I've wanted to get an HD radio so I looked into the ones for the component systems figuring better sound quality.Well I've read the reviews on 4 different ones(5 star to 1 star)and I've decided not to do it.From reading the reviews it's just not worth the risk wasting the money.The more I read about HD radio the more I see it failing.
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HD Recievers for Component Systems
- Thread starter Andy Taylor
- Start date
Andy Taylor said:
How nice of you to logon to the board for the first time a mere minute ago and tell us of you HD review experience.
If you're interested, there are many positive reviews of the Sony tuner here on this board. However you should be aware that HD works fairly well, buit only in the true station coverage area. If you're cozy with it and are willing to list your ZiIP code, There are many here who would be willing to give you a fair assesment of what you can expect to receive. And many others who will have a more creative opinion.
Clouseau
Andy Taylor said:
Welcome and wise choice Andy, I have one of the vaunted Sony's and it's gathering dust on top of my real receiver: a thirty year old Marantz 2385 into which I plugged the Sony and made A-B comparisons. Let's just say that I wasted my money. The Sony has got a good analog FM tuner in it and a mediocre AM tuner, HD's a real bomb and detracts from this tuner. BTW it's already failed, they just don't have the good sense to let it die. I guess they want to see how badly they can foul up radio before they finally put it out of it's misery.
I live 40 miles from Boston and 5 miles from Worcester, I get no reliable AM HD stations and IT (the one station that I receive sometimes with a 100.00 directional, tunable ferrite antenna) sounds terrible when it actually comes in (WBZ), and can I not count on any Boston FM reliably and worst of all FM-HD does not sound much different than analog FM. AM HD is much quieter than analog but the artificial saccharine highs and frequent artifacts that make it sound like a Martian is trying to cut in will absolutely have you running to change the station after about 5 minutes the first time you hear it. (I wonder how Martian's say CQ)
FM HD while not quite as bad also has lousy range, sounds pretty much the same, is not reliable and also has artifacts, it's a lose-lose situation.
" How nice of you to logon to the board for the first time a mere minute ago and tell us of you HD review experience."
FIRST TIME?These boards tend to bring out the negative.I don't think it's just a hate for HD radio.There's just too many bad experiences.I think I'll wait a while before I purchase one.
FIRST TIME?These boards tend to bring out the negative.I don't think it's just a hate for HD radio.There's just too many bad experiences.I think I'll wait a while before I purchase one.
R
rbrucecarter5
Guest
Andy Taylor said:
Welcome to the HD club! A rather small club at that, but it is certainly interesting. The Sangean HDT1X got the good reviews before the Sony came on the market - but either one is also a fine analog tuner and you will not be wasting your money even if HD is discontinued. I have used the HDT-1X for 300 mile reception - stations pop right in without a problem using an external antenna.
The sound of HD on a component system is dramatically better than analog. The old 50 Hz and 15 kHz limits are gone, you can hear the complete audio range. Believe me, if you had heard extended audio response one time, you will understand what you have been missing. Those little table radios with 3 inch "woofer" are definitely the wrong platform to highlight the sound improvement HD offers!
I have field tested HD at a distance of 70 miles from the towers, and the technology works and is extremely robust with nothing more than a dipole. Another listener reports semi-reliable reception at 84 miles with a dipole. Some listeners have reported 100 mile plus HD reception with an outdoor antenna. So I think the technology is mature and robust enough for use as-is. There is talk of a power increase, but that may muddy the band and actually hurt coverage of HD stations as sidebands potentially overlap. Hopefully the new FCC will think better of it and keep things as they are. If it ain't broke don't fix it!
rbrucecarter5 said:
Well ON AM that might be possible, but 300 mile range is certainly more of a oddity that a regular occurance. At least in my experience. I believe you'll find most of RBruce's reply filed under <Saracstic Humor>
Why do I think I'm under the bridge with the other inhabitants there.
I see HD as having better sound quality "IF" all the bandwidth is used for the primary channel. Otherwise the primary advantage is the noise floor and lack of multipath hiss. It is noticably cleaner, but if you're not an audiophile, you might not notice it. Frequency response is similar to 128 kps AAC+ with the full stream dedicatedto the primary.
I see. Well fact is, HD reception in homes is pretty well limited to the 60 dbu contour at best. There are those who get reliable 60 mile reception, but they are receiving big stations and they utilize an outdoor antenna. A good conservative guide is the city grade contour. Stations and classes along with distance are listed here on the FCC site. http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/fmclasses.html That standard holds pretty true.
Obviously RBruce is yanking everyone's chain here just like in the rest of the post. Higher power HD testing in going on now in a few areas. Unless he knows something I don't, results have yet to be released. I've heard little from anyone in the areas of the tests as well. That indicates to me that , SO FAR, the sky has not fallen.
Ah, the Negative gang. Their hilarity never ceases to entertain.
Clouseau
I think the long distances apply to the 100kW stations with big tall towers. In my area the HD distance is considerably less. I has some luck with 45 mile reception few years ago with a rooftop antenna but that was with an insensitive, lousy Boston Accoustics HD radio. Wished the Sony XDR-f1HD was avaliable at that time.
rbruce IS serious. I think he's had the same experience many, if not most of us have had with HD Radio.
