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Reviews For: W2IHY 8 Band Audio Equalizer / Noise Gate

Category: Audio Accessories for Transmitter & Receiver

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Review Summary For : W2IHY 8 Band Audio Equalizer / Noise Gate
Reviews: 203MSRP: 249.99 assembled or 204.99 kit
Description:
8 band equalizer and noise gate
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.w2ihy.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
002034.9
W7RLB Rating: 2006-01-25
Fantastic Product ! And even better customer support. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently acquired a W2IHY 8 Band Audio Equalizer / Noise Gate to pair up with my Kenwood TS-850 and Kenwood TS-870 driven with a Heil HM-10 microphone. The audio produced without the W2IHY equalizer was acceptable but still not the quality that I had hoped for. I navigated a few websites including EHam reading reviews and listening to sound bytes of numerous configurations. My decision was an easy one. I have only had the pleasure of owning the W2IHY equalizer for two weeks, however, no more time is needed to evaluate it's performance. This equalizer performs as advertised creating the most pleasing audio I have ever heard. The noise gate capability is equally impressive as it completely negates the ambient background noise created in the shack. My friends that I communicate with on a daily basis say that "I sound just like myself, only better". During the initial setup of the equalizer I just didn't have something quite right. I called Julius for some help. He was so glad that I called and more than happy to help me. He took off his engineering hat and came down to my level to make sure that I completely understood what he was conveying. Never once did he try to cut me short so he could hang up and do something else. It is very rare that you can experience a wonderful product and terrific customer support these days. Julius is a credit to his profession, ham radio and most importantly to himself.
W4HWD Rating: 2006-01-08
Excellent addition. Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I went from OK audio (meaning canned, communications audio) to "wow your audio sounds great!" just by adding a W2IHY 8-band EQ. The noise gate is unreal effective! The EQ 'uncanned' my audio and really brings out the best in the Heil PR-20 Goldline mic I bought to put on it. The only thing I need now is the EQplus...why go to all the trouble and expense with rack gear when you can get the same results for less with W2IHY gear?
WA4JM Rating: 2005-12-21
Nice Addition To Your Audio Chain Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Hello All,

I've been using the W2IHY now for sometime. I used to get complaints from the audiophiles on 3945 but no more! I am now the hit on the frequency!

The W2IHY interfaces nicely with most rigs and for a few extra bucks you can get the right cable. For the most part the EQ is plug and play.

The rig is an old TS-440 with a Shure SM-58 mic.

73, John
OD5SK Rating: 2005-12-20
A Great EQ Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Hello,
I have bought the 8Band EQ as a kit as I wanted to learn more about it while assembling this fine EQ.I read a lot of positive comments about EQ here in eHam.net and wanted to give it a try.The kit arrived very fast with excellent packing,no problem what so ever.The manual is clear,although it could be better (using colors ) to show the internal wiring ...
Now here is my comments :

- The support is Excellent, one IC was missing from the kit and I contacted Julius by e-mail, within minutes I had a reply and a replacement IC was sent by mail at no extra cost on the same day.

- The kit is not for beginners although is not hard to install the electronic components on the boards..the internal wiring is a bit tricky in my opinion.

-It would have been nice if there's has been like memory for the EQ setting,each time I change the microphone I have to manually adjust the EQ..probably a nice feature to include in the next version of EQ...

- It would have been nice to have the mic gain control on top instead of using a screwdriver and flip the EQ to make the adjustments.

- I connected several microphones to the 8B EQ,like Icom SM-6 , Heil Set Pro , SM-20 and the audio reports I got were absolutely wonderful, my rig is an ICOM IC-775DSP.

If you really want to improve your modulation just get the W2IHY...one final comment,it is a bit expensive ;)

Best 73's,

Samir ( OD5SK,HZ1SK,KC5RYL )
K7JQ Rating: 2005-11-26
Another glowing review Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Using the EQ with an Icom IC-756PROIII, IC-746PRO, Heil Goldline PRO (PR-20),and Pro-Set Plus ic headset(Icom element and HC-4 DX element). Quality built and outstanding customer support from Julius Jones (seems he's always there to answer the phone and spends as much time to advise and answer questions). As he stated before I bought it, it didn't greatly improve the SOUND of the PR-20 (the mic already has a full-bodied response)with the recommended ragchew EQ settings, but I can fully vary its response to tailor it to any operating conditions. It does, however, greatly improve the response of the headset mic elements any way I wish. The noise gate, although a bit touchy (due mainly to my use of it with 3 mic elements), is highly effective in eliminating ambient shack noise. I use the EQ with an MFJ-1263 microphone switch (2 mics, 2 radios) and had hum between the two units. A wire connecting the mic connector input to the switch and the mic connector from the switch to the input of the EQ completely eliminated the hum. No RFI audio problems using an outdoor antenna. My indoor 40 meter dipole (10 feet over the shack) did induce RF into the audio, but I fully expected that. All in all, nice addition to the shack...more switches to fool around with. Knowing me, I'll probably also purchase Julius' EQ Plus to complement this EQ. He said that would improve the sound of the PR-20, and even more controls to fiddle with! Highly recommended.
WB4PAP Rating: 2005-11-12
Julius is Superb! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
What else can be said about W2IHY products? They are simply the best designed, best made products of their type for Ham radio. I've had my 8-band EQ for several months and I have called or corresponded with Julius on on a couple of occasions and he is always extremely helpful. He will answer the phone himself or call you back promptly. Every Time!

