Thanks for posting. I enjoyed the Review with comparisons to Microtelecom Perseus,
Quicksilver QS1R and the RF Space SDR-IQ. Excellent
I was not able to listen to the audio comparisons, (codec issue? XP IE8) between the Excalibur and the Perseus, which one sounded better?
When discussing sound quality you really have to cosnider the sound card used and the amplifier / speaker system used.
For my location I use the same Creative Labs PCI 512 in each radio oriented computer. The line out of that goes to a Bahringer 16 channel mixer (for the PCs that have SDR's on them, other radios go directly into a separate 24 channel mixer). The Main out of the 16 channel mixer goes to a dedicated decode and record PC and an external stereo audio amplifier, and the amp drives a pair of Infinity monitors.
"Sound better" is very opinion oriented. What follows is my opinion.
Using this setup I find that the Excalibur often, but not always, sounds a little better than the Perseus, it is mode and condition dependant. When a signal is right down in the noise floor and in AM mode the Perseus sounds better. In CW the Perseus has a very slight advantage. In SSB, AM-Sync, or AM with a better SNR the Excalibur sounds better. I have never really compared them in FM.
However, I find the SDR-IQ and SDR-14 sound better than both the Excalibur and the Perseus for most signals, but of course SpectraVue does not have an AM-Sync (or SAM) mode. It does, however, have DSB, something the other two lack.
With all of that said I am finding the Excalibur to be my most used radio while searching for new signals, and one of my SDR-IQ's or my SDR-14 my most used when I am doing scheduled spectrum recordings of frequencies.
T!
Mohave Desert, California, USA