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income tax time

G

gordontalk

Guest
Well income tax time means a new toy for me. I'm really considering purchasing an HD radio, however being blind I wont be needing a car unit. Do they make home units, and if so which one would I want to get? I've looked around for different HD radios but only found lots of pictures which didn't help all that much. And my girl friend is about as interested in this kind of thing as Kasa is with succeeding. So I'm definitely going to need some of your opinions before I go out and buy one.
 
Gordon I'm legally blind (about 5 percent vision...Retinitis Pigmentosa), and find the Accurian simple to operate by touch, once the basic controls are learned. LISTEN THROUGH HEADPHONES, or plug it into a good stereo, or amplified speakers. Those who criticize the internal speakers have a point! The Accurian's speakers aren't worse than most table radios these days, but certainly not better...and not in the same league with the best (from Cambridge Soundworks, Bose, Boston Acoustics, Tivoli).
 
I have the Accurian and am pleased with it - the price/feature ratio is good, and it is easy to operate. I don't mind the built-in speakers as I am listening to talk most of the time.
 
DAYRADIO said:
I have the Accurian and am pleased with it - the price/feature ratio is good, and it is easy to operate. I don't mind the built-in speakers as I am listening to talk most of the time.
Click to expand...
You need digital HD Radio to listen to talk stations?
That's not much motivation for people to replace their existing analog radios. I'm sure most analog AM/FM radios get talk stations just fine.
Where is the motivation to buy HD radio?
Just to hear talk in digital stereo?
 
Supercaster, those of us who value sound quality, VALUE SOUND QUALITY! One of the greatest experiences from the early days of AM Stereo was when the major stations with Major League Baseball broadcast the games in stereo. It was WILD...like being there!

It's interesting that talk is broadcast with such little concern for sound quality in this country (the US), because in the UK it's completely different. Nearly every talk show is in stereo, and writers in publications like Hi Fi News are as likely to write about the sound quality of "speech" programming as music stations. What REALLY sounds good in stereo (on British radio) are panel discussions, and radio dramas! They never forgot in the UK that creativity is more than what happens "on mics". It's the art (and science) of capturing the performance as well! Radio is an AUDIO medium! Sound is all we (in radio, and those of us who listen) have. OF COURSE SOUND QUALITY IS IMPORTANT!

Does HDTV improve the enjoyment of sports? Have you seen a local newscast in HD? WRAL TV in Raleigh was WAY ahead of the curve in broadcasting local events in HD. IT'S BREATHTAKING (even with my poor vision, I can see that. RP robs me of my "visual field"...I have only 5 degrees of peripheral vision, but thanks to several surgeries, the central vision I have left is sharp).

Now I'm not sure the HD system used on HD is good enough to provide the kind of sonic thrills the Brits get from talk programming on FM. But I'd LOVE to hear it if anyone decides to actually use HD to make their audio sound good!

In Wilkes County (NC) my nearest talk stations are WATA Boone NC (40 miles away), WHKY Hickory NC (about 40 miles away), and WSJS in Winston Salem NC (about 60 miles away). All come in reasonably clearly (in the daytime, none do at night), but all also have some noise. When I listen to talk on FM (NPR), the improved sound quality makes for a far superior experience. Since I'm mostly blind, I find the sound effects in news stories (background sounds) really give me a "you are there" sense of reality, especially through headphones. EVERYONE should strive for technical excellence in news the way NPR does!
 
Well it's almost necessary to have an HD radio if you plan to listen to AM stations now. A lot of the talk stations have switched to HD and their audio sounds horrible on a regular radio. The only big station here in Dallas that hasn't switched yet would be WBAP.
 
Gordon observed:

Well it's almost necessary to have an HD radio if you plan to listen to AM stations now.
Click to expand...

Now it is NECESSARY to have an HD radio to listen to AM? Surely you jest! If you don't have nearly "perfect" AM reception with no (or very little) path noise, then MAYBE your AM HD radio will switch to the digital stream. My own experience is that 99% of the time it won't.

A lot of the talk stations have switched to HD and their audio sounds horrible on a regular radio.
Click to expand...

This is one of the funniest comments I have ever seen from anyone (experts and non-experts alike) on this here radio message board. I applaud your sense of humor and thank you for a great laugh today, Gordon! ;D :D
 
SUPERCASTER said:
DAYRADIO said:
I have the Accurian and am pleased with it - the price/feature ratio is good, and it is easy to operate. I don't mind the built-in speakers as I am listening to talk most of the time.
Click to expand...
You need digital HD Radio to listen to talk stations?
That's not much motivation for people to replace their existing analog radios. I'm sure most analog AM/FM radios get talk stations just fine.
Where is the motivation to buy HD radio?
Just to hear talk in digital stereo?
Click to expand...

True, HD Radio is not required to listen to AM talk radio - that is exactly, why I bought the Sony ICF-S10MK2. Even with, a $10 hand-held analog AM/FM radio, with just the internal ferrite-bar antenna, I can receive South to WWL New Orleans (was listening to their reaction to the Saint's loss, last night), West to WHO Des Moines, and North to various Canadian. Since, AM is mostly talk, news, and sports, there is no justification for any type of stereo on the AM band (it failed, anyway, in the 1980s). FM stereo sounds great, so too, there is no justification in adding IBOC on the FM band, with its digital artifacts. Studies have shown, that consumers do not have a problem with the existing analog broadcast bands, so trying to convince them to buy new HD Radio receivers, has largely been met with failure. The broadcast bands are already over-crowded, so adding more HD channels, is just plain over-kill (we have 4 classic-rock stations in Maryland - more than enough).
 
Gordon said:
Well it's almost necessary to have an HD radio if you plan to listen to AM stations now. A lot of the talk stations have switched to HD and their audio sounds horrible on a regular radio. The only big station here in Dallas that hasn't switched yet would be WBAP.
Click to expand...

"RW Opinion: Rethinking AM’s future"

"Only 175 or so AM stations have even licensed AM-HD. For a number of reasons, quite a few have tried it and taken it off the air, or so the anecdotal evidence suggests. (Ibiquity no longer reports in its public summaries whether a station is on the air.)"

http://rwonline.com/pages/s.0044/t.557.html

You, were saying ? :D
 
Actually AM HD poorly done can do A LOT of damage to the analog signal (the most compelling reason to run, RUN FAST from AM HD!) An article in the current Radio World discusses the INCREDIBLE demands HD places on an antenna system. You think the transmitting gear is expensive! Wait till your engineer tells you how much it'll cost to get your antenna system linear in phase and frequency response over a 40-50khz bandwidth! And remember, phase rotation results in audible noise on analog radios (gulp!)

Let's go throw all the money in our bank account at a technology that's going to make us sound worse to EVERY ONE OF OUR CURRENT LISTENERS, isn't approved to run at night, interferes with neighboring stations, and can DRASTICALLY limit coverage area. Who's in?

(How's that for an argument from a guy who's VERY fond of HD on FM?)
 
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