Customer Reviews

Sangean HDT-1 HD Radio Component Tuner

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I like the HDT-1, it's easy to set up and use, I like it's high tech industrial design, I love the blue display, it looks like my satellite receiver. On stations that are not using the Ibiquity format (HD Radio), it will read the RDS data employed by many broadcasters. It's conventional AM and FM reception is good compared to other AM/FM tuners in it's price range, but it's HD reception is only adequate, at this juncture, there are no other HD tuners in this price range. I tested the HDT-1 tuner in a metropolitan area and it quickly located dozens of HD stations on the FM band and a few in the AM band. Not every market has a lot of HD station, check before buying an HD tuner. If you do not live in a metropolitan area, near the HD station, reception will be spotty and will require a roof top antenna, the included AM and FM antennae are for local reception only. When the HD signal is weak, the tuner switches to regular analog demodulation, where I live, 65 miles away from most of the transmitters, I only get four stations solidly in HD, and I have a good attic antenna system.

Please don't consider HD Radio High Definition, it is NOT high definition, it is a digital format that means terrestrial radio broadcasters may employ multi-casting, more than one program stream on the same frequency, and that's very cool. HD radio may provide a cleaner signal with no hiss on moderately weak stations. The audio is not CD quality but it's quite good, it employs MPEG encoding, it sounds like an iPod, if that's all you've heard, HD Radio is fine. MPEG is also used on satellite radio, it's the reason they can cram so much in a narrow band.

The following is an addendum to my original review.

The following contains some techno gibberish, don't sweat it, it won't hurt. The HDT-1 outperforms all my previous FM tuners, it hears stations my other tuners can't. Buried in the Info menu is a Signal Strength Indicator ( helps aiming your antenna! ), a Bit Error Rate display and a Carrier to Noise display all very interesting. I have found reception varies day to day, I now receive as many as 10 HD FM signals, on bad days only 4, HD Radio propagation is a very complex issue that taxes many Engineers, NPR's engineering department has posted some interesting data on that topic.

Some folks are suggesting things they want to add, though a TOSLINK output would be nice, I believe it is an imperative that Sangean add the ability to manually toggle HD demodulation since marginal signals bounce between the HD stream and analog, very annoying sometimes. End of dweeb rant.

Bottom line, this is a fine product, the Sangean HDT-1 is a winner.

I had been researching HD Radio for some time and was eager to hear it but since no retail store seems to be able to actually demo the technology, I decided to purchase the HDT-1 from Amazon. Great price.

First off Amazon delivered the tuner in two business days - great job. The HDT-1 is easy to set up, simple to use and nice to look at. The remote works well. I have not noticed the problem with the display being too bright although I have noticed the clock lagging behind. Not a big deal.

As for the technology, the tuner tunes beautifully. I live outside of Washington DC in the Maryland suburbs and have had no trouble picking up all of the area radio stations and all with the strongest signal and in HD. There are lots of HD channels and secondary channels and virtually all of them come in with the strongest signal using the supplied antenna. As a comparison, the smooth jazz channel was inaudible on my regular stereo tuner but was crystal clear on the Sangean. This is a great piece of technology. But,

As for sound quality, I was concerned about the compression codecs used in this technology. I had read that HD radio encodes at 96kps and frankly this is what it sounds like. While crystal clear, the music is a bit dull and lacking in energy. It certainly is not "CD quality." In my opinion, 96kps is too much compression for someone who is into sound quality. I typically download my music at 256kps if not 320kps and there simply is no comparison in the quality of the mp3's streaming from ITunes wirelessly to the stereo and the HD radio direct connection. The mp3's encoded at 256 or above are far superior in sound quality to the songs encoded for HD radio. This is the unfortunate truth about HD Radio. At this point, while it is superior to satellite radio in sound quality, it is not ready for prime time audiophiles.

So, the Sangean HDT-1, while a great tuner, can only reproduce the quality of the radio source that goes into it. Thus, Audiophiles beware.

This is the first affordable tuner on the market that makes use of a new DIGITAL broadcasting system, developed by Ibiquity Digital. In a nutshell, local FM and AM stations can now broadcast a digital signal along with their analog signal. The digital transmission "fixes" a couple of long-standing reception problems, i.e. "multipath" distortion on FM and "static" and noise on AM. In addition, AM can be broadcast in stereo using this system. Additional information such as song title/artist etc. and Secondary channels may also be transmitted. For more info on this system visit Ibiqitys' website.

In the Portland area, for example, there are now 12 FM stations and 2 AM stations already transmitting in HD digital, and 9 of the FMs transmit a (for now, commercial free) secondary channel. See the Ibiquity website to obtain a list of stations transmitting in digital in your area. In addition, there is now a HD station in Eugene (slightly over 100 miles away) that I can receive in HD about 80% of the time (using an outside FM antenna). KZEL (96.1) is the FIRST non-Portland HD station in Oregon.

