interactions is to actually open the manual IF gain all the way up on a clear frequency and listen closely to the raw static as you change values. This will let you hear the threshold points for the Attack, Hang, & Decay rates for a better feel on how they work together.
One thing I love about the RX-340 is when listening to a Shortwave Broadcaster with the 16Khz filter in the clear, you can set the AGC to a fast mode and then roll back the manual gain until the signal comes out of an almost FM like background. That's what separates this radio from the others: the audio is so beautiful that it lends itself to a more enjoyable listening experience. You can incorporate this receiver into a HiFi setup and never look back. It really is that good.
In regards to the 5kHz IP3 dynamic range of the 340, it can be improved upon if you use a quality preamp and engage the attenuator w/increased IF gain to reduce the impact from stronger nearby signals. This will smooth out the audio so you can hear what you're chasing after. This is how I can listen to Radio Nikkei in the morning on the 75m band with easy copy amongst all the voice traffic.
As a final thought, the manual (pg.5-10) mentions Post DSP IF/AF data available from the RS-232 port for use with additional signal processing equipment. If this provides digital audio in IS2 form, you could use an outboard device or software program to customize the AM/SSB signals in the digital domain for later conversion with a USB DAC or similar for further audio refinement.
The 340 takes patience to master, but will really perform if you invest the time to learn all of it's idiosyncrasies. Coupled with a low noise antenna or similar (I use an EWE), you'll be amazed at what kind of DX you can hear with this rig. The performance & fidelity of the RX-340 is fantastic!
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N2JSG
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 8, 2006 02:51
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Update To My Previous Review
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I will not repeat any of the details I gave in my previously written review of the RX-340 here on eHam. Rather, I wish to offer some additional findings that I hope will prove useful to potential buyers of this radio.
After five years of service, my unit is humming away flawlessly. It is my primary receiver and will remain so until I discover another high-end receiver that can substantially outperform it. I have, over the past 36 years, owned quite a few general coverage receivers ranging from high-end, not-so-high-end and everything in between these extremes. In the high-end classification, I have owned, at differing times, a Watkins Johnson HF-1000, a Drake R8, a Lowe HF-235, a Lowe HF-225, JRC NRD-515 and a JRC NRD-535D. All of them are gone except for a newly re-introduced NRD-515. I had enjoyed all of these worthy radios immensely. But, in my experience, the RX-340 stands out far ahead of these in terms of all-around signal performance and ergonomic delight. Of the aforementioned units, I will say that the HF-1000 came enviably close to the Ten Tec. In fact, the HF-1000 would still be in my shack had a financial crisis a few years ago not necessitated its sale. In its place, came the RX-340. And I have never regretted the purchase. Please see my previous review. (June 2004)
An update on the synchronous detector is in order since my last review. In it I related my experiences with its losing lock under some--not all--signal fading scenarios. Specifically, when the lock was momentarily lost, a disconcerting clicking was noted. I rated the performance of the synch detector as being just acceptable, and that it was the Achilles heel of the radio. Well, after having many more monitoring sessions over the intervening years, I must say that the quirk can be minimized to a great extent. How? By adjusting the parameters of the AGC in the programmable mode and being VERY patient until you achieve the right settings. This takes time!! I managed to find the right signal fading conditions to allow the AGC settings to iron out the tendency for the '340 to "let go" of the signal to a better extent than I had when I first reviewed the radio. I discovered that increasing the hang-time helps hold the signal much like a pit bull tenaciously holds onto its prey. I found out too that a long hang-time, a moderately fast decay and very fast attack time works wonders in making the synch detector perform (almost) top notch. I say almost because I still feel that the synch detector is not all what it could have been if it had been better designed in the first place. Even still, I now have a detector that locks very well most of the time as opposed to half the time. BTW, it should be said that the upside of the synch detector is that with its ability to select the upper, lower or both sidebands at the same time in combination with the outstanding bandwidth filtering, interference from adjacent frequencies is greatly reduced, if not eliminated altogether. And, in some circumstances, the audio is improved when the synch is engaged. A real delight.
I use a Sounds Sweet speaker with my '340. I have reviewed this speaker here on eHam. I find it to be a perfect match. Why? The SS speaker excels at taming hiss and accentuating bass response; just the ticket for the '340 which I have found to be too "treble-oriented" and lacking in bass response. An interesting observation is that '340's audio is the polar opposite of the NRD-515's. For those familiar with that old workhorse of a radio and its "wooly audio", this should be taken as welcome news! But I especially like the Sounds Sweet's ability to add more bass because on the '340 it is needed. All in all, the audio of the RX-340 is a delight.
The panel overlay is a high-quality Lexan thing of beauty. But on my umit, it has started to peel off in one of its corners. Nothing major, nothing big, but quite annoying nonetheless! When I phoned Ten Tec about it, they had recommended that I buy upholsterer's glue from a furniture repair place. I have yet to do it, but will report on its success--or not.
