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You can
write your own review of the Kenwood TS-950SDX.
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AA5JG
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 3, 2007 21:51
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I agree, the best
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I agree with the previous review that this is one of the best radios out there. Excellent receiver, the best noise blanker I have seen, excellent sounding audio, nice layout of features, and it does dual receive. This is a big radio, but if you have the room for it, you can't go wrong.
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G0TIY
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 3, 2007 07:22
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Just the Best
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Time owned: months
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I have owned this fantastic radio almost nine years
and i think it is the best radio i have ever owned.
previous radios icom 781 (fantastic)icom pro11 yaesu 1000mp & mk5.Ten tec Orion ic706mk2g ts50 ts850/dsp100 (excellent)yaesu767gx. My current radios TS950SDX
TS870 TS2000. The 950sdx has one of the best receivers that i ever heard, the versatility is just fantastic.
combination of analog and DSP filtering ,makes this
a masterpiece of engineering it was light years ahead of anything in 1993 and still holds its own today. i know its old technology but from what i have experienced with some of the new rigs you can keep em? I am waiting
for the day Kenwood bring out a new HF radio maybe the TS970SDX we can all live in hope. Regards
John G0TIY
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KF0K
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 12, 2007 12:15
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Still the Best!!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've had my 950SDX for about 10 years now, there is nothing on the market today that can beat it! I've had many, many HF rigs (1000D, 830S, 870S) just to mention a few, and have sat and played wtih the newer Pro series and FT series rigs, still nothing beats the 950..hands down! If you have one, keep it, if you don't and get a chance to get one, do it!
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M3-FJU
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 12, 2007 08:55
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THE KING OF KENWOODS
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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well after selling my sdx (i must have been mad), and getting the black 2k to use for base/mobile/port. it took me around 30 secs, to see what i had done was wrong wrong wrong,i put a review on here about the 2k, and a fair one at that, 3/5, so there i am missing my sdx when i get a call from the new keeper, who said would i like the sdx back, as he needed to get something eles, happy days are here again,iv had it back for 1 day, and let me tell you frist if you have one dont sell it, you will only miss it, the sdx is the best all round hf radio made to date, iv only been into radio for 4 years, but in that time iv had and worked a lot of hf stuff trying to find the best radio for me, and stand by me you wont get better than this,you cant put this radio up to the newer kenwood, the new kenwoods dont come close on rx, maybe the 870 has it on audio out,but its to close to call,as for the new radios out, you can keep them, when i picked the sdx up yesterday, i was sitting in the shack at the fromer keeper qth, looking at his icomm 7800,ft-2000,and his icom 781, when he said have a play, so off we went and started to run the new stuff against the sdx,nothing could beet the sdx, dont get me wrong, it wasent worst but it wasent better,the dsp only radios are to muddy the rx,the 781 was as good in my view but for me the sdx is still king of the hill, to me you cant beat the rx on this radio, the 150 watts output dosent concren me as i like to run as qrp as poss, the audio out is great, well it would be, its kenwood, the front pannel is great to use, and it works as it should, a vey simple menu gets you into the dsp etc, ,the ssb slope tune is one of the best bits as well as the notch, compar this to the 2k, the notch is crap, theres no ssb slope tune,ok the sdx could be a bit better with the sub band etc,but as an hf only radio in my view this wipes the floor of any other radio i have had or used, im lucky to have one of the last sdx made,(1998) so i dont have any worrys about the output etc, please im only new to radio and still have a lot to learn, but the one thing i have lernt, if you have or have the chance to get the sdx, take it with both hands, BUT DONT SELL IT IF YOU HAVE GOT IT, trust me you wont get better. 73 from a very happy kenwood lover
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KE8LW
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 27, 2007 01:56
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THE BEST HANDS DOWN !!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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THIS KENWOOD TS 950SDX, IS STILL A VERY GOOD ADDITION TO ANY HAM SHACK. THE RX AND TX ARE SUPERB. IF YOU CAN FIND ONE OF THESE OLD HEAVY RIGS BUY IT UP, YOU WONT BE SORRY. THIS KENWOOD WILL COMPARE WITH THE NEWER HIGH DOLLAR RIGS THAT ARE 10K IN PRICE, AND THE FUNNY THING IS KENWOOD MADE THIS RIG NEARLY 20 YEARS AGO THE COMPETITION HAS FINALLY CAUGHT UP. I DONT CARE FOR THE DIRECTION KENWOOD IS GOING BUT FOR THE OLDER RIGS THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST PICK. FEEL FREE TO EMAIL IF YOU HAVE PARTICULAR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RIG. I AM AVAILABLE ON QRZ.COM
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SM5HUA
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 8, 2007 06:08
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Best there is for voodoo!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Got my 950SDX used from Mike WZ5Q and its heavily voodoo modified for essb (www.wz5q.net). Nothing today has the same analogue clean audio as this old rig! Of course its a old radio but if you spend the time doing the mods Mike describes, well - then you have *THE* killer of all radios when it comes to good sounding...
