Saturday, August 05, 2006
HD Radio-DEFECTIVE TECHNOLOGY-WHAT USERS SAY
don't fall for the hype
Written by mrcomment, Las Vegas on July 14, 2005
Disappointing & pricey.Digital range is less than analog.Digital AM has horrible artifacts.Digital FM wipes out rimshot stations.Digital FM makes multipath worse.Gen#1 receivers don't work with multicast audio.Current receiver won't pick up future surround sound.
HD Radio HypeWritten by Toby Williams, Santa Clara, CA on June 16, 2005
I was terribly disappointed with the Kenwood HD tuner. It's probably an okay product, but HD radio itself is not.Several San Francisco area stations are sending HD radio. Unfortunately I get a lot of digital breakup when I listen to HD radio while driving around. The analog signals are all fine. The audio quality doesn't seem to be any better than the analog. It seems very compressed and doesn't sound like a CD at all. It might sound a little better than my XM radio, but not much. Don't waste your money on HD radio. I thought I was going to get more program choices, but that's not the case. I get the same old stuff, and it doesn't really sound enough better to justify the expense. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I put my money down for this tuner. I'll stick with XM.Toby Williams
Written by Timothy, Newport, Mi on July 15, 2006
tuner gets terrible reception, hd fades in and out at only 28 miles from detroit, had to reset the balance every time i started my truck, very disappointed with this unit, sent it back for another brand.
Junk compared to original recepter radio
by Jerry747 - May 2, 2006
Pros:
Second speaker, hd capable
Cons:
Nonexistant fm tuner sensitivity, ridiculous power brick.
The disappointments are weak treble, poor sensitivity in AM and FM (the inexpensive Sony "shelf system" that it replaced has much better FM sensitivity), and the inability to force to analog mode. The latter is not much of a problem here as even in this large metro area (Baltimore-Washington), there are only a few HD stations in range; I can't receive Washington stations, about 40 miles away.
Had a chance to use this radio for awhile. Im not really sure about the glowing reviews I keep reading for it here. Im more with the guy who said its just as worse as a regular radio cause I cant get no reception in my office either. "HD" indeed.
There should be the ability to keep the station in analog mode, in the event the digital signal is marginal. Otherwise, the radio blends in and out of digital mode, and if the station is not utilizing the 8.4 second delay in their analog signal, the audio jumps back and forth like a skipping CD player.
It takes about 5 seconds after you tune-in to a station for the radio to acquire the digital signal (it instantly acquires the analog signal). There is no analog version for the additional digital channels, so you hear about 5 seconds of nothing before the radio tunes-in to one of these channels.
So it sounds like good FM not CD quality audio.
The reception is lousy though. I can't pick up any HD Radio stations in my office and it is worse than my analog radio for regular stations. Also seems to get stuck when I press too many buttons. Save your money and buy several year's worth of XM or Sirius.
hd limitations
Written by teery, kokomo, in on February 9, 2006
i live about 50 miles from several HD transmitters. i purchased the HD tuner for am reception. my experiance was disappointing and ive returned my tuner and radio. i travel over a wide area of central indiana and the HD signal was intermittant even though the signal was strong. 50,000 watt wibc signal is clear during daylight hours, however the HD signal would come and go and as a result there was a 2 second delay which drives you crazy. the signal kept shifting from HD to analog. also wnde signal is broadcast in HD but you have to be with 25 miles of the transmitter for it to work effectively even though the analog signal is clear for 50 miles. this defeats the purpose of the HD radio as i was trying to eleminate drift and interference. the bottom line is that the HD signal strength is much weaker than the analog signal. so, the HD tuner is only functioal for a limited range. also, when you attach the tuner you can no longer dial up weaker distant stations manualy. if you live near a major metropolitan area the HD radio is great. if you travel 25-50 away from the transmitter you really dont have HD capability anymore.
By: James P., Somich 05/26/06Overall rating: The Receptor HD is a good example of an "early adopter" product. It is a good idea, not quite ready for prime time. The sensitivity in the HD mode leaves a lot to be desired. I had to use a rooftop antenna to pickup local HD stations. The price is way too high for what it is, but that is to be expected with a brand new product like this. The sound tends to be on the bassy side (which some people may like). This is certainly not high fidelity and it is certainly not CD quality. The miniscule data rates for HD radio permit only an "acceptable" sound quality. This is a good start, but HD radio has a long way to go before it will be accepted by the masses.
