Sony XDRF1HD HD Radio Tuner by Sony
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Our Price: $499.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Sony XDRF1HD HD Radio Tuner
Digital camera Review: Amazing FM tuner
Summary: 5 Stars
This is, quite simply, the best FM tuner available for anything remotely near this price, possibly the best FM tuner, period. The HD-Radio aspect is a nice to have feature, but you can completely disregard it and this is still an amazing tuner.
Last weekend I spent a few hours going through the whole FM band. With the exception of neighbors to some of the local HD-Radio stations (which heavily pollute the neighboring channels), I was able to hear at least one station on every single channel. This was using just the included wire dipole antenna in my living room. I got very good, near-local signals from stations 50 miles away; marginal, but listenable signals from 120 miles away; and very fringe but understandable signals from 200 miles away.
Adjacent channel interference (again, with the exception of the local HD-Radio stations) is simply not an issue on this radio. No other FM radio I've tried, and I have several good ones, comes even close to this kind of performance. Sony has hit a grand slam with this unit.
The AM side is decent, but not outstanding. It will do a perfectly acceptable job with local stations. Deep fringe daytime reception is not its strong suit. It does require use of an external AM loop antenna (which is included) that must be placed at least a foot away from the tuner. The plus is that this makes it easy to rotate the antenna for best reception.
On the negative side for some, this is a "tuner" not a "radio". It does not contain an audio amplifier or speakers. It's designed to be plugged in to a stereo system. I run mine using some powered speakers designed for use with an iPod. (Adapter plug required)
Overall, I am very happy with the XDR-F1HD. I've recommended it to several friends, at least one of whom was so impressed he quickly ordered a second one.
Digital camera Review: Amazing Selectivity and Sensitivity
Summary: 5 Stars
This tuner has superb sensitivity and possibly the best selectivity of any FM tuner on the market. I think the form factor on the FM bandwidth is around 1.15 or 1.2 (6db/60db). On FM ou can hear stations that are 200 khz from everything but your very strongest local station (unless a station is in HD and is exceeding their 200 khz bandwidth). And that is for analog reception.
The small size is very nice for conserving desk space.
For FM it is an excellent deal. FM radio enthusiasts would buy it for $300-$500.
On AM it is ok but not as good as your typical $100+ shortwave radio at receiving analog signals.
Downsides: it runs very hot. Also HD radio is destroying the FM (and AM) dial by increasing the bandwidth that a radio station takes. One used to be able to hear FM radio stations that are 200 khz apart, but now a local HD radio station will cause a white noise interference that wipes out a station 200 khz from it. You won't realize it since it sounds like static and the signal is generally just below the threshold of the tuner's signal strength meter. In Philadelphia, in the past several years, HD radio has decreased the number of open FM frequencies from around 15 to 2.
Digital camera Review: Amazing little tuner!
Summary: 5 Stars
This under $100 Sony tuner sounds considerably better than the AM/FM section of my $3K Sunfire receiver.
The fact that it pulls in HD broadcasts only makes it more of a steal. You won't believe the sound quality
and soundstage this little marvel puts out. Good things do come in small packages.
Digital camera Review: Amazing tuner
Summary: 5 Stars
Even if you are of the "Anti-HD" crowd, you will like this tuner. The sensitivity and selectivity of it is nothing short than stellar. I am able to hear stations next to locals that no other tuner I own can receive. The audio quality is superb, with no noise, hiss, or hum from the unit when tuned into a station broadcasting dead air (hello WDOM). Some important notes about the tuner to know.
1)The tuner does not store it's memory for more than 2-3 minutes after AC power is disconnected. There is a fix on the internet that involves replacing the "memory storage" capacitor. Just be careful you don't get one of too high value and destroy the power supply.
2)You can't directly enter a frequency. Simple fix for this is to save some presets scattered throughout the band. Its quicker to preset jump and tune from that point.
3)You can't disable the HD blending without modification. This is troublesome for when you are listening to a station where the chief doesn't care about the HD signal and it sounds like garbage.
4)It does put out a lot of heat. A minor fan modification may actually help this. Do not cover the top vent holes or put it in a cubby when running it.
Those notes aside, this is truly a radio guy's dream tuner, and an amazing performer.
Well worth the skimpy price for it.
Also a quick note: it has been noted some HD radios do AM stereo. This one does not.
Digital camera Review: Amazing!
Summary: 5 Stars
I had read the rave reviews, but I wasn't prepared for just how good this tuner sounds. Incredibly low noise, great sensitivity. I also live near a fairly powerful FM transmitter that steps on other farther away stations on other radios, but not this tuner! I also got better reception with the included wire antenna than with my old amplified antenna. The extra HD stations are just a bonus! This has to be the audio bargain of the decade.