Receiver is great, overall the radio is a beauty to operate and its gonna stay here as my main TX for years to come.
Even compared with a voodoo modified TS-850/DSP100 using 6kc bandwidth, the 950SDX in 4.5kc sounds more analogue and smoother. No wonder these rigs are still among the most high priced.
73's de Peter / SM5HUA
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WA2JJH
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 26, 2007 06:44
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Best Kenwood radio made
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Sorry for my previous negative review. I was upset with the driver transistors going south on me,and other problems. I will retract my old review.
The RF speech proc. is OUTSTANDING!
I have done A/B comparision with a dENTRON GLA-000. The dentron will out 350W max with New tubes.
The TRUE RF COMPRESSION on the Kenwood TS-950SDX set at 12db peak, will give a single report IDENTICAL to 300W.
All the filters and DSP makes this rig a winner!!!
If you do get an EBAY SPECIAL get it repaired and aligned first! I use AVVID.(CLIFF IS THE BEST!!!)
Enough said! Best Radio Kenwood ever made! Comparable to todays $7000 rigs!
DE WA2JJH Bangkok Tialand. Be back on 4/29/2007
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AA5IT
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 23, 2006 19:10
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Awesome
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Best radio you'll ever own! Unbelievable receiver. I'm constantly amazed by this radio even after 8 years! Have I seen the new rigs? Yes. Do I want one? No. I'm just sorry that the TS-950SDX still brings over $2000 used! I don't wonder why, though...
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WL7CMG
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 4, 2006 13:42
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When Kenwood was King... AGAIN..!!!!!
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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EVERY person I have ever talked to loved the SDX and I do too. Santa was good to me last Christmas and I was lucky enough to not have to sell my 870 to buy the SDX. When I first took the SDX out of the box, the first thought that came to me (besides the size), was..."precision". Then when I put it inline and started to use it, that thought was confirmed. I still believe the 870 has a great rx, but the SDX's is better...a very quiet noise floor. Combine the manual filters, manual notch, slope tune, AND DSP, and you have wonderful selectivity that's hard to beat with any rig. I have old power lines that act up constantly and have plagued me for years, and the ADJUSTABLE (sub and main) noise blanker does a fantastic job dealing with them.
I am one who loves to listen to great audio. I have a shack worth of speakers hooked up to the SDX and it's a real pleasure to listen to that legendary Kenwood audio. I tapped into the internal speaker and ran that wire to more external speakers. It's a thing of beauty to put the main and sub VFO on the same freq., listen at 6k wide, and fine tune stereo audio to both sets of speakers. Clean, crisp audio just fills the room. And yes there is a simple mod done to the SDX that enables you to listen to 2 different bands at the same time as long as you're in the same mode. Is it like a completely seperate rx???...no, but it's close enough for me.
I'd have to say, out of the box, it seems the 870 probably has "slightly" better tx audio than the SDX. Only because I feel there is more menu adjustments in the 870 to taylor to darn near any mic. I am not "fanatical" when it comes to tx audio, but I do use the Heil PR-40 and W2IHY 8 band with the SDX and the flowers constantly pour in. So I think I'll break the knobs off there.....hi. BTW...from the reports I get, the SDX's processor is still one of the best there is. When dx'ing, if I have to, I can really slam that thing and it still stays super clean. They say "you're loud!!!" but unless I told them they would have never known I was using the processor.