A year ago, when I first went out to buy my first HD Radio, the receivers were few and far between. But happily, this year, I find they're FAR more plentiful - and the quality is generally better as well. I selected the Jensen bookshelf combo iPod dock and HD receiver. The bass quality is quite remarkable, even given the relatively small (3 inch) speaker size. But even with the Jensen's diminutive size, the vastly improved clarity and frequency response of HD radio is still readily apparent. As rbruce mentioned, the low register - 100 Hz and below - is instantly apparent, even to a casual listener.
Demo'ing the Jensen when I found it at Radio Shack, what was truly astounding was the receiver's HD sensitivity and selectivity. All local HD signals locked instantly....including the AMs, which produced startling clarity and crisp, clean frequency response in HD. I would have liked to do an A-B comparison of HD and analog, but the digital signal was so robust the receivers never defaulted back to analog - or even mono, for that matter. Hearing Rush Limbaugh and Fox Sports in HD stereo was a sublimely rewarding experience. Now, at home, the Jensen is a great radio for DXing distant HD and analog AM signals at night. In either mode the radio sounds great. There are NO locking or mode-hopping problems because of skywave.
On FM, with the supplied dipole, all local HD signals popped in SINPO-55555, and with minimal fiddling, I was able to read FM-HDs from Buffalo, Syracuse, plus one each from Albany and Williamsport, PA.
In summation: it was well worth waiting in line at the busy HD display to buy what I'm sure will be only the first in a procession of HD Radio receivers in my technical stable. Kinda makes me proud to be in radio.
A year ago, when I first went out to buy my first HD Radio, the receivers were few and far between. But happily, this year, I find they're FAR more plentiful - and the quality is generally better as well. I selected the Jensen bookshelf combo iPod dock and HD receiver. The bass quality is quite remarkable, even given the relatively small (3 inch) speaker size. But even with the Jensen's diminutive size, the vastly improved clarity and frequency response of HD radio is still readily apparent. As rbruce mentioned, the low register - 100 Hz and below - is instantly apparent, even to a casual listener.
Demo'ing the Jensen when I found it at Radio Shack, what was truly astounding was the receiver's HD sensitivity and selectivity. All local HD signals locked instantly....including the AMs, which produced startling clarity and crisp, clean frequency response in HD. I would have liked to do an A-B comparison of HD and analog, but the digital signal was so robust the receivers never defaulted back to analog - or even mono, for that matter. Hearing Rush Limbaugh and Fox Sports in HD stereo was a sublimely rewarding experience. Now, at home, the Jensen is a great radio for DXing distant HD and analog AM signals at night. In either mode the radio sounds great. There are NO locking or mode-hopping problems because of skywave.
On FM, with the supplied dipole, all local HD signals popped in SINPO-55555, and with minimal fiddling, I was able to read FM-HDs from Buffalo, Syracuse, plus one each from Albany and Williamsport, PA.
In summation: it was well worth waiting in line at the busy HD display to buy what I'm sure will be only the first in a procession of HD Radio receivers in my technical stable. Kinda makes me proud to be in radio.
Did I mention the HD-FM subs I discovered "between the stations?"
Fan-freakin-TASTIC!!!!
First of all, the HD-2 and HD-3 channels sound quality is absolutely indistingishable from the main channels, which as I have noted, are truly "CD-quality."
I found one HD side channel with All African-American Weather, one that plays continuous surf sound effects,
and an HD-3 that features EAS headers 24-7!
Things are really lookin' up for the radio industry. All thanks to HD Radio.
Fan-freakin-TASTIC!!!!
First of all, the HD-2 and HD-3 channels sound quality is absolutely indistingishable from the main channels, which as I have noted, are truly "CD-quality."
I found one HD side channel with All African-American Weather, one that plays continuous surf sound effects,
and an HD-3 that features EAS headers 24-7!
Things are really lookin' up for the radio industry. All thanks to HD Radio.
Savage said:
That's supposed to be "seedy" quality. Please pay attention.
Savage said:
Savage...poster-boy for forgetting your meds...
Savage said:
I couldn't agree more -- especially after I checked the meaning of "fantastic" in Merriam-Webster and found the first definition: "based on fantasy:not real" -- and then read the footnote "...conceived, made, or carried out without adherence to truth or reality."
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fantastic
In fact, in his first column, Bob Struble uses the single word fantastic to answer the question "how's it going?"
Clever dodge.
And when a knowledgeable young man at my local Radio Shack demo'ed the Accurian HD Radio for me a few months back was I in for a pleasant surprise. The HD-AM locked immediately and came in perfectly. And talk about sound quality. The clarity of digital audio was such an astounding contrast from old analog AM, that I swore that I'd never listen to AM any other way but in HD.
And do know what was even more amazing? The Accurian was performing flawlessly without an external antenna hooked to it.
I would have bought that Accurian right then and there but the store, after selling all it's inventory, had only one left and several people were in line ahead of me fighting over who would get the floor sample.
C5
And do know what was even more amazing? The Accurian was performing flawlessly without an external antenna hooked to it.
I would have bought that Accurian right then and there but the store, after selling all it's inventory, had only one left and several people were in line ahead of me fighting over who would get the floor sample.
C5
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