Radiosophy HD101 - The ultimate Radio Disney receiver

[Mike Walker]

I haven't heard it in a quiet room. But I wouldn't be surprised. HD Radios have a CPU. I'd be surprised if it's any louder than, say, a laptop computer. I"m not sure I could hear the fan in my laptop by my bedside, unless I listened for it.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

I've read that the Sony HD has a cooling fan built-in that can be very loud and bothersome if you keep it at your bedside and listen at low volumes. Can anyone confirm this?

There can be only one reason for a fan like that: excessive power consumption heating up the chip(s). The level of digital algorithm crunching involved does not bode well for portable chipsets. And I don't think consumers want RADIOS that have lithium-ion bombs / 1000 degrees C flame starters (otherwise know as laptop batteries) in them. I know how to handle and use those batteries and they still scare the ____ out of me! I have the raw cells in a bunker outside my house. With a thick flameproof lid ----

OK, lets all give our kids an HD radio with a Lithium Ion battery in it for Christmas next year (look daddy, its glowing RED like Christmas!)

 

[Radioman100]

The Best Buy I was at is in Beaumont.....91.3 KVLU is running HD (1 and 2)....103.7 JACK FM (Tower is west of Beaumont) is also running HD....neither were decoded (analogs were full scale)....IIRC also 98.5 and 107.9 are now HD iirc (I need to check with Mike Todd to verify) Same pitiful story..I have yet to see that Sony work in HD at any store I have been in.

Jack's HD is currently off the air. Has been for a while.

 

[Radioman100]

I've read that the Sony HD has a cooling fan built-in that can be very loud and bothersome if you keep it at your bedside and listen at low volumes. Can anyone confirm this?

The Sony has a cooling fan on the bottom, but it's whisper quiet. If the speakers are making any sound at all, it's completely inaudible. The fan turns off when the radio is off.

I suspect the fan has more to do with the aesthetics of the radio than anything. Rather than have the entire back of the radio perforated with cooling slits, Sony went with the fan on bottom and a fairly small square panel in the back of the radio. The cherry wood finish wraps around to the back of the radio. Unlike a lot of radios that look nice on three sides, this one looks nice from any angle - even the back.

 

[hipporadio1]

...

 

[vsa]

I've read that the Sony HD has a cooling fan built-in that can be very loud and bothersome if you keep it at your bedside and listen at low volumes. Can anyone confirm this?

The Sony has a cooling fan on the bottom, but it's whisper quiet.  If the speakers are making any sound at all, it's completely inaudible.  The fan turns off when the radio is off.

I suspect the fan has more to do with the aesthetics of the radio than anything.  Rather than have the entire back of the radio perforated with cooling slits, Sony went with the fan on bottom and a fairly small square panel in the back of the radio.  The cherry wood finish wraps around to the back of the radio.  Unlike a lot of radios that look nice on three sides, this one looks nice from any angle - even the back.

I don't have any radios with a cooling fan built in. I don't understand why the Sony HD needs a fan. It even comes with a separate "brick" outside of the cabinet.

My all-digital Roku Soundbridge M1001 Wi-Fi radio doesn't have or need a fan and feels only slightly warm when I hold its stylish all-around aluminum tube body in the palm of my hand after hours of use. And its power transformer is this tiny thing at the power plug's end. My Soundbridge is also much less expensive than the Sony and picks up thousands more digital stations.

 

[Radioman100]

I don't have any radios with a cooling fan built in. I don't understand why the Sony HD needs a fan. It even comes with a separate "brick" outside of the cabinet.

My all-digital Roku Soundbridge M1001 Wi-Fi radio doesn't have or need a fan and feels only slightly warm when I hold its stylish all-around aluminum tube body in the palm of my hand after hours of use. And its power transformer is this tiny thing at the power plug's end.

Maybe Sony just had a better idea? It's sitting here on my desk, and it's cool to the touch - not even warm - even the rear panel. The air being exhausted by the fan is ever so slightly warm.

Are you including stereo receivers in your radios without fans count? Many of them have fans, as many HDTVs do.

 

[vsa]

I don't have any radios with a cooling fan built in. I don't understand why the Sony HD needs a fan. It even comes with a separate "brick" outside of the cabinet.

My all-digital Roku Soundbridge M1001 Wi-Fi radio doesn't have or need a fan and feels only slightly warm when I hold its stylish all-around aluminum tube body in the palm of my hand after hours of use. And its power transformer is this tiny thing at the power plug's end.

