Radiosophy HD100 Digital HD Radio Receiver

by Radiosophy

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 12 x 3.3 x 6.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000W2Z5M4
• Item model number: 1000105
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,087 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The HD100 is a high-definition Digital Radio that provides superior reception of HD digital AM/FM and existing AM/FM signals. This next-generation radio receives the additional digital channels many FM stations now offer on their current frequency. The crystal-clear sound of HD Radio has virtually no static, fade, hiss, or pops--with improved signal quality that makes AM sound like FM and FM sound like a CD. Unlike satellite radio, HD Radio is free; there is no subscription fee. An internal FM and an external AM antenna provide optimum reception in any environment. Seek control can search for all stations or digital (HD) stations only. Indicator lights show stereo and digital signal detection. The backlit graphical display highlights scrolling text such as station ID, song title, artist and important weather or traffic updates. Intuitive controls include full clock-radio functions, alarm and snooze control and ten station presets (five AM and five FM).

Product Description

The HD100 is a high-definition Digital Radio that provides superior reception of HD digital AM/FM and existing AM/FM signals. This next-generation radio receives the additional digital channels many FM stations now offer on their current frequency. The crystal-clear sound of HD Radio has virtually no static, fade, hiss, or pops--with improved signal quality that makes AM sound like FM and FM sound like a CD. Unlike satellite radio, HD Radio is free; there is no subscription fee. An internal FM and an external AM antenna provide optimum reception in any environment. Seek control can search for all stations or digital (HD) stations only. Indicator lights for stereo and digital signal detection.The backlit graphical display highlights scrolling text such as station ID, song title, artist and important weather or traffic updates. Intuitive controls include full clock-radio functions, alarm and snooze control and ten station presets (five AM and five FM).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

91 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very nice little HD radio, December 4, 2007

By 

informednow (cleveland, oh) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Radiosophy HD100 Digital HD Radio Receiver (Electronics)

I have been wanting to try HD radio but was unwilling to spend big bucks on a larger radio until I know whether or not I would like it. I bought this to "try" HD and not be out as much. It turns out that I really like HD radio: my area has a lot of great HD stations and the sound quality IS better than regular FM. I have had satellite in the past, liked the programming but got tired of the price; HD is a reasonable substitute. DO check you area before buying any HD radio; not all areas have HD yet.

The radio itself has small speakers- so don't expect to be overwhelmed. It does sound surprisingly good for the size, however, not nearly as cheap as one might think. The controls are intuitive but it does come with a good instruction manual. This radio is very portable and attractive, perfect for an office or where lower volume is needed. There is no remote, but all necessary controls are located on the front of the radio. It has a great "seek" feature that can seek all stations in your area or just HD stations. There is a HD station indicator light to show when you are locked into an HD station; there is no light for regular analog. There are easy to operate preset buttons that will hold 5 FM and 5 AM stations.

I have not noticed any problems with the power box overheating, but then I always unplug these types of power boxes when not in use. Most will get really warm if left plugged in all the time.

There is a clock radio included in the controls and auxillary jack in the back. It comes with an attached FM antenna and an AM antenna.

I am very, very pleased with this radio. Should Radiosophy come out with a larger unit, I would gladly buy it but keep this one for its portability, decent sound, and ease of operation. I recommend it.

111 of 116 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Clever, low cost, but low performance, October 19, 2007

By 

David Lum "Likes electronics." (Pittsford, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Radiosophy HD100 Digital HD Radio Receiver (Electronics)

Do you want high quality AM sound? This might work, if you're very close to the radio station.
PROS:
-- lowest price
-- compact
-- good FM, multichannel performance

CONS:
-- tiny speakers deliver tiny sound
-- radio draws 10 watts of power either on or off: if plugged in, this costs me about $15/year for electricity, even if it's shut off.
-- marginal AM performance: almost no AM HD stations during night hours; an HD station 4 miles from my house cannot be received in HD. Regular AM is good: much like any other $20 radio from Amazon.

Summary:
This is the lowest price. But consider spending $50 more for another brand. HD radio from a receiver with 4 watts/channel is never going to give satisfying sound.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nice idea, needs better execution, October 25, 2007

By 

Kevin Carey - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Radiosophy HD100 Digital HD Radio Receiver (Electronics)

It took a long time for a cheap HD radio to come on the market. Compare especially to the wide availability of cheap sets for DAB, the HD equivalent, in the UK. And this one is arriving at just the right time, at least big city radio markets where HD streams are proliferating. But I've had problems with this model. I had to return the first one I got after only a week of use -- massive crackle over the audio made it unlistenable. The same issue started to affect the 2nd model that I received, but not wanting to face yet another return I found that I could control the problem by keeping it unplugged when I'm not using it. This defeats the clock purposes that the radio has, but also seems necessary to keep the heat down on the power supply unit which runs EXTREMELY hot when plugged in (see also previous reviewer's comments about electricity consumption). One other thing -- the headphone volume is unbalanced relative to speaker volume; has to be turned up way high to hear through the headphones, which you then need to remember if you unplug the headphones while the radio is on.

Overall, I'm getting decent use from it (e.g. in Washington DC market, there are now 2 sidebands on WAMU public radio, plus all streams of C-span, plus additional rap and rock music channels on the commercial stations).

BUT: I'm not convinced that all the technical problems were resolved before the radio was put on the market, and it's still really a radio for just one room in the house, and yet not with the speaker quality to make it the main radio. It should have the advantage of not needing subscription fees or antenna access to the sky (as with XM/Sirius). But this is not the radio to drive those advantages home.