RadioBanter - View Single Post - Question about types of speakers for shortwave.

January 18th 04, 07:22 PM

On 18 Jan 2004 18:43:37 GMT, (Dxluver) wrote:

I've been thinking about removing some speakers stacks I use. One I used for
the 140X and the other for the 129X, at first I really liked the sound. But
since I picked up a pair of some discontinued Radio Shack Amplified Speakers
(cat#40-1361) last summer at a garage sale for like ten dollars, I've kind of
been thinking about asking the group it's opinion and what it is they use or
what would they do if they were me? **No smart a** comments** ;-)

snip

Should I use the other one for one of my Hammarlunds? I KNOW there is more
than enough in one of those HQ's to drive one of those Aiwas, or would it
sound like sh*t? I just think that the speaker/speakers I have now run into
the Hammarlunds are too much and not really getting to *drive* them to their
full potential.

I'm no audiophile, and I know there is a few in here so I bow to the *sound
Gods* on this one. Like on Steve's setup with his Drake, I saw his modest
speaker. What about you Brian? You have some boatanchors like I do.
Shouldn't I go smaller and get the most out of the speaker or a lot of speaker
without it reaching it's potential.

**Sorry for the longer than usual post, looking forward to many replies.

Thanks,
DX

DX,
While not a boatanchor owner I will share what I found when needing an
external speaker for an R75 (yes, with an R75 an external speaker is a
MUST). Tried a 4" RatShack widerange speaker (Optimus XTS 3, 7 watt
max) and it was okay; definitely enough powerr to drive and it gave
sufficient volume & clarity, mostly mid-range with moderately more
bass response than treble. Then for kicks hooked to a KLH 911 (5 inch
woofer, 1 inch tweeter, 100 watt max) and WOW! Yes, the speaker is
capable of handling much more power than the R75 offers but there was
sufficient power to drive it without having to crank up the audio.
The sound clarity was greatly improved and unless the bands are really
noisy most folks who hear it don't realize they're listening to
shortwave - "Naah, it sounds to good to come from far away" 8-} Do
keep in mind that the answer to this will vary depending on the
speaker; some just plain like to "suck watts" in order to get their
cones moving.

To answer your question, should you use what you put together with
your other HQ's, my best advise is to hook one up and judge the sound
quality yourself. Not trying to be flippant, but your ears know what
sounds good to them and you'll know by where you have to set your
volume if you're have enough power to drive it. I like to keep my
volume settings no higher than about a third of the maximum so the
amplifiers are running "where they are happier" as there tends to be
less distortion.

Hope this helps, and I too am looking forward to what others have
found.

Howard