In article , Drifter
wrote:

every review i have read on the R8B suggest a better speaker. i have
looked at comp speakers. and that rather high priced commo speaker
someone posted about a while back. i "guess" a bassey type would be
better? wish i could try a few before i buy. have to look at book
shelf types... Drifter...

BTW, Telamon, i see you also have the AOR7030+. do you have a
favorite radio???

That is because the internal speaker is only OK. The radio will sound
better with an outboard speaker or headphones.

I am a program listener so I want the full range of audio the radio can
produce so I go with a full range bookshelf speaker and headphones. If
you want to chase faint DX you may want limited, response speakers that
will help you discern voice on weak signals. If you chase the faint
signals go with the headphones.

Whichever way you decide, go to an electronic store that has the
speakers in a display sound room. A selection switch in a sound display
room will allow you to compare how the different speakers sound.

I have three tabletop receivers Drake R8B, Ten-Tec RX-340, and AOR
7030+. I like them all but the all round favorite is the Drake. I wound
not sell any of them except under dire circumstances. All three sound
better with outboard speakers.

I may not be the norm but I try to get the most I can out the antenna
radio combination so I can turn up the volume. This only sounds good
with strong signals that have little background static. Most days during
normal conditions on the west coast, I can do this with the major
broadcasters. I can crank up the volume as loud as I want because they
all sound like local broadcasters. On the 340 I just open up the
bandwidth. On the Drake and AOR I swing the IF shift to one sideband to
get the high end audio. All three radios have great audio.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California