[Elecraft] K3 audio output v headphone sensitiviy

[Brian Alsop]

David,

Glad somebody else is experiencing this.   I tried plugging in a set of 
Heil BM-10 earphones into the K3.   It was if the leads were shorted.
I sent them back to Heil who declared them within spec.   I tried an el 
cheapo computer 32 ohm headset with only slight improvement.
Odd thing is the el cheapo headset had plenty of volume when plugged 
into the computer for it's intended use.

In general the earphones with the larger headphone size produce more 
volume.  I finally ended up with a plantronix headphone set which has 
adequate, but not stellar volume.

In all fairness the Heil BM-10 didn't work too well on an IC-706 either.

Somewhere there is now a disconnect between headphone manufacturers and 
rig manufacturers.    I suppose there may be some regulations or 
guidelines that may be getting in the way too.   However, for many of 
us, it's too late to protect against somewhat diminished hearing.   We 
need something which puts out the volume needed.. 

Note: My recollection on using a Heil BM-10 perhaps 10 years ago was 
that it was just fine in the volume area.  Two factors come to mind:
1) It was used with an older radio that had lots of audio output
2) I'm now 10 years older.

Maybe it is both of the above.

Perhaps Elecraft can somehow  provide more earphone volume.   The 
speaker output will knock your socks off.

73 de Brian/K3KO

David Cutter wrote:

> It has recently astonished me just how deaf some headphones are.  In 
> my work I was given aircraft headphones that needed 2W to get the same 
> audio output as our own make that needed about 20mW.  That quick test 
> with the spl meter needs to be repeated on a calibrated jig and I'll 
> be taking my ham phones in to get them checked.  I'll post the results 
> here.
>
> David
> G3UNA
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Brown" 
> <jim at audiosystemsgroup.com>
> To: "Elecraft Reflector" <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Monday, July 14, 2008 8:01 AM
> Subject: Re: Re: [Elecraft] K3 #1037 in IARU contest
>
>
>> On Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:49:25 -0700, Fred Jensen wrote:
>>
>>> Slightly different subject, I wouldn't mind at all if the K3 had more
>>> audio available in the headfones from both the monitor and sidetone.
>>
>>
>> Fred,
>>
>> There's an AF Gain setting in the Config Menu. Check that it's set to
>> "HI."  If you need more, maybe I can help you find headphones with 
>> higher
>> voltage sensitivity.
>>
>> Jim
>>
>>
>
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