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Reviews For: Phonema RHEA Speakers

Category: Speakers for communications

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Review Summary For : Phonema RHEA Speakers
Reviews: 6MSRP: 229.00
Description:
The Rhea speaker match the following transceivers:
Icom IC7610, IC7600, IC 7410, IC7400, IC9100, IC756, IC746, IC738, IC751, IC745, ICR71 and IC720.
Yaesu FTDX3000, FTDX1200 and FT950.
Kenwood TS870 and TS850.
Box material:
MDF
Front material: Sucupira wood
Inside meterial: Acoustic Foam AG150 and Basotect
Power: 10 w
Impedance: 8 ohms
Frequency response: 75 - 18000 Hz
Sensitivity: 87 dB
Driver protection: IP64
Dimensions (WHD): 186x115x275 mm / 7,32x4,52x10,82 in
Weight: 2,25 Kg / 4,96 lb
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.phonemaspeakers.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0063.8
W2VGD Rating: 2022-05-22
Rhea 3 - Compromise Speaker - Over Priced - Over Rated Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Did a comparison on SSB, AM and CW between the recently released Phonema Rhea 3 and my 45 year old Heath SB-600 and two Radio Shack Optimus speakers, both of the latter highly thought of in the ham community. The Rhea 3 finished last of the four in intelligibility of digging out weak signals, especially with multiple signals on the same frequency. Additionally, the Rhea 3 finished last of the 4 in program listening. There is only so much you can do with a smaller speaker - the audio sounds *noticeably compressed* on the small Rhea 3 speaker (even with its tweeter) compared to the other three. Yes, the speaker seems well built and the audio does sound "clean" - about on par with the Radio Shack speakers. Tests were done with my Icom 7610. Also, the supplied plugs wiggle a bit in the rear speaker sockets - inexcusable. For $329, I expected a clear winner here, but would advise the major ham retailer which imports the Rhea 3, and from whom I bought it, to stop selling it. Paying a re-stocking fee to return it was worth it to cut my loss with this over priced and subpar speaker.
M0LGW Rating: 2020-10-20
WOW: A game changer for my ICOM rigs!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
If I could give this 6/5 I think I would. I do not write reviews, but I feel I have too for this incredible speaker.

I bought the Palstar SP30H on the strength of the reviews on this site and I have recently part-exchanged this for the Phonema Rhea as I wanted a smaller footprint speaker and the ability to connect two radios without a switch box - am I glad I did: Wow!

I am a keen SWL and have a R8600 and the sound on the broadcast stations is just amazing; clear, crisp, no resonance. Even on low volume the bass is punchy and gives a full sound. The sound feels like it comes from the back of the speaker box and not off the front speaker diaphram. Even though this speaker is a smaller footprint to the Palstar SP30H, the sound is so much cleaner and stronger, at least to my ears...

On the phone Ham bands the speaker cuts down on a lot of the background hiss/noise. The 7300 and the Palstar speaker I found harsh and tiring to listen too, voices now popout and are clear without distortion.

The speaker is finished in a lovely wood front panel with a silver cone grill, which can be removed. The cabinet is heavy with various foot options to match it to an ICOM or Yaesu radio. The speaker also has an extendable wire foot, but I did no use this - instead i decided to elevate it with another solid stand to the same incline as the 7300 & 8600. This provides a more solid platform for the sound to project. The speaker has a A/B selector push button switch to select between the two audio sources that connect at the rear. The speaker connections are bare wire speaker spingposts that enable you to connect any cable and length to your transceiver. Note, you will need to attach a 3.5mm 1/8" jack to the other end to interface to your rig(s), you only get one in the box. The physical height of this speaker is idealy suited to the larger ICOM/Yaesu radios as it is taller than the 7300/8600 but either way, this has transformed my listening and will stay.

