Hi All!
I've been an avid Audio/Video junkie for decades now. The last time I was into the radio hobby, I was a middle-schooler without any type of discerning ear as far as audio quality is concerned. Heck, back then I naively assumed that one can judge the quality of an audio system based purely on the quantity and size of speakers used.
I've since returned to the radio hobby with the purchase of a Ranger RCI-2950dx. I love the radio and the great breadth of features it offers for the price-point. Most of the negative comments I've witnessed in regards to the 2950dx and its close relatives come from individuals who have never owned one, let alone even bothered to use one. Their bias against the brand is irrelevant in my mind.
I only have one complaint about the product and that pertains to the transmit audio quality. The consensus tends to be that it is just so-so in terms of the perceived fidelity and loudness of the transmitted audio and I fully agree. I wanted to tap into my A/V hobbyist roots and find a way to deliver a more Hi-Fi experience with minimal cost ($100 or less). I put together a great mix of gear on budget that delivered the desired results.
The gear consists of the following products:
Behringer Q502USB 5-channel USB-ready Mixer: $59.99
There are several versions of this mixer. I chose the one that features more 1/4" TS jacks than RCA's and includes a power supply instead of being bus-powered off of the USB port. One feature that I found particularly attractive on this mixer is the fact that it has a "one-button studio-grade compressor" integrated into the primary MIC channel (CH. 1). The compressor feature is surprisingly clean and does a great job of keeping the average modulation level up without totally sacrificing the dynamic range.
Pyle PDMIC58 Dynamic Studio Mic: $10.98
This affordable XLR dynamic microphone is essentially a cheap Shure 58 clone. The frequency response is quite similar, the mic is super-light and quite immune to EMI/RFI.
Behringer EQ700 7-band Graphic EQ Guitar Pedal: $24.99
I hear so many rave reviews about the 8-band EQ from W2IHY, but at $299 (more than my 2950dx!), I can't justify it. The Behringer 7-band EQ guitar pedal offers almost identical parameters (it lacks 50 Hz control which is fine since the radio can't pass it anyways) and features a 6.4 KHz control in lieu of the 2.4 KHz control on the W2IHY. Such minor differences are inconsequential when you're talking over 10-times cheaper! Plus, the Behringer EQ has a level control knob on it, allowing me to lower the final output down to Mic-level for injection back into the Mic jack on the 2950dx. This not only helps maintain a good SNR, but also preserves battery life in the pedal. Yes, it's only a mono EQ designed for instruments, but I only need the one channel and it handles the line-level main-mix output of the mixer with ease!
So, bottom line, I got all of this gear for under $100 brand new. Gotta love Amazon Prime ;-). A lot of people talk crap about Behringer gear. Kinda like a lot of people unfairly criticize Ranger radios. The fact remains, good luck finding a comparable piece of hardware that does a decent job for the same price. Behringer takes a far more expensive piece of hardware from a company like DBX or Aphex, reverse engineers the design using cheaper surface mount components while maintaining 90% of the original design's performance parameters. It's a win-win for the consumer.
The big trick to wiring all this up is finding a way to pipe the 1/4" TS jack output from the EQ pedal (or the mixer if you don't go with an EQ) to the 6-pin Mic input jack on the front of the 2950dx. The solution is easier than you may think. I took the OEM stock Mic that came with the radio, which as the nice channel up/down controls on it and modded it. I effectively removed the actual mic element from the stock mic. Then I soldered the hot and ground wires from a standard 1/4" TS instrument cable that was cut in half and stripped directly to the wires that normally came off of the stock mic element. I drilled another hole in the bottom of the stock mic so that it has the standard 6-pin mic connector wire that it always comes with in addition to the new 1/4" TS Phone Plug that can now interface directly to the output of the EQ pedal (or mixer or any other piece of gear with 1/4" TS jacks).
This method works perfectly. It failed to introduce any new noise to the audio chain. Plus, I don't have to worry about purchasing a separate PTT keyer like the one you would need with the W2IHY EQ box. I just depress the stock mic's PTT switch as usual, but talk into the Pyle studio mic instead of the former stock radio mic. As a bonus, the channel up-down controls remain in-tact as well. This is a huge win since manually tuning on the radio itself and be time consuming and wear out the tuning dial prematurely.
I have a pic of the overall setup below. It works great! Truly a night and day difference. Heck, the studio mic alone made a huge difference. Add in the low-noise mic preamp on the mixer as well as the built-in audio compressor; plus add in the 7-band EQ and the net result far exceeded my initial expectations. Although the 2950dx is designed for use with a 400 Ohm mic input, the EQ pedal output is 1,000 Ohms but has no negative effect on the audio chain.
I listen to the live audio through an older Cobra 25LTD Classic to shape the sound just right. The older 25LTD has a lot of warmth and dynamic range to it when listening through a pair of studio headphones. Besides my picky ears, the real test of the setup comes from the reports I get back on both AM and SSB DX work. I get comments all the time where people ask if I'm running a tube setup or a Mauldulator. Some even joke that I owe them a new speaker for their radios since the receive audio is so clear and punchy. It's exactly the effect I was hoping for.
This combination of gear would likely work just as well if not better with some of the market's most popular export radios. I can't even imagine how great it would be if I used it with a custom-modded transceiver with Hi-Fi mods installed. Just feeding a stock 2950dx brings it to a whole new level! I hope this info proves helpful to some on the forum.