Here is the link:
www.radioshack.com
Ease of useValueReliabilityPerformance
Written by mrcomment, Las Vegas on July 14, 2005
Disappointing & pricey.Digital range is less than analog.Digital AM has horrible artifacts.Digital FM wipes out rimshot stations.Digital FM makes multipath worse.Gen#1 receivers don't work with multicast audio.Current receiver won't pick up future surround sound.
HD Radio HypeWritten by Toby Williams, Santa Clara, CA on June 16, 2005
I was terribly disappointed with the Kenwood HD tuner. It's probably an okay product, but HD radio itself is not.Several San Francisco area stations are sending HD radio. Unfortunately I get a lot of digital breakup when I listen to HD radio while driving around. The analog signals are all fine. The audio quality doesn't seem to be any better than the analog. It seems very compressed and doesn't sound like a CD at all. It might sound a little better than my XM radio, but not much. Don't waste your money on HD radio. I thought I was going to get more program choices, but that's not the case. I get the same old stuff, and it doesn't really sound enough better to justify the expense. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I put my money down for this tuner. I'll stick with XM.Toby Williams
Written by Timothy, Newport, Mi on July 15, 2006
tuner gets terrible reception, hd fades in and out at only 28 miles from detroit, had to reset the balance every time i started my truck, very disappointed with this unit, sent it back for another brand.
Junk compared to original recepter radio
by Jerry747 - May 2, 2006
Pros:
Second speaker, hd capable
Cons:
Nonexistant fm tuner sensitivity, ridiculous power brick.
The disappointments are weak treble, poor sensitivity in AM and FM (the inexpensive Sony "shelf system" that it replaced has much better FM sensitivity), and the inability to force to analog mode. The latter is not much of a problem here as even in this large metro area (Baltimore-Washington), there are only a few HD stations in range; I can't receive Washington stations, about 40 miles away.
Had a chance to use this radio for awhile. Im not really sure about the glowing reviews I keep reading for it here. Im more with the guy who said its just as worse as a regular radio cause I cant get no reception in my office either. "HD" indeed.
There should be the ability to keep the station in analog mode, in the event the digital signal is marginal. Otherwise, the radio blends in and out of digital mode, and if the station is not utilizing the 8.4 second delay in their analog signal, the audio jumps back and forth like a skipping CD player.
It takes about 5 seconds after you tune-in to a station for the radio to acquire the digital signal (it instantly acquires the analog signal). There is no analog version for the additional digital channels, so you hear about 5 seconds of nothing before the radio tunes-in to one of these channels.
So it sounds like good FM not CD quality audio.
The reception is lousy though. I can't pick up any HD Radio stations in my office and it is worse than my analog radio for regular stations. Also seems to get stuck when I press too many buttons. Save your money and buy several year's worth of XM or Sirius.
hd limitations
Written by teery, kokomo, in on February 9, 2006
i live about 50 miles from several HD transmitters. i purchased the HD tuner for am reception. my experiance was disappointing and ive returned my tuner and radio. i travel over a wide area of central indiana and the HD signal was intermittant even though the signal was strong. 50,000 watt wibc signal is clear during daylight hours, however the HD signal would come and go and as a result there was a 2 second delay which drives you crazy. the signal kept shifting from HD to analog. also wnde signal is broadcast in HD but you have to be with 25 miles of the transmitter for it to work effectively even though the analog signal is clear for 50 miles. this defeats the purpose of the HD radio as i was trying to eleminate drift and interference. the bottom line is that the HD signal strength is much weaker than the analog signal. so, the HD tuner is only functioal for a limited range. also, when you attach the tuner you can no longer dial up weaker distant stations manualy. if you live near a major metropolitan area the HD radio is great. if you travel 25-50 away from the transmitter you really dont have HD capability anymore.
By: James P., Somich 05/26/06Overall rating: The Receptor HD is a good example of an "early adopter" product. It is a good idea, not quite ready for prime time. The sensitivity in the HD mode leaves a lot to be desired. I had to use a rooftop antenna to pickup local HD stations. The price is way too high for what it is, but that is to be expected with a brand new product like this. The sound tends to be on the bassy side (which some people may like). This is certainly not high fidelity and it is certainly not CD quality. The miniscule data rates for HD radio permit only an "acceptable" sound quality. This is a good start, but HD radio has a long way to go before it will be accepted by the masses.
Here is the link:
www.radioshack.com
Ease of useValueReliabilityPerformance
