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Reviews For: MFJ-616 Speech Enhancer

Category: Audio Accessories for Transmitter & Receiver

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Review Summary For : MFJ-616 Speech Enhancer
Reviews: 23MSRP: 170.
Description:
Tailors the sound of your radio to your ears.
Product is in production
More Info:
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00234.4
K9FTB Rating: 2003-12-09
Meets Expectations Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I took a chance purchasing an MFJ product, given their reputation for product quality and customer support. This product has performed very well and is trouble free (about 18 mos. now). I find that once I've set the audio bandpass for "my ears" there's little need to adjust it in the future.

My only nit to pick is that there is no power "on / off" indicator (LED, lamp, etc.). The power switch is push in / out style. At a glance, it would be handly to see if the power is on or off.

You can certainly vary the audio bandpass and the unit makes quite a difference in what you hear - especially if your higher frequency hearing is shot, as is mine.

Never have had the cover off (yet) so I can't comment on manufacturing quality.
W4JFR Rating: 2003-07-19
I am pleased Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased this item rather skeptically. I have never been a fan of MFJ and assumed at first that this was nothing more than a gimmick. But, like the first reviewer, I have experienced some deterioration in my hearing (age is 52). I have particular difficulty hearing in the lower range of the human voice. So, I thought I would give it a try. I have been very pleasantly surprised, to the point that now I can't live without it. I use it with a Ten Tec Paragon and Sennheiser HD 590 stereo headphones -- I have no speakers hooked up to the unit.

The audio quality is greatly improved and, more importantly it allows you to adjust for the variations in an individual's voice characteristics. Now, I find myself "tweaking" it every time I listen to a new station. The effect is not only higher quality audio, but a sense of noise reduction as well. It is particularly good with rather weak DX transmissions. Stations that I could never read clearly before, now sound much better.

The product lives up to its claimed performance and, I believe, is well worth the money.
Jim, W4JFR

WA6IPD Rating: 2002-07-30
Excellent Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have a severe hearing loss and have to use headphones to hear anything on the radio. It was becoming more and more difficult to copy voice signals so I thought I would give the MFJ-616 a try and WOW what a difference it made. I am using an Icom IC-756 with Kenwood HS-5 headphones, I also have the Heil Proset but for my ears the HS-5 works best. Everything they claim for this unit is true, I can actually make signals sound as clear as they did when I was 20 years old. I also find that sometimes when there is interference I can copy the signal 100% using the 616 but nothing when I hit the bypass. It’s a little pricey but for me well worth the money.
Here is some added information for those thinking about buying hearing aids. For minor hearing loss the in-the-ear units are fine. They tend to be fragile, the battery doors often break, they eat batteries, are uncomfortable and often oscillate. Most people quit wearing them after a while. The price of hearing aids is negotiable so never pay list price, shop around. You should also get units with automatic volume control, they call that compression. As your hearing deteriorates you will want to get behind-the-ear units. These have more gain but again they are uncomfortable, suffer from wind noise and transmit your chewing noise so when you are out eating forget about hearing. If you forget you are wearing them and it is raining you will likely need new aids. Here again insist on compression, also with this aid you can get directional microphones so ask for that feature and insist on wind shields for the microphones, even with wind shields you will be lucky to hear in the slightest breeze. I gave up on the commercial units and designed my own pocket unit which suffers none of the above problems. Had I done that to begin with I would have saved thousands.