[Elecraft] K3 vs. Icom IC-7600

[Jeff Kinzli]

On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 07:13, Paul Christensen<w9ac at arrl.net> wrote:
>> Two weeks ago, in my friend's shack I compared K3,IC7700,IC7800(by ear
>> ONLY), since there are no major contest in that day, so I can't say
>> anything about "dynamic range " or something like that.
>> IMHO, ic7700's DSP is best, 7800 DSP also better than K3. [A/B compare
>> NR NB and DSP filter function].
>
> I also own all three ('7700/'7800/K3) and I've been comparing the three rigs
> for the past year.  Not one of them really stands out against the other when
> comparing the NR function in SSB, nor CW modes.  In my experience, the two
> radios with the best NR function are the Kenwood TS-480 (CW) and the Ten Tec
> Omni Six (SSB).
>
> On the TS-480, Kenwood developed a DSP CW peaking filter in the NR2 position
> that actually seems to extract CW out from under the noise.  Engaging that
> function has often made the difference between copy and no-copy.  I cannot
> say the same for any other radio.  Likewise, the Omni Six NR function
> somehow manages to peak the SSB audio passband when engaged and never did I
> hear an audio attenuating effect as I do with the '7700 and '7800 -- even
> under weak signal conditions.  The two Icoms seem particularly vulnerable to
> attenuation as the NR function is increased and I find their NR function to
> be nearly useless unless signal strength is strong.

Paul, I have noticed this same behavior with my K2+DSP, but I haven't
been able to duplicate on my K3 (maybe because the DSP parameters are
not as easily configurable). The ability to pull a signal out of the
noise with the K2+DSP is profound, but I profess I have not used a
TS480 either.

Jeff N6GQ