Maybe Sony just had a better idea?  It's sitting here on my desk, and it's cool to the touch - not even warm - even the rear panel.  The air being exhausted by the fan is ever so slightly warm.

Are you including stereo receivers in your radios without fans count?  Many of them have fans, as many HDTVs do.

That little Sony HD tabletop better be cool - it's got a FAN spinning away inside it. That's called a "moving part" that can and will eventually wear out, besides creating noise. Why all that heat?

None of my stereo reveivers has a fan, unless you want to count my desktop computer and laptop.

If anyone ever decides to make a cellphone with HD radio, is it gonna need a fan too?

 

[hipporadio]

Hey Chuck, I'm just glad they quit putting graphic equalizers (which were the fad for a long time) on myst consumer electronics. They were nearly always used to make the sound worse, in really strange ways!

‘Like the JVC receivers from the ‘70s with “S.E.A.”—“Sound [or Spectral?] Effects Amplifier”... They were very-nice receivers with a good radio section; but MAN was that graphic EQ downright dangerous in the hands of some—especially those who just graduated from a late-60s Magnavox AstroSonic console stereo. I never saw one that was sanely-set! Combining the S.E.A. feature with the JVC’s overly-potent “Loudness” contour [in boost AND volume-spread] made for a continuous spree of speaker warranty claims.

DITTO on the fetish that infected early color TV owners, Chuck! OMG, where some down-right ghastly! I can remember our Zenith being THE ONLY one in the neighborhood that was viewable... But you’d NEVER convince the neighbors of that – blue grass was “cool”!

Interestingly, younger component stereo owners in that day were fairly-well disciplined in the external FM antenna department. MANY purchased their receivers TO PICK-UP and LISTEN to FM radio [imagine THAT!] – those days are gone, GONE, GONE... Unless you’re living the HD Fantasy :

I've read that the Sony HD has a cooling fan built-in that can be very loud and bothersome if you keep it at your bedside and listen at low volumes. Can anyone confirm this?

‘Consider it “confirmed” [despite an obvious spread of apologizim to the contrary]... That would be a big AFFIRMATIVE [check the Amazon reviews]. My neighbor just bought one. NOT a bad radio, REALLY – but there are 24-inch window fans with a similar level of ambient fatigue [considering]. Well... So goes the neighborhood – and the alleged HD noise floor! BTW... My neighbor RETURNED his [crappy AM and a wierd stereo image]... BA Receptor Redux possibly?

 

[Radioman100]

That little Sony HD tabletop better be cool - it's got a FAN spinning away inside it. That's called a "moving part" that can and will eventually wear out, besides creating noise. Why all that heat?

None of my stereo reveivers has a fan, unless you want to count my desktop computer and laptop.

If anyone ever decides to make a cellphone with HD radio, is it gonna need a fan too?

The Sony exhausts very, very little heat via the fan. It would be just fine without it. Most likely, it's a case of over-engineering, much like my first generation Sony DVD player.

Many Technics receivers contain fans as do many Sonys.

 

[Radioman100]

‘Consider it “confirmed” [despite an obvious spread of apologizim to the contrary]... That would be a big AFFIRMATIVE [check the Amazon reviews]. My neighbor just bought one. NOT a bad radio, REALLY – but there are 24-inch window fans with a similar level of ambient fatigue [considering]. Well... So goes the neighborhood – and the alleged HD noise floor! BTW... My neighbor RETURNED his... BA Receptor Redux possibly?

I read a lot of trash and misinformation on this forum, but this is an outright lie and I'm calling you on it.

If your neighbor bought one that had any audible fan noise, it's good that he returned it. It was a defective unit and not typical of the model.

 

[vsa]

‘Consider it “confirmed” [despite an obvious spread of apologizim to the contrary]... That would be a big AFFIRMATIVE [check the Amazon reviews]. My neighbor just bought one. NOT a bad radio, REALLY – but there are 24-inch window fans with a similar level of ambient fatigue [considering]. Well... So goes the neighborhood – and the alleged HD noise floor! BTW... My neighbor RETURNED his... BA Receptor Redux possibly?

I read a lot of trash on this forum, but this is an outright lie and I'm calling you on it.

If your neighbor bought one that had any audible fan noise, it's good that he returned it. It was a defective unit and not typical of the model.

Do you work for iBiquity?

For Sony?

Or does your livelihood depend on HD radio staying alive in some way, shape or form?

 

[Radioman100]

Do you work for iBiquity?

For Sony?

