I am looking for a good external speaker for my BCD996XT. I purchased the Uniden ESP12 ( 12 Watts) from ScannerMaster, but this speaker does not even perform as loud as the one in my scanner. At full volume the external speaker is about half as loud as scanner speaker. Does anyone have a suggestion regarding other speakers on the market that would work??
BCD996XT External Speaker
- Thread starter rangers38
- Start date
- Status
sjlamb
Member
You must have something wrong there. The ESP12 is a nice Heavy-Duty Speaker. If I crank up the volume on my ESP-12, I could dry my hair with the output. You sure you're plugged in to the correct rear jack? Don't use the "Line Out" jack.... use the "EXT SP" jack. If you're hooked into the headphone jack... well.... that would explain everything.
Last edited:
no, not hooked into the headphone jack, and using the correct plug in the rear. My only guess is something must be shorted or not connected well in the cable or at the speaker. I tried a different speaker and it sounded better, so my guess is i must have received faulty goods.
There are several reasons for your weak audio.
Uniden sources weak and ineffective speakers both internal to their scanners and external offerings. This would include the 996T and XT scanners, I have several. The reason the 12 watt uniden speaker sounds weak is because it has a small cone and magnet and but the main reason is the output at the external speaker jack on the rear of the scanner is no where near the claimed 2 watts, its barely 1 watt at best and the tone quality is very poor. Even if it was at 2 watts this is no where near what is needed in a high noise mobile environment.
To achieve quality profession radio type sound from these models of scanners here's what you have to do. Like I mentioned the tone quality is crap out of the box so some home brewed filtering (small L/C circuit) or running through and equalizer will fix that issue. Then get a real speaker. Most offerings from Motorola with a 5" cone sound good. This will need to be an amplified speaker preferably 15 watts. I like the Motorola model# NSN6054A speaker which is easily modifiable for scanner use. Or you could run a quality unamplified speaker with an amplifier between the scanner and the speaker. Either way you will need amplification to make it louder and filtering to get good tone quality.
All this could easily be avoided if Uniden would step up to the plate and put some quality audio amplifiers and speakers into their scanners instead of the JUNK that's in them now and improve the fidelity of the audio. I don't think I'm asking too much for a receiver that costs $500.00. There are other types of lesser expensive receivers that sound much much better than these expensive scanners. Even the latest offerings from Uniden on their CB radios have a TONE selection to improve the audio, why can't we get this on the scanners? The only reason Uniden won't do it right is pure greed...profit margins rule! Got to please those share holders!
Uniden sources weak and ineffective speakers both internal to their scanners and external offerings. This would include the 996T and XT scanners, I have several. The reason the 12 watt uniden speaker sounds weak is because it has a small cone and magnet and but the main reason is the output at the external speaker jack on the rear of the scanner is no where near the claimed 2 watts, its barely 1 watt at best and the tone quality is very poor. Even if it was at 2 watts this is no where near what is needed in a high noise mobile environment.
To achieve quality profession radio type sound from these models of scanners here's what you have to do. Like I mentioned the tone quality is crap out of the box so some home brewed filtering (small L/C circuit) or running through and equalizer will fix that issue. Then get a real speaker. Most offerings from Motorola with a 5" cone sound good. This will need to be an amplified speaker preferably 15 watts. I like the Motorola model# NSN6054A speaker which is easily modifiable for scanner use. Or you could run a quality unamplified speaker with an amplifier between the scanner and the speaker. Either way you will need amplification to make it louder and filtering to get good tone quality.
All this could easily be avoided if Uniden would step up to the plate and put some quality audio amplifiers and speakers into their scanners instead of the JUNK that's in them now and improve the fidelity of the audio. I don't think I'm asking too much for a receiver that costs $500.00. There are other types of lesser expensive receivers that sound much much better than these expensive scanners. Even the latest offerings from Uniden on their CB radios have a TONE selection to improve the audio, why can't we get this on the scanners? The only reason Uniden won't do it right is pure greed...profit margins rule! Got to please those share holders!
I agree. I just installed this on my rear deck (ESP-12). The sound is great, even on P25 systems. Didnt feel laying out $100 bucks for the /\/\ logo on a speaker.
lep
Member
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2002
- Messages
- 948
As I read this I must note that my 996XT is playing a P-25 site through the external MOT speaker HSN 4023 B, I was at a radio flea market and a MOT service shop had 20 or 30 of them for $5 each. He let me dig through the box and pick out the cleanest looking and I bought 2. After cleaning them up and soldering on a new phone plug, the sound is so loud I can easily hear it all over the house, It sounds much better than the original Uniden speaker which is somewhat muffled by the shelf on which the scanner sits. As you can likely tell this is NOT a powered speaker, the scanner has more than ample audio power at a setting of vol = 10, the max setting of vol = 30 is far TOO loud for comfort.
abbadabbado
Member
ext speakers
i had good luck going to the local flying J truck stop. they had one i like very much good volume. priced about the same as radio shop speakers the name was road dog. i think about 34.95 made for cb but works great with my 996t at home an on the road
i had good luck going to the local flying J truck stop. they had one i like very much good volume. priced about the same as radio shop speakers the name was road dog. i think about 34.95 made for cb but works great with my 996t at home an on the road
I also have the 12 watt Uniden hooked to me BCT15X and it sounds great.
I like the Vertex MLS-100 Yaesu MLS-100 Product Reviews This thing sound great on the 996XT. I thought about an amplified speaker... but the 996XT has a decent amp (like lep mentioned) and this this sounds great in the pickup. I've seen powered amps pick up extra engine noise. Something I'm already fighting. I can hear it a 80 MPH with 4 windows down.
lafd55
Member
I have a simple Radioshack 21-549 connected to my 396t and it sounds great!