Yes the SDX still brings top dollar, but doesn't Collins and Drake also??? I agree, even though I got a fairly good deal, it still was hard to put out that kind of money for "older technology" when I could have bought a brand new rig for close to the same price. But I've owned the 756Pro, and the Mark5 and to me the SDX still has the "edge". Plus....I love BIG rigs for a base, and unless you're going for an IC-7800 or FT-9000, they don't come much bigger than this.
As was stated...."nothing lasts forever" but my SDX is still kickin' along with many, many others. I see far more Pros/Pro2s for sale than I see SDXs. There are a lot still out there and I still feel people seem to hold onto them and that should tell you somethin'....well look at all the "other" reviews and you decide. And for the price you can get one for now (remember when new it went for nearly $5k even way back then), I'd put it up against any new rig in this "used" price range. As we all know, new doesn't have to mean better...hi.
As I, and a number of Kenwood lovers have said, it's too bad Kenwood didn't come up with the TS-970SDX....hi. Now that would have been a winner...!!! If you're still a Kenwood lover and you've wanted an SDX for a long time like I did, then I still suggest looking for one. I'll agree that if it doesn't have to be shipped, then that much more the better. But once you have it in your shack you'll find it's a pure joy to look at and operate....!!! 73
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WA2JJH
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Rating: 2/5
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May 9, 2006 11:47
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Best radio made but try before you buy!!!!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I had first given this radio a great review. However, be careful of serial number and who you buy from.
I got an ebay special. It worked for 2 weeks. Lost Audio. The problem is the black box DSP unit. If any of the pins are out, you could be heading for trouble.
I tried it in FM in a dummyload....The infamouse plum of smoke effect happened.
The newer 950SDX's had to put fusable resistors in the PA bias.
The radio is ultra heavy. If you cannot fix it your self, the shipping is $75 each way.
Only buy one from a dealer.
The radio was intermittant out of the box. I thought I fixed it. Guess not.
EBAY is a sellers market. The 950SDX was a great radio back in 1991-1994. However nothing lasts forever.
I guess what is happening is that many are dumping their 850's and 950SDX's to buy the new expensive super rigs.
Too bad this radio does not ship well. It is a b-tch to send back. Parts are becoming rare.
In fact, the only way I can recoup my money is to break the rig down to boards, tuners,finals, and assembies.
GREAT RIG----Years ago.
Yall saying sour grapes by now. I got a second 950SDX ON EBAY! It came out of the box slightly broke too.
I carefully realigned all the pins on the under belly black box. That block box has the DSP and many other funtions. The rig worked great!
1)The EHAM staff are really looking out for us.
Let me explain.
2)The EHAM staff then retracted my 2 very positive review.
3)They gave me the green light to write new reviews.
4)They, like myself do not want fellow hams to get stuck.
Some Kenwood history"
There was a 950S,950SD, then the SDX.
Check out the reviews of those two rigs.
The SDX is really a TS-950S with the poorly placed black box in it. They also had major final problems as well!
I guess KENWOOD tried to do too much to quick.
Makes one wonder why they first used 24Volt Bi-Polar finals. Many Final Final revisions were made.
The SDX was the last FLAGSHIP rig Kenwood would make. So to make people happy, they added in the TCXO and just about every crystal filter.
The Final death knell for Kenwood was when their
best independent repair dude retired. I will not mention his name. He does not want to be pestered.
I started seeing my and other EHAMMERs reviews being used to sell TS-950SDX's on EBAY!!!!!
The rig is getting top dollar now for all of our great reviews.
Yeasu was smart. They put the MOSFET power supply out of the radio.
The DSP is inside.
So their old flag ship is easier to ship back for factory service.
It is common knowledge that KENWOOD will not produce a new $5000-$10,000 radio.
I am sure I will get top bux for selling off both SDX's as parts!
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