Goodbye Palstar, and welcome Phonema. You have to try this speaker to appreciate what it can do to your station! Wow!!
GRUMPY2021 Rating: 2020-08-02
It's okay. Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I bought into it after all the glowing reviews. I use it with my Icom IC_7410. I'm not sure it really enhances the sound but it does push it out forward instead of the top of the radio. The thing that needs help at least with mine is the adjustable tilt stand. Neat concept that you can match any angle of Icom, Kenwood or Yaesu except it never stays level. Almost daily it sags down and becomes wobbly. Just enough of an annoyance I won't buy another. Maybe I'm too picky but for that price I expect better.
Just a side note. The cable that comes with it is just bare speaker wire and you have to solder the included 3.5mm jack onto it. For someone that has a visual impairment, doesn't solder etc that's a let down as well. For that price a bare wire and completed cable should be included. Fortunately I had a 3.5mm in my stash of stuff and used that. Otherise I would be grumbling a bit louder.
After more than 3 months now I will say I prefer the audio of my Realistic Minimus 7. Then again that is purely subjective. One of the few amateur radio items I've ever had buyers remorse on.
K7NA Rating: 2019-06-13
Balanced Sound Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently picked up one of these European-made speakers from an eHam seller and placed it into use with my Icom IC7300 and my AOR AR7030+ shortwave receiver.

The Rhea is compact, extremely well made and quite stylish with its Wild Brazilian Walnut front panel. With its front panel A/B switch, the Rhea replaces two quite large speakers that took up a lot of room on my operating desk: a Sounds Sweet unit and an old Hammarlund HQ series speaker. I enjoyed both of those speakers but the Hammarlund in particular was nothing more than a 6X9” oval driver inside a metal cabinet with absolutely no acoustic material, porting or anything else.

Using the Rhea has been a new experience for me and I am finding that the audio reproduction on AM, SSB and CW is full bodied, crisp and pure, with absolutely no cabinet resonances, vibration or other distractions. It does tend to favor the voice frequencies and the audio is precise and well defined. If there is bass in the audio of the received signal, that too does come through but it is not overpowering or mushy.

The AF Gain on my radios is positioned about where it normally is with the other two, larger speakers. So, it does not take much gain to drive this speaker to pleasant, room filling sound. It’s the articulation and the clarity that I find so improved now with the Rhea.

I’m pleased with this speaker and will continue to use it for my ham radio and shortwave listening pleasure. The Rhea is pricey and it’s only available from one dealer in the US but it’s a quality product, handsomely made, and worth your consideration.

Vince K7NA
KK6W Rating: 2018-02-03
Nice! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'm 60 years old and suffer from degraded hearing and tinnitus. I'm always looking for ways to enhance my audio with various speakers and headphones so that I can enjoy this great hobby for as long as I can.

For the last year or so, I've been using a home built speaker that was a huge improvement over my Yaesu FTDX1200's built-in speaker. It's made from 3/4" plywood, uses a 6x4" speaker and is filled with 1" fiberfill. I've been very happy with it, except for it being BIG and heavy.

So, never leaving well enough alone, I looked for something more streamlined/lighter/better looking. After much research, I thought I'd give Phonema's RHEA speaker a shot.

Being that the RHEA enclosure is smaller and uses a smaller speaker than my home built box, I worried that I would loose some audio quality. But I'm an experimenter at heart and had to try it.

Within 30 seconds of listening to my new RHEA, I knew I had made the right decision. This thing truly sounds..."Phenomenal"! It beats my home made speaker hands down. Voices are enhanced and QRM/static/etc. seems to be de-emphasized. It's just smoother and more pleasant to listen to. I guess the difference is that it was built by audio engineers vs my just throwing a bunch of stuff together.

Although it's pricey, I think it's worth every cent. It sounds and looks great sitting on top of my Yaesu (I'll update my QRZ pics soon). 73's!

Terry
KK6W






NT7X Rating: 2017-02-15
Great sound Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This company has a history of improving other manufacturers speakers so with that I thought I would give this one a try. Ordered from DX engineering, fast shipping and speaker well protected. At this point I'm very pleased with the quality, performance and workmanship. I'm by no means an audio expert but have noticed a huge improvement over the OEM speaker that is on the FTDX3000. It is a louder speaker and the volume controls are set to one/quarter to one/half lower of what they were with the OEM speaker. Some of the tones could be ear piercing if volume levels are left at the same level. What I like about this is that IM digging up voices I could not normally hear before, Unless I had a head set on.
I like the fact the speaker has provisions for being hooked up to two receivers (channel A and Channel B)Although you can only hear one at a time. It works well with the FT991 as well. Overall I'm impressed. I did remove the metal screen for a better look. (Small fingers needed).I may paint the screen a different color some day.