The subject is..... "external speaker" for communications radios

[guitar_199]

I felt "moved" to ask a question and it was indeed prompted by two threads recently. I did not want to appear to hijack those threads.... so I created my own.

When it comes to speaker solutions....... my question is... "what is it that you really need"?

Let me explain....

Most communications radios have limited audio bandwidth on the order of 2.5KHz to 3KHz.

When I consider that a couple of thoughts come to mind.....

1) The low end doesn't matter a whole lot...... so it can GO low. That way if somebody out there has really clear audio with good low end.... you will be able to hear it.

2) You don't really WANT a full range speaker... in fact... you might want to limit it using some type of filter network so that it only reproduces up to and not much more than 3KHz. The reason I say this is.... with an audio bandwidth of 3 KHz at the most......if your speaker system is REALLY GOOD out beyond that.... the only thing you will be doing is reproducing....maybe even accentuating things like noise, hiss, all of the objectionable content. I would think that, if you limit the high end and roll it off sharply after 3KHz you would be doing your ears a favor.

And also....those high dollar Kenwood/Icom type speakers that seem to cost so much..... are they more than just a "speaker in a box"? Do they do anything that makes them worth that money?

I hope to get some responses that tell me either "I am right in my thinking" OR.....possibly...... to tell me just "how far into orbit" I have gone.

What do you think????

Thanks in advance!!!!!

Bob

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

The kenwood and icom are just a speaker in a box. But they are the right speaker in the right box. I run a full range indoor/ outdoor speaker and a Motorola car phone speaker at the same time in my station. I have them mounted up high at ear level and spaced about 1 foot apart. Basically one pointed at each ear. I have a bunch of car phone speakers from back in the day when I was a cell phone installer so I have been using them for a while. The indoor outdoor speaker gives extended range. The high frequency is not excessive either.


https://www.radioparts.com/motorola-rsn4003

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insign...r-speakers-pair-black/7588054.p?skuId=7588054

 

[Slowmover]

The space the speaker is expected to fill is a consideration, as well as placement within that space. Neither should detract. Both can be enhanced. This is the starting point.

The enormous speaker of a circa 1930 (nine tube) Zenith floor radio I once owned had truly superb vocal reproduction. From several rooms away, announcer or vocalist diction was evident. Xtra-low pile carpet and wood-paneled walls, it was an apartment suited to moderate sound pressure creating (or, sustaining) “liveliness”.

To sit directly in front of it (aimed at seating) was not optimal. One was best off such that sound radiating from the speaker cone edge was the line suited.

“Many” radio shacks to be viewed on-line appear to feature the speaker both as afterthought and as secondary to the controls of radio gear. As if listening were little more than confirmation of settings.

The audio chain, reversed (in other words).

What speaker one operator favors is in conditions (location and room) different enough from that of another to render comparisons useless when we recall that audiology isn’t a simple study. In understanding HOW individuals “hear” is always a set of hypotheticals.

The mind is always “within” interpretation. It can’t be separated, thusly. (The speaker is, effectively, an extension of Self. More of the man than it is part of the Radio Gear).

Listening is both science and some art. The space (the room) almost invariably needs acoustic tempering. A little goes a long ways.

Ones seating posture also affects perceived quality. Bring hunched over a desk isn’t optimal. And comfort should start with some reflection of “correct” posture (whatever position).

Handy Andy put it in a thread of mine that we must give the antenna what it wants. So, too, here, that the ears & listening space have some “tuning” to work better together without regard to a particular speaker.

The above has assumed a base station.

In mobile it’s a given that above and slightly behind the drivers left ear is superior to other locations. Vehicle-specifics apply.

In both installations, it is the minds burden to render meaning. How space & time (reverberation) can be optimized, is (IMO) crucial to skill-acquisition in listening.

To that end it is the clarity surrounding the Voice of the Other which is supreme.

The details of how he forms words.

The best speaker gets out of the way. And is aided by thoughtful use of the reproduction space where naught interferes with a given speakers strengths.

In conversations with other truck drivers about higher fidelity (WEST MOUNTAIN CLEARSPEECH DSP SPEAKER) it is not just willing words from out of the ether, it is also “hearing the space” from which they emanate (are the benefits).

This can be the difference between thinking a man an ass, or realizing his tongue-in-cheek sentence was a riposte on the situation we are all facing. (The speaker and the system in which it operates effect outcomes).

I would like it understood that — as in war — choices in driving made NOW can echo for days or years. And that those choices are influenced by the quantity and/or quality of information on offer. One seeks knowledge. Information is cheap.

Before the readings from Old & New Testament prefacing the sermon, it is the pastors duty to remind us, Listen for the Word of God.

This is in a space dedicated to the purpose of Listening

What’s important may not be the content. The mind at work interpreting is as much being listened to as it is “listening” to the other radio operator (the words of the Apostle).

We rise.

The music occurs between the notes.


1). How is the antenna system?
2). How is the power system?
3) How is the ground system?

4). How is the listening system?


.

 

[guitar_199]

Thought provoking, thank you both.