HD radio is off the endangered-species list but still takes patience. It’s worth the effort. It powers radio right off the quality meter, rejuvenating an ancient medium.
The system is confused with satellite radio. There are no monthly fees. The radios can be costly, $200 or more. Sony has rolled out an excellent tuner as a component of your stereo system. It’s only $79 and is a ground-breaker for consumers.
Few listeners know about HD, and fewer still do not realize that HD does not stand for “high definition.” It means hybrid digital, the process of digitizing radio signals. This does the same for radio listening quality as CDs did for records. In fact, users will tell you it’s even better than CDs.
The downsides are you must buy an HD radio, signal strengths can be weak, and local HD stations are few. If you cannot get Public Radio, you may not find anything worth listening to.
Station owners in 2002 hoped by ignoring HD, it would go away. They thought the same of free Internet Radio that appeared at about the same time, then the pay satellite radio.
The broadcasters are wrong, and they’ve seen their audiences shrink as the new technology evolves, especially their coveted younger listeners. Public Radio has no commercial inhibitions.
The FCC on Jan. 29 approved increased HD signal power. Up to that time, HD was limited to 80 percent of a broadcaster’s analog signal, making reception problematic.
If you can get it, you will find that HD’s sound is high bandwidth. It is silent between songs with none of the usual radio hisses, pops, static and dropped signals. Unlike common radio, music has texture and feeling.
It’s a must for hard-to-please audiophiles. This may be the best sound you can pump through your stereo.
An added attraction is you need no DJ-patter to announce songs. Song titles stream on the LCD screen on each radio.
The Sony XDRF tuner lists at $100 and is discounted to $79 on amazon.com, free shipping. Before you buy a radio, make sure the seller has a liberal return policy. The broadcast service is free.
I got the Sony for Christmas. It took 10 seconds to plug it to the Aux input jack of my Bose system. (You’ll need to buy the cables if you do not have them. Sony does not make this easy.)
