The latest Crutchfield catalog arrived yesterday, and back on Page 114 are the featured HD car radios.
The KD-HDR1 (which I own) is down to $129.95 on a "special purchase", but the KD-HDW10 (the unit Wal-Mart carried, which appears identical) is priced at just $99.99. There aren't any apparent differences between these models listed in the specs on Page 109, except the FM mono sensitivity and CD S/N ratio numbers for the less-expensive model aren't provided.
I strongly suspect these radios have the guts same inside, the only difference being the model number. (It's common practice for consumer electronics manufacturers to assign exclusive model numbers to large retailers, so that they don't have to make good on that "If you find the identical item priced less anywhere else, we'll refund twice the difference" nonsense.)
This is probably an experiment in pricing, to determine what value consumers will actually put on HD radio. Some will spend the extra 30 bucks thinking they are getting a better receiver -- following the old "you get what you pay for" adage. However, the $99.99 price may hook those customers who simply don't feel a radio should cost more than $100.
The adjacent-channel analog FM selectivity and strong signal overload rejection on the JVC receiver is quite impressive. I haven't done any side-by-side tests, but it probably outperforms the classic McIntosh MR78.
The KD-HDR1 (which I own) is down to $129.95 on a "special purchase", but the KD-HDW10 (the unit Wal-Mart carried, which appears identical) is priced at just $99.99. There aren't any apparent differences between these models listed in the specs on Page 109, except the FM mono sensitivity and CD S/N ratio numbers for the less-expensive model aren't provided.
I strongly suspect these radios have the guts same inside, the only difference being the model number. (It's common practice for consumer electronics manufacturers to assign exclusive model numbers to large retailers, so that they don't have to make good on that "If you find the identical item priced less anywhere else, we'll refund twice the difference" nonsense.)
This is probably an experiment in pricing, to determine what value consumers will actually put on HD radio. Some will spend the extra 30 bucks thinking they are getting a better receiver -- following the old "you get what you pay for" adage. However, the $99.99 price may hook those customers who simply don't feel a radio should cost more than $100.
The adjacent-channel analog FM selectivity and strong signal overload rejection on the JVC receiver is quite impressive. I haven't done any side-by-side tests, but it probably outperforms the classic McIntosh MR78.
