Fellow Drake enthusiasts,
A number of people have contacted me about the Drake MS-7 speaker so I thought I would just spread the word via the Reflector. I certainly don't want to encourage any debate on the topic but your thoughts are always appreciated. Although Drake gear is the mainstay of my station, the MS-7 speaker is basically not there. The reason is that the frequency response and overall sound is not as good, in my opinion, as the internal speaker in the TR-7 nor the MS-4 speaker. But here is something that I have done by experiment to improve the MS-7. One thing is just to block off the back of the speaker which seems to eliminate some of the hollowness of the sound. However, what I find works best is to find some acoustical foam, used to line speaker cabinets, walls, etc. and cut a piece to fit inside the speaker case, 6 inches by 4 inches seems to work fine. Install it with the cones of the foam facing the speaker but don't put it in all the way otherwise it might actually touch the speaker cone itself. To me, this brings the MS-7 up to the level of "barely adequate". What I use as my primary speakers is the MS-4 speaker which has better bass response and intrinsically seems to filter out some of the hiss and high frequency static that is more pronounced with a smaller speaker. Too, adding acoustic foam to the MS-4 will improve it somewhat too. Listening to the MS-4 seems to be less fatiguing. Your mileage might vary. Hence, I've sold off the six or so MS-7 speakers I had and only have one left that I use for experimentation and such. The MS-7 is nice for rounding out the Drake 7 line but, for enjoyable listening, I prefer the MS-4. I'm sure there are many that find the MS-7 speaker to be preferable and that's great. With ham stations, you can mix and match to your satisfaction. Enjoy those Drakes! 73, Evan, K9SQG
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