NEC 207705 hooked to my 996. Like KB8 says, loud and clear at speed with windows down and at 1/2 volume.
Sorry that my comments here are late but I've just stumbled upon this thread.
As lafd55 mentioned, the Realistic 21-549 isn't a bad choice. That speaker actually produces fairly good audio and is surprisingly durable. I have one of those and I've used with my 996XT, but I'm currently using a HSN4005A (Motorola Syntor speaker) on it. I find that with the 4005A the audio from the 996XT is nearly on par with the actual Syntor X9000 series commercial transceiver audio - I own a few X9000's myself so it's easy for me to compare. The audio from the 996XT through that speaker is certainly loud enough for a mobile environment in my opinion.
I find that the 21-549 has a higher-pitched (trebly) sound, whereas the HSN4005A falls much more toward the bass end. They both produce pleasant audio, however. While they're both adequately loud on the 996XT, I'll note that the 4005A is the loudest.
Based upon several comments I've seen about Uniden scanner audio being low and of poor tonal quality -including that of the 996XT- I find myself wondering if Uniden changed something audio-wise at some point in production of the 996XT. I actually think that my 996XT sounds great in comparison with some of the older moto classic commercial rigs. That's just my opinion.
As lafd55 mentioned, the Realistic 21-549 isn't a bad choice. That speaker actually produces fairly good audio and is surprisingly durable. I have one of those and I've used with my 996XT, but I'm currently using a HSN4005A (Motorola Syntor speaker) on it. I find that with the 4005A the audio from the 996XT is nearly on par with the actual Syntor X9000 series commercial transceiver audio - I own a few X9000's myself so it's easy for me to compare. The audio from the 996XT through that speaker is certainly loud enough for a mobile environment in my opinion.
I find that the 21-549 has a higher-pitched (trebly) sound, whereas the HSN4005A falls much more toward the bass end. They both produce pleasant audio, however. While they're both adequately loud on the 996XT, I'll note that the 4005A is the loudest.
Based upon several comments I've seen about Uniden scanner audio being low and of poor tonal quality -including that of the 996XT- I find myself wondering if Uniden changed something audio-wise at some point in production of the 996XT. I actually think that my 996XT sounds great in comparison with some of the older moto classic commercial rigs. That's just my opinion.
Tom_G
Member
I have found that the Motorola or GE/Ericsson external speakers sound the best.
I have the 996XT with a GE/Ericsson external speaker in my car and it sounds excellent.
Good Luck...
I have the 996XT with a GE/Ericsson external speaker in my car and it sounds excellent.
Good Luck...
In my previous post I said that my 996XT's audio is adequately loud with either of the two external speakers that I named. But I forgot to emphasize that with my 996XT I see absolutely no reason for an amplified speaker, whether I'm using it in a base or a mobile environment. It's truly got loads of untapped audio gain.
That really makes me wonder if Uniden may have implemented a silent revision of the 996XT somewhere along the line. I can find several comments within these forums about the 996XT having both low audio gain and poor tonal quality. Since I've noticed neither of those conditions with my unit, I'm just curious as to whether negative feedback may have compelled Uniden to implement such an audio circuit revision at some point during production. Maybe some of us who have been enjoying great audio from our 996XT's should compare our serial numbers with those who feel that they've been shorted in the audio area with their units. It's just a thought.
I should also note that if the above were proven to be true, I'm unsure if Uniden could be convinced to spring for a fix for the older units, though.
That really makes me wonder if Uniden may have implemented a silent revision of the 996XT somewhere along the line. I can find several comments within these forums about the 996XT having both low audio gain and poor tonal quality. Since I've noticed neither of those conditions with my unit, I'm just curious as to whether negative feedback may have compelled Uniden to implement such an audio circuit revision at some point during production. Maybe some of us who have been enjoying great audio from our 996XT's should compare our serial numbers with those who feel that they've been shorted in the audio area with their units. It's just a thought.
I should also note that if the above were proven to be true, I'm unsure if Uniden could be convinced to spring for a fix for the older units, though.
Last edited:
We've not changed anything. IMHO you have a very discriminating ear. 
Maybe it's those who are finding fault with the 996XT's audio who have the discriminating ears ;-]We've not changed anything. IMHO you have a very discriminating ear.
So, UPMan, as a Uniden representative/engineer/liaison, what is your honest opinion of the typical audio power and quality on the 996XT ? I'd be interested to know.
Thanks
I've not had any issue with audio level in a normal automobile environment (in cases where the audio couldn't be heard well, neither could the vehicle's integrated stereo). I will add that when I was routinely running one in the car, it was in the trunk connected to the remote head and driving an external speaker.
Thanks for the reply.
FWIW, I've had audio issues with a certain conventional system in my area. But I've deduced that it's a result of serious multipath on the repeater's signal (when pulling said signal from where my external antenna is currently mounted), in conjunction with the system maintainers having set the deviation level a bit too low. All other systems in my area seem to sound superb.
Thanks again.
I know the 996 is being discussed but what about improving the the 396XT audio. I have noticed the 396XT has the lowest audio from a portable that I have ever had and that has been a bunch. The 250D had twice the audio, I tried the Uniden ESP20 and was not pleased at all. I found a smaller speaker, dont know what brand it is but it sounds a lot better but still not very loud. My 785D and 250D with an ex speaker would blow you out of the car or room you were in.
- Status
Similar threads
SDS100/SDS200:
Question about SDS200 external speaker jack configuration
