so ive been on HF for about two years now and mostly do SSB on 40 and 20 meters. lately ive been getting reports that my audio sounds kind of muddy or boxy, one guy said I sound like im in a tin can which... great. thanks for that. anyway im running an IC-7300 with the stock mic and I know thats probably part of it but I feel like theres more going on than just the mic.

I went through the menu and messed with the TX bandwidth settings a bit and the bass and treble adjustments but I honestly dont really know what im doing in there. I read something about keeping your TX monitor on to hear yourself but the sidetone on this thing doesnt give you a real sense of what the other end is hearing. anyone gone down this rabbit hole and come out the other side with settings that actually work? also does mic technique matter that much on SSB or is it mostly just a processing thing

mic technique matters way more than most people think, yeah. the 7300 is actually a pretty capable radio on TX audio but you have to put in the time to dial it in. first thing id do is get someone you know on the air and have them give you honest reports while you tweak in real time, the monitor function really doesnt cut it for this.

on the actual settings — I run my TX bandwidth around 100hz to 2800hz for general SSB, keeps things punchy and readable without all that low end mud. the bass boost a lot of people have cranked up sounds good on the monitor but kills intelligibility on the other end, especially if theres any QRM. mic gain is the big one though. people run it way too hot and then you get that compressed distorted sound. set it so your ALC is just barely moving, like kissing the bottom of the ALC range on voice peaks, not slamming it. as for mic distance, stay about a fist away from the element and talk across it slightly rather than straight into it, reduces plosives a lot.

the stock HM-207 mic on the 7300 isnt bad honestly but if you want to go down the audio rabbit hole an SM series desk mic or even a used Heil PR-781 makes a noticeable difference. but fix the settings first before spending money

yeah the tin can thing is almost always too much bass or the bandwidth set too narrow. I had the exact same issue and it turned out I had the low cut set way up from when I was experimenting and forgot about it. easy thing to miss in the menus.

also something nobody talks about much — the room you're operating in affects it too. if you're in a small room with hard surfaces you get weird reflections and it shows up in the audio. not huge but ive noticed it. anyway get your ALC sorted first like the other guy said thats really the foundation of everything else