Or does your livelihood depend on HD radio staying alive in some way, shape or form?

No, no and no. That's no reason to sit by while a fine product is libeled for a fault it simply does not have. I have one of these sitting on my desk as I write this. It's turned all the way down (not off) and it's making no noise whatsoever. To hear any fan noise, you have to pick it up and place the fan directly to your ear.

To say the fan in this radio creates the same amount of ambient noise as a 24 inch window fan is simply an outrageous lie. Is this how desperate you are to find fault with an HD Radio that is widely praised, even by non-IBOC fans? You vsa bring up this non-issue, and hippo compares it to a huge window fan?

Simply ridiculous - and desperate.

 

[vsa]

Do you work for iBiquity?

For Sony?

Or does your livelihood depend on HD radio staying alive in some way, shape or form?

No, no and no.  That's no reason to sit by while a fine product is libeled for a fault it simply does not have.  I have one of these sitting on my desk as I write this.  It's turned all the way down (not off) and it's making no noise whatsoever.  To hear any fan noise, you have to pick it up and place the fan directly to your ear.

To say the fan in this radio creates the same amount of ambient noise as a 24 inch window fan is simply an outrageous lie.  Is this how desperate you are to find fault with an HD Radio that is widely praised, even by non-IBOC fans?  You vsa bring up this non-issue, and hippo compares it to a huge window fan?

Simply ridiculous - and desperate.

I merely asked about something I had read - fan noise from the Sony HD.

I'll ask another question then. And don't tell me it's a non issue.

What are the latest sales total figures for HD radio sales in the U-S so far? Has iBiquity reached and surpassed 300,000? 400,000? 500,000 chipsets yet since January 2004? I know about 200 radios got sold on QVC during a highly promoted event back in September.

Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[hipporadio]

I read a lot of trash and misinformation on this forum, but this is an outright lie...

Well there “THEY” go again—right back to their well-familiar ‘ole default of PERSONAL ATTACK... This time alleging that one WITH NO STAKE in Sony or HD is publishing “an outright lie” and dumping his “trash” into this forum. The beauty of trash is in the eye of the beholder Mr. Apologist... Or “trash” to ONE might be “treasure” to many others.

Comparison to “a 24-inch widow fan” IS RHETORICAL... Or did you just “innocently” miss the final qualification in that line: “[considering]”... Or have matters regarding HD Radio become SO-desperate that your full-body razor-burn is showing?

Furthermore, need-I remind you of my overall summation of that Sony product?

NOT a bad radio, REALLY

I find it most interesting that you were so-consumed with your personal attack on window fan analogies, that you conveniently-ignored the most-relevant observation regarding the Sony HD radio—one from an actual 45-year-old male customer who purchased that product FOR IT’S HD CAPABILITIES... Later TO RETURN IT because...

...[crappy AM and a wierd stereo image]...

The “cheap seats” are waiting for your response...

 

[Mike Walker]

"Crappy AM"? Well maybe. I wouldn't be surprised. How many great AMs are there out there? But "weird stereo image"? That CAN'T be the fault of the radio! Stereo image is determined by great (or lousy) engineering at the station, source material, bitrate, etc. So unless you're talking about a characteristic of the SPEAKERS employed, I have no idea what "weird stereo image" means! (Maybe a "stereo enhancement" circuit, which manipulates phase to make it seem the speakers are more widely spaced???)

 

[hipporadio]

"Crappy AM"? Well maybe. I wouldn't be surprised. How many great AMs are there out there? But "weird stereo image"? ...I have no idea what "weird stereo image" means! (Maybe a "stereo enhancement" circuit, which manipulates phase to make it seem the speakers are more widely spaced???)

‘EXACTLY what the user who returned the radio, and I [via my post] was referring to. ‘Seems the Sony “executive-style” HD radio features a “enhanced stereo” mode which defaults to “ON” right out of the box. Defeating it requires a daunting manipulation of that radio’s confusing menu structure. Both of the former observations have also been well-noted in consumer reviews – AS WAS THE FAN NOISE—even by an Amazon customer who LOVED the radio and published a FOUR-STAR review! I also observed the “non-existent” fan noise, and scratched my head over it’s incorporation of a destined-to-fail part which seemed unnecessary—given its fairly-large form-factor and external AC-to-DC power transformer. I own a hefty SONY ES-series A/V receiver with an internal power supply that satisfies the appetite of FIVE rather-large power amplifiers and NO SHORTAGE of DSP components... NO internal fans there!

