As Kevin notes it's a long-standing complaint. Actually, it goes back to about 1999 when the first grumbles about the upward-facing speaker on the original Elecraft K2 were posted.
It's especially true in a "live" room where the audio is reflected from various surfaces or where a shelf is close to the top of the rig that muffles the audio. One excellent solution is to fold some stiff paper in a "U" with one surface slanted at 45 degrees. Place it on top of the K3 with the open side facing you, so the sound bounces off of the paper and toward you. The difference is dramatic. You can simply hold any firm flat surface - a book for example - and demonstrate the effect. Black paper will blend in and be almost invisible. A few bits of tape will hold it in pace. A little more "techie" solution is to add an Elecraft SP3 loudspeaker to your setup. It's larger, forward-facing speaker is a significant improvement and the cabinet matches the K3 so it can sit alongside or anywhere convenient. 73, Ron AC7AC On 9/16/2016 6:04 AM, Alan. G4GNX wrote: > Hi all. > > I wonder if I can get some feedback about K3 audio from the built in speaker. > Please note that this is not a K3 bashing session, my comments are made as an > enquiry based on observed facts. > > We have a K3 at the local Ham Radio club and we often get complaints that the > audio from the internal speaker is not very good quality, even when signals > are 5/9 and virtually no RF noise. > I suspect that part of the reason is that the K3 is setup to someone’s > personal preference, or not really setup at all! > We made a comparison last week against a new Icom IC7300 which also had an > external speaker and the IC7300 ‘won’ hands down. At first I made an excuse > that it was the external speaker, but we unplugged it and the IC7300 was > still superior. > > I have never really had an issue with audio on my personal K3, but then I’m > into clear communication and over the years I’ve trained my ears to listen in > the noise and pick out voices, whilst ignoring the mush, much the same as in > a crowded room when attempting a conversation with one or two individuals. > > I do know what good hi-fi sound is but do not necessarily look for that in a > communications device, so are some members being over-pedantic? > > Another Radio Ham reported that he had by accident parked his new K3S under a > shelf which ‘threw’ the sound forward and he found that it was greatly > enhanced. I wonder if fitting some sort of hood, in keeping with the K3’s > style, would be worth trying, or maybe replacing the internal speaker with a > better device. I don’t really want to start campaigning to purchase an > external speaker for the K3 because it’s another ‘lump’ that needs to be > carted around to club meetings and events. > > Thoughts? > > 73, > > Alan. G4GNX > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email > list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to > ksto...@ac0h.net -- R. Kevin Stover AC0H ARRL FISTS #11993 SKCC #215 NAQCC #3441 --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to r...@elecraft.com ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
