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Reviews For: Clear Speech Noise Reduction Speaker by Am-Com

Category: Speakers for communications

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Review Summary For : Clear Speech Noise Reduction Speaker by Am-Com
Reviews: 91MSRP: 179.95
Description:
A quality speaker with built-in DSP noise reduction.
NOTE: Will now be produced by Heil Sound:
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.amcominc.com/productdetail.cfm?Prod_ID=16
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00914.4
K6SDW Rating: 2001-10-21
DSP great, but speaker so-so Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is my second review of the Clearspeech DSP speaker.....After running one Clear Speech in my hf mobile and another at my QTH I can say without hesitation the DSP circuitry works -- better than most built-in DSP circuits in new rigs. Now the disappointing news, both Clear Speech speakers were bought new by me and both have developed a really bad speaker rattle, I mean really bad. I have not investigated the problem, but I'm guessing it's the front grill of the speaker that's producing the rattle. It's especically bad with basey voices. Hopefully, I can take the speakers apart and fix the problem.....73/ed

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Earlier 4-star review posted by K6SDW on 2000-12-06

I have two of them, one in shack and one in car and the DSP really makes a difference receiving weak signals, especially in the car on HF!! Downside.....sorry guys, but there's always a downside.....the built-in amp is susceptible to RF which was a bit disappointing. Moving the speaker away from the tuner and grounding it to the station ground and no more RF!

Really hard to find one used at a good price....I finally did but only after buying a new one first from AmCom.....73
K6NFL Rating: 2001-10-21
Must have it Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have an Icom 746. Great radio, but the NR/APF noise reduction seems to have a water sound as you increase the reduction. I bought the ClearSpeech after a demo at Pacificon. I had a difficult time deciding on the speaker or the base version, but bought the speaker version. I have it installed between the radio and my Icom SP-21 base speaker. The Clearspeech speaker is muted. When switch to on, it dramatically decreases the noise at the SP-21 without the water sound of the 746 full DSP. I use it in conjunction with the 746 DPS set at a moderate level so both work effectively. You can really pull out the clarity of stations affected by QRM. I'd recommened this one. Oh, BTW, while I was purchasing mine, two other hams bought their second ClearSpeech speakers. They said they were so impressed by them, they needed an extra one each for other radios.
KC5BNC Rating: 2001-10-19
It helps.... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
It does give me another option in reducing noise, but I think the noise reduction in the Ten-Tec Jupiter is better. It does get rid of the some of the noise the Jupiter DSP doesn't get rid of, but at the expense of clarity on some signals. It's not a one size fits all solution but if your radio doesn't have it's own DSP or the DSP isn't up to snuff you'll love it. The noise reduction and noise blanker in the Ten-Tec Jupiter are superb and comparing it to the clearspeech speaker may not be quite fair. With the DSP disabled on the Jupiter the clearspeech does make a significant improvement in the quality of the received signal. On the Jupiter, if the signal is above the noise floor with all the DSP enabled and the clearspeech enabled, you hear nothing but signal with no noise. All in all, I think I'll keep it.
K5NT Rating: 2001-10-18
A good accessory with a few annoying characteristics. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought the speaker version to use in the shack, and it does a nice job of removing background noise as advertised. The speaker will not work unless power is applied, which is no problem. However, it emits a low level hiss with the noise filter switch in the Off position that some may find annoying. This hiss mostly goes away when the Noise Filter switch is turned to the On position, but is replaced by soft whistles and rustling sounds that the manufacturer says are normal. I intend to keep the unit, but am a little disappointed that it did not produce the quiet I expected. A noise reduction device should not produce its own noise. None of this would be a problem in a mobile installation, but in the relative quiet of a shack these sounds are a distraction.
K5SWA Rating: 2001-08-02
Great for Mobile work! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I previously wrote a review on this speaker for use in the shack. I have now had the opportunity to use it mobile. My advice....don't leave home with out it! It made mobile operation on HF pleasant. No fatigue from listening to constant white noise. I used headphones plugged into the back of the speaker. The unit performed better than the built in anti noise circuits in my ICOM 706 MKIIG...In short..it is the way to go when going HF mobile.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by K5SWA on 2001-03-10

I must admit a mistake concerning my previous post. The Clear Speech does have a headphone jack on the back. I took the unit out of the box installed it and the mini jack was hidden by the mobile bracket. The speaker has been in continous use since I purchased it and I just missed the small jack. My appolgies to AM-Comm. I still rate the Unit excellent, even if my review was a little faultly.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by K5SWA on 2001-03-01

I have operated with this speaker now for about two months with my ICOM 706MKIIG. The speaker is a real performer. I can copy signals that normally are in the noise. It does have that "internet audio" sound when the signal is weak. However, this is a small price to pay vs no copy at all. It certainly makes listening easier. I just wished that Am Com had put a headphone jack on the speaker. It would be nice to process the audio thru the speaker to headphones. I also try various combinations of ICOM DSP, Narrow Sideband Filter, and Noise Blanker with each signal and then decide which combination sounds the best. Bottom Line....Noise is reduced if not gone!
W6SL Rating: 2001-08-01
Good circuitry, mechanically a bit weak Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After an excellent unsolicited review in World Radio by the magazine's owner, and a personal recommendation from a friend who used one on a DXpedition, I ordered the Base unit. Evidently the World Radio review caused quite a rush of orders because I was told there would be at least a two week back order. When the unit arrived I hooked it up to my Icom 756PRO and found it to be an improvement over the Noise reducer or the noise blanker on the transceiver. However, the toggle switch was so loose internally ( not the lock nut on the face of the unit) that the switch had to be wiggled gently to make contact. Before returning the unit for repair I tried the unit on both SSB and CW (mostly the latter) and as the reviews state it does make very weak signals copyable over a constant line noise. Also, my suggestion to Am-Com would be to add another foot onto the DC power cord. It's a lot easier to cut a bit off for a neat installation than to add a foot on with taped solder joints.
WL7M Rating: 2001-07-07
Wow!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just opened the box, installed it, and WOW!! What a difference! Makes a BIG difference in every mode I've tried - including digital. It's worth the price, and service from Am-Com was excellent. Good people - good product! 73, Joe WL7M
KG4FQH Rating: 2001-06-25
EXCELLENT CHOICE Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had my speaker for about 2 months and just love it.The speaker clearly does what AMCOM said it would.This is the best noise cancelling speaker I have ever heard.Mine stays on the whole time I turn my HF rig on. It is a great acessory to my Icom 756. AMCOM ...i can sum it up in one word.......THANKS.........(kg4fqh)
K3SUI Rating: 2001-06-25
GREAT Speaker Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've had mine for about 3 months. I use it with an Icom 775DSP. It works GREAT !! I have used a Timewave 59+ with one of the manufacturers speakers in the past, but this unit works better!! Noise reduction has always been a questionable feature for DSP units, filtering being their forte ... but this little speaker shows that it can be done!!
W8JWN Rating: 2001-05-07
Clear Speech Base Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just received the Clear Speech base unit and WOW! I can't believe that the noise almost disappears and the weak signals are Q5. This is a $ well spent.