[Elecraft] K3S vs. K3

[Phil Hystad]

I had a debate a while back (about a year ago) with a friend of mine who got an Icom 7600 and he thought it was far superior to the K3.  His evaluation though was listening to the audio of the K3 versus the audio of the Icom 7600.  Since the 7600 sounded more like what he thought a good radio should sound like, he chose the 7600.  I had been trying to “sell” him on getting a K3.

So, I am wondering — is audio quality and tone the big measure of the performance of a radio.  I know that my K3 audio does not sound as deep as my old Icom Pro III audio (I sold the Pro III last year) but my K3 could pick up and hear stations that did not even register with the Pro III.  And, I could narrow down and separate out close CW stations with ease on the K3 compared to the jumble on the Pro III.  These features and many others are the hallmarks of a superior radio — audio quality to me is down the list past the top dozen other useful features found in the K3.

Will I buy the new audio/DSP board when it is available for the K3.  Not sure, but so far I have no problems with my current K3 audio.

73, phil, K7PEH


> On May 16, 2015, at 9:17 AM, Doug Person via Elecraft <elecraft at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
> 
> Do you think the K3 audio is as good as it can get or do you think that there are some possible mods that might smooth it out a little?  The K3 audio is good, but after spending a year on another top-end rig, I can really hear a difference.  Probably the only issue I have with the K3.
> 
> 73, Doug -- K0DXV
> 
> On 05/16/2015 09:53 AM, Jim Brown wrote:
>> On Sat,5/16/2015 6:33 AM, Mike Harris wrote:
>>> Sherwood has previously commented unfavourably on the audio quality of the LINE OUT signal.  This has lead to the general acceptance that the LINE OUT level should be limited to 8-10. 
>> 
>> This is pretty ancient history, and is the result of a digital guy trying to design an audio output stage. The error was in 1) using an unshielded telecom transformer and 2) adding 600 ohms in series between the output device and that transformer. In the world of audio, that's well known to cause distortion. 3) 600 ohm inputs and outputs have not been used in pro audio for more than 40 years, another goof.
>> 
>> I noticed the problem as soon as I got my first K3, measured it, and showed it around. I don't know if that was before or after Rob found it.
>> 
>> If I'm not mistaken, the resistors were removed a LONG time ago, which, when placed as they were, caused the distortion.
>> 
>> 73, Jim K9YC
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