[Brad]

9/10 condition.  Maybe 4 hours of use (Houston is sadly no longer a Mecca for FM  )
I'm the original owner and it's appx 2 years old.

Price is $250, ground shipping to lower 48 included.  Paypal preferred and no fee charged.
Feedback on the 'gon:  User  bbakertx

PM with questions or if interested.

Brad in Houston

edit - sold, thanks

[Bear]

wasn't this less than a hundred bucks new?

[doug s.]

wasn't this less than a hundred bucks new?

yes, but good luck trying to find one for <$250 now.  i yust sold a n.i.b. xdr on ebay about two weeks ago; high bid was $544.     a coupla others sold for >$400; over $300 is not at all uncommon...

doug s.

[Brad]

The cheapest I could find one listed used was $325.  New was $699.
So yes, I thought $250 shipped/paypalled was fair.

[doug s.]

The cheapest I could find one listed used was $325.  New was $699.
So yes, I thought $250 shipped/paypalled was fair.

you are correct re: what these are selling for now, but when new, they were retail $149, then reduced to $99.

glws,

doug s.

[bregez]

yes, but good luck trying to find one for <$250 now.  i yust sold a n.i.b. xdr on ebay about two weeks ago; high bid was $544.     a coupla others sold for >$400; over $300 is not at all uncommon...

doug s.

I really don't get why these things are so valuable.  Who is dropping $400 plus on a SS tuner in a plastic shell that tends to overheat.   I do have one and it sounds nice for a $90 tuner, but it does have some design issues. I was hoping Sony would come out with version 2 fixing the issues but that is unlikely.  I think the future of HD radio is in question.   

Brad

[doug s.]

Good luck on that one you'll need it.

yup, that's why it sold in 14 hours.     as i said, this was a good price in today's market.

doug s.

[doug s.]

I really don't get why these things are so valuable.  Who is dropping $400 plus on a SS tuner in a plastic shell that tends to overheat.   I do have one and it sounds nice for a $90 tuner, but it does have some design issues. I was hoping Sony would come out with version 2 fixing the issues but that is unlikely.  I think the future of HD radio is in question.   

Brad

personally, i think there's a plethora of wintage tuna that can be purchased for <$90 that sound far better.  as to why folks are now shelling out big bucks for these, the simple fact is they are far and away the best at receiving weak signals of any tuna extant.  and, they are nla new.  when it comes to grabbing difficult signal, they surpass well-known dx hounds such as the sansui tu-x1, mcintosh mr78, akai at-v04, onkyo t9090ll, to name a few.  and most folks only care about clean noise-free reception, not ultimate sound quality. 

re: fm hybrid digital (hd), i hope it dies out, as it sounds worse than analog fm, and its signal pollutes reception of adjacent stations w/noise.

doug s.

[doug s.]

I really don't get why these things are so valuable.  Who is dropping $400 plus on a SS tuner in a plastic shell that tends to overheat.   I do have one and it sounds nice for a $90 tuner, but it does have some design issues. I was hoping Sony would come out with version 2 fixing the issues but that is unlikely.  I think the future of HD radio is in question.   

Brad

ps - put your xdr-f1hd on 1" feet; it will reduce the internal temps by 10-15 degrees.

doug s.

[Wayner]

I really don't get why these things are so valuable.  Who is dropping $400 plus on a SS tuner in a plastic shell that tends to overheat.   I do have one and it sounds nice for a $90 tuner, but it does have some design issues. I was hoping Sony would come out with version 2 fixing the issues but that is unlikely.  I think the future of HD radio is in question.   

Brad

The future of HD is dead already. Go find me a current-in-production tuner. I can't find one.

Wayner

[macrojack]

HD seems redundant. If I want to listen to digital radio, I don't need the airwaves. I can just choose one of 10,000 stations worldwide and stream it through my computer. If HD is meant for people who don't have a computer with internet service and do live where HD radio can be captured, they have carved out a very narrow market segment.

All that said, I bought my Sony simply for the reception it provides out here where mountains play a big part of the reception picture. It picks up KVNF which nothing else I own can summon.

However, if someone else thinks they need my precious little Sony more than I do, I am willing to sell it for $1000. It has over 1000 hours of break-in and I will sign the bottom plate for you at no additional cost. Sorry, no warranty. But also no problem.

[BFitz]

The future of HD is dead already. Go find me a current-in-production tuner. I can't find one.

Wayner

AM/FM tuners are being made by the millions, but run on 12V (supplied with almost every new car sold on the planet)

The bad news in that respect is almost every new FM tuner you can find as a component is based on chips made for car radio use. The specs on those compared to vintage stuff is quite relaxed.

Yes, then there is the more serious FM tuners for high end - mega buck tuners from MD, Accuphase, McIntosh, Fanfare, etc, all typically well over $1000.   

[bregez]

ps - put your xdr-f1hd on 1" feet; it will reduce the internal temps by 10-15 degrees.

doug s.

That is only one problem, the other is the annoying display that doubles as a night light because it won't turn off, the inability to save stations to memory if it is unplugged, the annoying flashing 12:00 like an old VCR, etc.  A peek at the inside reveals the lackluster build quality that resembles a first run prototype.  I know there are fixes for all of these but the only reason I bought one is to listen to NASCAR radio (which is an HD station) on the deck in the summertime.  I must say I do enjoy the commercial free HD music stations as background noise, and for that I can overlook all of its shortcomings.  But I would never use this thing to listen critically.

Brad

[Wayner]

Almost all HD broadcasts around here are merely simulcasts of the regular analog programing of the station. With some weak or distant stations, you can here the tuner flip from HD to normal FM (which can be very annoying). Only the rich MPR stations have other channel programming (HD1, HD2, etc.) except for KQRS, a Minneapolis classic rock station.

BTW, I own 3 HD tuners, the Sony XDR-F1HD, Sony XDR- S3HD (a complete radio including speakers), and the now discontinued Onkyo T-4555 multi-format tuner (also XM and Sirius, with additional antennas, tuners).

XRD-S3HD:



Wayner

[doug s.]

AM/FM tuners are being made by the millions, but run on 12V (supplied with almost every new car sold on the planet)

The bad news in that respect is almost every new FM tuner you can find as a component is based on chips made for car radio use. The specs on those compared to vintage stuff is quite relaxed.

Yes, then there is the more serious FM tuners for high end - mega buck tuners from MD, Accuphase, McIntosh, Fanfare, etc, all typically well over $1000.

unfortunately, what bob says is true - if you want to buy a new  fm tuna that actually sounds good, you are going to be spending serious money.  and often, the sound still won't be any better than (or even as good as) the wintage stuff.

fortunately, though, there is a plethora of used wintage tuna at reasonable prices that have good reception, (tho not like the sony xdr), and sound great. 

doug s.

[Doublej]

Wow, I didn't realize this unit would become a collectors item.

I guess I need to find the one I bought and put it on E-Bay for $500.

My recollection of the unit was it has a phenomenal ability to pull in stations but soundwise it was worse than my Onkyo T-9.