Customer Reviews

Coby HDR650 Component HD Radio Receiver (Black)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I got the Coby HDR-650 HD radio as an xmas gift, as I was very interested in HD radio. The looks and features of the radio were very attractive - I like the display, but what use is a good looking radio if it can't pick up stations? The power supply that came with the radio (a KY Industries model from China) radiates so much radio noise that I could not pick up ONE station on the AM band. I know it's the power supply, because whenever the KY power supply is plugged in, every AM radio in the room loses all reception whether the Coby is turned on or not.

The FM band is noise free, with pretty good sensitivity. The difference between analog and HD radio is striking - much clearer.

I am an electronic technician, so I decided to try one of my own power supplies with the radio. It takes 12 volts at 500mA, with the positive voltage going to the tip of the connector. What a difference! I am in suburban NYC, and with a clean power supply I can now pick up 35-40 AM stations and 9 of them are in HD.

If Coby changes their power supply to one that doesn't make radio noise, I would change my number of stars to 4, but as it is, the Coby HDR-650 is only usable as an FM radio, not an AM one, and rates a 2.

This thing is really tiny! The Samsung HD radio tuner card out of the Radio Shack Accurian radio is as big as the little Coby! It seems too expensive for it's size but it's well made and is actually a model called the Mondo from Revo. Revo makes a similar looking Internet radio that's even more expensive. The curved part is only about as big as a hot dog bun and it has a squarish section on the rear for the connectors. In most respects it's like the Sony XDRF1HD but doesn't get as hot although the Sony comes with a full size remote. When the power is lost the time setting goes back to 12:00 like a VCR but it does keep the station presets that were saved. Also, like the Sony you can't go directly to a frequency with the remote, all you can do is step up and down through the bands or go to a preset. Even though it's small, it receives as well as larger units like the Sangean HDT-1X if you use outdoor antennas. It would make a good component tuner for a stereo system. It has some drawbacks due to it's size though like only having 5 buttons on top so you have to use the little remote for most functions. It has a headphone jack on the rear but you have to use the remote to control the volume which is odd since it can't be more than an arms reach away. Also, it only has a 2 line display and only shows the station call letters and the frequency so you have to press the Info button on the remote to see the title and artist of a song that's playing. It doesn't have any dimming or timed off functions for the display but it will dim and display the time when turned off. One major drawback is the inclusion of a wire loop antenna for AM and a piece of wire sticking out the back for FM. Since the AM loop antenna plugs in with a mini phone plug an external antenna can be connected by buying an F to phone plug adapter and plugging it into the antenna jack. The FM antenna is a different story though. I don't know why the designers at Revo didn't include an F connector for FM like other HD radios use but it's fairly easy to open up the unit and solder in a piece of RG-174 coax in it's place to add a connector for FM. I found that my roof mounted TV antenna worked well for FM and a whip antenna such as a CB whip mounted on the roof makes a good antenna for AM allowing me to receive all the HD stations in Phoenix over 40 miles away. It picks up distant stations well at night but none of them come in strong enough for HD except the Disney channel. The power supply does cause a lot of AM interference like other reviewers said but it doesn't matter when using an outside antenna or it can be replaced with another 12 volt supply if you wish since they are common and easy to find.

Reception out of the box is mediocre due to the poor antenna for FM and a noisy power supply for AM. The FM antenna is just a wire (with a series ferrite inductor inside the case). To make the unit shine you need to connect it to a good antenna. I opened the case (pay attention to not bend the aluminum trim) and installed a female F-connector for an external roof TV/FM antenna whose signal is distributed through the house. Also replaced the power supply with an analog 12vdc transformer (it ships with a 110-240V switching one) to eliminate the noise in the AM band. With these mods and paired with a soundbar the Coby earned its place in our breakfast room providing great sound for music and news. The HD mode takes about 5 seconds to lock in and it does make a big difference in sound quality also giving many extra channels.

Great little product, highly recommended. This piece is about $100 cheaper than the comparable unit, and much smaller and lighter (the Sangean) is the only other one i could find, but it is huge, and expensive, and not portable at all.

The only complaints I have for this unit is it does not have a coaxial FM antenna input, so you can't connect it to your aerial. It does come with a built in wire antenna but i prefer an aerial for more powerful reception. Then again, with digital HD radio you don't need nearly as strong of a signal to get crystal clear reception. Shouldn't be a problem for most users unless you are in a very rural area.

Next I wish it had a digital out for connection to a digital receiver. It only has analog RCA jacks, which are fine and sound great connected to my receiver, but and HDMI or even an optical out or digital coaxial would be nice, but not necessary.

Overall a great little unit, highly recomend.

My initial unit was initally DOA, then worked briefly for about 1.5 hours after coaxing with a few power reboots. Computer Brain did replace the unit under RMA, but the return was at my cost. After quite a delay, the new unit arrived today. Hooked it up and worked out of the box, but remote had a dead coin-style battery. Replaced it and everything is up and running.
Like a lot of electronics these days, the remote is essential to control the unit. It does have power and tuning buttons on the top, but the HD seek functions and presets are all on the remote. Sound quality seems fair on non-hd stations, and seems as good as can be obtained through rca stereo cables on HD. Station sensitivity could be better, but receives many somewhat weak stations with the integral wire antenna. No provision for a house antenna coax connection. Includes an alarm clock function when not in radio mode. The unit can be run on a pair of powered computer speakers through the headphone jack, as mine is currently operating.
Overall, it may be worth the cost if you want to have HD radio capability for your existing amp.

A nice little device .. while it worked. As long as the power supply is placed well away (not hard to do) it isn't "heard" by the tuner. It is easily set up, is nice & compact, and the price was right. Now we'll see what Coby does when a discontinued item quits after a bit more than a year's service.

Well, surprise! It decided to revive itself. Not a clue what was wrong, but it works again, and works well.

We purchased the product as a companion to an older BOSE system to be able to pick up a specific HD radio station. it works perfectly for this purpose!

This thing is a piece of junk. When I got it in, the display didn't work. I returned it to Amazon and got a replacement. The replacement didn't work at all. In fact, when I plugged it in, it the power transformer got so hot that it almost started a fire in my equipment closet.

Save your time and don't waste your money on this one.

I am very satisfied with this product. No complaints. I use it with my Bose Radio. HD rception is perfect. Very user friendly

The Coby AM/FM Receiver is a distinct disappointment. It has two bands (AM and FM) and the AM band reception was terrible across the entire frequency range. All of my radios (I have several) have good am reception, including my Hi Bunsionc battery powered transistor radio from China, which out perform the Coby. And isn't that an embarassing thing for Coby.

On the plus side, it looks very nice.