[Elecraft] IC-746 PRO A/B Test Results

[Vic Rosenthal]

W2AGN wrote:

> I kinda gotta agree with Ed. This is not "TESTING" it is one ham's 
> OPINION, of what he thinks sounds best. If you want testing, then you 
> have to do comparisons like QST, etc. What sounds great to one, may not 
> satisfy another. Very subjective...

Well...I agree that performance on a crowded band is important and Earl 
isn't comparing that.  But I'm afraid the more 'scientific' approach in 
which you compare the ARRL lab results also misses something: when you 
are trying to copy a weak signal -- especially in the presence of noise 
-- there is an interplay between front-end performance, bandwidth, 
passband shape, and who knows what else which is very hard to quantify. 
  Especially if the unit includes DSP, it's hard to tell by looking at 
the numbers which receiver will ultimately make it possible to hear the 
weakest ones.

Anyway, Earl's major point wasn't that one radio sounded better than 
another one; rather, he said that one radio did a better job of making 
the weakest signals copyable.  This is a relatively objective judgement 
(although he hasn't presented it in a quantified form).

Vic K2VCO