Unfortunately, the unsatisfied owner was NOT aware that this feature was menu-optional before he chose to return it... I know – READ the darn instructions, but this is “Typical Joe Consumer” as an example; and we ARE musing about the habits of those NUMEROUS souls that have abused graphic EQ and color television settings in this thread... Yet another example of the need to K.I.S.S. I guess.

As for “crappy AM from a Sony”... You’re NO newsboy from Walton’s Mountain, Mike! I’m WELL-AWARE of the rise [70s/early-80s] and fall of AM-agility within the Sony product line... I’ve owned about a dozen of their radios spanning 30-plus years! ...But I thought “HD” was supposed to change that... I thought “HD” was supposed “to save AM radio”!!! :

 

[Mike Walker]

Anybody who said "HD will save AM Radio" is a moron. Radio is about programming, not technology. Having said that, there's no denying that ALL media is "going digital", and it's a real minus to be the only remaining analog-only medium. AM SHOULD have a digital option, but I'm convinced that this ain't it!

If you'll look back, I didn't say "crappy AM from a Sony", I merely said "Crappy AM" is nothing new. From Sony. From others. AM sensitivity is almost an oxymoron when considering anything other than an enthusiast-oriented radio like the new Kaito KA2100/CCRadioSWP, Eton E5, Grundig Yacht Boy 400, SuperRadio III, or an expensive communications receiver.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

"Crappy AM"? Well maybe. I wouldn't be surprised. How many great AMs are there out there? But "weird stereo image"? That CAN'T be the fault of the radio! Stereo image is determined by great (or lousy) engineering at the station, source material, bitrate, etc. So unless you're talking about a characteristic of the SPEAKERS employed, I have no idea what "weird stereo image" means! (Maybe a "stereo enhancement" circuit, which manipulates phase to make it seem the speakers are more widely spaced???)

I don't know what he meant either - but one time when a local AM was broadcasting HD with NO analog - I made a tape of what the analog sounded like with no modulation:

(1) Unless I was perfectly on frequency, sideband hash was very audible, and increased very rapidly as I tuned more and more off center. It was at full volume only 500 Hz off center frequency. So - phase modulation of the 5 to 10 kHz sidebands is ineffective for analog tuned radios, because practically nobody is going to tune carefully enough for the phase modulation to cancel.

(2) Perfectly on channel - and this is where the wierd imaging may come in - there was a peculiar "warble". The best I can figure - it was assymmetry in the IBOC sidebands somehow mixing back into the analog audio (duh - why didn't Ibiquity think of this!) Mind you - this tuner is perfectly aligned, the IF is ceramic filter - in really good shape. Listening very carefully - I can hear the warble on ALL local IBOC stations under their audio, when I am perfectly tuned. Not a trace of it on analog only stations.

BAD engineering on Ibiquity's part, BAD system, it should never have been approved in its present form.

 

[Radioman100]

I read a lot of trash and misinformation on this forum, but this is an outright lie...

Well there “THEY” go again—right back to their well-familiar ‘ole default of PERSONAL ATTACK... This time alleging that one WITH NO STAKE in Sony or HD is publishing “an outright lie” and dumping his “trash” into this forum. The beauty of trash is in the eye of the beholder Mr. Apologist... Or “trash” to ONE might be “treasure” to many others.

Comparison to “a 24-inch widow fan” IS RHETORICAL... Or did you just “innocently” miss the final qualification in that line: “[considering]”... Or have matters regarding HD Radio become SO-desperate that your full-body razor-burn is showing?

Furthermore, need-I remind you of my overall summation of that Sony product?

NOT a bad radio, REALLY

I find it most interesting that you were so-consumed with your personal attack on window fan analogies, that you conveniently-ignored the most-relevant observation regarding the Sony HD radio—one from an actual 45-year-old male customer who purchased that product FOR IT’S HD CAPABILITIES... Later TO RETURN IT because...

...[crappy AM and a wierd stereo image]...

The “cheap seats” are waiting for your response...

However you want to qualify it, your post was written to convey the image that the radio has a loud fan comparable to a large window fan. Nothing could be further from the truth. It was obviously written to be misleading.

Also, the "weird stereo image" mode does exist, but its default mode is off. At least it was with mine. I will grant that it's really annoying. Like Hughes CS Circle Surround on steroids. I turned it on and quickly turned it back off. Very easy to do, and the change is permanent. It stays turned off even if the radio is unplugged. On is NOT the default state for this feature.