The Sony XDR-F1HD is a very nice little HD Radio tuner. It is not a standalone radio, it does not have an amplifier or speakers. It is meant to connect to your current amplifier or receiver. (Sony also makes standalone units, if you prefer.)The sound quality is excellent - no, AMAZING. After listening to HD radio, you can't go back to regular FM broadcast.
So, what is HD radio? It is digitally-broadcast radio, CD quality. It is free, because it is over-the-air. And most stations in your area are already broadcasting with it. All you need is a tuner and antenna.
Furthermore, since digital broadcasts take less bandwidth, stations can broadcast multiple lineups/channels/streams at the same time. Nearly all of the stations in my area broadcast at least two different channels, and many broadcast three. Usually, they also broadcast song/artist ID, which shows up on the LCD panel of the tuner.
I used this for some time in my home, then ended up hooking it to a Linux-based server to automatically record a couple of NPR programs. (If you've read my HDHomeRun review, you know that I'm usually not home to catch these things when they're on.) Over the year and a half that I've used it, there have been no hiccups. With an inexpensive FM antenna, everything comes in perfectly.
I haven't really found any downsides to this unit, it just does what it should - and that is refreshing. If you spend much time listening to the radio, give HD radio a try - and this tuner has worked flawlessly for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment