Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Overall nice radio, but has some short-comings as an alarm radio, March 10, 2009
I've had this radio for about a month. I purchased it as a replacement for my 25 year-old alarm clock radio, and also to see what HD radio was like. Overall, the workmanship of the radio is fine, and the sound quality is decent, given the size and price. The radio has quite a few features packed in for the money, and from that standpoint, it is a good buy. FM reception is good. AM reception is average.
As I primarily use this as an alarm-clock radio, my review comes from using the radio for that purpose. I don't use the iPod docking function, or use the radio for casual listening. As such, the radio has some short-comings as an alarm-clock radio, and that's why I only gave it three stars. If used the radio primarily for something else, like casual daytime listening or an iPod dock, I could easily see rating it higher. The issues with the alarm clock function are as follows:
1) The display is way too bright for an alarm-clock radio, even on the dimmest setting. Particularly if the radio is sitting on a nightstand next to the bed. There are are three brigthness settings, but very little difference between them. Due to the brightness of the backlight, it is very difficult to glance over and see the time when it is dark if you've been sleeping and have just waken up. Backlit LCD is not the best display technology for an alarm-clock application.
2) When the alarm starts the radio, the time is no longer displayed. You can push a button to display the time, but it reverts back to the radio information. Not exactly convenient if you are laying in bed and need to see what time it is. During the alarm-clock function, a time display is more important than the radio station frequency or other HD information. The radio display function should have a display modes with a large time display that can be permanently selected. Perhaps along the bottom where the HD radio information scrolls by. The Sony radios have this feature.
3) When the radio is used as an alarm, the radio turns off 1 hour after it first goes off. For me, 1 hour is a little short, especially if I hit snooze a couple of times. My old radio used a two hour time period. Ideally, this setting could be adjustable.
4) The snooze is 6 minutes. That's a little short for me. Again, it would be nice if this setting was adjustable.
The last three issues could be fixed with some software changes. The first item would require a hardware change. Maybe I can find some tinted plastic film that could be fitted over the display to tone it down a bit.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
FM/HD is amazing, February 21, 2009
I have had the radio two days so it's a little early to write on the the overall quality but I can tell you a few things I have discovered. First and foremost, the FM/HD is a real treat. I live in an area where picking up radio stations is difficult at best. With the FM antenna that came with the unit, that problem is gone! Stations that broadcast HD usually have several different formats to choose from. For instance, 94.9 has three different choices; HD1 is music, HD2 is a different style of music and HD3 is talk. The sound from HD stations (which is a digital/analog hybrid) is really good especially for a clock radio and the regular FM (non-HD) and FM stereo are good also. A bit more about the FM antenna - it is 5+ feet long. I pinned it vertically on the wall behind a door so it isn't too obtrusive - others may be a bit challenged to find a good place for it.
As far as the AM band is concerned - so far I am not impressed. The unit comes with (yet) another antenna for AM. It is a 5 1/4 inch hard loop. I haven't messed around with it much but so far I have only been able to pick up a couple of stations and those have static. AM can also brodcast HD and there are two that do in my area but I cannot pick them up. My old $20 clock radio does better on AM. I did discover two FM stations (there may be more) that use one of their HD channels (HD2, HD3)to simulcast AM stations.
The iPod dock seems to work pretty well. The quality of the sound is pretty good - not concert quality, but hey - it's a clock radio! It does have a line-out connection if you want to hook up an amp. It comes with four dock adapters - none of them fit my iPod (Nano 3G) but one came with iPod so no big deal. There is also a connection on the back to feed your iPod video (if yours supports video) to a TV through a composite connection. It also allows for tagging. If you hear a song on the radio you like, just hit the 'tag' button and it is supposed to send that song info to your iPod the next time you dock it. When you sync with iTunes, it goes out and gets that song and gives you an option to buy it. I haven't tried it yet.
The remote works well and is really well built. For such a small remote, it really has some heft to it.
There is also an Aux connection for a CD player or Walkman or other device.
I should note that the display on the HD-1 is bright. Although there are 3 levels, even the lowest one lights up my whole room - more then the night light I had before.
The manual that came with the unit is pretty complete, but the grammar and spelling are a joke. I don't know why the Asian manufacturer's won't send their manuals over here (to the U.S.) for proofing before they publish them! One refreshing note - the whole thing was English, no Spanish, German, or French versions to deal with.
Overall, I am happy with the unit so far - especially the FM/HD. If you don't care about AM, I would recommend it. (updated 2/23/09)
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
TEAC HD-1, March 15, 2009
I just bought the TEAC HD-1 at Costco today, for considerably less that on Amazon (sorry!), and am very impressed with the quality and sound. It feel hefty and well-built. The audio is good for a unit this size, with the dual ported speakers and six watts of power. The HD radio feature, with the information scrolling and tab feature is very handy. My iPod Classic and the Ipod 2G Touch are both very happy with their new home. The included remote controls most of the iPod functions, too. For the price, this unit is a good value.
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