304 of 309 people found below review helpful:
5.0 away from 5 stars Great FM & HD TUNER, May 21, 2008
This review is from: Sony XDRF1HD HD Radio Tuner (Electronics)
First of all the, yes, that is a tuner, Not just a radio, and Amazon should correct that! Also, HD radio shouldn't be Hi-def radio. The HD would mean Hybrid Digital. So don't assume you may have better sound in HD than analog radio! Thus,
I have always been considering getting an HD radio to test the format. For audiophile, I checked several audiophile review sites for a Sangean tuners, and then they weren't getting too good of reviews. Also, their prices are $200-250.
Then I stumbled upon a critique from this tuner, and the improved it really is, saying the FM analog portion alone could the purchase price.
I be required to agree, the FM tuner is way better when compared to tuner within my $1000 PrePro! Analog reception picks up more stations and the sound is great! Haven't heard analog FM sound this good considering that the 60's! Analog AM is usually more advanced than my Prepro (though not by much). Great sound, and only $99 ! It's a steal, grab it before they jack up market price! Audiophie FM tuners prefer $200 & up. All this performance, and it's really in regards to the scale a car or truck stereo!
There are about 20 FM HD stations through Chicago, it pulls all of them in great, aside from one, which keeps switching between analog and HD. A few AM HD stations in Chicago. It will show which are HD, but none pros had enough strength to change the tuner from analog to HD, then i couldn't judge AM HD.
Now for things that need improving: there's 40 presets; 20 for FM and 20 for AM....the ideal for FM and several for AM. If you need to hear a HD station in analog, there's no path to switch it back up in analog, you have to listen in HD. The dial glows just like a cellphone, which can be great as long as you're utilizing it, but when you turn it off, still glows, say for example a night light within a dark room. When powering down, it should dim. You can actually dim it down during the menu so that it doesn't glow after dark, merchandise online as you turn it on, you are unable to see clearly because it's dark. Who wants to set the dimmer everytime you turn it on and off?
Overall, it's in excess of worth purchasing.
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