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Reviews For: Clear Speech Speaker by Heil Sound

Category: Speakers for communications

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Review Summary For : Clear Speech Speaker by Heil Sound
	Reviews: 33	MSRP: 210
	Description: DSP speaker for communications use. New Heil design using the technology from the NCT Group with a number of improvements over the old Am-Com design. The Heil design now includes a 5 step DSP level switch, improved speaker and acoustically tuned enclosure, increased output, variable volume and tone controls and a sensitivity input level monitor.
	Product is in production
More Info: http://www.heilsound.com/amateur/clear_speech_speaker.htm
# last 180 days	Avg. Rating last 180 days	Total reviews	Avg. overall rating
0	0	33	3.8

N6PCD	Rating:	2021-12-08
Useless			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This product has been a huge disappointment to me. True, it does sound very nice when receiving a signal, but the moment I start to transmit, it picks up RF interference from my transmitted signal. Everything is properly grounded, and the speaker is on it's own power supply. What makes it even worse, I've used several external speakers before, mainly the Radio Shack speakers for Mobile CB units. Nary a problem. I've owned this thing for better than 10 years. It never fails to disappoint.

WA1YXV	Rating:	2018-04-11
Pretty Good			Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Bought one at a hamfest for $50 and was surprised how bad it sounded. Thought I threw my $ away. I saw one on ebay that was sold with the seller explaining that he had replaced the blow speaker...I had a new speaker hanging around from another project. It took me 5 min to replace and now it works like a charm. Very clear and the noise reduction and tone control really working well. I knocked off 1 star for the cheap cabinet.

N0TLD	Rating:	2017-12-21
Fail!			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had this unit for almost a year, until it died suddenly one Sunday morning. I was going to open it up and fix it -- I do most mods and repairs to all my gear, have been into the electronics of it all for decades -- but when I thought about what it actually DID for my station audio, I realized it wasn't worth the effort. Not for now, anyway. It cost far too much to exhibit the kind of pedestrian audio it had. I don't know if it makes any sense but most of the time it was brittle and muddy at the same time. To be fair, it did filter noise pretty nicely within a certain set of parameters, but not any better than the onboard DSP in my Icom R75, and about on par with other (much, much cheaper!) DSP speakers I've used. I've always been a little surprised that Heil put its name on this thing, but then again, there have been a number of Heil items that, to me anyway, seemed way too expensive for the performance I got.

NB2N	Rating:	2017-12-21
Look elsewhere			Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The device was useful in some settings, but it went dead after less than a year. Overall, a waste of cash. ---------------------- Earlier 2-star review posted by NB2N on 2007-08-30 I used it in the shack. The DSP worked nicely except for the highest setting where artifactual noise made it unusable. RF pickup was awful. It recently went dead, after just 18 months of use.

K4IQT	Rating:	2009-02-05
Very useful			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had my Heil ClearSpeech speaker for about four years now, and have been very pleased with its performance. It effectively removes almost all QRN and heterodynes, making it very useful on 40 SSB in the evenings and 75 SSB in the summer. I've used it some on CW, but it can be a problem at keying speeds below 10 wpm or so. At its DSP setting "1" with a narrow filter in the receiver, copy is excellent with QSB and QRM being the only things it can't cope with. My only gripe with it is the top-heavy plastic case, which is not amenable to shelving with other gear, and my station is just not set up to handle a bracket-mounted speaker. Also, the knobs are quite small and the DSP selector switch is pretty stiff, so don't get any beer or ketchup on your fingers before trying to change the settings (hi). Were it not for these physical issues, it would be a 5/5 for me. As it is, I may repackage it in the future for better convenience if HF transceivers with decent DSP don't come down in price in the next few years. ---------------------- Earlier 5-star review posted by K4IQT on 2005-12-14 Because of several nearby business/industrial sites, my daytime HF operations are plagued with an S6-S9+ noise floor on weekdays. After many attempts to resolve this with the RF-emitting busineses, I finally decided to try a good DSP system. The Heil Clear Speech speaker is just the ticket, and is great at removing relatively steady noise. I can now copy most signals down to very low levels. The automatic heterodyne remover works very well, making it possible to work 40M CW or SSB at night with almost no difficulty at all. Wow! The only weak spots are the difficult-to-remove sheet metal mounting strap (not needed for desktop use), the potential for RF feedback (which I have not experienced), and the rather ordinary plastic housing. Also, it takes a little getting-used to, with the DSP adding a sort of jitter in the background. None of these issues are enough to detract from a well-deserved high rating. At $170 this is a very, very good deal for those of us that cannot justify the purchase of an Orion.

KC2TZX	Rating:	2008-12-17
Not Great			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this a couple of years ago to use with my ICOM R-75 receiver. Hooked it up and it sounded pretty good, overall for its sound quality, I'd have to give it a 4 or 5. Then I tried to hook up my headphones to it. When putting the plug in, the headphones worked, but the speaker didn't cut out. I took it apart and made sure all the contacts were correctly touching the jack, they were. I attempted to contact HRO (where I bought it through the mail) but they never responded to me after numerous attempts. I then contacted Heil directly and they, to their credit, tried to talk me through fixing it, but everything they suggested was OK on the speaker. They wanted me to send it back, at my expense, insured! That really shook me. I decided to bite the bullet and just keep it the way it was as I didn't think I should have to pay to return a brand new, EXPENSIVE, defective speaker. Needless to say, I won't by from HRO or a Heil product again.

WA8DVD	Rating:	2008-04-05
Poor Excuse for a Speaker			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The Heil Speaker is one of the biggest losers to come out in a long time. I can not believe Bob Heil would put out such a product. The audio is terrible and the Noise cancelling function is even worse. What made it even worse, when I contacted Heil they gave me no support at all. They said it was a discontinued model and had no information or help. They know they had a lemon on their hands and are trying to cover it up. For the money, I can not recommend this speaker for any use at all. Played with it a couple of weeks then got rid of it. What a waste of money

KG4HUP	Rating:	2007-02-07
It Works			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have used this with several rigs an it will reduce noise with anything it is hooked up to. Set it up to sound like you want an leave it alone. Really Works!!

KJ4EU	Rating:	2006-05-04
fantastic			Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I purchased the speaker new about 6 months ago from HRO. This is perhaps one of the best investments I have made recently to my fixed station operation, The speaker has worked flawlessly, no feedback whatsoever ! I am using it with a Yaesu FT990 and couldn't be happier. It's a shame Heil no longer produces these speakers. If you can find one used, GRAB IT !

N4QT	Rating:	2005-12-17
Works as advertised			Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The Heil Clear Speech speaker has enhanced the receive capability of my PROIII. It has cut the white noise in half even with the PROIII IF noise reduction turned on. Only negative comment is the use of headphones. This is an amplified speaker. With headphones you can hear a low level hum you don't hear through the speaker. It has incresed the quality of the received audio through the speaker. That is why I purchased this unit. Heil no longer is making this DSP speaker. Bob Heil told me they made 1,000 of these units. If you want one I advise you don't delay. Many dealers still have units in stock. One last note make certain you follow all grounding and other instructions to eliminate RF feedback through the speaker. I have had no problems by following Bob's instructions. You most likely will have RF feedback if the unit is not properly installed.

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Category:

Speakers for communications

Product:

Clear Speech Speaker by Heil Sound

Summary:

Rating:	Time Owned:
Great! Good OK Needs Help Poor Awful!	0 - 3 Months 3 - 6 Months 6 - 12 Months More than 12 Months

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