i know i have both and i gotta say the washington seems to have better audio and much better on ssb. in fact the best radio i ever heard was a guy up on the free bands on ssb with a uniden washington it would put all those ham units to shame and he was using a plus 3 turner. i use an expander 500 on mine and get great reports in fact have had others talk on my radio and love the way it sounds. the cobra 2000 is excellent too but that uniden washington just gets louder and is very very clear. been using a echomax 2000 on the cobra 2000 with great results but that mic makes anything studio quality. was talking with a guy infact last friday night and he was switching between a uniden washington and rci 2980 and the washington was much cleaner in sound both were loud but the washington loud and very clear he was using a D104 night eagle on them both. yup the washington is a great talker.