[Elecraft] External speakers for K3?

[wayne burdick]

Joe Subich, W4TV wrote:

> I would not use any speaker less than 8 Ohms with the K3.

Hi Joe,

I've used 4-ohm speakers with the K3 for over two years and have yet to 
hear any distortion at moderate speaker volume. As long as the RFC47 
modification has been made on the RF board, the AF amp chip can easily 
source the peak current needed for 4-ohm loads. It's true that in any 
AF amp, distortion increases as load Z goes down, but this is a floor 
effect compared to other factors usually present (atmospheric and pulse 
noise, AGC dynamics, transmitter IMD, etc.).

The only problem we've had is with mono speaker plugs in conjunction 
with a setting of SPKRS=2, which can result in excessive AF amp 
current. But this situation is detected and corrected in the latest 
field-test firmware revision. I'll be releasing it to beta shortly.

73,
Wayne
N6KR

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