LiveWire

A post by Maynard

I’ve been curious about HD radio with its promise of clear reception and additional niche stations, and I’ve glanced at the promoter’s website and the Wikipedia page. But I haven’t yet been motivated to drop real money into a new radio. I’m waiting for an offer I can’t refuse, or maybe the technology will just die out.

The other day a $50 HD rebate caught my eye. I saw it here, which linked to this rebate form. I’m seeing similar rebate notices at vendor sites, such as this J&R page. So I’m assuming this is a legit rebate, offered by the HD industry to encourage sales of specified HD radios. It’s good through September 29.

With a $50 rebate, a $99 HD radio becomes a $49 HD radio. That’s cheap enough to buy on a whim. I see two HD radios at that price, the Sony XDR-F1HD tuner (this is NOT a complete radio, just a tuner that can be added to an existing sound system) and the Radiosophy HD100 desktop radio.

Customer feedback seems generally favorable to the Sony tuner, and is somewhat mixed about the Radiosophy HD100. The reaction to the Sony DXR-S3HD radio (another complete radio) is more positive, but it costs $50 more.

Is HD worth having? Are these radios any good? Will you actually get a rebate? I don’t know the answers to any of these questions. By the time I do, the rebate will be over. So I’m posting this information now, and you can proceed at your own risk.

(Perhaps it’s worth mentioning that when Tammy’s flagship KABC preempts her show for a Dodger game, the Tammy show continues on one of the HD channels.)