"John" wrote in message
An amateur transceiver is also a good way to go however be aware that the
audio on these rigs is often underpowered and restricted. I have an Icom
706 MKIIG which of course covers all of the SW spectrum with sideband and
then some but the audio on this model is "constipated"- there is a
noticeable rolloff of the low and high ends of the audio spectrum.

Have you tried an external speaker? Can make a huge difference in
audio on those radios. Also, an external audio amp helps even more.
The audio from the icom itself should be pretty good. I know mine is.
Here in the house, I run mine through the sound card, and then to a
kenwood audio amp and speakers. Sounds real good. It's my best radio
for listening to the "rack" crowd, running the high end audio gear.
I've got spectrum analyser software I use, and the audio is quite flat
across the passband. I gets lots of bass, and pretty good highs
considering the filter width. BTW, make sure the "FIL" is off , if you
are listening to AM. That setting is very tight, and the audio will be
very pinchy. But it is good for ID'ing weak stations buried in
sideband crud...In the car, I just use external speakers. I have one
in the dash, where the factory radio speaker goes, and also use a
drake speaker sitting on the floor, if I want some more lows.
Eventually, I plan to pick up a small stereo EQ/AMP, "maybe 40w or
so??" and use that as an audio amp for the car. Being a ham, naturally
ham rigs are all I use in the car, and in the house for the most part.
The 706mk2g is better for AM than many ham rigs, as the stock
bandwidth on AM is wider, than many, and sounds better. Many ham rigs
use the same 2.4+2.4 kc SSB filtering as the AM filter. "4.8kc total"
That is kinda pinchy sounding after a while. The 706 is a good bit
wider than that on AM, unless the "FIL" is on, or you have a custom
filter.But for SSB is still the usual rated 2.4 kc...In real life on
the analyser, the bandwidth is quite usable out to about 2.7 kc, and
it drops off pretty fast. Almost the same as my TS-830.. As far as
antenna, I use my all band ham mobile antenna, and tune for the
nearest band closest to what I'm listening to. IE: if I were to
listen to 31m, I can tune my antenna to 30m ham band, and have very
good performance. But even tuned for 40 or 20 will work fine. The s/n
ratio is the same, the signal level would just be down some...My ant
tunes 80,40,30,20,17,15,12,10 meter bands...I do have to get out to
switch bands, but it doesn't take very long. But like I say, for SWL,
it's not critical at all...Performance SWL'ing mobile? Nearly as good
as at the house...I have good transmit performance too on the ham
bands...BTW, compared to some portables, or car radios, the 706g still
may seem a bit tight...But thats cuz the portables, and car radios are
usually as broad as a barn door in comparison...:/ Naturally, they may
sound a little brighter with music playing. But I'd still usually
prefer the 706g in the car...Much more useful overall, being it also
covers VHF/UHF, etc...The 706g is my radio of choice here, when I
listen to AM-BC. To me, the width is just about like I like it. Not
too narrow, but not too wide either...That dinky 3-4 inch speaker in
the top is the weak link... MK