[Elecraft] K2 microphone advice

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Don W3FPR wrote:
As an aside, I can recall when the Collins 1.8 kHz SSB mechanical filter was
the thing to be desired by the SSB crowd with adequate bucks to buy the
filter - it gave great communications intelligibility (albiet at the expense
of fidelity) - I just shake my head in wonder about how expectations have
changed over the years.

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They were greatly prized by what many ops called the "Donald Duck set", as
AM phone operators often called the SSB stations when both modes were quite
popular. (The "Donald Duck" moniker came from what SSB sounded like when not
properly tuned in). 

For A.M rigs, good "communications quality" A.M. had a bandwidth of about 3
kHz (at the -3dB points) and was often wider. The bandwidth was limited only
by the coupling circuits between audio stages with no filters as such, so
the roll off outside the 3 kHz range was very, very gradual compared to a
filter SSB rig. Very few people operate AM these days but many operators
long for the more "natural sounding" audio with a somewhat wider bandwidth. 

Of course, there are those who go to absurd extremes seeking "broadcast
quality" audio that uses excessive bandwidth, but they're not representative
of the bulk of Hams.

Ron AC7AC