[Elecraft] K3 & FTDX5000 you tube

[Wes Stewart]

Agree that this is a pretty uncontrolled experiment.  They do say "4KHz", "Same AGC", "No noise reduction" and "Same Speakers." 

*Given the way they were setup*, fair comparison or not, the FT5000 sounds way better and would be far less tiring to listen to for extended periods.

--- On Sun, 11/21/10, Don Wilhelm <w3fpr at embarqmail.com> wrote:

>   Barry,
> 
> I agree.  I have a good background in engineering
> level testing, and one 
> of the pre-requisites is to establish a level playing field
> for such 
> comparisons.  Just plugging in two radios and
> listening to them with no 
> other information about the similarity of the settings
> would be thrown 
> out of any decent "test" environment.  The evaluation
> is entirely 
> subjective unless it is supported by data substantiating
> the differences 
> and the equalities.
> 
> Take a look at the ARRL Lab test setup requirements as an
> example - they 
> would never compare a 500 Hz bandpass to a 2.7 khz bandpass
> and expect 
> the same results.  I do not see any information about
> the setup 
> parameters in that video.  Yes, there were some
> comments by YO3GIC 
> "after the fact" that "said" they were the "same", but the
> "if I 
> remember correctly" does not speak to any recorded data.
> 
> At one point, I saw the K3 HI CUT knob turned, but did not
> see any 
> comparable adjustment on the FT, at least there was no
> information about 
> what was being done and for what reason.
> In all cases, my ears told me that the K3 provided more
> intelligibility, 
> and the only "advantage" of the FT was an extended bass
> response.  Maybe 
> my ears are different than others, but I would judge the
> audio from the 
> K3 to be more clear than the FT in this video.
> 
> I wonder where the Lo Cut was set on the K3 for this
> video?  If bass 
> response was to be the "evaluating parameter", did the K3
> have the new 
> DSP board installed, or was this a K3 prior to the DSP
> upgrade?   Too 
> many questions with no answers for my blood.
> 
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
> 
> On 11/21/2010 7:21 PM, Barry N1EU wrote:
> > For two radios that both feature an audio passband
> that is SOOOO adjustable
> > in so many ways and likewise so affected by
> button/menu switches, it's
> > almost criminal to put up a soundclip like that and
> call it a comparison.
> > The obvious (duh) protocol should be to first adjust
> the rigs and equalize
> > the passbands as closely as possible while observing
> the audio spectra, use
> > similar gain/agc settings, and then finally let 'er
> rip.
> >
> > Arggggh, Barry N1EU
> >
>