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do you have an HD radio?

N

nageov3t

Lifer
is it worth it?

I'm getting a new head unit for my car because I need something with a usb port/ipod controls (trying to control an ipod touch from the device itself while driving sucks. which I'd taken it into account before buying a new ipod. no tactile buttons FTL)... I'm debating if it's also worth the extra $100 on top of a $300 radio to throw in an HD tuner.

I checked my area's station list and there are 2-3 stations I could see myself listening to on a regular basis (and rumor has it that k-rock NYC, which is a top 40 pop station, will start streaming k-rock LA on its hd channel, which I gather actually plays rock music?) but the hundred bucks probably isn't worth it just for a small handful of stations so I'm wondering if there's actually a noticeable difference in terms of reception quality on the non-HD channels as well.
 
no, i cant stand FM radio, I used to have XM but even stopped paying for that and just burn CDs now, in dash 6 disc changer that will read MP3 CDs is really great.

i haven't listened to FM in my car in at least 10 years if not longer
 
I'll think that I'll wait until an HD Radio head unit only costs $20 more than a regular head unit... we're quickly getting to that point already.

That said, upgrading the radio in my new car (07 MINI Cooper) would be a pain in the ass anyway, since the friggin thing is built into center console and speedo.
 
I listen to HD radio all the time. It all depends on the content in your area. There are some stations that have second streams. There are some stations that don't transmit with enough power to even cover the city well in HD. It can be a nuisance or a blessing.
 
No HD radio. I have the 6 presets that were assigned 7 years ago. I can't change them now, the screen is broken. My only working speaker is my rear driver's side.
 
I have HD radio on my ZuneHD, and I like it. Sound quality is noticeably better and more stations is always a plus. However, reception is harder to come by in my experience, and a $100 premium for it sounds expensive IMO.
 
looking at the prices of stand-alone and portable HD radios on amazon, paying $100 for an hd tuner only usable in my car seems silly.
 
I got a pac-audio after market ipod controller that let's me control an ipod from my factory radio and steering wheel controls for $100 from amazon that has an add-on option for an hd radio for $70 more. I didn't get the hd radio add-on yet but plan to down the road. I figure even if the sound is the same its worth it in the long run to just have more station choices.
 
Adul said:
sound quality sucks ass. I can't stand the horrid digital distortion. They need a HD version of it.
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What radio do you listen to it on? They obviously compress it quite a bit, but the sound quality of Sirius is definitely no less than FM, and I usually can't tell any difference between Sirius and CD.

Those folks that have crap signals either have an incorrectly mounted antenna, or drive through tunnels a lot.

I know the OP doesn't like satellite radio tho. 🙁
 
loki8481 said:
looking at the prices of stand-alone and portable HD radios on amazon, paying $100 for an hd tuner only usable in my car seems silly.
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That depends how much you drive. 😉 I just put a headunit in my truck that cost over $600... but I'm always driving (well over 25k/year).
 
GeekDrew said:
That depends how much you drive. 😉 I just put a headunit in my truck that cost over $600... but I'm always driving (well over 25k/year).
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my car is 7 years old and has 40,000 miles on it 😛

I think I'll definitely be better off buying a stand-alone unit, either portable or a tabletop player. I'm always listening to the radio in my kitchen when I'm cooking or doing dishes (plus I'll be driving even less after I move and go from driving to work to commuting into NYC on a train)
 
GeekDrew said:
What radio do you listen to it on? They obviously compress it quite a bit, but the sound quality of Sirius is definitely no less than FM, and I usually can't tell any difference between Sirius and CD.

Those folks that have crap signals either have an incorrectly mounted antenna, or drive through tunnels a lot.

I know the OP doesn't like satellite radio tho. 🙁
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I didn't think I'd notice the difference between Sirius and the CD/MP3 input...but it was tremendous to my ears. I did not continue with the Sirius subscription once the complimentary period ended.
 
Compared to standard FM.. it's great. There's a very noticeable difference in sound quality when my HU picks up HD. It only added like another $70 to my already $1000 headunit (Kenwood DNX7120) so it was a pretty justifiable cost.
 
I like my Sirius. Is the sound quality the best? No. Does it matter with most sound systems in most cars? No. If you have a nice set-up then HD may be better.
 
Of course not. I have these really cool things called MP3's. I have tons of them in "SUPER HD ULTRA HIGH QUALITY MEGA FULL HD AWESOMENESS" format. They are on a 64GB flash drive and I have hours and hours and hours and hours of music - only the music that I want to listen to, and no advertisements.

You should look into the MP3 thing. I know they are just so ridiculously new and all, but it's pretty cool and it's free. You don't have to pay like with that satellite radio crap.
 
Numenorean said:
Of course not. I have these really cool things called MP3's. I have tons of them in "SUPER HD ULTRA HIGH QUALITY MEGA FULL HD AWESOMENESS" format. They are on a 64GB flash drive and I have hours and hours and hours and hours of music - only the music that I want to listen to, and no advertisements.

You should look into the MP3 thing. I know they are just so ridiculously new and all, but it's pretty cool and it's free. You don't have to pay like with that satellite radio crap.
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you should look into reading the OP :hmm:

I love my ipod, but I also love getting exposed to new music. my dad's listened to the same music since 1977. I couldn't imagine living life like that.
 
Numenorean said:
Of course not. I have these really cool things called MP3's. I have tons of them in "SUPER HD ULTRA HIGH QUALITY MEGA FULL HD AWESOMENESS" format. They are on a 64GB flash drive and I have hours and hours and hours and hours of music - only the music that I want to listen to, and no advertisements.

You should look into the MP3 thing. I know they are just so ridiculously new and all, but it's pretty cool and it's free. You don't have to pay like with that satellite radio crap.
Click to expand...

Sure, if you ignore the music discovery part of radio, or that some people use it for talk radio, sports radio, things like that.

Oh - and MP3s aren't REALLY free, you do know that, right?
 
loki8481 said:
you should look into reading the OP :hmm:

I love my ipod, but I also love getting exposed to new music. my dad's listened to the same music since 1977. I couldn't imagine living life like that.
Click to expand...

Oh, I forgot. Those damned USB memory sticks are like WORM tapes right?

It's too bad I can't add new music whenever I want. Oh...wait...
 
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