[Elecraft] K3 Yamaha CM500 vs Koss SB40

[Ian White]

Dave Hachadorian, K6LL, wrote:

>As a last resort, you can tape pretty much any old electret
>element to the mic boom and run a separate mic line from the
>element.  Mouser has a good selection of electret elements, many
>under $5.  My CM500 microphone element failed, and I replaced it
>with an electret element out of an old toy that I found laying
>around the house.  It sounds fine.
>
Probably any half-decent electret element will sound fine too. If the
frequency response is reasonably level and the sensitivity is  about the
same as other electrets - in other words, if there's nothing "wrong" or
"unusual" about it - then the K3 will manage the rest.

Over the past 7 years I've had very good results with the Koss CS-100, a
lightweight on-ear computer headset with the usual electret microphone.
That headset was originally purchased for Skype but was found to work
very well indeed with the K3 - not only for my own voice but also for my
wife and for guest operators. As a result, these headsets have
proliferated around our household and also throughout the radio club.

Still preferring closed-cup headphones for my own use, about two years
ago I switched to the Koss CM-45. The electret microphone is essentially
identical to the CS-100, so operators can freely swap headsets without
needing to change any microphone or EQ settings.

>The SB45 headset has an electret element, but it is not the same
>comfortable headphone arrangement as the CM-500.
>
Headphone comfort is a very individual thing. I have used the Koss SB-45
for about two years now with no discomfort over many long hours; on the
other hand, Heil headphones hurt my ears within ten minutes. The CM-500
I have never tried, as it's not readily available in Europe.

So, in what way is the headphone arrangement "different" between the
SB45 and the CM-500? 


73 from Ian GM3SEK

(Please excuse any delayed replies over the next few days - we're having
phone-line problems.)