I thought there was a recent thread, searched and found nothing.
So, what do you recommend for everyday use?
Thanks.
**ETA** Mostly voice use, powered is ok.

Need more information.......voice, CW, hi fidelity, powered, non-powered, etc.

I use these front firing speakers, because I'm a CW kind of guy.  They are non-powered, so I don't need to plug them into an outlet.  DX Engineering appears to sell the same thing for a couple of dollars more.  They are actually pretty good, especially considering the price.  

I tried a non-powered,  bookshelf, stereo speaker, but my rig didn't seem to have enough power to make it work well.   I can't help with anything that offers "broadcast quality" sound, but there are a couple of guys here who can.

JBL LSR305

Best thing I ever did for my station. You can buy one new for $150, I've seen used ones as low as $90.

I'll +1 a halfway decent bookshelf speaker.  Even an inexpensive one can make for significant improvement.   I use a pair of these:
Micca COVO-S Compact 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers
on the TS-590S.  Not much cash for big improvement (for me anyway) & they don't take up much space.

Nick

Had same issue.  Had a bluetooth jbl wireless speaker that had great sound.  Uses power from my 12v radio power supply to always keep it charged, accessory line in on the speaker plugs into the radio.  Sounds great..   I typically use headphones but the other 20% of the time it works great..   If i did not have the bluetooth speaker I would use a good set of pc speakers with a handfull of ferrite cores on the power cord..  

Prosise

Impressive specs. on the JBL.
Sunday nights there is an AM net on 3.837.
The net mgr. has a museum full of old equipment and repairs old equipment.
Most of the operators audio sounds better than the local AM BC station.

I have a set of those Miccas as the rear speakers in my living room 5.1 system  

I'll bet they work great in your application.  I can't believe how good they are for $40!

Get a Bose center channel speaker if you are into ESSB. Center channel speakers are tailored for mid-range audio and mostly speech reproduction.

I personally don't like too much base in SSB signal and was not happy with many large, monitor type speakers in the shack. They work great for music and vocals but SSB audio is a different animal, IMHO. The best speaker I found so far is a relatively small, amplified speaker made by EcoXGear. It has an amazing mid-range clarity and works as good as quality headphones. This is all I use for managing pile-ups or for hunting weak DX. It works even better than Bose center speaker. I have purchased another one for my KX3 and it surpassed my expectations. The speaker is connected to the PHONES jack on my radios. Full charge lasts for several days.

Mine is an 8" wooden cabinet unit from a '70s bookshelf stereo system that a friend gave it to me when it died.

It works beautifully for CW and shortwave listening.

Hey Frank,

Do you use one speaker, or two?  I tried using a pair of bookshelf speakers with my K3 so I could take advantage to the AFX (audio effects), but the rig didn't seem to have enough power to drive both speakers.  I may try connecting just one of the speakers, to see how that works.

Hallicrafters LS-3. This is all you need to know.

LS-3 by Jim Gardner, on Flickr

Hali by Jim Gardner, on Flickr


But seriously, I have a Yaesu SP-8. I've compared a bunch of speakers to it in A / B tests, and it always comes out on top, at least to my ears. And they aren't hideously expensive. Cheers.. Jim

Thanks for the suggestions.
'Somewhere' I have a Heathkit speaker that I used on my FT101-EE marine radio, the one with the clear 'rubber cover'.
Sounded real good through it, guess I am off on a treasure hunt!

I use just one. I tried two speakers (different type -- the wood cabinet spealer is a one-of) and the separate channel for the sub-receiver wasn't worth the desk space the two speakers took up as compared to using headphones for it.

@aa777888-2

hey, can you by chance post a picture of your setup/how you have them mounted?  those are some nice speakers, but they are quite big.  i am remembering maybe you have them mounted, as they would certainly eat up a whole lot of desk space.

i think i recall seeing your setup one time, but can't find the thread.

much appreciated, if you are able to do so.  

@generalissimo:

I bought one of these kits off of eBay. Not this exact kit from this exact merchant, of course, but essentially an identical one. I put the stands behind my desk and I used the MoPads to angle the monitors down towards me on top of the stands. The reason the monitors are not raised up to be completely above the screens is because my studio is in an attic room and the sloped ceiling restricts how high I can push them.



The monitors have balanced line inputs. My SDR is setup with a Behringer UMC202 audio interface and so these monitors plug right in, no fuss, no muss. Most people will have to deal with an unbalanced audio line output. You can just modify the cables in the kit and replace the TRS end with whatever you need (RCA, 1/8" mono phone plug, etc.):



You won't regret buying them. After I got them I found myself opening up my receive passband on the radio quite a bit more, usually 2900 to 50Hz. There is a lot of content out there that you are probably missing! I run all my computer audio through them as well, and they sound fantastic.

I purchased these, Micca COVO-S Compact 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers.
They arrived this morning, sounds great.
Vast improvement over an old Uniden CB radio ext. speaker.
Thanks again for all the suggestions.