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Reviews For: Sounds Sweet Communications Speaker

Category: Speakers for communications

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Review Summary For : Sounds Sweet Communications Speaker
Reviews: 121MSRP: 160 USD
Description:
Speaker designed for use with amateur and two-way radio, shortwave and scanner listening.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.soundssweet.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001214.7
K5PSO Rating: 2003-11-21
wow Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This speaker makes SSB sound like AM from the 50's with a big 10 inch speaker on a Hallicrafters or Collins or such tube rig. It's not that big or ugly either!
KC2FTN Rating: 2003-10-25
Simply....the BEST ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Ok, I'll admit it... I was a little (alot) reluctant to shell out $100 for a simple speaker. But having seen the prices of other speakers on the auction sites that matched my rig, I figured I'd give Sounds Sweet a chance since their price was actually LOWER than that of a 4" speaker from the 'Big Three', PLUS I had 30 days to return it if I wasn't satisfied. I am THRILLED with this speaker folks, and the audio is SUPERB. So don't waste your money on a SP-20 or SP-21...get a Sounds Sweet speaker instead. Because they actually do...SOUND SWEET.
NB6I Rating: 2003-09-29
Tames the harshest sounding tranceivers. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
About a year ago I got an Icom 756ProII. It's a great radio but the sound coming out of the external audio connector was very harsh. I think it's a DSP artifact. The energy drop of the cutoff at the low end as the DSP goes from signal level to zero output wreaks havoc with most speakers. I have not seen this phenomenon in any of my analog radios as they roll off instead of cut off. Interestingly, the harshness does not seem to be not present coming from the Icom's internal speaker but that's another story.

Back to speakers. I tried several speakers with the Icom. All would get muddy whenever the volume was turned up. Even my Yaesu SP-5 which is a really good speaker was overwhelmed. I ordered a Sound Sweet speaker to see if it would work better.

Be forewarned. Wow that thing is a big beast! Just finding a place for it on a crowded equipment counter is a major re-decorating job.

But the important news is that this speaker takes on the Icom's DSP output and tames the harshness. The intelligibility of the audio is superb.

This is a very easy speaker to listen to. There is very little fatigue even when working signals near the noise floors. I run a lot of PSK31 and this is an important thing when you have audio in the background.

Bottom line is that this is a first rate piece of gear that is obviously engineered to the task at hand.

KI6HT Rating: 2003-09-05
I THINK ITS PRETTY! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
And it sounds real good!!!And its big enough that you could put a clock or small 2M xcvr on topAnd if your neighbor plays his/her stereo too load you can get serious payback!!!
KE5GK Rating: 2003-08-26
Ain't Pretty--Sounds Sweet Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My Juipter has come alive ! Good Bye mini built-in speaker; hello Big Honker.

This speaker is a WINNER. Makes SSB sound almost like FM. Makes CW sound like a code tape. Crisp, clean, and clear.

A couple of words of caution. If you live in an upstairs apartment, better check with the manager to see if the floor specs will support this beast.
I put mine on the floor between the computer desk and the Jupiter desk.

Finally, the XYL or teenager in the family may "borrow" this speaker and forget to return it.

Bottom Line: Dump all of the others and get this speaker.
CASPER669 Rating: 2003-08-13
As Advertised... Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This speaker makes a big difference with CW or SSB receiving. It isn't a 'pretty' speaker, but I've yet to fall head over heels for any speaker. I purchased this speaker in early May and I've yet to have a problem with it. It offers DX'ers and CW operators a near-perfect fit for copying distant stations.

The only item I would change is that there is no wire to attach. It's only the speaker. Any cabling must be made by the users hand. Not a big deal... I don't mind the soldering, but it would have been nice to receive a wire with a 2.5mm plug and a 1/4 inch adapter. How difficult are those to manufacture?

In any case, the speaker works very well and (in my opinion) is necessary for all!

Thanks for looking at my review and I hope it helped you. 73!

Chris KC2KFW
W8ZIP Rating: 2003-07-29
Excellent Speaker Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Excellent sounding speaker, packed very well, good delivery time and very good construction. This speaker delivers a great sound. If you have the extra money to spend go for It! As stated in other reviews make sure you can fit it in your shack.
K7FD Rating: 2003-07-22
Turn up the volume! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
OK, I must admit I was tempted by such rave reviews on this speaker. And being fond of early Volkswagen bugs, I can learn to love ugly. So with credit card in hand I proceeded to order the Sounds Sweet speaker...

