[TenTec] Omni VI Plus questions

[Floyd Sense]

I'm new to the reflector, so please excuse if this info has been covered
before.  I'm researching various transceivers in preparation for purchasing
a backup to my existing rig, and have some unresolved questions about the
Omni VI Plus.

Two items popped up in the QST reviews of the Omni VI and the Plus:

1. In the MDR evaluation, the review shows that the test was noise limited.
A bit confusing, as Ten-Tec claims that the receiver has very low phase
noise, compared to other rigs.  Does the Omni VI Plus use crystal
oscillators, or a synthesizer? (hard to tell from the published info).  If
crystal oscillators, why was the MDR test noise limited?

2. The receiver audio bandwidth was somewhere in the area of 1600 Hz at the
6 dB points.  The audio bandwidth of my TS-850 receiver measured at 2296 Hz.
Quite a difference, and I wonder how this narrower bandwidth is perceived by
the Omni user on SSB?  I note that the low end 6 dB point is 475 Hz - seems
to me that this would make for "tinny" sound on received signals, but maybe
not, depending upon the slope of the passband.  If I reduce the audio
bandwidth of my 850 using my Timewave DSP-599 filter, I don't like the
resulting sound.  I realize that the 599 filter slope is just about
vertical, and that exaggerates the effects of the narrower bandwidth

When I bought my 850 last year, I was hot on the trail of the Omni VI Plus,
but was turned off when a Ten-Tec employee who addressed my email on #1
above brushed me off saying he didn't have the time to discuss it.  Seems
not to be a time-burner to me - if the ARRL test results are incorrect, he
should have said so.  Otherwise, give me a reasonable explanation.
Thanks for any info you can provide.

K8AC
Floyd Sense - Angier, NC


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