HD radio

plaf26 · « **on:** 2 Jul 2008, 04:59 pm »

If anybody is looking for a cheap way to try out HD radio through their AVA equipment, go over to theaudiocritic.com/blog and check out the Sony XRD-F1HD. It's gotten some pretty good reviews. aa

KS · « **Reply #1 on:** 2 Jul 2008, 05:36 pm »

That looks very interesting. I'd like to see it compared to the Sangean HDT-1X which has the advantage of a digital output to connect to a DAC. (An internet stream at 64k through a Sound blaster USB-to-digital converter ($50) into a good DAC to the music system is near-CD quality and can sound quite good, also.)

The $100 (delivered) price for the Sony looks current. The Sangean is selling for $170~$250 plus shipping.

By the way, HD does not mean high definition nor hybrid digital here. It is just two letters hoping to achieve an impressive connotation. Canadian broadcasters are starting to broadcast in HD. I listen to CBC2 a lot, and hope they start HD.

I think I'll order the Sony from a retailer with a liberal return policy. If it picks up a clear signal here in my fringe area, great, I've got a keeper. I listen to Classic King FM and KPLU jazz often--both offer HD broadcasting.

Wayner · « **Reply #2 on:** 2 Jul 2008, 05:53 pm »

If anyone is trying to do a seach, the model number is wrong. It's actually XDR-F1HD. It's also not a radio. It is a tuner. Amplification is required.

Wayner

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #3 on:** 2 Jul 2008, 05:59 pm »

.........Sony XDRF1HD

mcullinan · « **Reply #4 on:** 2 Jul 2008, 06:07 pm »

First of all regular radio blows. Now they are going to give you more channels of more blowing stations. So what! Get Sirius or XM and open yer eyes. Wayy more music than you will ever hear on regular radio,
Mike

sbrtoy · « **Reply #5 on:** 2 Jul 2008, 06:55 pm »

Quote from: mcullinan on 2 Jul 2008, 06:07 pm

First of all regular radio blows. Now they are going to give you more channels of more blowing stations. So what! Get Sirius or XM and open yer eyes. Wayy more music than you will ever hear on regular radio,
Mike

If you are going to pay more for additional hardware, sat definitely has a lot more going for it...I love XM in my car, if they ever go to a lossless or even high quality format I would dime up for it at home too. There is only one decent HD radio station here in Denver and it still has commercials galore.

avahifi_lj · « **Reply #6 on:** 2 Jul 2008, 08:27 pm »

Hi:

I have the Sangean HDT-1, and it's an okay tuner. The digital sound is not all that great, but I use the tuner for background music. My only real complaint is that the tuner will select the digital signal over the analog one. Note that the newer HDT-1X has a digital output, and has the ability to force the tuner into analog mode so that you can select the best sounding source.

I think my old Dynaco tuner is better sounding, but it puts out a LOT of heat....

Larry

Wayner · « **Reply #7 on:** 2 Jul 2008, 08:57 pm »

Mike,

That's very negative. But I tend to agree with you buddy. Regular radio does "blow" but that varies from area to area. FM in Minnesota is actually pretty good. We have several "world class" stations iin our area. One is KQRS which plays classic rock and has a fantastic morning show. Listen to it live on the internet. Another station is Cities 97(.1) which plays more of todays progessive, alternitive type rock. We also have a couple of good NPR stations, but I'm not on any side that really connects with government sponcered radio (or TV). It's just goes against my "free enterprise" grain.

I've heard radio in other area's like Florida where the DJ's sound like absolute dopes. "We're really hip, man, how bout you" kind of crap. On the other hand,I don't like the idea of paying $10 a month to listen to something I can get (kind of) for free.

Wayner

johsti · « **Reply #8 on:** 2 Jul 2008, 09:46 pm »

Quote from: mcullinan on 2 Jul 2008, 06:07 pm

First of all regular radio blows. Now they are going to give you more channels of more blowing stations. So what! Get Sirius or XM and open yer eyes. Wayy more music than you will ever hear on regular radio,
Mike

Yeah, regular radio blows, but some markets are better than others. Satellite has the content and different genres, but I canceled my Sirius subscription because of the poor SQ. It even sounded bad on my stock car stereo while being drowned out with road noise. Couldn't stand it.

Here in the Bay Area, there are some very good HD stations. Some stations offer multi broadcasting with zero commercials and better music (IMHO) than the regular FM broadcasts. The SQ is much better than satellite, and it is free if you have a tuner. I guess satellite is worth it for the talk radio, but I could not enjoy the music.

sbrtoy · « **Reply #9 on:** 2 Jul 2008, 09:53 pm »

One thing very cool about sat is that I hear bands not even signed yet and music that would never get airplay even on the most progressive commercial radio stations regardless if they are HD or not. I listen mostly to alternative rock however there I also enjoy the great jazz and classical stations breaking the genres down into multiple channels with individual focus. I doubt there is any metro area left that has over 5 jazz stations though I may be wrong...

