Speaker reviews

[MM0BSM]

I have a few speakers here to try against each other and on several radios

1 icom sp20
2 icom sp21
3 icom sp23
4 yaesu sp8
5 yaesu sp901

I have already tested them on ic 756pro {3} and Yaesu FT1000MKV and will give opinions when I finish reading the Scribble pad

so far the worse one is the sp21 on icom radios

watch this space

[MM0BSM]

ok here goes

SP21 is the matching icom speaker that was supplied with lots of icom radios its nice looking and matching in size to several radios. It has no extra filters is a plug in and go speaker and to be honest just a little better than the speaker in the radio

SP23 is the matching speaker that goes with the ic756pro3 similar in size and colour to the SP21 but this speaker has filters and a longer lead to connect to the radio. If all filters are switched off it sounds similar to the SP21 but once you start using the filters its a totally different sounding speaker it sound great on the 756 pro {pro3} Not as good on the Yaesu ft1000mkv

SP8 is the Yaesu speaker that matches the FT1000MKV and other Yaesu radios. It has several filters and modes on the unit. This speaker I have used on many radios to see how it sounds and to be honest on the MKV it seems best. On the 756 range it wasn't as good and even on a ft847 it sounded bad.

SP901 is the Yaesu speaker that matches the ft101 901 902 range of radios nothing fancy with this speaker its large and sounds good on most radios I have used it on. I currently use this on my ic756pro and used it on the FT847 before I sold that radio it sounds great and is better than the most standard extension speakers without filters.

SP20 is the Icom top dog it matches the ic765 756 radios its larger than the SP21/23 it has filters as well and looks good.This is one of the best speakers out it makes the Icom range sound great. Don't waste your money on any of the other icom speakers pay the extra and get one of these you wont be disappointed

Will update in a bit once I finish testing on the ft1000mkv to see how it sounds

[GM1BSG]

Stuart

Just an idea, but you could also use wavetools or similar PC based audio tools to actually see where the speaker falls down, perhaps one that is no good for voice might be nice for CW instead (you all get the idea).

My hearing is quite sensitive but tone wise is very poor, most probably the real reason I never liked CW as a mode (shame on me i know :drunken_s )

Play the tones from the PC, place a MIC beside the speaker and plot the difference. See if the response curves in the manuals really do match the performance.

http://www.sonicspot.com/wavetools/wavetools.html

Actually you could plug the radio right into the PC via a coupling transformer and see what the audio response is like straight from the radio also...

[MM0BSM]

Probably a good idea but I no longer have the SP21 23 in the shack. I tried all speakers on ssb cw and fm and taking notes on all in similar modes.
The poor speakers we dire on all modes none were better on different modes as such.
For volume and instant clarity on all modes, radios and general use the SP901 was good all round performer
the radios all seem different with speakers and no doubt the speaker impendence are all different as well.

I have also had similar results with headphones some a better than others and not one set is good on all radios yet.

You might also find that some folk may prefer the sound of a certain speaker as you know folks ears are different

CW tones I thought sounded all the same maybe thats why i cant figure what some people send:icon_shak :scratch

[MM0BSM]

UPDATE

ok tried the icom sp20 on the ft1000mkv and it sounded good but when it came to testing along side the Yaesu SP8 and doing side by side comparisments in ssb cw and digital modes I have to be honest I liked the sound from the sp8 I even compared the sp901 and it sounds ok but came in third
so on yaesu ft1000mkv the sp8 sounds best

Now it was time to try on the icom 756pro and the sp8 came joint second with the sp901 the sp901 sounded great and made things a little clearer but the filtering on the sp8 was good so I decided both were good but the sp20 was the clear winner it sounded a lot better with the filters
so on Icom ic756pro the sp20 {icom} sounds best

I run the ic756pro with the sp901 and I run the ft1000mkv with the sp8 in the shack. {still have sp20 on the pro for now}

so that's my views on the speakers