First notes on receive audio.
The Yaesu FT-710 AESS (Acoustic Enhanced Speaker System) is simply the best audio coming from a dedicated ham radio I have ever heard. I have in the past experimented with many speaker configurations with my Ten-Tec Corsair, Kenwood 570D, Ten-Tec Argonaut V and various receivers and it just literally blows everything away.

The external speaker is 2.5 by 3 inches in diameter and 12 inches long. It works in conjunction with the radio's built in speaker and can be adjusted so the user can decide how much sound comes out of each speaker as well as listener frequency range. You can go from beautiful full range audio to narrow voice range and balance how much audio each speaker gets. It makes the guys on SSB sound like AM broadcasters during a ragchew and contesters sound like they're sitting right there next to you speaking in a normal voice.

If you're a fan of good listening audio then I think the FT-710 AESS is something you will want to add to your list when shopping for a rig in this class.

Next up: Getting the OCFD back up in the air and doing a real receiver signal test. Right now I'm using one of the 10m dipoles I have up and so far receiver performance is above par across the bands. Thus far, it beats both the Ten-Tecs on the same antenna. I no longer have the 570D but I think it would have come in 2nd place but that's based on old memory.