The squelch works quite well, but it should have been designed with a scheme known as hysteresis. With the present scheme, when the desired signal goes into a fade and dips below the squelch threshold, you lose the signal completely until the signal recovers over the squelch setting. In a hysteresis squelch system, the squelch temporarily ignores the threshold setting during fades and allows unhindered audio to pass. Having hysteresis in a squelch is preferrable in a professional HF receiver, IMO. Minor quiblings, yes; but still, for the amount of money that the '340 costs, expectations and its associated nit-picking are high indeed.
There are some weird behaviors in this wonderbox. Minor stuff for sure, but ocassionally noticeable. One of them is a slight, and I mean SLIGHT, momentary "singing whine" on extremely strong carriers and only noticeable when there is dead air. Another is a muting of the audio momentarily when changing bandwidths from below 4 kHz or above sequentially with the bw parameter knob. Still another is when the radio is first turned on from a cold start, in my unit, and from another unit that a friend has, the Mnaual Gain dBm readout "bobbles" and "jitters" for a while until the radio warms up and after fiddling with the manual gain knob a few times until it ceases bobbling. Strange. But I do want to repeat that these are minor, minor quibblings, but, having said this, these are still things that a prospective buyer might consider important enough to take into consideration.
In conclusion, the RX-340, when one has taken into consideration the previous posted reviews of its superlatives, is THE RADIO that is hard to beat, at least as of this writing. Any future DSP radio that brings us performance advantages better than those found with this receiver will in all probability be of a higher bit-rate technology (32 bit, for example) that will deliver performance enhancements unseen heretofore.
73, Dean
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KA9P
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 16, 2005 06:55
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Better than, well, you know....
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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The superlatives have been exhausted.
Here's my beef. The little knobs are cheap (really cheap). The main tuning knob is weighted, but the skirt is cheap (mine's a bit eccentric from the factory, eccentricity is not uncommon here...) The tuning was stiff and a bit uneven, but after a tip from a fellow user, I pulled the knob out a bit on the shaft and it works much better. They STILL ship this in a single box with two pieces of form fitting foam and some bubble wrap. For some reason the signal strength meter filter is more green than the blue of the flourescent displays....
But it's worth it. I cleaned house, letting several favorite receivers go (including WJ and Harris) to pull this off, and while I miss their personalities, none exceeded the performance of this radio in any serious way that I can notice.
It's been head to head with an HF-1000A for quite a while now. As reported by others, synchronous AM performance varies. The 340 locks and follows over a narrower range, and requires apparently more S/N to lock. Not really an issue on anything but netted, weak AM signals. Audio and AGC make the 340 easier to listen to for long periods.
AM fidelity is good, but there's better. SBB fidelity is superb, rivaling the best I've had here. Ergonomics are great. Size and weight make it possible to consider carrying it around. Legendary TenTec service makes it possible to carry around without worrying about it.
Two in a diversity set up would be THE hot ticket...........
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K6JPA
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 6, 2005 20:31
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Tough to Beat the Performance
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I must admit that I found the learning curve for this receiver to be a bit steep. This isn't the type of rig you can pull out of the box and use without committing a decent period of time manual reading. Once figured out, however, this becomes a beautiful piece of equipment.
I consider this receiver to be the Ferrari of receivers. Like a Ferrari, it is a demanding piece of equipment to master, but once done, it can do anything for you that you ask of it. With the number of possible listening combinations available, if it is there to listen to, and you have a proper antenna setup (this is key), this receiver will pull it up.
Like a Ferrari, however, this isn't designed as a "touring" receiver. The sound quality is a tad harsh compared to, say, an IC-R9000, and I personally feel it isn't quite as pleasant to listen to for extended periods of time.
Overall, a great pick for pulling out those tough signals. I would suggest, however, that you take it for a test drive before purchasing, to insure that it is the right receiver for your needs.
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WA2PVK
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 26, 2005 20:22
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WOW!!!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I will spare the technical information. Other reviewers had mentioned that. This receiver is the culmination of my search for a REAL communications receiver. I have had other receivers as well as transceivers that had general coverage receivers. Some were better than others but the RX-340 is incredible. I do not have the greatest antenna but the performance of this receiver is still remarkable. My antenna is a sloper that consists of about 90 feet of #12 standed copper wire. This is attached to the center pin of a PL-259 which is connected to a long "barrel" adaptor which is mechanically and electrically attached to the 40' level of my tower. The other end of the barrel connects to a 50' run of RG-8 that connects to the receiver. This antenna has worked quite well with a variety of receivers and the RX-340 seems "pleased" with it. (I do want to experiment with other antenna types eventually) I have had several transceivers that featured band scopes and have become almost "addicted" to using those. My solution to this "addiction" was to take the 455 KHz. signal output from the RX-340 (there are various IF and Mixer outputs on the back) and connect this to the designated RX-ONLY antenna connector on my transceiver. I can tune the receiver to 455 KHz. and then use the band scope to monitor the RX-340. This works GREAT.