I have had the Boston Acoustics "receptor" table model for almost a year. While the receptor is a fine table radio, I really wanted a tuner to plug into my audio system. The HDT-1 is a perfect choice for this application. This tuner is very selective and sensitive. Remember, however that due to FCC restrictions, the transmitted power of the FM HD signal is only 1/100 of that of its "host" frequency, so tuner sensitivity and a decent antenna are both important in receiving HD signals.

Sangean HDT-1 tuner does a fine job of decoding the HD signals, including the secondary channels. When a station is selected, the normal analog signal is first heard for a few seconds, while the digital "buffer" is filled. When the radio switches over to digital, the improvement in reception is many times quite dramatic.

AM reception is not as good as it could be, but IMHO, it is better than the AM reception on the BA receptor. An external antenna can improve this. If the AM reception were slightly better, I would upgrade to 4.5 stars rating. In addition to AM HD Stereo, my HDT-1 DOES seem to support the old analog Motorola C-Quam AM stereo, at least I hear something that sounds like stereo on one station in Portland that is still using this system (KBPS-AM 1450).

I'm impressed with HD Radio so far, and especially the HDT-1... Especially for the price. Features are plentiful, though there are a couple I'd like to see; specifically,
1. Digital output. The on-board digital-analog conversion is OK, and no where near as good as that found in most decent receivers or preamps. (Someone at Sangean told me this will be featured in the next tuner - due out around September, 2007). Also, the analog output seems "hot". A local classical station's (KUSC) HD feed breaks up at higher frequencies, and my speculation is that the output is overdriving the inputs to my Rotel preamp.
2. Preset scan. Geez, they've got so many other scan modes, but they missed this one!
3. Direct preset access - instead of having to press "preset" followed by a number (where a preset station is located).
4. A display dimmer! I know someone else already mentioned this... Man that thing is bright! Good news is that the display is very informative, and cool in blue. Note that turning down the contrast does help a bit.
5. Discrete ON and OFF commands. This is helpful if you use a learning remote control that uses macro-sequences. A toggling power button, as included on the HDT-1, is less than ideal.
Besides the above wish-list changes/additions, I think the HDT-1 is a hit. The secondary stations available in the LA area make FM worth listening to again. Now my wife is asking about adding HD to our cars...

Despite some of the flaws mentioned in other reviews concerning surfing through preset stations (that is a mechanical issue; an inconvenience), this HD receiver is excellent. Its sensitivity and capture of HD radio signals is superb. I live 50 miles north of NYC in high terrain and I still receive some of the HD stations locked in! I am using an indoor whip antenna (a marine antenna half the cost of the popular FM whip antenna) routed through a Magnum Signal Sleuth which amplifies, hones in and locks in the HD signal. Many say that amplification does harm to the HD signal and degrades it. Well if I did not have the Signal Sleuth I would not be able to listen to any HD station with perhaps one exception!! I would say that this setup is not perfect but reliable. I receive about 5 HD stations which in turn have "extra" stations HD2, HD3 daisy chained with a fair variety of musical format.
What makes me really like this Sangean is that when I turn off the amplification of the Signal Sleuth I am able to pick up yet another NYC HD station! This receiver is that sensitive with an excellent capture ratio. As far as the output being too loud for your receiver, I have not had that happen to me -- the sound level is normal! HD stations sound like "cd" quality and even the regular FM analog signals are clearer and cleaner than through a regular FM receiver. I also have found new FM stations that I did not receive before on my other radios -- I pull stations from CT and NJ and Long Island, too without distortion. To say the least, I am very happy with this receiver and I do own another product Radiosophy's MultiStream HD radio which is also very good but not as good as the Sangean! Go for it you won't be disappointed!!!

The original tuner that I bought from Amazon was apparently defective because it exhibited high distortion and a long delay in the sound. This was painfully obvious when another FM was turned on in a nearby room. Sangean kindly sent me another tuner which worked much better, and only exhibited a very slight delay. The slight delay in the sound could be annoying to families which tune to the same station in adjacent rooms, as it sounds like an echo.

The sound of the replacement unit was very similar to my NAD 4150. The local NPR station (KUHF) apparentely broadcast with more energy in the top high audio frequencies than they did on the regular FM signal. However when closely comparing HD with regular FM the HD had a subtle distortion and a very slightly more vague stereo image. I can not say if this is due to the station, the tuner, or to the HD format. The audible noise in HD was very similar in HD and regular FM. This is probably because of the signal processing by the local station. The Sangean did have excellent reception from the supplied look antenna while my regular FM tuner needs a directional roof antenna to get rid of multipath distortion. So the Sangean should be just the ticket in bad reception locations.

The clock does not keep time when the power is remotely tuned off, and the bright display might be obtrusive in a bedroom. There is no way do defeat the HD and listen just in FM. I found tuning between HD-1 and HD-2 awkward because it accomplished by the tuning button, but some may like it. Also the station selection buttons must be preceeded by an extra button push, which is also awkward. The box is fairly high, and it would have been nice to have a thinner one, as it is mainly empty space inside.