Mind you, after being suckered in on the Alpha Delta VRC speaker a few years back, I wondered if this would be another dog. But I'm happy to report, the Sounds Sweet speaker is excellent! It zero's in on that band of frequencies that make voice communications come alive; it certainly delivers a punch!

I would characterize the sound as 'Xtreme' clarity to pick up on a popular saying nowadays. It is definitely an extreme speaker...big and built like a tank. Audio comes in just right, not too many highs, not too many lows...just right in the maximum intelligibility pocket.

How big is it? Bigger than most desks can comfortably accomodate I would say; I have mine sitting on a bookshelf above the desk. How ugly is it? Not nearly as ugly as I read about here. It appears they've changed the speaker grill...mine looks pretty good in fact. The workmanship is excellent with smooth edges all around...good value for 99 bucks.

73 John K7FD
W3HKK Rating: 2003-07-10
Very good but Expensive Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I like good audio and had experimented with over a dozen speakers over the years searching for the perfect communications sound. After reading the glowing comments about the Sounds Sweet I was intrigued. Yet troubled. The comments sounded too good to be true. Was this just "hype?" Or was this speaker a once in a lifetime product. Had I entered a "pure spin zone?" I just didnt understand how a speaker could make as big a difference as was being described.

In the end, I couldnt resist and ordered one. In less than a week it was here, looking very well built. I actually like its appearance.

Rather than just hooking it up and listening, I decided to comparison test it with an old switchbox and the 3 favorite speakers in my shack, selected after years of trial and error. Now I could quickly switch back and forth and compare speakers under varying conditions.

Speaker 1 was the SoundsSweet.
Speaker 2 was my trusty SP-901, a very good speaker with a 5-6" diameter cone.
Speaker 3 was a wooden bookcase speaker from my Scott stereo c. 1968, measuring 14"x9"x6".
It comes with a treble adjustment that I had turned all the way down in order to minimize high frequency response (noise) for ham radio purposes. I had tried 3 other bookcase speakers but this one was my favorite.
Speaker 4 was my old Hallicrafter R-46 (c. 1951), a 12" speaker in a steel box that was open in the back.

After several day sof listening to cw, ssb and am signals on all 4 speakers, here's what I heard:

The SoundsSweet is probably the best speaker I own. It has a good mellow sound and slightly less hiss than my SP901. A clearly noticeable difference in hiss reduction, but not $100 worth.
I had to listen hard to tell any difference between my Scott bookcase speaker and the SS. Both produce very good round audio with little hiss/noise. I called it a draw. Regarding my R-46 speaker, it was again very close and hard to choose between the two. Slight edge to the SS.

Bottom line: The SS is a fine communication speaker. Marginally better than a couple I already had. For a cost conscious ham, you could find a bookcase speaker at a garage sale for $10 that would compete very favorably with the SS.
I didnt see the dramatic difference the other reviews reported. But again, I already has several good speakers in use.

KC2KXV Rating: 2003-06-23
The Missing Link Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've only had the speaker for a couple of weeks, but I continue to be amazed at how well I can now hear through the noise. I'm an audiophile and I have a large collection of "audiophile" speakers including concentric cone Tannoys that I thought were up to the task. Not even close, the SoundSweet speaker beats em by a mile. It is a perfect combination with the digital filters on the Icom746Pro. Works equally well on the Icom 706MIIG and the R-75. I'm no longer frustrated by signals as they approach the noise floor -- it makes working 6M a whole lot more fun. And when you tune through the commercial SWR bands -- you can hear all of the "broadbandness" of radio Cuba. Nothing is added to the sound that is not there or not needed. The target of the speaker is to reproduce the human voice. While the size is more than I expected, I soon realized that the size of the driver and the tuned port on the front of the speaker contribute to the intelligibility in the lower registers when you need it-- without the fatigue of extra hiss, and noise. (I won't explain this to my wife as I'm spending even more time with the radio lately)
Paul has done this one right, it's obvious that he has spent allot of time with the design. As they say in my old neighborhood "forgedda bout it"
The SoundSweet speaker is a keeper!!