what is the best HF rig ever made??

if a 100 people answer you will get a 100 difffernt rigs its all matter of "taste" i belive if you have fun on a rig and it works well then its the best rig ever madde

 

This thread is going to go on forever.

The funny thing for me is that I liked certain things about old rigs, that the new rig didn't have, but liked things about the new rig that the old one didn't have, which is why I bought the new one.

Maybe or maybe not the best, but the old tube Collins and Drake stuff sounds so good.

Last summer I bought a Mesa Boogie Mark-V guitar amp. All tubes all the time. With the Les Paul plugged in, the sound is just amazing.

If this was a guitar amp forum, and the subject was the best guitar amp ever made, it would be the same stuff, except that guitar players know that tube amps sound better.

If the title was the best sounding HF rig, I doubt any of the newer stuff would be mentioned.

 

It's interesting the guitar guys think tube amps sound best, when most of the time they add intentional distortion.

If you're going to add distortion anyway, transistors distort just fine.

 

Best guitar amp? Why it just has to be either a Peavey or a Pignose.

In all honesty, Peavey has made great strides over the years trying to produce a good product. I still would never purchase one though. Any variation of an amplifier that Eddie van Headache uses makes me cringe.

I used to own a 1960s Fender Bandmaster which had GREAT tone. Believe it or not I purchased it from one of Lawrence Welk's former guitar players. Also owned the proverbial crowd favorite, a Marshall stack. Orange amplifiers which were produced in the 1960s also have a really nice warm tone. I believe Blue Cheer used to use them.

I had a friend who was a roadie many years ago. During an AC/DC tour back in the 1980s a full Marshall stack would go "missing" every few days. After the tour he personally ended up with 6 full sized Marshall stacks. Who knows how many dozens of stacks were pilfered over the course of their North American tour by the road crew.............Rock 'n Roll.




Tom KCØW

 

Transistors don't distort the same. They just clip into a flat top.

Tubes add a infinate array of nasty distortion.

 

I don't get into Eddie myself, but the Peavey 5150 is a classic. Since the EVH contract expired, the current (5150) amp is the 6505. Though you may not like EVH playing like me, that amp has a lot of essence.

I love the Mesa Mark-V, but it doesn't have the ability to sound like a 5150 or 6505.

All about EQ, gain, and other stuff that is just wierd science.

12AX7, 6550, 6L6GC, and EL34 tubes live on, even though silicon is better.

 

I have been very partial to Drake since the late 60's. Owned the R4, then the "B" line, then in the 70s got the 'C' line, bought the TR7 R7 in the early 80's. Had the R4245 for many years, mostly used as a UTE. SWL rcvr.
Got the Yaesu FT-ONE in 1985, thought it was the finest CW rig I had ever seen/heard.... Until the FT1000D, got that in 1991, still use it, got two more over the next ten years. I use all three from time to time, all on CW. To me, without question, the FT 1000D with the second rcvr narrow filter and the 250 hertz narrow in the main RX is the finest, easiest (ergonomic) rig I have ever used. However, for long term listening, long winded CW contacts, I still prefer and use my B line, or, my 2B, paired with a 2NT.... I don't care as much for the 'C ' line as I once did, with the sherwood mods, etc, sounds a little harsh and tinny compared to the R4B audio....

Still, best overall rig, IMHO, for CW is the FT 1000D


Frank

 

Well you may laugh at the IC706MKIIG but if you look at Sherwood specs he rates it at number 31. This may not be at the top of the list but it is above some high end radios for Dynamic Range Narrow Spaced 2khz, which is a very important spec. Some of the high end radios include the following:

Kenwood TS-930S, TS-830S, TS-870S
Yaesu FT-1000 MKV, FT-1000 D, FT-1000 MP, Yaesu FT-2000
Icom 756 Pro, IC-781

And many more. So you can't knock a radio just because it is not a $1000 or more radio.

I would love to see Sherwood test a FT-102.

But of course you will get a million different answers for this question. I say the best radio is the one you operate and have fun with, after all it is just a hobby.

 

BEST HF RIG

I got to try the IC-7800 it is the most phenomenal box I've ever touched. But for allmost $14000. You'd expect it to be great.
Carl W7CUB

 

Like I said, the best HF rig ever made hasn't been made yet....