When I called yesterday about some settings and questions, he fired up his rig and we adjusted my audio on the air. You just don't get any better service than that! I've been a Ham Radio operator for close to 40 years. In all that time, my experience with Julius and the W2IHY products has been among some of the most satisfying of my entire hobby. I wish the guy made a tranciever!

If you want true HI-FI sound on SSB within reasonable bandwidth parameters it just isn't going to happen without upsetting your fellow Ham operators on either side of you. Buy a FM stereo broadcast station or a recording studio and you'll get the 20 to 20,000HZ frequency response and all the dynamic headroom you could possibly want. And you can spend lots of money in the process. If you want great audio for your tranciever, you can't go wrong with W2IHY products and you won't get better service anywhere.

If you're destined to do HI-FI anyway, Julius make an interface for that too. He'll save you a lot of problems with RF on outboard gear not really designed for Ham radio. Just please be courteous to your fellow hams and watch your bandwidth, the bands are too crowded at times as it is.

Tom, WB4PAP
W1CUN Rating: 2005-10-20
Excellent Product! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Recently purchased this product and I am very satisfied with it. I didn't want to run a rack of audio processing equipment to achieve the speech curve I was looking for. This product does the shaping where it is needed, in the voice spectrum. The noise gate works flawlessly and subsequently my VOX operation is now also flawless, Just for grins and giggles, I stacked it up against a Shure DFR11-EQ5 DSP (1/3 Octave EQ, Parametric & Limiter and Delay Unit Combo)since I am in the Sound Reinforcement business. I was impressed that I could get the same transmit audio quality out of the W2IHY 8-Band. Side by side on air tests from stations that have decent ears confirmed this. I get unsolicited "broadcast quality" audio reports from my FT-1000D. I should note that my FT-1000D does have the K6JRF audio modifications implemented. This product does exactly what it claims to do. Julius gives prompt and reliable customer service.
7Z1UG Rating: 2005-10-02
Unbeatable Sound Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Since I got my new IC 756 Pro III a couple of weeks ago, I decided to beef up my SSB sound a bit. First I got the Heil HM-10 Dual microphone with the HC-4 and HC-5 capsule built in. I have been quite satified with the sound of this microphone and the 756 Pro III. But I wanted a bit more. So I ordered the 8-Band Equalizer/Noise Gate and the EQ-Plus along with all necessary cables from Julius (W2IHY). Everything was fast delivered here to Saudi Arabia. Immediately I installed both machines and: WOWWWWWWWWW .... the combination of these two machines produce an unbeatable sound. After fiddling a bit on all the levers and knobs I found - with the help of other guys on the air - the perfect adjustments. Since I use this magic audio enhancement system nearly all my QSO partners are asking me what kind of microphone I would use. Comments like: "you are producing really a studio sound" and "superb modulation" etc.... Before nobody mentioned my modulation at all.
Since I am using the system for my 756 PRO III and for a Kenwood TS850SAT and finally also for ECHOLINK - I am using the 'output redirection switch' regular and very often. If both boxes are stacked in a rack it is difficult to reach the re-direction switch which is mounted on the backside of the EQ-Plus. I contacted Julius and he told me that he will come up with a small additional box with different inputs for different audio source and a switchable outputs. That would help a lot.

Finally I would like to mention Julius' superb customer service. He is really dedicated to what he is doing.

Manfred H. Kohl
7Z1UG (DK2UG)
Riyadh - Saudi Arabia

N2TXV Rating: 2005-09-06
Effective.. *-Band EQ and EQ Plus Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
8-BAND EQ & NOISE GATE

I bought the 8-Band EQ used and it does what I expected it to do. It just adds that little extra that we all seek in our SSB audio. I have mine set for "ragchew" audio but simple adjustments to the slide pots makes for nice contest audio. I have gotten unsolicited 'FB" reports on SSB and even on AM with my Kenwood TS-870S. The AM guys were suprised to find I was running a solid state rig. It takes a little tinkering but with some help from on air hams, you can get things to sound nice. My goal was to sound natural and not processed. The noise gate was a pleasant suprise as well. It really quieted things down in the shack. For the price, it sure beats the high end rack equipment.

EQ PLUS

After using the 8-Band EQ for a few months, I opted to try the EQ Plus. I was pretty sure the 8-bander was all I needed, so I was not really sure the EQ Plus was needed. I have the say the EQ Plus is more than adequate as a stand alone unit. It has base and treble control which in most cases will suffice to make just enough changes to your SSB audio that you don't need the 8-Bander. The compression/downward expander works as advertised and really perks things up! Gone are the days of the rig's internal speech compresser and all the junk that comes with it in the way of backround shack noise and splatter. Adding the proper amount of compression is very effective in increasing average talk power and the downward expander does an ok job an lessening shack noise. The effects processer is an added toy that I don't think we really need but when set right it makes for a little extra touch in that "wet" sound that people talk about (whatever that is).

The most important thing is to have your rig and ALC adjusted properly. Have the mic input levels from your mic to EQ set right and the units set for natural articulate audio and you won't be dissappointed. You can get them used for decent prices and the plug and play aspect makes for easy experimentation and evaluation. The construction is ok and I was able to rectify a minor RF issue which was not the W2IHY gear's fault.

M0IKQ Rating: 2005-08-29
Simply - it works ... Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought the unit to 'beef up' the audio on my TS870. Performance far exceeds my expectation.
Mic here is a Heil HM10 with HC-5 element.

Another satisfied customer.