Hello Steve,

You are correct that the '7600GR's speaker leaves a bit to be desired,
though I personally do not find extended listening to be fatiguing.

A "cheap" way for improving the sound is to buy a Radio Shack stereo
cord (Cat. No. 42-2483 which is 6-feet in length; they also sell longer
cords, if desired) to run from the line output jack on the radio to
your stereo system's AUX jack. This affords excellent sound.

Your comment on headphones: 100% agreed. It almost goes without saying
that a good pair of headphones is an absolute "must" for ANY short wave
radio.

Best,

Joe