Back to the RX-340! This receiver is absolutely beautiful and highly recommended for anyone who, like me, wants a REAL receiver and who enjoys BCB DX, SWLing, and "exploring". It is also extremely useful, and EXCELLENT, as a ham band receiver and it certainly can be used in conjunction with a transmitter! It IS expensive but worth every dollar as far as I am concerned. This receiver is definitely a keeper!
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KY6R
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 21, 2005 15:22
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Amazing
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Couple this receiver with the latest version of the K9AY Loops (with the switchable terminating resistor) and you will be in BCB DX / SWL heaven.
I've been looking for this SWL "solution" for many years.
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W5UMO
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 31, 2004 20:21
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Nothing better
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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After 40 years of shortwave listening and occasionally frustrated using good but not great equipment, I decided to mail off a box load of money to get the best radio on the market. I haven't been sorry. This radio performs superbly in just about every category. Some tweaks and adjustments on the well-designed and functional panel turn signals falling on any reasonable antenna into ear candy. Broadcast programs, especially music, are a pleasure to listen to with a good external speaker. The well-written instuction booklet provides easy to understand guidance, which is needed to fully realize the vast capabilities of this piece of gear.
For most of us (i.e., not single), an investment this large requires some thinking. I don't believe the output of this radio is three times better than good radios at one third the price. But it's such an excellent performer that I spend a lot more time listening and have more fun and enjoyment doing it. If you're regularly combing the bands and want the best, the RX-340 will not disappoint. And, here's one case where the best is Made in America.
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SSN700
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 29, 2004 22:33
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World Class
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have had many fine radios. Including most of the Japanese trancievers. I always seem to buy new, play for a while, get bored then sell them off.
I have been in and out of the SW hobby for many years. Built many Heath's and Elecrafts latest offering, the K2. That's gone as well.
The RX-340:
Coupled with N4PY's software, you have as capable of a HF recieving station as those probably do at CIA.
I was surprised that extra care in boxing this radio is not considered at the factory. I had no problems, but extra care should be considered in the future.
I have always had radios that had mass and weight. It made you feel you were operating a real peice of equipment.
Well, I am surprised indeed that Ten Tec has packaged this unit in a standard 19" rack configuration and weighing in at around twelve pounds.
I applied power to the 340 and the displays came alive. Quite nice indeed!
The clear blue flourescent displays have over a 50,000 hour life rating.
The controls are absolutley world-class. There are no flimsy buttons here like my last three Drake radios. The ability to adjust and tailor the audio is nothing like I have heard before.
simply, quite amazing.
I live about 3 miles away fom WLNA, an AM broadcast station. Any time I have operated any of my radios of "past", I have always had to engage the Attenuator.
With this 340, I can't believe it's not butter, just kidding, I can't believe the front end on the receiver. I don't understand why they even have an attenuator, you WILL NEVER NEED IT.
This radio has the ability to block the upper and lower of the selected AM frequency with NO carry over. I am starting to understand why the price is a little up there.
The audio quality with the on-board speaker has been satisfactory for now, but experimenting with a good quality outboard will certainly enhance your listening pleasure.
All of the controls, both analog and digital, have a tactical feel and have immediate feedback. The direct entry is just a momentary tap, and your at your frequency.
The main tuning dial has a smooth, comfortable and weighted feel, and very precise.
The step control is very flexible, and very useful. The bandwidths, are breathtaking. I never imagined that HF signals
so close together in a given band could be isolated so precise.
You must use headphones to experiment with the ability to adjust the skirt. You can isolate a frequency so that it's practicaly perfect in every way.
I have only ventured ever so slightly into the programmable mode with the AGC function. But I can say that Ten Tec has given the user the ability to adjust the variables to such an extent that unless you have patience and a true understanding of gain control parameters, leave it alone and you will be very happy with the pre-programmed, default modes.
Computer control is very high speed and flawless. Using a remote software package, like N4PY's gives you the ability to scan the horizon, and hear, then catch even the slightest frequency. The program is very good indeed. The band-scope mode coupled with this radio is as good as you will get, anywhere, at any price.
I have sliced out frequency's with the bandwidths I never in my wildest dreams even knew that were present. I am looking forward to some real utility hunting this fall and winter.
For the cost of a used motorcycle, you will have a radio, that with no doubt, will be handed down, and is sure to please even the most professional individuals, as well as people interested in extreme utility hunting, like myself.
I am proud of this offering from Ten Tec. I appreciate the R&D and patience they have not only put into this radio, but all of there products.
There sales and technical staff have been one of the best I have dealt with. Elecraft as well has passed my expectations when I dealt with them with the K2 project.
American company's, Ameriacn Products. In final, the RX-340, is probably the finest receiver ever made. I cannot imagine a more useful and pleasant radio receiver to operate and listen to.
Ten Tec has made a professional grade receiver available to people like me, and I can't thank you enough. I have always been into quality material things in my life, and the 340 is no exception!!
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