Wayner · « **Reply #10 on:** 2 Jul 2008, 10:12 pm »

sbrtoy,

No, your not wrong. Very few jazz stations anywhere.

mcullinan · « **Reply #11 on:** 2 Jul 2008, 11:27 pm »

Quote from: johsti on 2 Jul 2008, 09:46 pm

Quote from: mcullinan on 2 Jul 2008, 06:07 pm
First of all regular radio blows. Now they are going to give you more channels of more blowing stations. So what! Get Sirius or XM and open yer eyes. Wayy more music than you will ever hear on regular radio,
Mike

Yeah, regular radio blows, but some markets are better than others. Satellite has the content and different genres, but I canceled my Sirius subscription because of the poor SQ. It even sounded bad on my stock car stereo while being drowned out with road noise. Couldn't stand it.

Here in the Bay Area, there are some very good HD stations. Some stations offer multi broadcasting with zero commercials and better music (IMHO) than the regular FM broadcasts. The SQ is much better than satellite, and it is free if you have a tuner. I guess satellite is worth it for the talk radio, but I could not enjoy the music.

Siriusly, I dont think the sound quality is that bad. (yuck yuck) You can upsample the signal through a DAC (I run my Sirius account on the internet to my Squeezebox. Its an xtra 2.99 a month to get a higher quality bit rate which is 128 CBR Windows Media) and in the car its not so important with all the road noise and such. Its definitely not CD quality, but I am hoping that some day they up the bit rate. And I have to agree that there are so many bands that I have been introduced to from the different stations... I have the Grateful Dead playing constantly, Faction, New Wave, Jam Band, Howard Stern, Pulse, Punk Station, Jazz and Blues.
Great choices.
Mike

dB Cooper · « **Reply #12 on:** 3 Jul 2008, 11:40 am »

Up the bitrate? They can't, not without more spectrum, which they don't have.
I enjoy my Sirius but don't listen critically, it's mainly for the car.

Brett Buck · « **Reply #13 on:** 4 Jul 2008, 04:16 am »

Quote from: dB Cooper on 3 Jul 2008, 11:40 am

Up the bitrate? They can't, not without more spectrum, which they don't have.
I enjoy my Sirius but don't listen critically, it's mainly for the car.

Once the merger w/XM goes through, it *may* be possible to divide up the spectrum better since it's clear that there are a bunch of duplicate channels. But as it stands, it's definitely doesn't meet even minimal mid-fi standards.

Brett

dB Cooper · « **Reply #14 on:** 4 Jul 2008, 04:47 pm »

Doable- but at the cost of obsoleting current radios?
I enjoy my Sirius, but I agree with you on the SQ- the quality would have to improve significantly to match even so-so FM (played through even a moderately revealing audio system.)

Dan Kolton · « **Reply #15 on:** 8 Sep 2008, 12:25 am »

Just hooked up my new Sony XDRF-1HD. It sounds great on analogue FM, and receives a desireable station I can't get on my Dynaco FM5. It is almost as good sounding as the FM5 (Frank's mod). Pretty hard to beat for $50, and it does get AM as well as FM. I have no HD stations available to which I'd spend any time listening.

sueata1 · « **Reply #16 on:** 8 Sep 2008, 02:52 am »

Can ya hook it up to your preamp,, does it have rca L - R outs????
Or how would ya do it??

Happy listening,,

mel

plaf26 · « **Reply #17 on:** 8 Sep 2008, 03:12 am »

Yup, that's the only way you CAN do it. It is not a self-contained "radio" with amp and speakers. It's a stereo tuner that needs to have its left and right RCA jacks plugged into the "Tuner" input of a pre-amp or integrated amp. Just like a Dynaco FM-3, FM-5 or the venerable old Marantz 10B.

Toka · « **Reply #18 on:** 8 Sep 2008, 03:45 am »

The Sony is a nice unit. Hopefully Sony (or somebody else) will release a unit that takes the good here and fixes some of the quirks (like not being able to force analog reception if an HD signal is present). There is no reason why a great sounding tuner can't be made today, but it seems nobody wants to do it.

plaf26 · « **Reply #19 on:** 8 Sep 2008, 06:22 am »

There is a detailed review of the Sony on The Audio Critic webzine which gives directions for adding a switch to force analog reception. It involves cutting a circuit trace and soldering the switch leads. I'm too chicken to do it myself. My eyes are not as sharp and my hands are not as steady as they once were.