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Reviews For: ClearSpeech base unit

Category: Filters, Audio: (DSP and others)

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Review Summary For : ClearSpeech base unit
Reviews: 32MSRP: 179.95
Description:
Stand alone audio DSP unit
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.amcominc.com/productdetail.cfm?Prod_ID=16
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00324.7
YE0TT Rating: 2001-11-28
FANTASTIC Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I use my Clear Speech base for shortwave DX listening and it makes a world of difference. I can listen for hours without growing weary of the background noise. I've given the unit a "5" score, but it is NOT perfect. There is some DSP noise that jumps in (I notice on talk shows, so any ham will notice on Voice use). It is a short background "white noise" hiss that comes and goes, approx. every 30 to 60 seconds and runs for about 3 seconds. I've got 3 different clear speech units and they each have this "flaw." However, it makes listening (1) Possible; (2) Intelligible; and (3) Enjoyable. Even if the price were 2x higher, I would still recommend this unit. It also outperforms the Timewave 599ZX noise reduction. The Timewave tends to round out the audio and cut some of the bursts. The Clear Speech nearly eliminates the background noise on signals.
N9CV Rating: 2001-10-09
Super product - I highly recommend it Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I fought a severe ignition noise problem on HF with a FT100D in my Chevrolet Blazer. Nothing I did (noise supression wires, plugs, cap, rotor, coil, 3/4 inch braid ground straps on all sheet metal, etc.) helped the problem. The problem was severe enough that HF ops could only be done with the engine turned off. I questioned whether an external DSP unit would do any good as the FT-100D internal DSP did not help my problem.

I ordered and installed the ClearSpeech unit(with speaker). My problems are all but gone. After about a two second delay this unit filters out all unwanted noise. I still hear some minor ignition noise when the engine is at idle but it is completely gone when driving over 10 MPH. This unit also effectively filters all hetrodyne and other constant unwanted audio. I now run the FT100D with the internal DSP (noise blanker) off. One thing I did notice, on high speed (20 wpm and higher) CW it tends to filter that also. Slower CW is no problem. There is a switch on the unit to turn off DSP and pass unfiltered audio. This could be done at any time if CW is a problem. I would rather have surpressed the noise than filter it after the fact, but the ClearSpeech was the solution to my problems. I highly recommend this product, with or without the speaker. It is expensive but very effective.

Ken Burton - N9CV
KD6PTO Rating: 2001-09-24
It really works! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just received my Clear Speech base unit today as well and it works great. I have owned many DSP units but this is the best.
KE4DC Rating: 2001-09-24
Excellent product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Received the Clear Speech base unit today. Very impressed. Makes listening infinitely better. Attenuates all types of noise from atmospheric to noise from my computer. Every radio should have one! A well made product that really works. This one is a winner. Thanks.

Alan Nusso
KE4DC
ALCRIQUIEXN6GY Rating: 2001-07-28
Effective but limited Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Unlike most of the reviewers, my experience is middling. Yes it clobbers heterodynes and a good deal of white noise, but it adds artifacts to SSB that cause me to defeat it at least half of the time. Undecided as to whether I'll keep it.
AD5X Rating: 2001-07-24
Buy it! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Received my Clear Speech Base unit a few days ago. I've had several DSP units, including the W9GR, the 599ZX, and the DSP units built into my IC-706G and FT-1K MKV (which had been the best up until now). The Clear Speech unit is simply the best DSP unit I've heard. Works great with no adjustments, no overload, and all mode.
W7MG Rating: 2001-01-14
They really work Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I run one of these things mobile in a Chev Tahoe 4x4 with a Icom 706MKIIG transceiver.
The Clear Speech base unit works so much better reducing noise than the DSP built into the radio, I use it for all noise reduction.
No, you will not get HiFi sound out of this unit, that is not what it does, what you will get is clear audio with a low noise level. I will never run another mobile station without one.
WQ5MM Rating: 2000-09-15
Great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Although I do not own one of these units, I did
test one at Ham-Comm in Arlington, Tx this
past June.

I was impressed with the filtering of almost all
background noise on the hf freq that was in use
at the time.

Seems like the product does what the makers say
it is supposed to do.
N4EKV Rating: 2000-09-15
What's all the fuss? Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Convinced that my brand new CSB was defective, I sent my unit back to the factory a day after receiving it -- only to learn it was operating normally! My impressions are decidedly different that others' posted here, but FWTW, here goes:

Hooked up to my Ten-Tec Corsair II and headphones, I found the audio quality was abysmal. In the CSB's 'on' position, voices were greatly distorted and mixed with ever-present DSP squeaks that sounded like somebody twisting Styrofoam. CW was even worse, with the tone being very hard to find, and then distorted and hard to copy when I located it. In all cases I found signals far easier to copy with the CSB removed from my audio circuit.

Distortion continued with the CSB in its 'off' position, since it's not a pure bypass, but instead some other (undocumented) form of processing.

The documentation consists of a single page containing mostly wiring instructions. Missing is the whole theory of operation, tips on use, proper application, etc.

I do have to give Am-com credit for very responsive customer service, including answering several emailed questions over a holiday weekend, and then refunding my money per their guarantee.
N0BG Rating: 2000-09-05
Bonus Feature, Auto Notch Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I discovered that this unit will automatically notch heterodynes. Not sure if it will do multiples simultaneously, but it does a great job on one. The time constant is pretty long, but when its gone, it is really gone. Check it out on WWV with rcvr on SSB or CW and slightly off freq. When you jog the tuning knob, the heterodyne appears briefly and then disappears. This is a bonus, the unit is well worth its cost for the great job it does on all sorts of other noise sources. Mine stays ON almost all the time.