A quick first impression: I currently have a Lincoln 2+, original 6666, & IC7300 radios to compare this radio to. The receiver and noise reduction seems very slightly better than my IC7300 with the "best" settings in both radios. The noise reduction seems to work better if the RF gain is turned down until the S meter reads S1or2 noise floor. The noise blanker is very effective.
Being able to see the clarifier position is nice! The PF button on the mic being programmable is awesome! This radio I have puts out 100 watts PEP on the same meter that my IC 7300 puts out 85 watts PEP on. My current settings are mic gain: 32, NR: 3. I wish the encoder had a better feel to it, this one still feels cheap like the original 6666. Overall this is a good improvement over the Lincoln 2+ and original 6666.