If the sound had been noticably better on the station that I listen to most, or the box had been much thinner, I probably would have kept the unit. Users with lower quality FM tuners or who are in poor locations will probably love the quality of the Sangean. The inclusion of extra channels on FM is also a plus, but they may degrade the sound on the primary HD-1 channel. The cost is quite low for a tuner capable of this quality of performance. But, I will wait until some of the transmission bugs are fixed before I consider buying again.

The HDT-1 is certainly an interesting and somewhat versatile product. The interior chassis is composed of two modules, one for signal processing and the other for power - taking about 1/10 the volume inside the empty cabinet. The exterior has a bluish-purple lcd display which is not dimmable and has a digital clock which does not keep accurate time as it is not locked to the 60HZ line frequency. There are direct entry buttons and 20 memory presets for AM and 20 for FM.The signal strength meter is almost useless as it varies with modulation on the analog stations.The C/N ratio feature on digital FM is a valuable feature and works well to determine antenna placement. The remote is very small and thin but can easily become lost in the chair cushion.

Now to the actual performance. There is a very strong blend imposed on any but the best signals which causes a great loss in separation but a clear signal which approaches mono in analog. The sensitivity is good but the unit definitely overloads easily in the presence of strong local signals - correctable with a variable L-pad but at a loss of ultimate sensitivity. The selectivity is simply outstanding as a very weak distant station can easily be heard just .2 MHZ or adjacent to a local. If you are looking to receive a weak station in a crowded station environment then this tuner is for you. I can receive a station 300 miles away with NO interference by an adjacent local. This is more than I can do with my two professional tuners on very narrow bandwith. This feature alone has sold me on this tuner.

The audio output is VERY high, far above the 600mv standard and it might overload some preamps. This makes comparison difficult as the audio is 2-3X louder than other components. The tuner automatically indicates the presence of HD signal on AM and FM but requires several seconds to load the digital buffer. The HD signal is better on some stations with improved separation and upper frequencies but on a few it is worse. It would be assumed that broadcasting quality in HD varies a great deal among stations but that the tuner is doing a good job in the expansion process. It definitely sounds better than satellite radio but it does not reflect the ads which indicate CD quality. Long distance stations frequently do not stay locked in HD, and if you are on HD-2 or HD-3 station, it falls back to analog and reloads on HD-1 - a great annoyance. The tuner has many display options and even an audio spectrum. None of the features have a detailed explanation in the instructions.
What would I like to see on this unit? I would like an optical output, a blend and high cut switch so I could make that decision on a weaker signal, a clock that keeps time or no time display at all, a more normal size remote, 30 presets on FM and 10 on AM if I am limited to a number and an AM stereo HD that really works - this one sounds poorly. DO not try to listen to a digital unit and a regular tuner at the same time as there is always delay in the digital processing.

I believe this tuner has many good features for the price of $199.00. It is definitely the most selective tuner I own - better than my Kenwood KT-9900 and Yamaha TX-950. Sure, there are always changes we would like but I am sure that a low price point was important to Sangean and I believe they made wise compromises except for the non-defeatable auto blend.

I recently bought the Sangean at a local store. So far I am very pleased. The Sangean sounds surprisingly good, considering the modest price. Using the supplied dipole antenna, I am able to cleanly tune 27 of the 31 HD channels available in the Houston area.

What I am hearing on the HD channels is a definite improvement over standard FM, although it falls significantly short of "CD quality". I don't have satellite radio, but suspect the quality of HD radio may be comparable. I hear significant differences in sound quality among the various HD stations. The bottom line is that I find HD radio fine for background listening, and I appreciate having classical music available at almost any time. The Sangean tuner has good sound quality and works well, but I would not use it for serious listening at higher volume levels. When you turn up the volume, the shortcomings of the format become evident.

This tuner will amaze you. It outdoes any audiophile tuner made. The selectivity and sensitivity are outstanding. You will pick up stations you never knew existed. Then you will pick up the second and third channels of new digital audio. No noise no interference from close stations!

This component tuner has brought new life to my living room. I can sit across the room and not only hear a new sound, but see it too. The Sangean has a cool large blue display, so that I can see station information, song title, and artist. The thing even has RDS text for regular analog FM stations. The remote control allows me to move up and down the band, seek all stations, or seek just the ones that have the extra HD channels.

Want a second opinion? check the on-line forums for the topic "HD radio", like AVS or Yahoo FM tuners. You will see that the tech heads are battling it out over the specs this tuner presents to their test equipment. No one can believe they get all of this technology for $ 199.99. The Sangean HDT1 even has a frequency spectrum display. My favorite screen on the display is the numeric signal strength meter, now I can aim my antenna with precision.

You won't be dissapointed with this tuner. You will truly be amazed. Can't wait till Sangean adds HD to one of their large portables.

As this is the only component HD radio currently available, you're either going to get it or you won't.

When the HD signal is strong, the sound quality is very good -- wide dynamic range and very little noise. If the signal is weak, then the tuner will switch between analog and digital versions of the signal, which is disconcerting as the acoustic "image" widens for HD and narrows for analog FM. To deal with this I would have prefered a way of telling the system to ignore HD signals below a certain signal strength.