I've been an avid Audio/Video junkie for decades now. The last time I was into the radio hobby, I was a middle-schooler without any type of discerning ear as far as audio quality is concerned. Heck, back then I naively assumed that one can judge the quality of an audio system based purely on the quantity and size of speakers used.
I've since returned to the radio hobby with the purchase of a Ranger RCI-2950dx. I love the radio and the great breadth of features it offers for the price-point. Most of the negative comments I've witnessed in regards to the 2950dx and its close relatives come from individuals who have never owned one, let alone even bothered to use one. Their bias against the brand is irrelevant in my mind.
I only have one complaint about the product and that pertains to the transmit audio quality. The consensus tends to be that it is just so-so in terms of the perceived fidelity and loudness of the transmitted audio and I fully agree. I wanted to tap into my A/V hobbyist roots and find a way to deliver a more Hi-Fi experience with minimal cost ($100 or less). I put together a great mix of gear on budget that delivered the desired results.
The gear consists of the following products:
Behringer Q502USB 5-channel USB-ready Mixer: $59.99
There are several versions of this mixer. I chose the one that features more 1/4" TS jacks than RCA's and includes a power supply instead of being bus-powered off of the USB port. One feature that I found particularly attractive on this mixer is the fact that it has a "one-button studio-grade compressor" integrated into the primary MIC channel (CH. 1). The compressor feature is surprisingly clean and does a great job of keeping the average modulation level up without totally sacrificing the dynamic range.
Pyle PDMIC58 Dynamic Studio Mic: $10.98
This affordable XLR dynamic microphone is essentially a cheap Shure 58 clone. The frequency response is quite similar, the mic is super-light and quite immune to EMI/RFI.
Behringer EQ700 7-band Graphic EQ Guitar Pedal: $24.99
I hear so many rave reviews about the 8-band EQ from W2IHY, but at $299 (more than my 2950dx!), I can't justify it. The Behringer 7-band EQ guitar pedal offers almost identical parameters (it lacks 50 Hz control which is fine since the radio can't pass it anyways) and features a 6.4 KHz control in lieu of the 2.4 KHz control on the W2IHY. Such minor differences are inconsequential when you're talking over 10-times cheaper! Plus, the Behringer EQ has a level control knob on it, allowing me to lower the final output down to Mic-level for injection back into the Mic jack on the 2950dx. This not only helps maintain a good SNR, but also preserves battery life in the pedal. Yes, it's only a mono EQ designed for instruments, but I only need the one channel and it handles the line-level main-mix output of the mixer with ease!
So, bottom line, I got all of this gear for under $100 brand new. Gotta love Amazon Prime ;-). A lot of people talk crap about Behringer gear. Kinda like a lot of people unfairly criticize Ranger radios. The fact remains, good luck finding a comparable piece of hardware that does a decent job for the same price. Behringer takes a far more expensive piece of hardware from a company like DBX or Aphex, reverse engineers the design using cheaper surface mount components while maintaining 90% of the original design's performance parameters. It's a win-win for the consumer.
The big trick to wiring all this up is finding a way to pipe the 1/4" TS jack output from the EQ pedal (or the mixer if you don't go with an EQ) to the 6-pin Mic input jack on the front of the 2950dx. The solution is easier than you may think. I took the OEM stock Mic that came with the radio, which as the nice channel up/down controls on it and modded it. I effectively removed the actual mic element from the stock mic. Then I soldered the hot and ground wires from a standard 1/4" TS instrument cable that was cut in half and stripped directly to the wires that normally came off of the stock mic element. I drilled another hole in the bottom of the stock mic so that it has the standard 6-pin mic connector wire that it always comes with in addition to the new 1/4" TS Phone Plug that can now interface directly to the output of the EQ pedal (or mixer or any other piece of gear with 1/4" TS jacks).
This method works perfectly. It failed to introduce any new noise to the audio chain. Plus, I don't have to worry about purchasing a separate PTT keyer like the one you would need with the W2IHY EQ box. I just depress the stock mic's PTT switch as usual, but talk into the Pyle studio mic instead of the former stock radio mic. As a bonus, the channel up-down controls remain in-tact as well. This is a huge win since manually tuning on the radio itself and be time consuming and wear out the tuning dial prematurely.
I have a pic of the overall setup below. It works great! Truly a night and day difference. Heck, the studio mic alone made a huge difference. Add in the low-noise mic preamp on the mixer as well as the built-in audio compressor; plus add in the 7-band EQ and the net result far exceeded my initial expectations. Although the 2950dx is designed for use with a 400 Ohm mic input, the EQ pedal output is 1,000 Ohms but has no negative effect on the audio chain.
I listen to the live audio through an older Cobra 25LTD Classic to shape the sound just right. The older 25LTD has a lot of warmth and dynamic range to it when listening through a pair of studio headphones. Besides my picky ears, the real test of the setup comes from the reports I get back on both AM and SSB DX work. I get comments all the time where people ask if I'm running a tube setup or a Mauldulator. Some even joke that I owe them a new speaker for their radios since the receive audio is so clear and punchy. It's exactly the effect I was hoping for.
This combination of gear would likely work just as well if not better with some of the market's most popular export radios. I can't even imagine how great it would be if I used it with a custom-modded transceiver with Hi-Fi mods installed. Just feeding a stock 2950dx brings it to a whole new level! I hope this info proves helpful to some on the forum.
op: :headbang
