>I would not have spent the money on my Etymotics just for listening to >CW, but since they are great for listening to music with great fidelity >while traveling on planes, which is something I do a lot of, I look at it >as a bonus that they will be nice to use in conjunction with my KX-1 >once I build it.
The absolute worst thing one can have in a speaker or headphones for communications use is "high fidelity" and broad frequency response!!! Communications-quality audio devices are deliberately *designed* for limited frequency response (typically about 300 to 3000 Hz). Anything of higher "fidelity" is adverse to quality in a communications device. One might as well eliminate receiver IF and front-end filtering if high fidelity is the goal. But, of course, high fidelity is not the goal. Just as receiver IFs with limited bandpass are desirable, especially for CW communications, so are headphones with narrow frequency response. Narrow frequency response helps eliminate undesired signals as surely as that IF filter. And since the front-end and IF filtering in the KX-1 is limited, hi-fi entertainment headsets are the last thing one needs. QRP rig designers usually provide a headphone jack that accepts the common entertainment-quality headphones with stereo connections. That seems to encourage the use of these unsatisfactory entertainment audio devices, whether they be $5 Walmart specials or much worse, those wildly overpriced "specialty" hi-fi headsets. The best earbuds for communications use that I've ever found are Kenwood HS-7 mono earbuds, with the essential limited frequency response. Unfortunately they haven't been available for more than a decade. If you have headsets that are spec'd for entertainment audio purposes, that should immediately be a warning that they are far from optimal for communications use unless nothing else is available. Mike / KK5F ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
