Michael wrote:

"john" wrote in message
ups.com...
just wondering i don't own a drake r8, r8a or r8b, but i am thinking of
purchasing an r8 or r8a. does anyone use this radio for dxing NDB's and
how does it perform on longwave. i'm also reading alot about the r75 as
a pure dx radio, especially with the mods, but it seems the drake never
gets the heads up vs the r75 as a pure dxer. it also seems that the
drake is the better BCB listening radio due to its better audio. i
would love to hear from someone who owns both. and has compared them in
this respect.

thx, john

Hiya... I have an R75 with all the Kiwa mods. Even without the Kiwa mods,
the R75 is a decent radio for program listening. Don't let anyone tell you
otherwise. The criticisms of the R75's audio are really overstated. I've
found that the Kiwa audio mod helps out a bit, but it isn't a tremendous
improvement. You'll no doubt get Drake fans spewing out all kinds garbage
about the R75 "making a good door stop", but the absurd and inflammatory
nature of their statements are their own indictment. They don't like the
idea of a $500.00 dollar radio outperforming one that they paid $1,800.00
for. I've also used each and every one of the R8 series radios. They are
not... I repeat... NOT as good for DX'ing as is the R75.

Your DX'ing must be a lot different from my DX'ing...

That isn't brand
loyalty, that is a fact.

Nah, it's just your opinion.

The R8's with their warm audio and ssb selectable
sycn is absolutely superlative for program listening. BUT.... That doesn't
mean that the R75 is a bad radio for program listening. It's adequate to
good. And... Once again... You don't need the friggin mods. When I really
want to dress up the audio from my R75, I run it through my PC's sound card.
I have a five point surround sound speaker set up with a full software
equalizer and effects package. If I use ssb ecss tuning to listen to a
weak or messy broadcast signal with my R75 or with any other radio, I run it
through my sound card and use my software mixer/effects to make it sound as
full and robust as if it was is AM mode. I have a number of mixer/effects
presets that I have set up just for that exact purpose. Not to mention, if
you get a broadcast that is too muffled or too tinny or has too much mid
range, all you have to do is more a few sliders on the mixer and viola... A
comfortable broadcast to listen to. So... I can get my R75 to sound great
for broadcast, but I cant get the R8 to perform for DX'ing like the R75.

Hmmmm.. you tell us how great the R75 is then you turn around and tell us about
all the tricks required to make it sound right. PC, sound card, mixer, sliders,
and even a viola!

Very interesting.

dxAce
Michigan
USA

Drake R7, R8, R8A and R8B.