PA Speakers for CB Radios

There is no sense in purchasing and setting up a CB radio, only to have lackluster sound on the transmissions that come through. If you want to get the most out of your set up, then you are going to need to invest in quality PA speakers for CB radios. There are plenty of them on the market. We could beat around the bush and go through all of the great ones. However, we know you have limited time. This is why we want to introduce you to the Uniden BC23A, arguably the best PA speaker there is.

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A Brief Overview of the Uniden BC23A

The Uniden BC23A is a 15-Watt amplified speaker. While it can be used in combination with most sound systems, we are going to talk about it as if you are hooking it up to a CB radio set-up. Since it has a built-in amplifier, it will need its own separate power supply. However, it also means that the sound that you are going to get out of the speaker is going to be that much clearer. This is perfect if you are planning to operate your CB radio in less-than-stellar environments.

Honestly, the main selling point of the Uniden BC23A is that it is a ridiculously affordable PA speaker. There isn’t really much to it. If you are looking for something that you can essentially ‘plug and play’ into your CB radio set-up, then this is just the ticket. In fact, to give you an idea of just how simple this speaker is, you get all of this included in the box:

• The speaker
• Instruction manual
• Mounting bracket
• Wiring

The Set-Up

Setting up this PA speaker is ridiculously simple. Yes. It can be a little bit difficult to wire it into a vehicle’s electrical set-up, but the instructions are clearly laid out in the manual that comes included with the speaker. Although, it probably would have been handy if there were pictures included in the manual. That being said, there are plenty of guides online about wiring in PA speakers to a vehicle, so this isn’t too much of an issue.

Beyond that, it is a case of mounting the speaker to your vehicle (everything is included), then using the 3.5mm jack to plug it into your CB radio. It is so simple. This is part of the reason why we give the Uniden BC23A such a high recommendation. We know that the vast majority of people who operate CB radios are doing so for practical purposes. They are not really going to be into the technology side of things and, as a result, you want something that is essentially ‘plug and play’.

All of the cables and the like included in the box are generic. Nothing special to Uniden. This means that when the 3.5mm jack eventually breaks (this will always happen, no matter which product you pick up), you can head to your local supermarket and pick up a new one for a few dollars.

Ruggedly-Built

We know that there are a lot of people who will look at the Uniden BC23A and turn their nose up at it due to the price. They think that something this affordable will easily break. It won’t. This is a well-built PA speaker. This is a speaker that has been designed to be used day-in-day-out. It works. It won’t falter. In fact, the only parts that will falter are those cables that we talked about previously, and they can be replaced for a few dollars each…and that will only be every year or so (if that!)

Sound Quality

Obviously, the main reason why you are going to be picking up an amplified PA speaker is that you will want to enjoy a decent sound quality. The Uniden BC23A really packs a punch in that area. Obviously, it is only a 15-watt speaker, so it isn’t like the sound is going to fill up a room, but it is going to be plenty loud enough for a vehicle, even with the motor running. You have full control over the sound of the PA speaker with the handy dial on the side of it.

The real highlight, however, is a feature that will allow you to remove background noise from the transmission. Hit that dial, and the sound that comes through will be crystal clear. Well, as clear as conditions will allow. Gone are the days where you will miss the bulk of an incoming transmission due to weird static in the signal.

The Downsides

If you are planning to hook up your Uniden BC23A to a DC24V power source, then think again. It doesn’t support them. The speaker will need to be connected directly to the power supply or to a battery. For some people, this may mean tinkering around with their set-up. However, we have found that for the vast majority of people PA speakers for CB radios that do not support DC24V are not a problem. We thought we would probably point it out just in case it is an area of concern for you!

The only other issue is an auto-off function. Yes. This can be beneficial to ensure that it is not draining power. If the radio does not receive a signal for 25-seconds, the speaker will turn off. This is all well and good until you realize that you will quite often miss the first couple of words of an incoming transmission while the speaker turns itself back on again. 9/10, this is not going to be a problem. However, if you have an emergency transmission come through, it can pose a problem. Again, an issue we felt we should point out.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a quality PA speaker for your CB radio, then not only is the Uniden BC23A one of the best there is, but it is also highly affordable. This is almost certainly worth looking at, particularly if you are planning to set the speaker up in a vehicle which may be hurting for space.