A speaker that sounds good for a dinosaur BC8500XLT scanner…

[corneileous]

Not sure if it matters from scanner to scanner but that’s what I have and currently I have a Cobra HG S100 external speaker for a CB that works ok but even though the breaks in squelch are pretty loud, most of the audio sounds like it’s at low volume. What’s a good speaker that would sound good?

 

[Blackswan73]

I personally like Motorola external speakers myself

B.S.

 

[hazrat8990]

I have a Vertex speaker for my Yaesu 857d and a Motorola for my BCD536hp in my pickup. Both speakers have good clean audio and are plenty loud. Kenwood also makes an excellent speaker. If you go with Motorola, you'll need to put a regular style plug on it since they use a proprietary one.

 

[ecps92]

Not sure if it matters from scanner to scanner but that’s what I have and currently I have a Cobra HG S100 external speaker for a CB that works ok but even though the breaks in squelch are pretty loud, most of the audio sounds like it’s at low volume. What’s a good speaker that would sound good?

Only YOU are going to know what sounds good for YOU and YOUR monitoring.

I've relied mostly on the old Radio Shack / Realistic, ICOM SP5 / Yaesu SP 4 or Regency series of Speakers, those work well for me and my assortment of Scanners

find an area Amateur Radio flea market and shop around, many can be found for under $5-$10 each

 

[buddrousa]

This has a nice sound for the price and everybody has a Walmart.

Robot or human?

 

[corneileous]

Thanks for the responses guys. Anybody have any thoughts regarding those Bearcat speakers? Can’t remember the model numbers but I believe there’s one that’s amplified and non-amplified.

 

[mmckenna]

Thanks for the responses guys. Anybody have any thoughts regarding those Bearcat speakers? Can’t remember the model numbers but I believe there’s one that’s amplified and non-amplified.

I'd try the Motorola or a Kenwood KES-5 first. You probably don't need an amplified speaker unless you are in a really loud area, or the scanner has a really weak amplifier. Both speakers have really good fidelity and put out a lot of sound. The Motorola's you can find dirt cheap, but you'll probably have to solder on your own 1/8 Plug, same with the KES-5. If you want plug and play, then the Bearcat speaker might be a good choice, or the Kenwood KES-3, which has the plug on the end already.

Compare the prices, you are not necessarily getting a better speaker because you are spending more money. The Motorola/Kenwood speakers are hard to beat.

 

[StoliRaz]

This has a nice sound for the price and everybody has a Walmart.

Robot or human?

I own that speaker. Know what's hilarious? It says right in the instructions that it is meant to be plugged into the external speaker jack on the back of the base radio, NOT the headphone jack. The 2nd picture on Walmart shows it plugged into the headphone jack of a WS1040 🤣

I tried it in my headphone jack and it sounded like garbage and had no volume. I think it's more meant for mobile installations where the factory speaker is blocked, because it doesn't sound much different than the factory speaker

Here is the Whistler page for it

Whistler External Radio Scanner Speaker - 3.5"

Our thicker wall ABS housing and larger open back frame provide rich tones over a wider range of frequencies. The secured speaker ensures no unwanted vibrations from the speaker within the housing that could affect audio quality. This is a great sounding speaker for your Scanner, Ham radio, or...

whistlergroup.com