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Reviews For: ClearSpeech Speaker CSS-1

Category: Speakers for communications

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Review Summary For : ClearSpeech Speaker CSS-1
Reviews: 36MSRP: 179.95
Description:
Powered Speaker with integral DSP noise reduction
Product is in production
More Info:
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
15364.6
K1UC Rating: 2002-03-09
Outstanding! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this for use with my FT-100/ATA-100 HF mobile to quell the hash noise, and it is exactly what I needed. I've tried all the tricks for getting a quiet vehicle, none of which did very much for me. This unit gets rid of the hash and I no longer get a headache trying to listen on HF. It makes listening a pleasure and passes signals that I could not otherwise hear. It does a nice job on heterodynes as well.

I compared this unit to the FT-100 DSP and it's far superior for quieting noise and passing a good signal that's easy to copy. I can still hear a very slight amount of ignition noise with it, but the FT-100's noise blanker does a superb job of eliminating that.

I highly recommend trying this unit for HF mobile. It comes with a 30 day money-back offer, but I'll bet once you try it, you won't send it back. Worth every penny.
KB6HRT Rating: 2002-03-09
IT,S Magic Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had two of these speakers for over 2 years now and would not want to do with out them, I use a ICOM 706MII in the car and a ICOM 756PRO in the house and yes it helped the PRO as well, other Hams that have been in my mobile always ask me about it! For SSB there the BEST............. The price has gone up but still a great deal and they help any radio or antenna system with noise problems, now i have to pump up my transmit in my car so i can talk to all the stations I hear so they can hear me louder, thats how well this think works.
N9CV Rating: 2001-10-13
Excellant product - Highly recommended 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
K4ZNC Rating: 2001-09-15
Buy this product! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have been using my Clear Speech unit for almost a year and will say without reservation that this is the best add-on piece of equipment that I own. I have used it with a TT Corsair II and Omni VI+ and with a Scout mobile. The unit improves the intelligibility of SSB signals trememdously, and I do not mind the slight change (for me) in the audio. I have owned other DSP units, and have sold them all!
K9DDB Rating: 2001-08-20
FANTASTIC! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
After several months of use with an Icom706mkIIG and a High Sierra in my 1993 Chevy Astro I can truly say that this is one piece of equipment that
puts pleasure back in to mobile operation. I have had results comparable to every other review on this forum and can only say this...TRY IT-YOU WILL LOVE IT!!!
W9LVC Rating: 2001-08-20
Very Efective Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have used the CS Speaker for 2 months now and find I never turn it off except to reasure me just how great it is. Makes SSB sound like FM. It took a bit to get used to the different sound but after a while it becomes transparent in use. This is one item all stations should have.
K4IA Rating: 2001-07-28
Don't leave home without it Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Operated mobile with one for over a year now. It is fantastic. In fact, I don't think I could operate without it. Click it on and noise is gone. The voices pop out of nowhere. Magic.

The audio clip you can download from their website as a demo is nowhere near as good as the real thing.

This device will improve your mobile experience 1000%. Get one!
K3SUI Rating: 2001-07-12
Does what it's supposed to do ... and does it well Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I bought one of these a little over 3 mos. ago. The unit appears to be well made. I powered it up and plugged it into my 775. It does a GREAT job of reducing not only hetrodynes, but any type of noise in general ... atmospherics, ignition, florescent light, etc. It does a better job on Noise Reduction than the built in DSP. The speaker response is taylored for the portion of the audio spectrum which contributes to intelligeability ... so it sounds a bit squawky, but it makes voices easy to hear over any ambiant noise. One word of advise ... don't use this unit on CW. It elimiates the CW tone. It doesn't know a CW note from a hetrodyne so it takes them all out ... but of course you normally use headphones for CW, anyhow ... don't you ??
K1TWH Rating: 2000-12-16
Effective while mobile. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
___Clearspeech Speaker System: Received the unit from AMCOMM in Mid-December. Just today had a chance to use it in the Isuzu Trooper with my Alinco DX-70T. Wow! All the reviews are spot-on. In the vehicle with all sorts of noise, when you switch it on, only the voices are left. True, there is some warble added some of the time, when the voice level is close to the noise level, but this is more than offset by the outstanding removal of the noise. For those amateurs with the DX-70's, when the QRM is tough and close in frequency, switch in the narrow SSB filter in conjunction with the Clearspeech unit. The results are very gratifying.
___I did not find the unit that necessary for use at home, but I agree with the other reviewers when they recommend these units in the mobile arena. That's exactly what they say they are
designed for, and that's where they are worth every penny.
___________Tom Howey WB1FPA
KM4CI Rating: 2000-08-21
Fantastic Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This DSP unit is a most remarkable device. I operate a Kenwood 430 with a kilowatt amplifier in a little Mazda 626 with a 20 foot monster homebrew antenna.The power line noise is sometimes S9 or worse. With the Clearspeech, about 95% of this kind of noise disappears. White noise disappears completely.Many stations would be totally unreadable without it. Have tried it on the base also, great! My large outboard speaker seems to work slightly better for voice recognition than the speaker on the Clearspeech unit.--Jim KM4CI