[Elecraft] K3 Microphone Choices

[Jim Brown]

On 3/13/2013 6:34 PM, Joe Subich, W4TV wrote:
> Use the TX EQ - don't waste your money on another mic.

I strongly agree. It's very easy to make almost any decent mike sound 
good with a K3. Many K3 users, especially those who are competitive 
contesters and DXers, like the Yamaha CM500 boom headset. It's very 
comfortable, even after a long weekend contesting, and both the mic and 
the headphones sound VERY good. Not only that, it's very inexpensive -- 
about $45 delivered from vendors like B&H Photo  in NYC. You can buy 
three for the price of one Heil, and it sounds better than the Heils 
I've heard. The Heil mics are over-hyped and wildly overpriced.  You're 
paying for Bob Heil's advertising budget, which is huge, not for his 
mics, which are cheaply built and not that comfortable.

How competitive is the audio from a CM500 with a K3?  Well, as a lark, I 
worked ARRL DX SSB QRP. (DX contests aren't competitive from California, 
because it's very tough to work EU, which is where the mults are.) Even 
running QRP, I worked a dozen EU stations in 9 countries, a total of 41 
countries. Believe me, if you can work a SSB DX contest QRP, you've got 
really competitive audio!  BTW -- I also worked TX5K on 80-10 (except 
30, of course).

Jim K9YC